THE DINNER.

Waikato Times, Volume V, Issue 285, 10 March 1874, Page 2

THE DINNER.

Major Jackson took the chair, nnd after the table was cleared of the eatables that were disposed of in u most farmer-liko manner, the chairmnn irnve the usual L>ynl toasts. The Governor 1 ! health was of course drunk. The c -ninnim onid that he expected him to visit this dis'rict shortly ; he knew little of mm personally, but believed that he was fond of yachting and raoing, nnd in addition was a scientific farmer. It. wns expected that Governor Wold, of Western Australia, would accompany him, and ho trusted that the settlers would give them a suitable reception. In proposing the toast " The Army and Nary," the chairman s«id most of those present could, speik to the gallant deeds performed by both sen- ices during thrnar; in fact, the position that he held at the present time was attributable to their gallantry. Major BJair replied for both branches of tho service. In doing so be said that when iirtt lie came to the Waikato (ten yean ago) there were large numbers of troops employed in quelling the native*,, and in conquering tho country that was how occupied by Europeans To them the colonists jwere indebted for the fet-ling of security that accounted for the rapid advance of the Wail.nto. The Maori uhibits thnt clay could not fail to be gratifying to every settler preHcnt, they were evidence th-it the Maoris h»d turned their attention from ths art of war to the more profitable and eatisfacfory struggle for supremacy in the field of industry. The gallant gentleman concluded by thanking the company for the ci r liul manner in which the toast had boon drunk. Mr Andrew Kay proposed the next toast, " Tho commercial intorcritß of tho Waikuto." He wits glad to see that those engaged m commerce had coma liberally forward to I enable the A^oeution to give priz,>« Ihut had been awarded -that day. lie coupled the name of Mr Bright with the toust. Mr Bright roue to respond, and vaici flat ho wa,s at a loss to undcotund why his ntxnio had beon associated with the toait. He was proud, however, to respond ; he had been

