The Premier on Industrial Enterprises.

Mr Stout said: Mr Macdonald, ladies and gentlemen,—I have to declare that this corner stone of the woollen mills has been well and truly laid. Before I make a few remarks upon this occasion, I have first to thank very sincerely the directors of the Woollen Company for the honor they have done me in asking me to perform this most interesting ceremony; and I can assure them that the most valuable presentations they have made I shall ever retain and hand to my children as a memento of this occasion. (Cheers.) Now let me say one or two words first about the site of the works. I have been warned by Mr Macdonald that the day is so fine and the lunch is so fine that this is not a time for much speaking. I cannot forbear, however, from saying that of all the sites of the woollen mills I have seen I do not think there is any site, not only in this colony, but in any of the polonies, that can at all compare with it. I don't need to speak of the natural scenery with which it is surrounded, although even that, I believe, should not be neglected in our homes or manufactures; but here everything that is possible Nature seems to have given, suitable for this enterprise. We have not only a situation near the sea, making drainage easy, so that there can be no injury to any of the inhabitants, but we have here a never-failing supply of most magnificent water, which is of considerable importance in an industry like this. And now, let me say one or two words as to what the purport of this ceremonial is. You have been told that this is the first woollen mill in the North Island. I think that the fact of our having woollen mills in our midst marks an era in our industrial progress. There are on this platform gentlemen who came to this colony before I was born, and who can remember when the chief outlet for the employment of the population was whale-fishing, and perhaps bartering goods with the Maoris. But we soon passed that stage. We began afterwards the agricultural era and the pastoral development which has attained to such very large proportions. Then we had our mining, our gold fever, and after that decreased somewhat, although we still had with us not only our whale fishery and our pastoral and agricultural development and mining, we began to pay attention to industrial enterprise. And this is, in Wellington, I hope the beginning of further industrial enterprise, and the beginning of what may truly be called a new economic era. And now, let me say one or two words as to what is implied in that. First, there is this implied—and I hope we will never forget it—that there can be no true greatness in a nation unless it has industrial enterprises. (Cheers.) Let us look at the tiling from a purely educational point of view, and from its intellectual side, casting away from us the economic effects and its wealth-producing effect. We find that in history in the present day, where are the countries where there is the greatest mental activity? That it is to be found not in those countries which depend on their raw products, not in those countries which only pay attention to agricultural or pastoral pursuits, but we find the greatest intellects and the highest scientific advancement only in those countries where there are many industrial enterprises. Where are the countries that have developed in Science and Art in recent years? Where they have developed industrial pursuits; and if New Zealand is to have any standing among the nations of the world, she must pay attention to them and have many manufactures in her midst. (Cheers.) She will be a poor country, not only in regard to wealth, but mental energy and intellect, if she is simply to ship away wool and grain and gold. She must be far different in her development. Then there is another point of view, even if you look at it from its wealth point of view. The old maxim tells us that we should never put all our eggs in the one basket, because if anything happens to the basket the result will be that the eggs will be smashed, and we should have to go without our eggs for dinner. (Laughter.) It is just the same with industrial pursuits. In what position are the countries that have to depend on one or two industries alone? The more you separate your industries the better you will be from a material happiness point of view. Then there is another thing in reference to this question that we also should not forget, and that is this: it may be said that notwithstanding the existence of this colony for so many years, we are only beginning to realise that we are founding a new nation. We have heard it asked, "What are we to do with our sons and the youth growing up among us?" If you wish to promote an outlet for the employment of the race of New Zealand you must have industrial enterprise. They cannot remain here if New Zealand is allowed to continue a country where only raw products are produced. I don't undervalue the production of raw products, but we must cast our eyes into the future, and remember that after all the nation is something like a family; and where would the pathos be in a family, where would be its happiness if you had not in the family circle the young, the weak, and the inexperienced? So it is in national life, and if you are to have true national life in the future you must look to these weaklings and these weak industries amongst you that require Government care just as the weaklings in a family require the care of the father of the family. (Cheers.) That is the only way in which industry has been promoted. Let us go to history. Can you point to the history of any nation where it has not paid attention to its industrial resources which has progressed? Take England, take Germany, take any nation that has risen to any height of national life, and you will find that it was the continual care of that nation to look after its industrial enterprises, and do what it could to foster them. (Cheers.) So we must do now if we are to progress at all in [unclear: tional] life and national wealth. Now, there is another thing that we must remember, and that is this, that all our population may not be suited to the mere production of wool or grain, and we must also recollect this, that as we promote manufacture and enterprise we create, as has been pointed out by an American writer, not extensive farming but intensive farming, which means that every industrial enterprise you start you call into requisition more farmers and more small farmers, and you at once provide employment, which you would not otherwise do, that is if you have the whole country parcelled