DEATH OF MR R.H. LEARY.

Evening Star, Issue 9707, 16 May 1895, Page 2

DEATH OF MR R.H. LEARY.

&. cable message from London, received this morning, aunounped to his family the deftthof Mr It H. Leary, It occurred en Tuesday, so that the cablegram qf th,e ]3th, received by Mr Sydney and published by lis qu Tuesday, was evidently intended to prepare the relatives for the worst. Riohard Henry faary was born in London ou tho fjed November, JB4O, and, landing in Victoria whop fourteen years of age, he rceidod for . a considerable time .at Bulkrat, As a young man ho had some praotical experience of mining in Victoria, but for the most part oooupied himself in business matters, taking naturally to book-keeping and pursuits ot a kindred nature, forwhioh he possessed special apti* tude, On tho outbreak of the rush to Otago which followed the disoovery of the Gabriel Gully gold deposits he was one of the many who came across from Melbourne, and, once here, he made Otago his home, having practically remained in the district ever since 1861, when he arrived. One of his'early appointments in Dunedin was to the post of head bookkeeper to the then important firm of Driver, Maclean, and Co, He subsequently accepted a responsible position in the employ of Mr R. Wilson; then followed his connection with the firm of Bastings, Leary, aud Co. ; and of late years he has been the principal in the partnership of R. H. Leary and Co., of Bond street. . " ■

It was in June of 1875 that Mr Leary first entered the City Council, being returned as representative for Bell Ward on a poll which gave him 247 votes'as.against Mr W. D. Stewart's 212. In those days it was the rule for councillors to be balloted out, but in July, 1876, when the ballot took place, Mr Leary retired voluntarily. A year later he was successful in a triangular contest for the mayoralty, the voting being : Mr Leary 690, Mr W. Woodland 007, Mr B. Isaac 204. During that term of office Mr Leary recommended the Council to adopt a new system of bookkeeping. The proposal being rejected, Mr Leary resigned —in October of 1877—and presented himself for re-election, thus virtually asking the ratepayers to express an opinion on the subject of his recommendation. The election was held in November of the same year, when Mr Leary beat his opponent easily, the voting being -. Mr Leary 781, Mr Woodland 419. After completing his term in the chair Mr Leary had a biief period of councillorship, being elected in January, 1879, as representative of High Ward. He resigned in the following April, and did not re-enter the Council till in December of 1886 he was once again invested with the mayoralty, having polled 930 votes to the 737 cast lor Mr Carroll. Iu the next contest for the mayoralty he was defeated, the voting being : Mr Dawson 862, Mr Leary 726 ; but in the month following (December of 1887) he returned as a councillor, and sat till September, 1888, when he retired by rotation. That was Mr Leary's final appearance in the Council, and he did not stand again. It was during one of Mr Leary'a tonus as mayor that the foundation stone of the present Town Hall building was laid (in May of 1878), and the fact is the subject of an inscription on the entrance. Another circumstance which marks his oceupanov of the chair is that it was on his casting vote as mayor that the Silverstream water-supply scheme was adopted. His expert knowledge as an accountant was frequently of considerable service to the Corporation, and when the loan conversion scheme came before the ratepayers a short time back it was held by all classes to be a matter of general congratulation that Mr Leaiy had agretd to undertake the task of placing tin.- matter before English bondholders. He was recognised as the very man for the business. Unfortunately he was unable to do much towards tho actual fulfilment of his mission. He set foot in England on the 19th January, and by the sth February found himself forced into retirement, being very unwell. Practically, then, so far as the Corporation know, nothing has been really accomplished in the direction of conversion, but wo understand that Mr Leary before his death made such preliminary arrangement* as were within his power for the fuitiieiance of the scheme. Trie deceased gentl man's business arrangements in lli'i colony were numerous >,nd of a responsible nature. At the time of his departure he was secretary of the Otago Central Railway League, secretary of the Diocesan Trust Board, secretary* of the Roxburgh Amalgamated Mining Company, and secretary of the Round Hill Mining Company. These engagements arc fairly representative of his manifold undertakings. He never filtered either the Provincial Council or the Parliament, but was more than once a candidate for the votes of the people, and had he chosen to surrender his p±is mal louvictro: s he might no doubt have become a legislator. It will be remembered that 1 e took part iu a memorable contest for the Caver sham seat in the Provincial Ciunci! about 18'70. Caversham then included Mornington, and the candidates were Sir R. Stout (elected) Mr H. S. Fish, and Mr Leary. Mr Leary lent valuable assistance to the Dunedin Parliamentary Union. He joined that society in 1885—in the hey-day of its strength and importance, when the City Hall was required to seat its members—and the Executive at once secured his services as Chairman of Committee—a post to which he was unauimously elected. He held that position during the following year. On the revival of the union in 1893 his services were obtained as Speaker, in which office he gave valued and valuable assistance.

His trip to England, undertaken chiefly on account of the Corporation, but partly for private business purposes, was commenced on the 26th November last, when, after an enthusiastic "send off" on the part of the citizens, he sailed for Melbourne. Leaving the steamer at Brindisi, he travelled overland, and at that stage caught a chill, which on ieiching England induced an attack of iufluenza,. Bronchial catarrh ensued, then pneumonia, and subsequently blood poisoning. A week ago he was reported to be getting better, but the hope of his recovery was practically dispelled by the message of the 13th above alluded to. Mr Leary was amongst friends in hi 3 illness, one of the most constant attendants at his bedside in Bedford place being his old acquaintance Mr Doughty.

Mrs Leary, who, with the younger members of a large family, occupies the home at Abbotsford, wdiere they have lived for the past eighteen years, will be the recipient of general sympathy in respect to the sad occurrence, for Mr Leary was highly esteemed. It is proposed, we understand, to embalm the body and bring it to NewZealand for burial, if arrangements to that effect can be made.