connected with couuuurca since Ins arrival in thccolom, an I lie, liko tl'e weichunU and trcders m Auckland, was lwivs lvady to. aasist thosn Qccupird in agricultural and pi tojr 1 pur»inK Tl c sub cnpMons t "it jiad been received wre vr r I) y of the province. He cons'd*ro<l that the sliotr wa" "'it v of thosj who initiated it, nmliof' those wl o ex- I li ilitod ; anJ ho felt confident (but that of each futurJ I yen* would l»a an iinpruvemsiit on <its predecessor. TUo show to-diy Tied with that latelj held in Aurk land, find if the petty differ*fcc*a that at the present time J divided the district hid not existed, he behoved tnatrfifpuld have outstripped it. Tije whole of tJie settlers should unite nnd net ns one. Unity was all that waa required to plac« the district in a position' «t least of equality with any other in tlie colony. Up wished to suggest thit »lib comipittep that had carried t'le show'W such a successful t is9uo should be a |M>r nannnt ono, ready to Tneet and represent t lie district in v!! poMhcnl questions. All that was ncjesaary wasuuity and \ igilant watching of political events. There was at the present timp nn utter want oi. association, and he regretted the fact Mr Mandeno, the Hod .Secretary of the Society, then read tie list of prize*. Mr S Steele gave- the toast of " The Judges." He felt iwtnin that t'neir deoinions hnd Riven satisfaction gauerally. He thought, however, that they had erred in -awarding the first pnzo for horses suitable for agricultural purposes to the sumo animal as bad previously taken • prize in tho heavy draught class. Mr Calvert responded. He said that the show hid afforded him very great pleasure. He believed that they had satisfied themselves, because they had done their be*t to award the prizes to the most deserving horses. He had bpen one of the judges in that class, »nd could only speak authoritatively for himself and his two colleagues ; but from what he had gleaned bv conversation, he believed that the judges in all cla«seshad given aeti fac ion H» thanked the company for having drunk the toast in such a heart? manner. Major Mair was called, upon to reply. In doing so he said that the number and class of the Maori exhibits were p atters for congratulation. Some bad laughed at the initiation of the system, and others had complained of the gift of the £30 for prizes. Many of the exhibit* would compire favorably with those of the settlors. Hi* position n9 a Q-overnm«Ht officer prohibited him ftom touching on political qUAStjpgs, but he considered himself justified in saying tharxn'e xfiO •pent in prizes to-day had don« more good th inJBSOrOOO spent eight or teu years ago in fighting Mr Tieklepenny, another of the judges, also responded briefly. He was of opinion that had the show been held in a more central place, the exhibits would have been greater in number. Many of those who had exhibited would, before they got homo with their stock, have lost five days' work on their farms. Mr Buttle, one of the judges of »heep, also responded. He said he had not had timo to do more than lo >k at the sheep He could say that except in rams the show of sheep was not up to the mark. A good show could have been produced had the settlers united and buried their petty differences. A» regarded his own idea 1 ", he was prepared to work with the majority, no matter where they should decide to hold the show. Had a collector been appointed to canva«s the Cambridge district more money would have been collected. Mr James Ruuciinan said that, aa one of the judge* of implements, the toast that had just been drunk to some extent applied to him. He had to thank those present for drinking the toast. It appeared to him that moie stock equal to that exhibited would have been at the show had it not been for the great difficulty of placing exhibits on the gound. The holding of the show at Te Awamutu prevented mnny who had stock worth showing from being represented. Ohaupo had been spoken of ai the only place in the Waikato suitable for an Agricultural Show ; he differed with those who held that opinion. Remarks had been made by previous speaker* with regard to Maori exhibiti. For hi* part, ho considered some of them a disgrace to those who ought b^ that time to hate ?een that they were better provided with breeding a^ als. Before sitting down he wished to propose a toast that 1 a I b«en placed in his hands, that of " The Successful Compet tor' " He held the opinion that some of the animals that had taken pr zei that day nero a credit to those who extub.ted them ; buL he would iiot sit down without telling a little truth on the other side, — had the whole district been represented, many of the hones would not have fallen on the shoulders of those vs ho were about to take hoire either the red or the blue ribbon that implies priority in rank as breeders or producers. He was aware that his side of the district had come in for no umall share of opprobuun, more psrticultrly from the Ji'crikato Times. There wos some foundation for the attack otherwise the remarks would have been resented. He wished to suggest that future shows should bo held alternately in Hamilton, Te Awamutu, and Cambridge, and that a commiteeo should be formed to repre&ent Waikato. Ho was perfer-tly prepmed to bow to tho decwon of the majority, no matter what that might be. Mr Fisher, who was called upon to reply to the toast, said that Mr Clarke, who had exhibited such excellent cattle was the proper mm to respond. Mr Clarke said he was proud of being in the position to respond. Mr Fiaher bad alluded to the Hereford cattle ho bad shown, Experience had taught him that the Hereford cuttle were eminently suited to farmers in the Waikato, as they wolud keep in condition at the time of year when all otbf 1 breeds were poor and unmarketable. As proof of the fact he could state that neow o( the breed kept fat throughout tho late drought. He kept some of the well-bred cattle for 13 months with the result of £6 profit per bead. Be believed in tho Hereford breed. Mr Walker proposed the health of " The Unsuccessful Competitors." There were few, however, who had not taken prizes that d»y. Mr Roche, M.P.C., bricflyreplied He had exhibitod on principle, and not with the idea that he could take a prize. He did not,' however, intend to bo dispirited. In the country he came from they never said die till they were killed alto* gether. Mr Calvert proposed the toaet " Success to the Central Waikato Asrbciation." He was exceedingly pleaied with the stock he had seen. He was in the district ten years ago, and at that time ho could not have believed it possible that such an exhibition could have been produced. Major Jackson responded. Ho said that ho would be happy to join to have ft show held in the most convenient place, and whs prepared to be guided by the majority. Mr Roche proposed tho health of the visitors, and Mr Proude responded. Mr HollowJw proposed the health of " The Secretary," who, he said, bod displayed no little energy and perseverance, and to him tbt success of the meeting that day was mainly due. Mr Manama responded. He said he was gratified at the success that hid attended the efforts of those who had taken the organization of the show in hand. He regretted the ditision thnt exited, and would be happy to do all in Ins power to bring about unity, and one snow for the Waikato. Mr SherretlJ proposed " Success to the Press." He said that he waa glad to see a representative of the Pre-8 present. He trusted that the next show he had to report would be better than that they had witnessed that day. Mr Jones was called upon to respond. He said that he thanked them for the manuer in which they had just drunk t" Sue, ess to the Press." He thought it wa» an earnest that they valued that institution, and was encouraging to hose who had taken upon them: elves to conduct the Waikato representative paper. He must congratulate them on the success which had attended their exhibition of that day. It bad been thought by many that it would prove a failure because it was the effort of one por ion of the diatrict only, but he did not think such was the case. He had resided in Canterbury for upwards of nine years and had visited the shows held there each season, and although they were of no mean calibre, he had never been present at one where the exhibi a weifl of a higher class than those they had seen that day. But although this bucces3 had been great, it was .not so great as it might have been. If the distiict bad combined he felt sure they could produce & show that would be a credit not only to the diatrict and the province but the colony. There seemed to be a very slight barrier in the way of the accomplishment of tlrs most desirable object. Every speaker at the last exhibition held in th t settlement spoke strongly a/ainst schism and of the necessity of unanimity in order to produce satisfactory results, and those who had spoken that evening expressed the same sentimeuts. He wa» quite aware that little jealousies were no new thing. They invariably existed in districts situated sK ilarly to Waikato. Each little ullage or satthunent was bound up in its own affair?, and recognised no other interests than those that immediately affected itself. The existence of this great evil was mainly attributable to the want of communication of one part of the distnet with the other. Thanks to tho Public Works policy initiated by Mr Vogel we were on the eve of a, better state of things. Roads and railway* were about to be vigorously cairied out in tbe district. It had been definitely nxed that the railway was to be made as far as Ngaruawahia, and the contracts for the bridge over the river at that' township, he believed he was coneefcin stating, ■would be let within two mouths. What route tbe mlway would tsko through Waikato was still unknown to the public ; it was a question that he supposed would bo decided by tbe Government engineer ; but he believed it to bo tho intention of tlic Government to take it thiough the Delta. . He had always favored that route rnoie than the other because ha believed it to be tbe correct ono. He thought so because, on the ono sido of the district they h:»d a navigable liver ; on the other side mob. was not the ease. Theie were Cambiidge Bettlers piesenc, and he felfc sure that those gentlemen wore nob so unreasonable as to wish for that to which tho Delta was better entitled. The toasts of " The Ladies, and Chairman," followed, They were duly responded to and the meeting tb»n broke up. The Host's health was also drunk.

"Who's tbcrc?' 1 aaiil Jenkins, ono colrl winter night, disturbed in Ins teposc by sotuo one knocking at the street door. "A f i lend," wax the an«wer. " Wh^t do you wnnt ? " » Want to atay hera *ll night " " Queer taste, — Btay there by ail meaiw," was the benevolent reply.