WAIRARAPA PASTORAL SOCIETY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 953, 19 December 1881, Page 2

WAIRARAPA PASTORAL SOCIETY.

The meeting of members of the above Society, judges, stewards, committee, and prizetakera took place at the White Hart Hotel, Carterton, on Saturday, the 17th instant. Some seventy good folks sat down in Host Elliott's dining-room, amongst whom we recognized Messrs W. 0, Buchanan (President), A. Matthews, H. Braithwaite, N. and T. Grace, D. and H. McMasters, R. E. Armstrong, P. P. Tancred, C. H. Gapper, L. Nix, A. Elkins, H. Bunny, R, Goodin, A. Hirshley, B. Hanna, J. H. Grattan, Enoch Barnes, P. Moore, T. Carswell, J. Carswell, T. Wiggins, J. Snodgrass, 0. W. Jackson, Kimherley, Mitchell, P.' Shaw, W, Burt, G. Bowles, C. Tully, k In the course of the meeting the.medals and prizes were duly delivered to the successful competitors hy the energetic secretary and his assistant, Mr R. Fairbrother, who has borne no small share of the brunt of the battle over thalate Bhow, and all cups and prizes were duly christened in bumpers of champagne, et sic de similibus, The President stated they had met together to perform a pleasant task, that of presenting the prizes to the successful competitors at the late Annual Show of ihe Society. It waß in some respeots an unfortunate day, as many were hindered, owing to business engagements, from being present who had the interests of the Society thoroughly at heart. Ha would, first of all, call on the secretary to read the list recording the award of prizes. This having been done, Mr Wollers referred to the lively competition that had occurred at the late Show, and the numerous prizes, far in advance of paßt years, that had been voluntarily offered. The prize offered by Mr C. Phillips as to rabbit extermination had been withheld, as the judge appointed did not consider either of those sent in deserving of having the prize allotted to them.

The President proposed the toast of Her Most Gracious Majesty and the other members of the Royal Family, which was received in the usual loyal manner. The chairman in his address had intimated it was ever met where Her Majesty's subjects met together, Mr H. Braituwaite, in proposing the toast of the suocetsful competitors at the late Show, expressed his gratification at the competition that had taken place for the larger prizes, regretted that in the classes for which subordinate prizes and the certificates of the Society-had been

adjudged a keener competition had not I taken place, He instanced the award of one prize offered-by Mr..Booth-that of j 'he best milch w, Sec. 24, in whioh Mescrs Bidwell, Heir,.- the, only exhibitors in the section, had the prize awarded to them ,for their exhibit. He was quite sure there were ninny farmers whomight' have competed in this class, and he hoped at the next' Show they would t!o so, The shearing match hud also fallen through, only one entry hiivinsr been made. He believed they bad shearers in the Wairarapa District who could successfully compete with any in ihecolnny. Gentlemen fmmthfl South and Wanganuihad remarked the excellence of the sheami" of the sheep yarded at tie lute Show, "and he hoped at that of the ensuing year there would he several competitors in this class on the ground He had much pleasure in proposing the health of the prizetakers at tin' l.tM Show,accompanied with the nanm of M." Tittered

Mr Tancred in rennnndiiiu tn Hie toast on behalf of his fellow pti ze winners and himself, referred to the pride every man interested in the produce of stock must take in exhibitions nf 'his nature, and he trusted every exhibitor was as happy as himself in the meed of micces? he had obtained. He regretted that in the class of sheep he had exhibited he had had nn competitor. There were several breeders of Cotswold in the district, hut. they were diffident of competing lest they should be defeated. If stock producers followed this course out they could never find whether their flock? were good or not, In reference to thoroughbred horses he referred to the fact that the off-casts from racing studs might otherwise be use'ul and generally improve the race of horses in the district.

