THE MINISTERIAL VISIT.

Inangahua Times, Volume X, Issue 1510, 16 February 1885, Page 2

THE MINISTERIAL VISIT.

Banquet at Reefton. I Conclusion of Pkpoit.) The chairman proposed the toast of •« The House of Representatives.'" and eono'.xl with it the names of Mr S>*d don', M.II Ft., and Mr Levestam, M.H.R. He .said it became him to say something of his knowledge of the gentlemen named. He had only known them personally fov a short time. Mr Seddon had one ciiiracteristie — his extreme modesty, (Great laughter) aud he (the speaker) f-.lt; suie that ii that gentleman ever joined the Ministry he would never ask for anything for his own oonf *.i*.ueut-y. (Laughter). In Wellington during tin* session Mr Seddon wis always busy, • and his whole eiy appeared to 'ne j Kumara, Kumara. Kumara. As to jMr Levcstam, he was not so large I physically, bat for modfsty hu com peted on level t. lvn.s '.villi the member for Kumara. (Laughter and Applause.) In tho matter of railway coniuiunication Mr L.-vestam had taken an active part, and the Nelson and West Coast people had ba<>n fortunate in enlisting the sympathies c f two such advocates as Mr Levi-stam and Mr Field. (Loud Applause.) Ml* Levestam was undoubtedly brimful! of the subject and the energy he had brought to bear on tin* question was deserving of the highest praise. (Applause). Mr Seddon ia reply sail his natural modesty had prevented him from rising uutil a sufficient time had , elapsed to catch his hi oath. The ides of a dissertation upon modesty from tlu ' Chairman of the Inangahua County Council had quite taken away hii breath. (Laughter). Concerning tht present Parliament something had been said in disparagement It ha; l>een said unfairly, and he thought i had been said untruthfully. If wi were to believe that statement w«* hat for the first time in tbe history of tin Colony a drunken Parliament. Jus 5 fancy ; a drunken Parliament with i teetotal Premier — he might say i teetotal Ministry. (Applause.) Fo himself, "-peaking with some know ledge on the subject, he could sa; ) i he never saw anything hi tho llou<=e o the conduct cf rr."inbers that. *.vou'.:i it I any way justily tuui sw^-ping a-u ' I unjust assertion, and it devolved upoi the Premier to take tha earbi^tt oppor tunity upon the reassembly of member; to clear tiie ll*. use of tiiat dan-.a<j:n : : and degrading insinuation. If tlu assertion was made m malice it shonh be punished, and if done in frivolin l I its utter falsity should be proved tc the world. (Applause). He explainer how in his ..pinion the charge arose It, so happened last session that then . j was in the House a man wln.se nam' , was a household word throughout th* length and breadth of New Zealand — a rnnn who was honored and respeeted both inside and outside of tin* House — a man who had done mor* ' r for the Colony than perhaps any othet j who had taken part in public affairs, Owing, however, to an afiliction h« I was denied the free usa of his limbs, and a gentleman named *' How . lings " presented bim with a perambulator of large size. The vehicle was placed in one of the lobbies and a visitor from on** of the other Colonies who happened to see it there inquired its use, and was told by a wag it was for the 5 Seargeant-at-Arms to convey incapa- ' hie members home. (Laughter) The ■ editor of the Sew Ztalmd limes »fot ' hold of this ridiculous story and * straightaway carr.e a paragraph referred 5 to. (Laughter aud applause). He : would, however, s.iy this ! He had * been a representative of the West Const for six or seven years, and although he would not compare the present House with the Parliament ' rnent of 1579 in all respects, he could afilrm that since then the personnel ox the Hoiis* had no* deteriorated. (Applause.) The present Parliament was not one of which this or any other Colony could feel ashamed. In a congregation of nearly a hundred members thei « would be a diversity of habit and differences were bound to exist, but its character as a whole was not to be judged by isolated examples. The impression of the majority of the present House was that Sir Julius Vogcl and Mr Stout were the best men we could have at the head of the ad ministration, and iv all representative government majorities runs; rule, and lie hoped that the few words addressed by the Premier when he asked to give them a fair and impartial trial would bear fruit (applause), and the majority would then decide whether he was justified in the selection he had made. (Applause.) The Premier had spoken of the resources of this district and had blamed him (tiie speaker) for not having giveu a more poetical description of the scenery of tho West Coast. He always adhered to the practical ; he had never gone into the sky in order to point out our natural beauties. He considered his fib st duty was to imbue the House with a knowledge of the men oo the West Coast — to show thnt they were men able aud willing to do, and doing their duties as colonists, and when he had thoroughly succeeded in doing that, and had any spare time left, he might Jien go in for the poetical. (Loud Applause.) The Premier had said we were not troubled with tourists from all parts of the world, for what he had Kcni would surprise anyone. Just | fauoy Mr Gladstone making a tour in his constituencies and pelting stuck in

