COMPLIMENTARY BANQUET.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3114, 12 February 1909, Page 5

COMPLIMENTARY BANQUET.

TO THE HON. A. W. HOGG, M.P.

THE MINISTER ENTERTAINED AT MASTERTON.

The banquet tendered to the Hon. A.' W. Hogg, M.P., at the Empire Hotel, Masterton, last evening, was a most successful and enjoyable function. The commodious dining-room of the hotel was crowded with guests selected from every section of the community, including some of the earliest friends to the cause of Liberalism in the Masterton district. The function was presided over by the Mayor (Mr P. L. Hollings), who was supported by Mr M. C. O'Connell, who acted as vice-chairman. At the table at which the guest and members of his family were seated were representatives of various public institutions in Masterton. Among the guests was the Hon. D. Buddo, Minister for Public Health. The tables were splendidly set out with a sumptuous repast, the floral decorations being also on an unusually effective scale. Among those who sent apologies and congratulations were the Premier and various Cabinet Ministers. After supper had been dispensed, Mr A. R. Bunny proposed the toast of "The Ministry." He considered that the toast was one worthy uf the greatest honour, as the gsntlemen composing the Ministry were men eminently capable of carrying out important duties expected of th°m. The Right Hon. the Premier, Sir Jos- ' eph Ward, was a \eteran politician, an excellent leader, and a worthy successor to the late Right Hon. R. J. Seddon. Passing on to other members, the speaker said he selected one whom he had known for many years, and before his entry into political life- the Hon. A. W. Hogg. (Applause). Mr Hogg was an admirable constituent representative, he was also an excellent member from a national standpoint. He thoroughly merited the high position he had jast had conferred upon him, and tha speaker trusted he would long lire to enjoy it. (Hear! Hear!) Ragarding other in- ; dividual members the speaker said they were one and all capable and strong administrators. He coupled with the toasc the name of the Hon. Mr Buddo. (Applause). The toast was drunk with enthusi- . asm, being accorded musical hon- '. ours. The Hon. Buddo, in reply, said it gave him great pleasure to be present on such an auspicious occasion, and t> respond to a toast so heartily honoured. It was a difficult matter to please everybody, but be hoped the Ministry would please the country in the way in which it was believed and expected they would do. Its chief aim was not to individualise but to accomplish the greatest good to the greatest number. The speaker paid a high compliment to the guest, whom he likened to an old battle horse, who emerged from the fray at each succeeding election covered with honours. No member in the House commanded more respect than Mr Hogg, whose earnest effort was always combined with the utmost courtesy. Speaking on political questions, the speaker said that the Government recognised that the \ salvation of the country lay io the close settling of the Dominion. Perhaps some were dissatisfied, because the sections were not cut up into small enough areas, but the Government intended to push forward the work of the primary subdivision, and then the question of still closer settlement would have to be push 3d c n vard. Many alread / subdivided pro- : perties could he still further cut up I with advantage, especially when (he intense culture which must eventually ensue came about. As a farmer of thirty years' experience he recognised that the farm industry was the most profitable the Dominion boasted. The speaker contended that the present tightness of money was greatly due fo the inflated city values. He trustel the farmers would go to their financial advisers as little as possible, it was enough to give them the "blues" to hear the bankers talk of their "ten per cents.," and so forth. It was not in the inflated values of farm properties that the present tightness had ensued, but in the city property inflation, whi"h, he contended, had occurred and wo'ild* occur in cyles, as the population of cities increased. He urged his farming hearers not to be despondent about any financial worries which might beset them, as some people.must ba money-lenders and others money borrowers. So long as the farmers kept pouring out their abundant products from the fertile valley at the rate they were doing the local farmers could look to an end of the ; r depression by about the middle of the year. The speaker concluded by thanking the company for the hearty reception they had given him, and by extending to Mr Hogg his best wishes for a long and honourable career as a Cabinet Minister. (Applause). The Chairman, in a felicitous speech, proposed the toast Of the guest of the evening. He said ha felt quite unequal to the onerous task imposed upon him. He felt thai he did not know whether he ought tu congratulate Mr Hogg on getting into the Ministry, or compliment the Ministry on securing Mr Hogg, but he thought the latter was quite appropriate. (Hear! Hear!) Few people understood how arduous was the life of a politician, and how many were the sacrifices a politician was called upon to make. The speaker did not : doubt for one moment that had Mr

