SIR WALTER BUCHANAN.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 11 July 1913, Page 6

SIR WALTER BUCHANAN.

ENTHUSIASTIC WELCOME HOME. j MONSTER GATHERING AT j CARTERTON. The high estimation in which Sit" j Wnltor Buchanan, M.P., is held as a . sotMkir and public man was fully de- j immstratod at Carterton yesterday, j u lit ii about five thousand people from , all parts of the district assembled on tlx> showgrounds to tender him a "welcome homo" 011 his return from a v-ix months' trip to the ,sold Country. The weather was delightfully I'i.iif, and tliis added materially to the .succt'ss of tlio gathering, which was of :i most enthusiastic character. SpcciaJ trains wore run from Cross' Crook and Masterton, and drags and other vehicles conveyed setters from each ! end of tlio district. Tho proceedings were commenced by series of welcome and ooiigratu- j latoi'y speeches delivered from a dais in the show-ring. The stand was occupied by Sir Walter Buchanan, Mr W.- K. Sykes, M.P., the Mayors of tJie inspect ivo VW'iira.rap.ii boroughs, chairnen of county councils and town [maids, and members of the Reoep- ; lion Committee. Mr D. P. Loosby, the Mayor oi (ireytown, who presided, was the first .-.|M\ikor. Ho expressed the very yieat pleasure that was felt by settlers throughout tlio district at the return of Sir Walter Buchanan in such splendid (health and with honours conferred upon him by His Majesty the King. Mr Loasby recounted the many services that had been rendered' by Sir Walter during his forty years'- residence in the district, particularly referring to his efforts on behalf of the frozen meat industry and freight reductions. He extended a cordial "welcome home" to tho member for Wairarapa. A telegram of apology for absence was read from Mr A. O. Considine, of Martinlyorougjh. Addresses of welcome and congratulation were then delivered by Messrs Frank Feist (Mayor of Carterton), J. W. Card (chairman of the Featherston Town Board) T. Y. , Moore (aOting-chiairraan of the Wairarapa Souifch County Council), A. D. McLeod (chairman of the Foatherston County Council), W. J. Welch (dhairmari of the Masterton County Council) H. H. Ryder (chairman of tibo Castlepoint County Council), J. M». Coraditfe (Mayor of Masterton), and G. R.. Sykes, M.P. At the conclusion, of the addresses, Piper Cameron rendered a pleasing item on the bagpipes, which he had , i composed himself as a welcome to Sir Walter Buchanan. 1 Sir Walter Buchanan, who w.% rereceived with loud and sustained cheering, said there were experiences, now and then, in everybody's life that they felt a difficult task in facing. They could imagine how ihe felt on the present occuisioi!. He : had, in-Jxis experience, been coinpell- j ed to sleep beneath the stars and en- ' dure many of the h&idships of pioneering ; but those were nothing compared wit h the task til at (had fallen upon liim that day. "How can I?" he asked, "how could you, if you were in my place, express yourself at seeing such a crowd to do our for what little service you might have been able to render th'e district?" Sir Water said ho pleaded guilty to having tried, during his long residence in the Wiairarapa, to do his best. He felt, however, that he had fallen far short of what !he would hav6 liked to have accomplished. • When , he .was -a way froan' Jhoaio, he had received letter a iand telegrams from many people, congratulating him on the honour conferred upon ihim by His Majesty the King; One friend had sent him cuttings from forty newspapers, of all shades of political opinion, and ihe was proud to be able to say that tliev were all of a congratulatory character.—(Applause.) Ho hoped ihe would be excused from making a long speech, as he felt that he was imder a sorious disability. During the forty years he 'had lived in the district, the had received nothing tot kindness from the settlers. He hiad realised that he owed a duty to the people, and' bod offered ,his services in local and general politics. | He had fought eleven severely-con-tested political fights, and they had : done liim the honour of electing him to the higlhest position in their gift. I "Despite the keenness of these con- | tests," said Sir Walter, "what do I 1 see today? I see around ,me both friends and opponents, all anxious to tender their congratulations."—(Ap- 1 plause.) Sir Walter stated that after every political contest he had done his Jbest to bury the hatchet. It would be a bad thing for the Dominion if there • were not differences of opinion, for these tended to clear the atmosphere. Although he had been awiay from the Dominion for only a little over six months, he had not ) forgotten New Zealand. lie went, he endeavoured to procure j information which might be of value j to the Bominion. In Italy he had j I seen water-power being used for the driving of their industries, and he felt that New Zealand had a great future before it in what was being done by the Government. > In Canada he had visited various agricultural colleges and experimental farms, and he found that science'was briing brought to bear on every hand. The MaDonald College was situated on five hundred acres of land. It was the gift of one man, and cost a million of money. Ho (Sir Walter) was so impressed with tlio institution that he felt it his duty to seek out the donor and congratulate 'him upon tlio enormous 1 benefits ho had conferred upon his fellow-settlors. He had also visited [

the Agricultural Colleges at Montreal, Ottawa, Guelph, and other places. When he was in London, lie had inspected the cheese that had oomo from New Zealand and Canada, and he found the difference in quality to be remarkable. Why wis it? he asked. It was becauso the Canadians had institutions in which to train their managers. In Now Zenland we had as good quality milk. Wo had pastures that were 11 neqiialied. But wo were losing thousaiu . , of pounds beca'uso we did not adoj , scientific .methods. Tlio telophon • system iii Canada was also an improvement upon that in New Zen land. Instead of settlers being re quired to put telephones 011 to thei' farms, the Government did tho worl of construction and ninintcnance. Si Walter stated that 110 found Nev> Zealand butter in uso throughoin. Canada, and its quality was highly spoken of. New Zealand frozen -neat was also finding its way there, and he (the speaker) was going to ask the Government to set up direct communication between Wellington and'iho western ports of Canada. When in England he (Sir Walter) had enquired into tho condition of the frozen meat, trade. He had expected t<; find great improvements since his 'last visit twenty year s ago; but he 'was sorry to say he was disappoint od. From what ho had learned from tho London, Port Authority, however, lie had reason to think there would l>e great improvements during the 1 next, fivo years. Sir Walter concluded by expressing 'his sincere thanks for tlio cordial welcome accorded liim, and stated that he would do lii s very best in the future to earn the goodwill of his fellow-settlem.f—(Ap-plause.) Throe cheers wero given for Sir Walter Buchanan. ' An interesting and somewhat novel event followed." A man dressed in Highland costume, and representing , "Coire Ceolidh," the Highland leader, preceded by a piper, led a Highland "stirk," or bullock, towards the dais. The animal was decorated with tartan, and bore the Gaelic inscriptions "Gillie Reoch" ("Brindle Laddie" v < and "Do an Seann Duine Grinn ("The Grand Old Man"). The Mayor of Masterton (Mr J. M. Coradine), amidst great laughter, presented the "stirk" to Sir Walter on behalf of-a number of his admirers. Sir Walter Buchanan, in a humorous speech, accepted the gift. He said if it was really a "stirk," lie would invite Mr Coradine and members of th? Committee to come to his house and make a meal off it. The speeches and presentation having concluded, the crowd dispersed and proceeded to witness a game, of hockey, tugs of . war, and other amusements, to shake hands with the knight of Tupurupuru, and to partake of afternoon tea, which was "provided free, and in abundance. During the afternoon, musical items .were rendered by the Carterton Brass Band and the Caledonian Pipe Band. Tho function altogether, was an immense success, and reflected the greatest credit- upon the Committee j by whom it was arranged.