A NEW ZEALAND PEER.

Auckland Star, 2 January 1931, Page 6

A NEW ZEALAND PEER.

There is a strong feeling in the Dominions against local hereditary titles, but no voice will be raised against the peerage that has been bestowed upon the most distinguished of New Zealanders. Sir Ernest Rutherford, who becomes Lord Rutherford, has won world-wide fame as a scientist, and honours have been heaped upon him. He is a member of the Order of Merit, the most exclusive Order in the world, and he is President of _ the Royal Society, the foremost scientific body of its kind. The conferment of a peerage seems to be the final honour that the British Government can bestow upon one who has shed so much light on the structure of matter. The same honour was conferred on the famous Kelvin. Lord Rutherford will probably be too busy to give much time to the House of Lords, but his elevation to the peerage will strengthen the House on the side of science, and his presence there will illustrate afresh the truth that the House of Lords contains a great body of remarkable talent and experience. New Zealand will warmly congratulate its first peer, and it may take some credit to itself for his success. In reviewing Professor CondlifiVs recent book on New Zealand, an American writer described our intellectual conditions as "appalling." Perhaps that is too strong a word to apply to a country that produced Lord Rutherford.