The President: There are Borne here who have been lamer winners than myself, and we shall doubtless be glad if they will give us a wrinkle bow thev attained the success they have. I got thrashed where I had hoped to ho nmre successful, but I shall take the lesson home and try to improve. It must he a source of congratulation to those who have the success of the Society at heart that we have done so well; it must b e palpable that in uniting the two Societies they have made one permanent one. I will'not refer at length to the difficulties wo have met with, and tho uphill fighting we have had, since, if we s'ick to the work we are gnin« in for a grand success, Some criticisms have beon made as to the paucity of the prizes and specially as regarded agricultural implements. Their fonds, however, had been limited and they folt they must allot moat substantial prizes to stook, looking to the proportion it bore to the remunerative interests in the district, In all cases with regard to agricultural implements, both here and at Home, the nuiker. not the farmer, was the exhibitor, We had no makers here farming was in a comparatively undeveloped stage, insufficient to prompt local makers since the implements could be obtained at a cheaper rate from Canterbury or abroad where tho demand was greater and it could consequently be obtained cheaper. If farmers competed it meant the loib of the instruments fop week at feast, perhaps at a busy season. He, in common with other farmers, was ready to advance, but meantime they must make use of what they had to hand. He could not report much more favorably than in the nast on the state of their finances, but he hoped by next year their debt would be put on a more satisfactory footing and they would have less interest to pay. It mw most gratifying to find the liberal spirit in which private prizes had been given this year all over the Valley, and trusted they would he even more liberal next year. Some from Wellington had Ven i.tf-r."l t a late hour of the day, and '•e thought the example of »he Chamber ot Commeice might well he followed. The merchants of Christchnreb gave a lot of prizes to that show, and he thought those of Wellington might well do so'to theirs, seeing how closoly the interests of the town and country were united. He trusted they would always keep the intarests of the Society before them from one meetiti'! to another. Tfc needed no words from him to point nut its advantages and he trusted th>y would have a big find of improvements at their next meeting, After a few more words in referent to the Meat Froezing Company, and what steps were being taken to procure a shipment, the President, proposed the health of the losers- who had failed to win at the late Show. Speaking for them who had failed lie felt quite sure there was plenty of olnck in them to enter again and again. The Shows pointed out to us our weak poin's, and how we had got beaten. He would like to refer to the display r f fat sheep at the late Show as it was a matter of special congratulation. There was a great difference between sheep stabled, pelted, and fed, on nil cake, &c, and those turned out to grass, By samples of grass-feed sheep, it wruld, he believed, have been almost impossible to haro beaten those lately exhibited.

Mr R, Grace in responding to the toast, hoped next year that the tables might be turned, that the losers would make fresh exertions, and that next year they night be on the other side.

Mr H. Braithwaite said they must one and all be well acquainted with the advances they bad made since Mr Buchanan had been at their head-indeed, anyone must be blind if they did not see it. Till he came to them the Society had made very little advance, indeed, its affairs bad rather a downward than an upward tendency. Mainly I hrounh his energy and perseverance they had heen steedily crawling up d n n n5 - the past two years. The toast he had to propose was that of the President.

The toast having been drunk with musical honors,

Mr Buohanan said he had again to return them his warmest and need hardly tell that anything he had done or miaht do with a view of furthering the interests of the Society or the district was ourely a labor of love, He had all his life been connected with country settlements, and it needed no argument from him to show that the prosperity of the country districts at home and abroad meant the prosperity of the country at large. Most of us had come here to make homes for ourselves, and unless we succeeded we fell short of our object. It was an old saying that the sirubher eats more than a good animal, and it was a plain fact, not outside the truth, and it was the interests of Societies of this nature to get rid of the scrubber. There were thousands of such consuming more and not producing as much as half the same number of good stock would do. Ho felt sure the members of the Society would not go to sleep between the two Shows, but would a once push forward the next one. In a«nin thanking them for the way in which his health h;id been drunk, he could assure them that lie was freely at their disposal to do whatever he could to ensure the success of the next.

Mr N, Grace proposed the health of the Vice-President. While regretting the inability of Mr Boys, through indisposition, to he there to-dny, he felt Bure they would all agree with him' that he had always taken the greatest interest in the welfare of the Society,, ■

The toast having been drunk with musical honors, The President said he was sura with himself they al regretted the absence of Mr Bnya, an with his genial disposition he was always welcome on an occasion like that, and no one had the interests of the Society more thoroughly at heart. On

Ins behalf he returned thanks for tho manner in which the vtoaat had been received, and would ask them t» fill their, glasses bumpers to honor a toast which he knew they would receive right heartily, It had been suggested to him by a face he saw atthe other end of the table'. When going up and down the Valley'he was always glad to see how Mr Shaw did. his work. It had been said farming did not pay, and to a large extent their efforts hitherto had been experimental, Mistakes had been made in. this and in other departments, and success must depend in thoroughly going into the work. This Mr Shaw had done. His farming was in the best style—such a style as he felt sure must pay. He asked them to toast " The farming interest? of the Wairarßpa."

Mr Shaw, in replying, said he had not anticipated his name being coupled with the toast. All he did, he did to see if it would pay. He had been farming here seven years and had always cleared a little. He minded his business and did the best he could. He had been at it since he was a boy, in good country under good instruction. It was a good business and he meant to stick to it.

Mr N, Grace said there was another interest that would be of great importance to the district in the future, and whose success must in a very large measure depend on the efforts of the small farmers. He had much pleasure in proposing the dairy interests of the Wairarapa. The toast was briefly acknowledged by Mr Wiggins. Mr Snodgrass said that a toast had been placed in his hands to which he feit assured they would most heartily respond —that of Mr Booth their Treasurer. As a great deal of his duties had come within his own knowledge he could well testify to the'indifatigable way they had been discharged for the benefit of the Society, . The toast was received with musics honors.

