PROPOSED BANQUET TO J. B. WHYTE, ESQ., M.H.R.

Waikato Times, Volume XV, Issue 1285, 23 September 1880, Page 2

PROPOSED BANQUET TO J. B. WHYTE, ESQ., M.H.R.

In answer to an invitaf ion from the chairman of the Cambridge Town Board, a meeting of the members of the Cambridge Town, Cambridge District, and Tamaliere Boards was held in the Town Board offices on Tuesday afternoon. The following were present — Messrs. J. P. Campbell, T. Wells and John*tone (Town), S. S. Graham, Snowden and Smith (District), H. Reynolds and Captain Jttunciman {Tamahere). The circular sent to the various Boards read as follows :—: — Cambridge Town Board Office, September, 1880. To— Sir, — It has been proposed to recoefnise the scrvicei of J. H. Whyte, P^sq., member for this district in some public manner. The matter has been brought before this Hoard, and it has been decided to invite your co-operation and that of the members of your Hoard in the matter. A preliminary meeting of those interested will be held at the Town Hoard Office, Cambridge, at 3 p.m., on Tuesday, the 21st instant. Your attendance thereat is particularly requested, and our Hoard will esteem it a favor if you will communicate with the members of yout Board asking- their attendance at the same place and time. It is proposed that a dinner should be given to Mr Whyte, but the form which the recognition of that gentleman's sen ices should assume will, of course, be left to the joint Committee, of which you and your Hoard will form part. — I have, Sec, J. P. Campbell, Chairman. I A similar invitation had also been sent to the Chairman of the Taotaoroa Highway ; Board, but that gentleman had replied stating that no sufficient time had been allowed to enable him to call a meeting of I his Board. He further intimated that he did not consider it to be the function of a Road Board to give dinners to members of Parliament ; such matters should be arranged privately. j The Chairman, (Mr Campbell) said the ' matter had been brought before the Town Board, at which a member of the Tamehcre Board kindly attended and stated that, in his opinion, the country settlers would willingly join in the proposal. It was then decided to take up the matter and ask the co-operation of the members of the three other Boards in the Cambridge district. When a thing of this kind had been mooted an.! had gone so far as to appear in the public press, they could not let it drop, and it now remained for the meeting, the Town Board having done what it could, to put their shoulders to the wheel and push the matter forward to a successful issue. At first a proposition had been made that the affair should be placed under the direction of the chairmen of the two County Councils .and the various road boards in the Waikato Electoral district, but on reflection it was decided to tender the banquet simply as an acknowledgment ©f the services which Mr. Whyte had rendered to the Cambridge district. Mr. Graham did not think the Board would be justified in doing anything of the kind proposed with the ratepayers money. The Chairman said the funds would of course come out of the pockets of the settlers ; the Board's funds could not be diverted for such purposes. Mr. Wells also said it had never been contemplated to use the public funds. Capt. Runciman presumed it had been taken up by the Boards, bacause they were the representatives of the people, and could undertake such schemes with more confidence than any self constituted body. It appeared to him that the chairman of the Taotaoroa Board (Mr Fergusson) thought that money was required from his Board. Mr. Reynolds could not imagine how any one could draw such a conclusion from the circular scut by the' Town Board. Mr. Wells would like very mucli to disabuse the minds of some people who thought the Board could not do this and could not do the other. He contended that the Highway Boards had every rivrht to bring such matters before the public in order to their discussion and ventilation. What would be the progress of any district, were the Boards to htick strictly to their duties as laid down in the Highways Act? Who but the Town Board had got the Domain land handed over to Cambridge, and had they not by their action jrone far to get a better po>t office and couithouse ? Had not the Boards also taken a deep interest in railway matters and in every way thf y took an interest in the conduct of public matters — their duties were defined, not enly in the Highways A ct, but by the public who placed them in office and by whom they were expected to attend to such matters. He thought it fairly came within the province of the Boards to organise this matter, leaving the subsequent steps to be taken by a large committee which could be chosen from all cl-isses. He would like the motions to be brought forward at that meeting to be introduced by outsiders, so that it could not be said it was a Cam-

bridge Town affair. Capt. Kunciman said Mr Whyte had done his utmost for the district in nmny ways, and the most graceful way in which they could ask him to giye them an account of his stewardship, was by inviting 1 him to a banquet. As Mr Whyto's proposer he was somewhat diffident about moving 1 a resolution to that effect, but no doubt some of the other gentlemen present would be glad to do so. Mr J. J. Smith moved "That a public dinner be tendered to Mr Whyte in recognition of the services he had rendered the district, the time and place to be fixed by a committee to be appointed afterwards. " This was seconded by Mr H. Reynolds and carried unanimously. The Chairman presumed the next business was the formation of a committee to cany the above resolution into effect. He thought it advisable to have a large committee, including the members of the Highway Boards and other prominent men in the district Out of this committee could be formed a sub-committee, to whom all the details could lie left. On the motion of Mr Reynolds, seconded by Capt. Kunciman, it was resolved that the committee consist of the members of the four Boards (Taotaoroa to be invited) and the following gentlemen : — Messrs E. Maclean, G. E. Clark, James Halley, W. L. C. Williams, W. Reid, J. A. Douglas, A. Primrose, E. B. Walker, Jno. Fisher, R. Reynolds, Major Wilson, and Captains Steele and McPherson, with power to add. Mr J. P. Thompson was appointed secretary to the committee, and it was resolved that the committee meet on that day week ; seven to form a quorum. This was all the business, and after the usual compliment to the chair, the meeting terminated.

Neddy Challenged. — A vagrant ass stood close to a railway siding the other morning. An engine moved slowly up ; it stopped within a few feet of the ass, and the engineer blew a prolonged and ear-piercing scream. Did the ass shake the sloth from his limbs, erect his tail, and speed away like the asses of Bassorah ? No he did not. He turned one ear towards the engine, just as a deaf man uses hia tin ear- trumpet, and caught every particle of the sound; and, when the steam-blown whistle ceased its notes, and all the echoes died away, the animal straightened out his neck, opened his mouth, and, in a voice that deafened all the railway officials and caused the clerk to drop his pen, roared, " I can't — I can't — I can't — I can't — be beat — be beat — be beat— be beat! Ic — a — n — 'tl»e — be — be —be beat !"