HONOURING AN EX-MEMBER

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 14326, 11 April 1912, Page 6

HONOURING AN EX-MEMBER

Tin* gathering at Methven last night was » sufficing proof that in that part of the Selwyn electorate, as elsewhere, the late member retains all his old popularity. It was indeed a notable compliment which his friends paid to Mr Hardy. His hosts entile from all parti of the district, nnd beyond it, while the giio.stjs included Mr Massey from Auekhiml, Mr G. M. Thomson from Dunedin, nnd three oilier members of the Reform Party in the HouseThe tributes paid by the various speakers io Mr Hardy's worth as a man and a neighbour, and to the value of his services as member for the district, wero amply deserved, and the general feeling of regret at his absence from Parliament at the present juncture will be intensified by his announcement that ho doe.s not intend to contest the seat again. The news "will ho no surprise, to Mr Hardy's personal friends, for ho has made no secret of his conviction that the time has arrived when he should retire from the absorbing turmoil of politics, but they havo hoped against hope that he would re-; consider his decision. Now. however, that lie has ma.do that decision public, no doubt with the view that it .should he accepted as absolutely final. it must he admitted that he has v/ell earned the comparative leisure which he ivill now enjoy. No one whti knows Mr Hardy will take .seriously his assertion that he is "a '• back numbc'if'; ho, is not the style of man who will ever he that as long as ho •lives, and although ho is approaching the "three score years and ten," ho has the vigour'and energy of a much younger mrin. Jitit few men in New Zealand have, during the past thirty years, given more, time and labour to tho public, than lie. For moro than a generation he has been a prominent figure on local bodies, particularly those dealing with education, and during the twelve, years ho wa.s in Parliament he gave ungrudgingly of his best to the servico of tho country. As Chief AVhip of the Reform Party he was invaluable, and no man did better or more conscientious work in the committeo rooms, .-whero so much of the really useful work of Parliament is done. If ho chose to stand again for the .Selwyn scat, he would, wo believe, be returned by a larger majority than he ever before placed to his credit, but ho hns certainly earned the right to say that ho has finished with election ; campaigns. Possibly, as Mr Massey j hinted, this- is not to say that he has ; wholly done with political work or that I his services aro to bo lost to _sew Zealand. For the present, however, ho retires from tho political field, cheered, Iwo trust, by tho knowledgo that ho takes with him the affection of a large, circle of friends, the warm appreciation of those for whom, and with whom, ho lias worked, and the sincere regard of all. without regard to their political opinions, with whom he has come in contact.