out into sheep farms. So don't imagine you are interfering with fanning, which will increase tenfold, Where, after all. page break are the best farmers? If you take the records of New York State where there are large manufactures and enterprises, you will find that the average size of farms is small, and the average wealth of farmers is large; so that side by side with manufacturing development you will have agricultural development; and I hope no one in this country will imagine there is any such thing as a disparity of interest between the agricultural interest and manufacturing enterprise. The one goes along with the other, and if you have the one you will have the other even to a larger extent than you have had in the past. (Cheers.) Now, from ceasing to look at this question from a national point of view, let me say one word in reference to it from a Wellington point of view. I don't think there need be any quarrelling or any undue competition between the various woollen companies in this colony. I hope the time will come when what has happened in England and Scotland will happen here. They each have a mill with its own specialty. There are Scotch tweeds and West of England tweeds; and just as you have in this Province of Wellington very few merino sheep, you are distinguished for crossbreds, and you will find that just as you have a difference in pastoral pursuits so you will have a difference in industrial enterprises, and each manufactory will have its specialty in the future. (Cheers.) Then I have heard some people say that Wellington, from its magnificent harbour—and it has a magnificent harbour—and from its being placed so to speak, in the centre of this colony, giving it a chief position for a chief distributing port, is specially designed by Nature for being the commercial entrepot of this colony. The very fact of its being placed in the centre of the Islands ought to make it par excellence the seat of manufactures instead of the people looking to commerce alone. If you do that you make the mistake of putting all your eggs in one basket. You have here all the things that tend to make manufactures easy. You have water and you have climate, and the latter is of enormous importance. You neither have it too hot in summer nor too cold in winter, and I believe that circumstance will render New Zealand the home of industries for the whole of the Pacific and even Australasia, because we can do the work here with less physical strain than the manufacturers in other parts of Australasia. The only thing you want, perhaps which you have not got is a coalfield close to you. But, as Mr Travers has pointed out, if you have a railway running in a direct line from Westport to Picton you will have a coalfield quite close to your doors, and can compete successfully with any portion of this colony. Let me ask those who are young, and those who are strong, to look upon industries in the same way that men used to look upon fighting in the past. In the past it was thought there was no glory except in fighting and in war. If a person wished to distinguish himself in glory it was only by fighting. But why should we not have captains of industry and industrial development as well? (Cheers). If we train our youth to look to industry as something in which they could excel, and if, when we give any mission to our offspring we told them that to strive to do something for the industries of the colony was the highest thing to look to, we would have a far different colony than in the past. (Cheers.) If the people of Wellington would think of the grand future yet before this magnificent harbour and the advantages from the situation of the city, as the Corporation motto says, I believe they would go with more heart and hope into their work; and I need not tell those present here to-day that if the early settlers had not been tired with hope, and had not had faith in the future of the colony, the country would never have reached the development that we have reached to-day. (Cheers). And I ask those who have recently come to this colony not to be down-cast for any temporary depression or want of work there may be. Let them look into enterprises like this, and if they do they will be doing something for their adopted country. (Cheers). I ask the ladies and gentlemen here to take an interest in our colonial industries. I was much struck with a certain meeting of the Trade Union held recently in Dunedin. They passed a motion in favor of protecting local industries, and afterwards they went as a deputation to Mosgiel, to the Woollen Factory, and represented their views. The manager, who is a countryman of mine, after looking at them very carefully, said, "Men, nane o' your clathes are colonial tweeds." (Loud laughter). I say you can put this matter to the test. If you are to aid colonial enterprises think of the family relationship, and even if you have to pay a little more for it you ought to aid our local industries; and our ladies, instead of importing fine clothes can get what they require here, and if we all bought our colonial tweeds we should not need, as Mr Macdonald tells us has been done, to establish agencies in Australasia for the sale of our goods, because there would be sufficient demand for them in New Zealand. Let me tell you what happened in Australia. The Geelong factory started and made very good tweeds. I remember myself getting some tweed from there. The cloth was sent Home to Yorkshire, and the mills there imitated it that the people of the colonies could not tell but what it was real Geelong tweed. (Laughter). This may be likened to the tribute that Vice paid to Virtue, but the cloth was not equal to the genuine article; and I know that in the case of the Mosgiel factory they are afraid to send exhibits to the Colonial Exhibition lest the manufacturers at Homo should copy their goods and send inferior articles to this colony. That is an enormous disadantage which we in the colony have to meet. I ask you, therefore, who wish to see industries supported, to think of the family question, and do what you can by encouraging the use of colonial manufactures, to give support to those men who have expended their time and money in starting the enterprise, so that neither their labor nor capital may be wasted for nought. (Cheers). Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you very much for the exceedingly patient hearing you have given me in spite of the lunch that we are reminded has been waiting. (Loud and prolonged cheers).

Three hearty cheers were afterwards given for Mr Stout, also for Mr Turnbull, the architect.