HIS HOME TOWN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 81, 7 April 1937, Page 11

HIS HOME TOWN.

MR; JORDAN HONOURED FREEDOM OF RAMSGATE. A PICTURESQUE CEREMONY. (Special to the " Star.") LONDON, March> 19. -Yesterday was a red-letter day in'the life of New Zealand's High Commissioner, Mr. W. J. Jordan, the day on which the town of his birth, Ramsgate, on the south-east coast • of England, honoured him with the presentation of its Freedom. ' By 'Act of Parliament, honorary Freedoms can only • be .conferred for outstanding merit In the case of Ramegate only eight Freedoms have been bestowed, and • only one" in addition to Mr. Jordan's,has. been presented to anyone outside the ranks of former Mayors,- -the other exception being Field-Marshal Viscount Allenby. Mr. and Mrs. Jordan went from London by train in the morning to Ramegate, being aceo:npanied by Mr. and Mrs. Walter Nash and Mr. C. J. Wray (as the representative of the New Zealand Society). They were met at the station by the Mayor" (Alderman H. Stear) and the town clerk (Mr. H. G. tained at a private civic lunch, and then conducted to a large public hall (Ramsgate has no town hall) wlicie at 3 p.m. the ■ picturesque Freedom ceremony was held. There, on a raised platform, seated in semi-circular tiers, were aldermen in red "robes edged with'black, and" councillors'in blue, while .about 400 people crowded I>he body of , the hall. Among the more jdistinguished were the Mayors s jpf j -Canterbury atujt Margate and the* cfiaTrmen' "of ' several contiguous" urban counties. ' Apologies for absence were received from Mr. Malcolm Mac Donald (Dominion's Secretary) and a number of others. Handsome souvenir booklets of the occasion were distributed.

When the' aldermen and councillors 1 had' taken their seats, the Mayor, 1 deputy-Mayor, chaplain and Mr. and c Mrs. Jordan were conducted to their places in the centre of the row of aldermen. The Formal Resolution. The begowned and bewigged town clerk.read the resolution passed by the council on March 4 as folldws: "Pursuant to the 'Local "Government Act,' ' 1933, we, the Mayor, aldermen and burgesses of Ramsgate do hereDjf admit William Joseph Jordan, Esq., rfative of the borough, to be honorary Freeman of the borough, to commemorate the occasion of his return to England as High Commissioner for New Zealand, and as a token of the pride of the inhabitants in the distinguished position attained by their follow townsman in the public service of the Empire." Speaking to this resolution, Mr. G: W. Twigger, who had proposed it, said all present would heartily' agree with him when he.expressed the pleasure they all felt at the conferring of "the Freedom ..,.of their borough on Mr. Jordan. There was a sense of pride amongst them that a Ramsgate lad, born in 1879, should return in 1936 as the leading representative in Britain of one of the great Dominions of the British Empire. .(Applause.) This wae no mean achievement. "We- have given j the Freedom of the borough in the past, with one exception," added the speaker, "to those who have served the borough locally. But Mr. Jordan went forth as a Ramsgate man in the true spirit, and succeeded in achieving a position; and it is because of that,' and not for local service, that we want to ehow our esteem for him. Hie example also should be an . inspiration to the youth of the borough." Mr. Jordan had found the lady of hie life in New Zealand, and in Mrs. Jordan they, were sure, now that they had met her, that he had a real pal, and an inspiration to go forward when the setbacks that always came to men in public life discouraged him. (Applause.) Alderman C. Nixon, tall and elderly, j the seconder of the resolution, said the two.- motives actuating him in this had been the distinction Mr. Jordan had brought on Ramsgate, and the fact that he was the grandson of his (the speaker's) old "Sunday school superintendent, and the valued friend of his own father. (Applause.) What the Freedom Is. The Mayor now rose and said he had, on many occasions, been asked what the Freedom of the Borough was, and what it was worth. There! was no royal road to that Freedom; mcthey could not buy it. (Applause.) ' It was an honour which the borough was ready to confer upon a Ramsgate citizen who was worthy of the highest praise. "Ramsgate," said the Mayor to Mr. Jordan, "has had its imagination captured by your career. You left Ramsgate with no financial backing, with no assistance from influential friends. You travelled to our farthest distant colony, and have seen it rise to the dignity of a selfgoverning Dominion. (Applause.) You yourself have assisted the progress of that land, and now you have returned to the Mother Country as its High Commissioner. The people of Ramsgate are , proud of you and your achievement. We , are also proud that during the late war

