OBITUARY

Evening Post, Volume XCIII, Issue 31, 5 February 1917, Page 3

OBITUARY

HON. DR. ROBERT M'NAB

A BRILLIANT CAREER ENDED

A notable figure in the scientific and political world, the Hon. Dr. R. M'Nab, M.P. for Hawkes Bay, and PostmasterGeneral and Minister of Marine in the National Government has passed away, aged fifty-three years. He was taken ill somewhat suddenly a month ago, and removed to ■ the ■Bowen-street private hospital, where he was treated for an internal complaint. Complications ensued, and in spite of the fact that he rallied several times;.-lie-died rather unexpectedly about 9 o'clock on Saturday night. ' Though no£ a man who sought the limelight, the late Dr. M'Nab had. had a brilliant career. A native of Southland, he was educated at the Invercargill Grammar School, of which he was dux at fifteen years of age. He entered the Otago University the following year, and in 1883 took his B.A. degree, together with the senior mathematical scholar- . ship of New Zealand University. The following -year he obtained his M.A. degree (honours in mathematics and mathematical physics), and going in for the study of law, was admitted to the Bar m 1889. In 1890 he commenced the practice of Ms profession at Invercargill, and in the same year obtained the degreeofLL.B., Otago University. Taking up volunteering, of which he was a great j advocate, he joined the B Battery, Dunedin, and ;in 1887 obtained command of | the North Dunedin Rifles, which position he held for two years. He was a crack rifle shot'; he fired in the New Zealand Rifle Association challenge team I at Blenheim in 1888, and won the champion belt of his company in 1889. He also represented Otago on -the New Zealand Rifle' Association Council. While at Invercargill he was in command of G Battery of Artillery. Leaving the law for the land, he engaged in farming pursuits at Mataura, on his father's estate, known as. Knapdale, and he has been heard to say that the. most pleasant change he could obtain from the stress of political life or the strain of research;, was to. engage in the strenuous work that,usually falls to the lot of a farm labourer. In the intervals of farming he took a great interest in educational ' matters, and was a member of the Education Board and the Board of Governors of the High School. He also devoted considerable time and ' attention to ■ the establishment of-Saturday training classes for teachers and, others' in Invercargill, and constantly urged the necessity for training classes for young men and women. IN PARLIAMENT. He-.entered Parliament in 1893, as member for Mataura, defeating the late Hon. .j.;F. Richardson, ex-Minister of Lands,in the Atkinson Government and a doughty opponent of the Ballance Government. It was a-notable victory, and one' that marked; him out for ultimate distinction. He soon became 'known as a • man of clear-out., views on most political subjects. Though not a Radical in the slightest sense of the term, he stood for all that Liberalism meant in the strenuous and frequently stormy days of the Seddon regime,' and his concise and lucid, speeches were listened to with interest and, close attention; Twice he was offered, and refused, a portfolio in thfa Seddon . Administration. When; Sir 'Joseph Ward took.over the reins pf office iir 1906, on the death of Mr. 'Seddon. Mr. M'Nab •. joined- the' Cabinet as. Minister of Lands and Agriculture, and.-bent: every effort towards placing on the Statute Book'a measure giving, effect to his pronounced views of the leasehold system of laud tenure. The Bill, which created a great stir in ■ Parliament and in the Dominion, did not pass that session, but during the recess of 1006-7 he carried out a vigorous 'campaign on its behalf, and /some of its provisions' were enacted in the session of 1907., The question of leasehold v. freehold was one of the principal issues during the election of 1908, and Mr M'Na-b was'defeated by the present member for Mataura,.Mi. G. J. Anderson. He devoted himself to his beloved work of historical research until the election of 1911, when he challenged Mr. D; Buick for the Paimerston North seat. Again he was unsuccessful, and, it was not until the last General Election (1914) that he secured the Hawkes Bay seat, against Mr. Campbell, which constituency he represented until the time of his death. . When the NationI al _ Government was formed in 1915 he , joined it as. Minister . of Justice and Marine, and when Sir Joseph.Ward went to England he took over .the portfolio '^t Postmaster-General. As a member, Dr. M'Nab was, in his owiv quiet way, extremely, popular, and was always, ready and willing to give younger members the benefit of his larger experience. As a Minister he wag painstaking to a'degree, scrupulously fair, retiring- to an extent which is rare among politicians, careful, .'and far-seeing. Taking pleasure only in work, much of it of a very laborious, mental character, with no pleasures beyond occasional spells of farm work, he made, heavy inroads on his.stock of vitality, and, though in his younger days a very powerful man, he was unable to resist the illness which culminated in his death. .Though never Minister of Defence, Mr. M'Nab was an .ardent Imperialist, and after his defeat in 1908 he, with the Hon. J. Allen, conducted a campaign in favour of compulsory service. One result was the passing of the Defence Act of 1909, and the consequent establishment of the present Territorial system. When the war broke out, he became a supporter of conscription for service abroad, and in the recess, after the formation of the National Government,, he made a recruiting' | tour of the South Island. As a result ho became a strong supporter of the Military Service Bill which became law last session. " • l '•■ -■ •. ' | AS A HISTORIAN.. Apart from his political career, the late | Dr. M'Nab achieyed considerable renown as a historian, i Besides-editing the " Historical Records of New Zealand," he wrote " Murihiku, or the Southern Seas," a spleiidid monument to his tireless energy, and capacity for detail.. To obtain that detail he visited and searched the records of Great Britain,'most of the European. capitals, Australia, and America. That and succeeding volumes I of similar 1 character constituted his life work, and only ho knew how many days | and years he had spent poring over musty tomes to collect the enormous mass of [ details with which their pages are filled. For this work he was granted the degree of Doctor, of Literature from the New Zealand University—the. first graduate to receive that honour. PRIME MINISTER'S REGRET.. As soon as the news of .his death was announced, the Acting Prime Minister (the Hon. J. Allen) cabled to the Right Hon. W. F. Massey in London. Mr. Massey replied expressing his deep regret, and adding that Sir Joseph. Ward was out of town; '•■',_._ The members of the Ministry will this afternoon accompany the body of their late colleague from the residence of Mr. j A. H. Turnbull in Bowen.-streot to the ferry steamer The interment will bike place ;iL lnrercargill on Wednesday ntoPiimij. ' • ■