OBITUARY.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17451, 11 May 1922, Page 8

OBITUARY.

An A uckland pioneer, Mk* James Braid Hay, aged. 82 years,; passed away , on Saturday at the homo of Tiis son. Mi Carlton Hay, Carlton Gore Road. Auckland. The deceased was born m Wellington in 1840, ana later went to Woodstock, near Papakura, where. his parents engaged in farming. He took part in the Maori war m the Waikato, being promoted to the. rank of captain in the Transport Corps on account ol his knowledge of the Maori language. Some years afterwards the late Mr Hay was appointed director of custom? at Western Samoa, a position he held until it became a German colony, wncn he returned and settled in His wife predeceased him by some vears, and he is survived by fom sons, two of whom, Messrs D. and C. Hay, are well knowa in cricket circles, aud a daughter.

Cable advice received in Christchurch states that Mr John H. Patterson, the founder and, until a year ago, the president- of the .National Cash Register Co., an organisation employing .over 7000 employees at its factory in Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A., died-on 6th inst., at the age of 77 years. He commenced life on a farm alter which he became a storekeeper. Hearing oi the invention of the cash register b> Mr Jacob Ritty forty years ago, he investigated tii© invention with nib brother, Frank, and bought the first such machinp ever made. Deeply impressed with the possibilities of this new invention,. Mr John H. Patterson and his brother bought out Mr Ritty s business and from its humble begininga with two men and a lathe -in 40. years built up one of the. largest businesses in the' world. But, apart from his genius in developing a world-wide business, Mr Patterson was well and favourably known in the united States as a philanthropist, initiating for the benefit of his employees in.the Dayton factory welfare work such as has made the factory in Dayton famous. At the time of the Dayton flood some years ago, he_ threw this factory with all its facilities open <to the distressed residents, and his zeal ■and enthusiasm were.'thrown into tlas campaign, for a .citizen's "community chest" creating a fund to avert a similar catastrophe. His more recent years had .been spent not only in supervising the operations of his business but also giving practical assistance to the work of those in America who had been whole-heartedly working for world peace. He was known as a personal friend of President Harding and as one of the business men with whom the President consulted- in his Washington efforts for peace.