you came with the New Zealand Division to fight for your Motherland. . WeTwish you and. Mrs. Jtydan happiness in the yeare ahead. You will always receive a hearty welcome to. Ramsgate." - With a small Bible in his right hand Mr. Jordan then took the customary oath, repeating it after the Town Clerk. He swore to be true and'faithful to'the King, to be obedient' to' the Mayor of Ramsgate, to be "partner in all things touching the said borough' as in summonses, contributions, ' and all other charges, as a Freeman;" also, that if he knew of "any congregation, affinity, or.assembly mside against the King's peace" he , would give timely notice ■ thereof to the Mayor. -. ' The Mayor then presented Mr. Jordan with the certificate of the Freedom — an engrossed scroll —and called on him to sign "the deed of agreement." Mr. Jordan Replies. It was obvious that Mr. Jordan felt the strain of the moment and the effect of the loud cheers and applause when he rose. He expressed his thanks to the Mayor, aldermen and councillors for the very great kindness that had been extended to Mrs. Jordan, himself and his relatives and friends on this very memorable occasion. He felt both proud and humble, and if he tried to express his gratitude he should not do it sufficiently well to tell all that was in his mind. To the speakers he gave his thanks for their refernces to the Dominion he represented, and for the kindly thinge eaid of Mrs. Jordan who, all the way through, had been a pal in the real sense, and who, when the political battle was hard, had always a cheery: "Never mind, you'll do all right!"

Mr. Jordan recalled eeveral incidents and personalities of half a century ago, eliciting laughter and applause; and he spoke of one or two milestones in,his own life. He was proud to belong to etock which had played its part in the lifeboat adventures of the port. His good mother wae still alive—Bs years of; age. He felt keenly that in honouring him that day they had honoured the far distant country of ..New Zealand. (Applause.) He oiftly prayecT that no action of his would" ever mar the lustre of the honour they had conferred upon him, or bring discredit upon the district which was the home of his ancestors and hie birthplace. He again thanked them for the presentation of the Freedom and for the beautiful casket in which the scroll was enclosed. (Applause.) Presentation to Mrs. Jordan. Mrs. Jordan was then the centre of attention, the deputy-Mayor saying that the borough felt she had played her full part in her husband's career, and they therefore asked her to accept a eilver model of the Ramegate lighthouse bearing a suitable inscription. They wished her to have it as a happy souvenir of the town and of the present occasion. (Applause.) Mrs. Jordan expressed h.er own personal thanks in a happy little speech. The proceedings ended with the playing of the National Anthem. The certificate of freedom presented to Mr. Jordan wae enclosed in a really magnificent gold and silver casket about 18in Ion:: and !Mn high and surmounted on its oval top with a replica of the Ramsgate lighthouse. On two eidea of the casket were respectively the Xew Zealand and Ramsgate coat-of-arms, and typical views of Ramsgate in colour. An inscription on the casket commemorated the occasion, and was signed by the Mayor and town clerk. Mre. Jordan's present' was inscribed: i "Presented to Mrs. W. J. Jordan upon I the occasion of the presentation of the I Freedom of the Borough of Ramsgate to her husband, the High Commissioner for New Zealand, March 18, 1937. Harry Stead, Mayor. H. 0. Curtis, town clerk."