HIS COLLEAGUES

Evening Star, Issue 12884, 6 August 1906, Page 3

HIS COLLEAGUES

The Hon. W. Hall-Jones was bom at Folkestone, Kent, in 1853, and when quite a young man came to the colony and settled in Timaru, where be worked as a carpenter. His first insight into public life vas gained as a member of the Timaru Borough Council and the Levels Road Board. Tn August. J 890, on the death of Mr T. Turnbull, the sitting member, Mr Hall-Jones contorted the seat as an opponent of the Atkinson Government, and was returned. Being again returned a few months later at the General Election, he became Whip to the Ballance Government in June, 1891, his co-whip beins: Mr (now Sir Westby) Perceval. In 1893 he resigned that position owing to differences with the Government on some main planks in their policy, and for a few vears rat alone in the House. In 1896. when Sir P. Bucklev died and Mr Reeves resigned to take up'the Agcnt-GeneraUhip, the member for Timaru was invited to join the Cabinet (Mr T. Thompson getting the other vacancy), and took tho portfolio of Public Works, and has ever since carried on that department. He has also been entrusted with the control of hospitals, asylums, and charitable aid, marine, inspection of machinery, and has been Minister in charge of the Government Printing Office. When Mr Seddon died Mr Hall-Jones was rent for by His Excellency, and undertook to carry on the Government of the country till Sir Joseph Ward's return.

The Hon.. James M'Gowan was br>m at Maxwell's Court, County Down, Ireland, in 1841, bis father being" a email settler of ancient family. What .scholastic training lie received was tinder the Irish National School system, but before attaining the age of fifteen years he was thrown upon his own resources by the death of his father, and entered the service of a firm carrying on business as stonkeeperd, farmers, and flax-millers. In 1864 he left Ireland for New Zealand, landing at Auckland in 1865. After some five years' residence in that city, he removed to the Thames, where he carried on a large .-iorekeeping business until he retired iu 1898. Since he first arrived at the Thames, Mr M'Gowan has been intimately connected with mining matters, and in addition to this he found time to devote a large amount of attention to local politics and the Press. He has been elected to almost every office in the gift of his fel-low-citizens ; was a member of the Borough Council for seventeen years and twice filled the mayoral chair. In 1893 he was elected to the House of Representatives for the Thames seat, in place, of the Hon. (afterwards Sir) A. J. Cadman, who had retired to contest an Auckland City seat with Mr W. L. Roes. He was again returned to the Hous in 1895 ;-ud 1896. becoming Whip for :iis paTty in the latter year. In 1899 ho defeated his opponents at the polls by art overwhelming majority, and shortly afterwards, on the retirement from active politics of the Hon. Air Cadman, Minister of Mines and Railways, and the Hon. Mr Thompson, Minister of Justice and Defence, he was offered and accepted the portfolios of Mines and Justice. During his term in the House of Representatives as member and Minister, Mr M'Gowan has taken an active interest in all mining legislation, notably with regard to the question of Sunday labor iu mines, better ventilation and general improvement in the conditions under which miners work. Since his inclusion in the Cabinet he has also introduced and ' passed amendments to the .Mining Act to 1. meet the requirements of the dredging Ln--1 dustry in the South Island. As Minister of I Justice he has had new regulations framed : for the purpose of granting good conduct prisoners somewhat greater indulgences, and under his regime a new departure has been made in the direction of employing prison labor in tree planting on the pumice plains of the North and on suitable spots in the South Island. The Hon. James Carroll is a native of New Zealand, having been bora at Wairoa, Hawke's Bay, on August 20, 1857. From 1879 to 1883 ho was native interpreter to the House of Rc-precentatives, and was a member of the House for the Eastern Maori electoral district from 1887 to 1893, since when he has represented the European electorate of Waiapu (Gisborne). He became a member of the Executive Council, representing the native race in the Ballance Government in 18S2, and in 1900 assumed the portfolio of Native Minister (the first of his race to hold thai position). Became Com-

I missioner of Stamp Duties 1896. Mr Cat- : roll was a great favorite, with the Duke and Duchess of York, and before they left the colony the now heir to the throne gave him a pressing iuvitatioa to visit England as their guest. The Hon. Albert Pitt is a, native of ' Hobart, Tasmania, and was educated at Hutchics's School there; was articled to the law, and admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Tasmania, at the age of twenty-one years and six months. In 1864 was admitted at Dunedin as a barrister of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. Took up his residence at Nelson, and commencef practice of the law there in April of the same year. .Mr Pitt was elected a member of the Nelson Provincial Council in 1867, and again in 1874, when he was appointed a member of the Executive as Provincial Solicitor, which office he held till the abolition of provinces. Was elected a member of the House of Representatives for City of Nelson in 1879,. and sat till 1881, when one member being taken from Nelson he did not again stand, as Mr Levestam was on the same side of the House, and desired re-election and was returned. In 1899 was called to the Legislative Council, and in 1903 joined the Seddon Government as Attorney-General and Leader of the Council. Up'on the Right Hon. Mr Seudon's death and appointment of the Hon. Hall-Jones as Premier was confirmed in appointment of Attorney-General and appointed Minister of Defence. Mr (Colonel) Pitt has taken a grca.t interest in volunteer matters; was enrolled in Artillery Corps in Tasmania in 1861, becoming a sergeant. In 1866 he commanded the Nelson Artillery Cadets, and afterwards H Battery Artillery at Nelson; .was appointed to command the Nelson militia and volunteer district in 1877, and was appointed lieutenant-colonel of New Zealand Militii in 1377, which position he held till appointment to Legislative Council in 1899 In 1881 he had command of 1,200 voluateers on active service at Parihaka on the occasion of the capture of Te Whiti and Tohu In 1897 had command of the New Zealand Diamond Jubilee Contingent of Mounted Infantry (two companies of Europeans and Maoris) which went to England in that year. In 1898 was a member of the Police Commission in New Zealand, and in 1901 chairman of the Federation Commission appointed to consider'whether New Zealand should join the Commonwealth of Australia. During the. illness of the Hon. Mr Seddon did a large part of education and defence work i of the Minister holding these portfolios, | and during. absence of Hon. Sir J. Ward ] at the Postal Conference at Rome since j February last has acted as Minister of Railways, Colonial Secretary, and PostmasterGeneral and Commissioner of Telegraphs. He was a Governor of Nelson College from 1881 to 1904, and is now a Governor of Victoria College. He was also for many years Chancellor of the Diocese of Nelson, and on several occasions has sat in the General Synod.

