COMPLIMENTARY DINNER TO MR THOMAS RUSSELL.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 742, 20 March 1877, Page 2

COMPLIMENTARY DINNER TO MR THOMAS RUSSELL.

On Saturday • evening, under the presidency of his Honor Mr Justice Gillies' the president of the Northern Club, about, sixty members of that institution assembled m the dining-room, with Mr Kussell as the guest cf the evening. After dinner, and the toest of the Queen, the Chairman proposed the health of Mr Kussell m a brief speech, alluding to hia many associations with Auckland, his intimate con"ection witn the progress of tbe province and with some of the leading public insfti- [ tutions of the colony, which have displayed a growth add success exceeding the expectation of tha sanguine. The judge also leferred to the politiral caver of Mr Ruscell, pointing out how he had taken part m the government of the colony at a time when the services of energetic men were necessary • and alluding m terms of praise to the originality and en-rgy of their guest, the success which he had a -hieved for himself, and m securing which he had also aided m forwarding the progress of Aucklaiv" and the colony. Though not born m New Zealand, Mr Russell cause to it when very young, and he mi ht be fairly said to have been reared and bred m this colony, and m that sense was a New Zealauder ; one of whose seivi'es the colony might well be proud. He concluded by expres-ing a hope that though Mr Russell was now onlj on a brief visit co New Zealand, he would m a short time return to stay m it permanently. Th° roast was warmly received with repeated t^heer?. Mr Kussall, wl«o was greeted with loud applause, signified his high sense of ih^ tiomplitnent conferred upon him by the Northern Club. He assured the gentlemen present that he fully valued such an expression of their sentiments, and when he iookod around and remembered whit Auckland was wbea he fir.-it caw it -then quite a youth. —he had great faith m the progres* of the coluny. it was now six j and thirty years since ha arrived m Auck-land,—-before a single acre of the lund m tiie city had changed hands, or a single allotment, had been purchased. He remembered siiling up m a canoe under what is now the foundation of the Bank j of N.nv Zealand, m Queen-street ; ha I had seen a dray hopelessly stuck m the mud of the harbour opposite what is now ! Messrs Brown and Campbell's and he had known home 1 cattle being swamped m what is now the most populous part of Queen-treet, then a quaking hog. From these beginnings and those early days, Aucklaud, overcoming physical difficulties and early commercial obstacles, has grown to what it is now— from bein^ a place with only two roughly-huilt houses m it I a3 he remembered ifc, to a lar^e, wellbuilt, and flourishing city, surrounded by growing suburbs, which are now really parts of the town, and each of which, if separated, would make a respectable town snip of itself. If this had been its advancement within the last thirty-six years, during which there were many obstacles to overcome, he felt sure that the energy and means, and tho many natural advantages possessed by the colony, would eventually carry New Zsaland to the foremost rank among the colonies of ths Empire. At present m EngUad there was considerable attention directed to New Zaaland. We had a very considerable debt, and the bondholders have made now and then anxious inquiries as to the state of the colony. Happily theso inquiries resu te 1 m their obtaining ample information regarding tke position of the coloay. its prospects and assets, which perfectly satisßad the enquirers. And when we saw how mmy p JO plo there were who sought New ZeaUu-i, to find their homes for themselves and their families ; and when »c found that not only were people oomine, but large amounts of capital were seeking investment m thia colony, that trade was progressing, our population increasing, and our agricultural and commercial wealth improving .-—when we saw all that h»d been accomplished up to this time : when «c conaidbied all the improved appliances and machinery for social acd material progress, aud intornal and external com

municatioo,! which are nov available, what may we got expect' thg_ colony to accoin plifh v^iiltU^ma^^S^jSy, jeira , during wßfeft' he E^J^^Pfartb that still greater str^cs would betaken ?' (Cheers.) As fur hiirivolf, he. »)$».. d v iitfer a few years}.ab3ence to rotnri&tp ; N*% Zealand Heje hia:-connectinhß M^'fcrfl cfoMat ; his an^ottonsV were ce nWrt' here^wuid his means inceste,!,; nnd ifcre ho/vfa'ild rereturn, ap(l become a pcrmaplVt resident m th« colony., (Ohegrs .) : * - Captain -• Commanrlanh HaisnULflug, Captain- Lieutenant; Schulfc z <\ and Lieutenant Graf Von Jivndiasen, of li.l.M.'a Atiuusta werogiiesta on the occasion. ~ ' Herald.' -