the middle of Larry's Creek. (Load Laughter and Applause. ) The Premier seemed to have fot gotten that littlo incident, but he could assure him that if Larry's Creek had been a few inches higher when it happened there would , ha-*** been no more tourists to the j W est Coast, and certainly no occasion I for some of the leading toasts that ; night. (Prolonged laughter). However, he trusted tliat little circumstance would induce the lVtniei t > r**meml*«r ! Larry 'a Creek, and do for us what Sir j George Grey did when he visited the ' We«t Coast. (Applause). It had been ; said that what the railways wer« to j the levels of Canterbury, roads and • bridges were to the West Coast, and ; when we considered that, there was "too excuse for the Governnitmt to leave any portion of our main road from | Nelson to Jackson's Bay uubridged, I (Applause.) Something had been said about Ministers being judged by their acts. It had been fairly put "by the i' v*nier tliat nut a sufficient time had y. t elapsed to see if the Government 1 wiil give effect to their promises. The , Premier was bound however to him to giv* attention to the mining industry. aiid the hon. the Minister of Mines hud said be had come amongst you to be taught, and it is your duty then to teach him your wants. He differed I from tlie Government in soma of I their methods, but he believed they | meant well for the goldfields. He ■ held one of the first things they should : do was to relieve the people of some of ■ the outrageous taxation levied upou goldlieids communities. (Applause.) , He would submit a few figures which ought not to be lost upon the Hon. tlie Minister of Mines. He showed that * ' tliere were 71 mining leases in occi- * pation in the luangahua, embracing an ' area of 1537 acres, the annual rental charged upon which was £1,314; m ' addition to this 52,755 was contributed 1 last yea- in gold duty by this district, 1 and £2.101 in goldfields revenue, * making together a total of £6,222. - ; Iv addition to this the same persons r also paid £1922 2s 5d in other forms * of taxation. Those figures spoke for R themselves, and as the contribution of 1 some 500 adult persons to the yearly 1 revenue of the country, there was no •* place in the known world that could p compare with it (Loud Applause). > He defended the miners from tha H imputation that tiny were of a roving * disposition It was possible te drive ft any class out of the country by neglect a cf legislation and by over taxation, r but the miners were the best colonist the conntry possessed. In conclusion y he had made a long speech because h«*> r knew they expected one and it would 1 have li.* : ! a pity to disappoint them. 1 Laughter). He thanked them heartily 1 for +he toast. iLoud Applause). ■- | Mi* L^vtstam followed. He be- **> lieved the present Government were ? doing their best for the Colony and hud b Iris support. All ths contend in,? i political parties of last; session were *•" now fused together, because it was felt : » that the present Government were 1 doing what was right. The great * question to l»e dealt witii was that of 3 Local Government. He regretted thai ? tlie Provincial system had been * ; abolished and would nuver be satisfied I : uutil it was restored. * j Mr Hankin proposed " The County * Council " He considered the County ' system was an improvement upon "* Provincialism, but required amend- * : rnent. The Councils should have » . larger powers a..d extended revenues. , : The County Chairman replied. In -■ this County there was 110 miles ef ■ \ main road carrying a much greater "■ traffic than the Chnstobureh-Hokitika k i road. He dwelt particularly upon the * necessity for a bridge over the Lett- ' '. hand Branch, affirming that the traffic * ; b-tw&en Reefton and Boatman's was ; greater than on a. .y other equal length ' ' of road on tne West Coast. : | A number of other toakts were proI possd and duly responded to, the. comj pauy separatins at about 2 a.m.