MOVING TRIBUTE

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 87, 9 October 1937, Page 10

MOVING TRIBUTE

;LATE H. E. HOLLAND

MEMORIAL UNVEILED

4 MR. SAVAGE'S SPEECH

s"The qualities • of Henry Edmund Holland, the late Leader of the New -Zealand Labour Party, are symbolised irt this, fine memorial overlooking Parliament House, where he gave of his best for the people; but nothing in brotfze or stone could perpetuate his memory ■ like the gratitude • in the hearts of those who knew his work and still cherish his ideals."

With this feeling tribute, the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) unveiled the memorial to the late Mr. H. ■E. Holland in ,the Bolton: Streets ' Cemetery this afternoon, in the presence of a large crowd. The memorial bears the following inscription:—"This monument is dedicated to the memory of Henry Edmund Holland, Leader of the Labour Party, 1919-33, to commemorate his work for Kumanity. He devoted his life to free the- world from unhappiness, tyranny, and oppression." . The memorial is sculptured in CarTara marble. It "symbolises the struggle of primitive mankind to emerge from chaos; at the base of a pedestal are -groups of two figures each, male and lemale, emerging from thorough block—freeing themselves slowly and painfully, but looking up and forward. These figures, together, with the pedestal. form a base which supports a fig- ' ure of a youth holding in one hand wheat, grapes, and olives and in the other flowers, symbolising the inheritance by mankind of the material and spiritual things of life—that is to say, by the efforts of those who have gone . before, mankind is entering into a fuller inheritance. Not content, he, too as. his predecessors did, looks up and beyond to still more sublime achievement. ' COMMEMORATING A MAN. "We are here today on hallowed ground to commemorate a man—not a monument," said Mr- Savage, Harry Holland's life wag not an easy one. , He knew the truth of these words by one of his favourite writers: Does.the road wind uphill all the way? • Yes, to the very end. ... ] "So it was with Harry Holland all i through his resolute career. It was ] an uphill journey all the way. But 3 he never faltered in. his open fight for his fellow-men. 1 "Four years ago, the strain of march- 1 ing uphill as a mourner at the burial j of the Maori King, who had also been 1 a friend, brought the Labour Leader's j life to an untimely close. It was a sad loss to us all, but he himself had bequeathed to living men a spirited philosophy of death. Let me echo a message from-his own . brave requiem:

0, not ih . sorrow shall ye walk In slow profession to my.tomb, But proudly march- as though you come To hail, me victor in the fightWhen I am dead.

: "Today the people of New Zealani : srijoy the fruits of his victory-HEruit that he who deserved them most neve: gathered. • !'I remember him as a comrade a well as a leader. He was honest ii all his ways and purposes. He \va: uncompromising in the expression o: ■ his. faith • in the cause he fought for His courage was unconquerable. Those i. are-the qualities we commemorate to day. Those are the virtues we shal remember as long as memory lasts. ! < have no intention of using fulsome words in praise of a friend—an ener ; getic man who .*heard the sunset gur too - soon.' -There is no need for adu--v lation. BELIEVED IN SIMPLICITY. "The former leader of the Labour Party believed in simplicity, which is . .a vary different thing from being simple. The harsh truth, as he saw r it in social and economic life, called for the plainest words. It was perhaps that and nothing else that made * for him political enemies. The truth in revealing social injustice- sometimes v hurts more than the barbs of falsehood. ■ "But this is not the time nor the place to speak of politics, although it was in political life that the late Mr. Holland made his mark and earned the-laurel-of remembrance., "Let us in the presence of . visible and unseen witnesses look back across theyears and see how this man, whose national service we appraise today, served the people in the political activities of his time. "First of all, Harry Holland was a . working roan—a hard worker who had v known, the humility of 'begging leave •v to toil', in a land of rich resources. An accident; in early manhood had not only left him lame, but caused him recurrent pain.. This handicap enriched his courage. It also made hifa a stern fighter. But, above all, it gave him Vi a warmer ympathy for the men and women and children who haye to :h ". struggle against odds. "I know of no man with a more responsive sympathy than that, which made the late Mr. Holland a great . friend. There was no lip service in V his creed. His heart dictated his generosity as it also dictated the severity of his denunciation of social , inequalities and the disadvantages that „ are piled on so many people by economic systems and organised greed. "After all, the late Labour Leader was a poet at heart. If life had been different for him, if it had given him some of the leisure he fought so hard to gain for others, he might well have written the nation's songs while other men wrote its laws. "And something must be said about the sacrifices of Harry Holland made in his relentless fight for the masses. He suffered the penalties of prosecution and persecution, although he was a model of honour as a citizen. There were- times when people in high places looked upon him as a rebel tnd a ... wrecker. It is a credit to lhem that, \ in-the end, they came to realise that he .was an honest reformer, worthy of a nation's respect. NATIONAL ESTEEM. ■■■'• , "Here I take leave to say that the >"■ national esteem for his steadfast character and passionate devotion to a ■ cause was rivalled only at his death by "the-sad; demonstrations of affection . . by all those who had always appredated his integrity. ; "It was my privilege to know him ;■ from the time of his arrival in New Zealand until the whole country gave him repose ,in this quiet place. Just ... think of the period—from 1912 to 1933 —and recall the stormy times in our history. There were occasions when . ho was forced 'to bow his head to the storm.' But he did not yield. One , comes to understand all that is worth , ... learning about a friend in a full score of years. Harry Holland was at all times the fearless champion of the poor and afflicted. Even the hardest reverses did not daunt him or blur his vision of ultimate human freedom and the right of men to live in peace. He never quitted a task. "We cannot help regretting 'that he passed away on the very threshold of happier times for the people for whom '-.'-I he fought with all his strength and moral couragc. But our regret can

be turned to a firmer resolve to keep his ideals alive in the Labour movement for. human freedom. 1

A PERSONAL TRIBUTE,

'I desire to pay a personal tribute i to the memory of Henry Edmund . Holland. It has been my privilege to ; succeed him as Leader of the New . Zealand Labour . Party. I shall not let him down. Today our kindest thoughts are with Mrs. Holland and her family, who are present at this commemorative ceremony. Their memories will recall a loving husband and a wise father. Our sympathy is with them in a bond of friendship. "And now a word or two about the memorial before us. The desire of the Memorial Committee was to commemorate the services and ideals of the late leader of the New Zealand Labour Party in an appropriate manner.* The scheme submitted io the sculptor, Mr. ! Richard O. Gross, A.R.8.5., was adopted. The proximity of the Seddon Memorial and the moderate area of site available were the. factors which determined, the nature of the design in which Mr. Gross has endeavoured to portray the ideals for which Mr. Holland stood and which he practised. The sculptor symbolises in marble -the struggle by primitive man to be free and shows that by these efforts mankind, emancipated and untrammelled, stands forth at last to inherit the fruits of the earth and the flowers of the field, and to achieve material and spiritual well-being. "And now I unveil an enduring memorial to a friend of the people, to a plain man who fought a hard fight in the cause of social justice— and won."