OBITUARY

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 305, 13 September 1918, Page 5

OBITUARY

OID rCftDfP Dl7in olu ÜbUKlih KlilU London, September-11. The doctors held a consultation and! issued a. bulletin that Sir Georgo Heidi is suffering from severe cellulitis of tho face. His condition is grave.—Aus.N.Z. Oablo Assn. (Rec. September 12, 11.55 p.m.) London, September 12.. Sir Georgo Reid died at 9 o'clock this morning.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable- Assa. Tho death of Sir Georgo Reid removes from the Imperial stage one of its most notablo men. A brilliant .lawyer, a 'skilled politician, a sagacious statesman, he was easily tho most prominent figure in Australian politics when in the zenith of liiu powers, and when ho ] finally left for England to represent ,tho Commonwealth, as its High Commissioner in London he filled his .new . offico with great distinction and success, lie lias been described as "Aus- i tralia's ideal High Commissioner." In j 1916 his appointment was determined ,j by the Federal Government nnder cir- j cumstances which reflected small credit to it, and Mr. Andrew Fisher was appointed in his stead. Mr. Fisher has been an inconspicuous figure i in' Imperial affairs, lacking the polished i»ddross and ambassadorial flair • of his distinguished predecessor. Sir George R«id then decided to offer.his services to the Mother Country, and was July, elected unopposed for St. George's, Hanover Square, which constituency he t has since represented. Born at Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland, in 1845, the son of a Presbyterian minister, he arrived in Australia with hie parents in 1852. He was 14 years in the Treasury Department of New Soxith Wales, and was called to the Bar in 1879; Q.C. 1898. Hβ sat in the New South Wales Parliament for 20 years. Succeeding Sir Henry Parlces in the leadership of the Free-trade Party, lie led the Opposition from 1891 to 1894, and Was Pre- . mier and Treasurer from 1894 to 1899. During his Premiership the New South J Wales tariff became the freest in the j world. In politics and the law he was for nearly a quarter of a century one of the most prominent figures in Australia. He helped to frame the Commonwealth Constitution, and was <otnnied to tho first Federal Parliament: leader of the Free-trade Party, and Prime Minister in 1904,5.