, 1892-09-03

tions, which after all are important footsteps
in the history of the parish. | am glad to
have the opportunity of speaking, perhaps a
little more freely than may be exped1ent
outside, in the answers to addresses. Now,
gentlemen, among the effects, that | pointed
out to-day, of our late Exhibition, one very
important result is, I think, the awakening
of a spirit of enquiry everywhere in the
Island and a spirit of unrest. Now / welcome
the spirit of unrest, because out of dissatis-
faction and unrest, if they are accompanied
by a determination to obtain something
better, comes inquiry and improvement
(hear hear.) Therefore | welcome the spirit
even Of queiulous complaint which is not
always ~unaccompanied by strong and un-
complementary language to the Governor,
and at the present time you can hardly help
observing that there is apparent a strong feel
ing of desire for some improvement IN agri-
cultural matters (hear hear.) At least it APP
pears SO to me, Judging from what | see in
the papers, and I know that everything |
see is to be depended on, even the fact
that / opened this market on the 3rd June
daughter. We do see apparent a spirit
of enquiry aud dissatisfaction with,the present
state of aft IRIS, and it behoves us to examine
howl far that spirit will lead to practical re-
suits. At the present moment ! DO do not
see myself that any practical solution has been
put before us. Every man, OF course has a pa
nacea, but even though the theories that ! see
are in my mind unsound, still it is possible
that out of chaos we may find that by and
by the concensus of opinion may enable us to
do something. At present the condition is
something like an incident Of the endeavours
Of q choir in this colony TO improve itself, and
they found unfortunately, that the time was
not being taken in the same way by every
body. One lady determined to be IN the
right, took her own metrOnome and, having
done so, sang according to it. The others
however, sang to their own time, and the result
was that things were as bad as ever laugh
teri In this question & good many people
have come in with their own metronomes and
they have not got them pitched to the same
tune, but | hope by and by they will get
them right. There is only one thing agreed
upon, and that seems to be that the Govern
ment should begin to do something (hear,
hear. You say Hear, Hear" but l am
bound to say that that is not my view. |
think that we ought to begin by having a
little evidence of the desire of the people that
something should be done. (cheers) There
is nothing more easy in an agitation and eX-
preston of opinion Of this kind, there will
be nothing more easy than for the Governor
to throw himselfhearU and soul into it and per-
haps induce the Legislative Council to start an
agricultural department, and it is just possible
that that proposition, crude as it may be,
might pass through the Council, and when, to
my sorrow, l have to go away in two
years, l could go with all the glamour Of no.
velty and expectation of this new department
before the people began to realise that they
had got something which costa great deal OF
money and from which possibly they may
get very little result. / know there age
circumstances under which it may be neces-
sary to make a great show for a short time.
The Exhibition garden was a case in point.
We we're to have an exhibition, and we want
ed to show a beautiful garden to the stran-
ger and visitors who came here. We got
tree removers and transplanted great palms,
40 or so feet high, and we put them in the
ground, and they were beautiful to look at
and were universally admired. But, gentle
men, we knew there were no roots to these
palms and at the present moment the Exhl-
Dlton is being taken away and these trees are
dying. And SO it is with the public depart
ment Of this kind. / want to see the seed
sown in the proper soil, the minds of the
people, and / am satisfied if / can see that
that seed has taken root and can leave it
in the sure and certain hope that the roots
will spread in tho minds of the people and
that in the fulness of time the branches
will expand and that it will bear fruit (hear