The President said that Mr Booth not being present he begged, on his behalf, to return thanks for the kindly manner in, which the toast had heen received, All would agree with him from what they saw that not only with regard to this Society but the district generally Mr Booth was always to the fore, So far as his personal knowledge went he bdlieved him to be the most liberal man amongst them for advancing the interests of the district.

The President said he had now to propose the health of the Secretary, and it was no empty toast. He spoke no empty words, but from a thorough conviction and personal knowledge he said he believed a great deal of the success of the Society was owing to the exertions of Mr Wolters, Thoy had come there to-day; they might not meet again for two or three montliß, and if, in the meantime, the work was not well done by their Secretary, much time would be lost owing to their not being able to get systematically to work when they did meet. Mr Wolters had helped them sb far as any Secretary could, and he hoped his association with the Society would he a long and enduring one, The Secretary of this or any other Society was no fifth wheel of a coach bat a very principal one, and if he had not the interest of the undertaking at heart success could not he ensured.

The tot having been drunk with musical honors,

Mr Wolters expressed an opinion that, Bpiteof the kind words of their worthy President, the greatest part of the success of the Society was due to the loyal and energetic manner in which the committee had worked together, and they wonld not now be in the position they were if it had not-been for their President. Two years ago they could not pay their expenses; their prizes and medals were in arrear; and now all these liabilities had been cleared off. All the members had done their best to put the Society on a sound financial footing. He thanked them for the manner in which his health had been drunk.

Mr Tailored said there were a class of gentlemen connected with them who were put in a most onerous position. They did the best they could, and, so fat as this Society was concerned, he believed they had always riven satisfaction to the public. He had much pleasure in proposing the health of the judges at the late Show. The President stated that, as none of of the Judges were present, from what he knew from their own and other shows, those gentlemen who placed their time at their disposal were deserving of the greatest honor and praise. He spoke feelingly on the subject, from the diffi culty they bad had for three months in procuring judges—not from the unwillingness of gentlemen to act, but from their inability to spare the time at a busy seaion—and every honor was due to those who made the sacrifice; and he felt sure that they would always receive a hearty welcome whenever they came among them It was always difficult to please every exhibitor—there, must always be a little disappointment, and grumbling; but he congratulated them on it being reduced to a minimum at the late Show.

Mr G. W, Jackson said that many gentlemen had shown that they had the interest of the Society at heart by producing competitions by the donation of private prizes. The more competition there was so much the better was it for the Society and the public at large. This Society could view their past with pride, and had given general satisfaction, He begged to propose the healths of the donors of private prizes. The toast was recced with musical honors.

Mr R. R, Armstrong said the prize offered by him was small in comparison to that given by many others, mit if, as he believed, they were given as heartily as his, he felt sure they had derived pleasure in giving it, and he hoped some days his means would enable him to give more, fle concluded by suggesting to the committee and others the advisability of distributing the prizes over classes not now subsidized instead of each donor giving all to one class. The President stated that, among bo much toast-giving, he would like to give one more. He was glad to find that at the late Show they had had competition from a quarter they had not anticipated —the East Coast settlers—and that one of the successful exhibitors, Mr Fred Moore, was there among them. They all knew him better than he could describe him. He was, he believed, a native of the Wairarapa, and, without saying more, he would propose the prosperity'of the East Coast settlers, feeling assured that, as the roads were improved, they would find not only Messrs Moore and Oarswell, but many others from the' East ConstDistrict, among their keenest competitors,

Mr P. Moore returned thanks on behalf of himself and the Bast Coast settlers, expressing a hope that at the next show that district would, have a larger number of exhibits, and carry off more prizes, Mr Tancred said, after hearing the remarks of the Secretary, he haa[much pleasure in proposing the toast of the Committee, as without them the Show, could not have been brought to a successful issue,

The toast having been received with musical honors Mr' C.H. Gayfor, thanked those present for the hearty, wayih which the Committee's health had been drunk, The Secretary said a great deal oi the success of the Shows had arisen from the laborious manner in which the Stewards had worked, associating the toast with the name of one of their moat infatigable members, Mr L, Nix. All had doqe their

level beit and only thpEe who like himself had been on the ground a day or two before.the'Shbw, and 'seen the Stewards at work,-knows the labor they had had in arranging the'olasses. He bogged to pro* posed the health of the Stewards. The toast having been drank with musical honors was brieiy responded to by Messrs Nix and Grace.. The toasts of the Press and the ladies were proposed by the President and respectively responded to by Mr T. Gole and Mr 0. Tully. The. Presidont having proposed the toast of many meetings like the present the business of the afternoon was concluded shortly before six o'cloek by all heartily joining in " Auld Lang Syne."