OBITUARY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 294, 5 September 1908, Page 5

OBITUARY.

LORD SACKVILLE. CBT TELEGRAPH—PRESS ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT.) London, September 4. .. The death is announced of Lord Sackville, aged 81. , A'DIPLOMATIC CAREER: THE LETTER | INCIDENT. Lionel ''Sackrille . Saekvill.-West G.C.M.G., second. Lord Sockvillo. jru' a brother of;the first pesr, imole of the present Bar! Da La Warr, a»d son of the- fifth E*rl De La Warr and Lady' Elizabeth Sackville, sister of. the fourth Drake of Dorset. The Saotrille nacestry goes'back to Sir Richard Sackrille, PriTy .Councillor in the reigns of Mary *ad Elizabeth, and beyond that to a Norman who camo over with tho Conqueror and went b«ck again after the Conquest. : • Lord Sackville was born in 1527, and succeeded his brother in 1858. .''He was assistant ' precis-writer. to Lord Aberdeen in 1845, and entered, the diplomatic service m 1847. He rose steadily, and in 1871 was_ accredited Minister-Plenipotentiary at Peris in the ableflce of the Ambassador. 'From 1872 to IS7B he tras Minister to tho Argentine Republic, from 1878 to 1881 at Madrid,'Jand, from; 1881 to 1888 at Washington. In conjunction with Sir James Hudson •he negotiated the* commercial treaty with Sardinia m 19(53. In lßSOihe represented England and Denmark-at the Madrid Conference on Morocco, which would have anticipated Algixiiras, no doubt,' if William II had then been German Emperor.'At Washington he took part in the Samoa Conference of 1887, and with Mr. Chamberlain and Sir Charles Tupper negotiated the Fisheries Treaty. The circumstances in which he reoeived his passports from the' American Government are_ remembered as an unfortunate diplomatic incident. Lord Sackville (says one writer) may haTo been indiscreet,,'bat■'.■he certainly never meant to interfere . with tho American olections, and there is n.o doubt that he was led into writing the letter" that made the trouble in the belief that it was strictly confidential. His heir is his nephew, Captain Lionel' EdwaTd, SaokvilleWest. The late Baron owned 8600 acres. • The letter which resulted in Lord Sackville receiving his passports from President Cleveland in. 1888 was written in answer to a correspondent who represented himself as a natura-' lised citizen of English birth in search of advice. In this letter Lord Sackville recommended the inquirer to vote the Democratic ticket as favourable to British interests. The incident occurred during the Presidential Canvass. '

> A LIBERAL COMMONER. (Rec. September 4, 11.12 p.m.) London September 4. Obituary: Mr. Thomas Cairns, Liberal member of the House of Commons for New-castle-on-Tync, aged 54. \ ■' ■ DEMOCRAT AND BUSINESS MAN. Mr. Thomas Cairns was of Scotch extraction, son of a butcher of Snnderland, wlwro ho was born in 1864, his mother being a member of a well-knorwn Wearside family named Turnbull. Sis education was chiefly at an ordinary elementary school, but was supplemented afterwards by a considerable amount of solf-tnition. His father later opened another business in the West End. of Sunderland, and Thomas becamo connected vnui tho Ajres Quay bottle works. He had a half-brother, a Mr. Porteous.'who was a shipowner, arid with him he went to London and .began his training, in shipping. .After a while he left this firm, which was one of some importance, and came to Newcastle-on-Tyne, whore he founded the well-known Cairn Line of steamers, which has since become one of the biggest concerns »f its kind on Tyneside. Always democratic in his political views, he early identified himself with municipal affairs, and entoring tho council, made a name by his adveoacj of the mnnieipsdisatitm of the trams.- This project ho carried te a tracooasfnl issue, but only after a fierce aid prolMiffed figlrt. This node his reputation with NerocastriaM. H« did a vast amount of work in the council asd also out of it. His liberal.iffm has always .been of tho/ kind, and he was »ne of the foremost workers #n behalf of Mestirs." S. Storoy and Hedworth Ltmbltm when they unsuccessfully contested tho Tyneside city in'l9oo. In religion he was a Presbyterian, and his characteristics in everyday lifo were his commercial acumen and keenness, and his generosity. Ho possessed both, a big brain and a big heart. The death of Mr. Cairns will cause a highly interesting by-election. Newcastle-on-Tyne has two representatives, and at the 1900 poll the Unionists were on top, Sir W. R. Plummer and Mr. George Eonwick having an aggregate majority over their two Liberal onponojits of 4609 votes. In 1906 Labour and Liberalism turned the tables, Mr. Walter Hudson (Labour) and the late Mr. Thomas Cairns (Liberal) beating Sir W. I?.. Plummer and Mr. Eenwick very heavily, Mr. Ilndson's majority being 6717 and Mr. Cams's 6481. It now remains to be seen whether the pendnlnm will swing back against the Liberals, and whether the Unionists' run of success at'by-elections will continue.

A RACEHORSE OWNER. (Rcc. Septembor 5, 0.25 a.m.) Sydney, September 4. Mr. J. Mncken, the well-known racehorse owner, is dead.

ARGYLL CARS FOR 1908-9. Argyll Cars, Simple, Efficient, and Reliable, show further refinements for this season. Tha success of Argylls in reliability trials »nd hill-climbs is striking testimony to their superiority. Scott Motc h Co., Ltd., Wellington, Agonti for Arjyll, U.S.A., Kajrier, Renault, and' .New Pi»k. 2 Messrs. Harconrt and Co. have sold the residence of the la to Mr. James Hislop, architect, in Hobson Street, at a satisfactory figure slightly below tho reserve fixed at the auction on July 31.