DEATH OF MR. HUGH POLLEN

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 10, 12 January 1912, Page 7

DEATH OF MR. HUGH POLLEN

TRIBUTE' FROM SIR JOSEPH WARD. General regret waa expressed throughout the, OiviT Service in the city to-day, when it was known that Mr. Hugh Pollen, secretary to the Department of Internal Affaire,' had died at midnight after a severe illness extending over a week. The deceased gentleman was a (ton of the late* Dr. Pollen, of Auckland, who. wae Government Resident at Auckland in the old days when New Zealand waa a Crown colony, and who afterwards occupied the position of Premier. The late Mr. Pollen was educated at the Church of England Grammar School, which was established 1 in Auckland by the late Bishop of Lichfield (at that time Bishop Selwyn of New Zealand). The deceased's school fellows residing in Wellington to-day are;— Messrs H. B, Bell, K.C., James Coates (general manager of the National Bank of New Zealand), Q. Davis tKarorl), and J. F. An* drewa (secretary to Cabinet and clerk of the Executive Council)* '-The deceased, entered the* Civil Servipe at an early age, and for many years served under the late Mr. George Bisson Cooper, who was, Secretary for the Colony in those days. He succeeded the late Mr. Cooper many years ago as secretary to the Colonial Secretary's Department (now called the Department of_ Internal Affair*). He was a man of retiring disposition, but waa endowed with a remarkable fund of information, and was universally regarded as a most obliging wad painstaking officer. Indeed, no mau in tho Civil Service wae more generally respected. DeCeased was a oouein of Dr. Polkn, of this city. The funeral will take place at the Karori cemetery at 3 o'clock to-morrow. ■ Mr. Poflon is survived by a' widow, two sons, and one daughter. Sir Joseph Ward to-day 3ent the following memorandum to till heads of Departments :— "lt if, with- defrp regrot that I nave to- advise officers of the Public Service of the death last evening of Mr. Hugh Pollen, tfnder-Ss«retary for Inter-, aal Affairs. The deceased gactlaman dttting a long period of years filled, his responsible position with conspicuous ieal and ability^ "and in his demise the people of the Dominion have lost a aevc-ted- uevVatil, and the Government »nd the Public Service a most exemplary officer. I have conveyed to Mrs. Pollen and her family the sincere sympathy of tlia Government in tfie deep bereavement which has befallen them. In a personal tribute to Mr. Pollen, £he Prim© Minister speaking tt> a Post reporter to-day said i— "l have known Mr. Pollen personally for nearly 25 yearn, and for< a considerable period I .was Miniater-in-eharge of the department of which ho was the head. Throughout the whole of that time Mr. PcJlen had a great deal to do with public matters that have been brought before me. I desirs to- acknowledge the high qualities he posseissed for carrying out the affairs of the important branch of 'the Civil cse^'Vics of which he was the head. Us operations axe amongst tho meet varied iii the service, and I can say that a, more careful, painstaking, and conscientious iua,a onQ could not wish to nj*et. At till tiffins he was most courteous, careful, *ad judicious, and was entirely without- fads. In the transaction of the bueiivwW t<t the department he brought to bear an extensive fund of informsrfjou which gtfve the Minister in charge the greatest possible confidence. Looking back over th<r mattes that came before m« in. his dapjtrtmewt'l cannot rocsil one tna,t resulted in- any tronble or difficulty. '.ttwt demonstrates in the most pract'nal wav the extreme caro the late Mr. Pollen took at £11 times in the work of his department. I hear,d of his death thia ttWMUiig with the deepest roffrok Hi» d-zabfo was a lost; to tho Poblfc Service, svaA cossequently, to the country^-