Hogg abandoned politics eighteen years ago and followed his profession he would be a much wealthier man than he was to-day. (Hear! Hear!) Mr Hogg had sacrificed home comforts, wealth and many other things in the cause of Jiis country, and to-day after a Ions? lapse of tine he reaped a deserved reward. The secret of the member for Masterton's success wis his big heart. (Applause). No one in his district was too poor for Mr Hogg to assist and recognise, nor was there anyone in Mr Hogg's district who did not acknowledge that gentleman's thorough impart ality. Mr Hogg's positioi in the Cabinet was no sinecure, in fact he had been allotted an extremely difficult and important portf. lio. It needed a man with great ability to administer the difficult

labour laws of New Zealand, and to educate the workers into recognising that the capitalist was the friend, and not the enemy, of labour. Mr Hogg was just the man to do that. (Applause). As Roads and Bridges Minister Mr Hogg was, as they all knew, "right in his line, and though the speaker did not wish to be parochial he took the opportunity of pointing out to Mr Hogg that in the Northern approach at Masterton he had probably the worst bridges and the worst bit of road in winter in his electorate. Mr Hollings concluded by wishing Mr Hogg the utmost succees in his new position, saying that the whole of the electorate rejoiced to see that his many good Qualities and sterling abilities had been recognised by the executive political head of the Dominion. (Applause). This toast was also accorded musical honours, ringing cheers being given for the guest Mr Hogg, in reply, said words hardlv expressed the great pleasure it afforded him to acknowledge such a magnificent compliment as his constituents accorded to him in the presont function. Still, amidst such a felicitious gathering there was a tinge of sadness for him. He referred to the death of Mr Hone Heke, the member for the Northern Maori electorate. The late Mr Heke was a scholar, a gentleman, and an orator, and what was still more estimable, a friend and a gentleman, and his decease caused the speaker genuine feelings of regret. He took the opportunity of expressing his sorrow at the loss to the Maori race and to the Dominion of such a splendid man. Mr Hogg went on to say that in connection with the Department of Labour his friends had told him the responsibility'! was great, and that he would find it difficult to manage. He was not very easily frightened, and was not afraid of the task. Why should Labour be depicted as an ogre—wilful, perverse, dissatisfied, uncontrollable? Why must it be painted in the darkest colours? He had always regarded Labour as his friend and companion. Since he was a boy it had undergone a marvellous development. He remembered when his father crept out of his bed at four in the morning and worked till six at night for 16s per week. Labour since then had grown strong, and is more adequately paid. He had been an employer as well as a worker, and had never found Labour unreasonable. His warmest friends and supporters were those who worked for him in years gone by. The educated toiler would never be found an autocrat or oppressor squeezing the dregs of legitimate profit from the capitalist. During the last month or cwo Mr Hogg said he had do.ie a lot of travelling, and had been pretty well all over the mads in his district. He had failed to discover a genuine sundowner, or professional tramp. Once or twice he had met an elderly man carrying a heavy swag, but was there any harm in that? The sundowner, he believed, was chiefly a product of the imagination, and seemed to have gone the road of the Moa. Between the educated worker and the educated employer a friendly alliance should subsist. If their interests lie sornewnat apart that was no reason why they should come into unfriendly contact. Labour laws that are precise may seem drastic, but why are they rigid? Was it not because there are unscrupulous employers as well as> ! unprincipled workers? these laws are not framed for the batter class of artisans and capitalists, but for people against whose unscrupulous ladies .-the average employer and his workers have to be r»rotect r d. Take the Workers' Compensation Act for instance. Is there anything in its provisions unfair or unreasonable? If a machine breaks down owini? to tepr, wear or accident, the owner must repair it. All the worker requires is that he shall be treated in a sinilar way. The statesmen of New Zealand had been described as experimentalists. He would rather designate them explorers. Looking over the arena ot progress and reform with which he had been actively identified, he could realise the motives that impelled such explorers as Livingstone and Stanley. These men were the discoverers of new territory. Men like Ballance. McKenzie and Seddon were explorers in the domain of politics. They spent and sacrificed their lives in a strenuous effort to emancipate the people from the iron yoke v of class rule and industrial slavery. By establishing a universal franchise they set an example to the world, and elevated woman to her proper sphere in the State. By removing class privileges and educational barriers they conferred on her children something like equal opportunities in life. The speaker covered a lot of ground in reference to the achievements of the Liberal Party, and said that he felt convinced that though Mr McNab had' suffered through applying a charge of dynamite to that stump in the way of progress—land speculation —his time would come again. Mr Hogg concluded by heartily thanking his hearers for their splendid compliment to him, and by expressing the hope that he would enjoy many more functions with them. (Applause). Mr Eli Smith proposed the toast of "The Electorate," tracing in the course of his speech tne yeoman service rendered by Mr Hogg in developing the natural resources of his district by having it properly roaded and bridged. Mr R. Brown responded to the toast, stating in a brief speech that Mr Hogg's self-sacrifice on behalf of his electorate was characteristic. Among public bodies in his electorate he was a most valued and esteemed member, his assistance ' being always ready and generous. As a Minister of the Cabinet the

speaker felt that Mr Hogg would be rao-st successful, and would be a thorough impartial administrator. He hoped that if it were possible Mr Hogg would have amended the boundaries of the electorate to re-include the piece of Upper Plain excised by the last alterations of the boundaries. (Applause!.

The toast of "The Press" was proposed by Mr M. C. O'ConneJl, and that of "The Host and Hostess" (Mr and Mrs Cress), was proposed by Mr M. C. O'Connell. A very pleasant gathering terminated with three cheers for Mr and Mrs Hogg and family, and hearty cheers for the Mayor. Mr H. Johnston contributed two vocal items during the evening, being encored for both.