The Hon. George Fowlds was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1860. and afc the age of twenty-two went to South Africa, where he was bookkeeper for two large wholesale firms in the Kimberley diamond fields. Three years later he came to New Zealand, and established himself in business as a clothier in Auckland, and succeeded in building up one of the largest retail mercery businesses in the colony. Shortly after he arrived in Auckland ,he commenced to take an interest in local and colonial politics, and in 1889 was elected a member of the Mount Albert Hoard Board, in which capacity he did excellent service. He was also elected to the local school committee at about the same time, and has been a member ever since, holding the position of chairman on several occasions. In 1899 he was was elected a member for Auckland—City, being placed second on the poll. In 1902 he stood for the electorate of Grey Lynn, which was created out of the old city electorate. His orroonent was Mr T. T. Masefield, over whom he secured a comfortable victory. . At the last election Mr Fowlds was orroosed by Mr J. Farrell, Mayor of Grey Lvnn, whom he defeated, ■ifter a keen contest, by a majority of 248 votes. Mr Fowlds proceeded to Scotland immediately afterwards, in order to attend his father's centenary birthday celebrations, "at which Sir Joseph Ward and others were present. Mr Fowlds holds strong views • upon - the question of land value taxation. He also takes a deep interest in education, and is- a x&-

cognised leader on the Temperance question. He is also a prominent Congregationalist, and in 1898 acted as chairman of the Congregational Union of New Zealand. Just over seven years ago, prior to the first of his uninterrupted successes at the polls, the Auckland 'Star' gave the following summary of his " platform" : "He advocated reform in electoral machinery ; reduction of the breakfast-table tax by an increased tax of Id in the £ on land values; a central school in each of the large centres, where different classes of study could be taken up; technical education; speedy communication by rail with Wel'ington; colonial scale *of payment .for teachers and Civil servants; popular decision of the licensing question at the ballot box. He hoped to see the principle of the referendum extended to all great questions, and the Upper House abolished. If elected, without being slave to any partv, he would give a general support to the Liberal Government. He had given no pledge to anv party. He would stand or fall by Liberal principles, and follow the partv which would bring those principles into legislation. He had to thank his own good wife for loyal support and assistance." Those who have watched the career of Mr Fowlds consider that he has been scrupulously faithful to his pledges. He is a stroni churchman, but he is an unswerving mvporter of the present national system of education. He is an ardent Single Taxer and a staunch advocate of the leasehold The Hon. Robert M'Nab was born in Southland m 1864, and is consequently the youngest member" of the Ward Administer I'T i t as e 4 uc;,te d -it the Grammar School, Invercargill. In 1880 he joined the classes of the Otago- University, passing his B.A. examination in 1883 and his M A examination a year later, taking the senior mathematical scholarship of the New Zealand University the same year. In 1885 Mr entered the office of Smith, Anderson, and Co. (now Smith, MacGregor, and Sinclair), was called to the Bar m 1889, and in the following year commenced the practice of his profession in Invercargill. In 1899 he gave up practice, and has since devoted himself purely to public life and agricultural pursuits. In November, 1893, Mr MNab was first returned for Mataura, defeating the. Hon. G. P. Richardson. At the following General Election Mr Richardson regained the seat, but in 1898, on his resignation, Mr M'Nab was again returned at the bye-election, and has held the seat ever since. Mr M'Nab has thus sat as member for Mataura for eleven vears and two months. Outside of politics" the new Minister has taken a keen interest in volunteering. From 1886 to 1890 he was captain of the North Dunedin Rifles; from 1890 to 1894, captain of the G Battery of Artillery in Invercargill; and from J9Ol to 1904, captain of the Murihuku Mounted Rifles at Wyndham, in the Mataura electorate. While residing in Invercargill Mr M'Nab was for six years a member of the Southland Education Board, and for four years a member of the Southland High School Board of Governors. In the tical world Mr M'Nab is known as the author of the Testator's Family Maintenance legislation, and has identified himself of late a great deal with movements for reform in the electoral laws. He was chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in the last Parliament. In private life he is a close student of the. history of early New Zealand, and has contributed a great deal on that subject to the Press. He has also devoted himself largely to the study of forestry. Mir M'Nab holds the degrees of M.A. and LL.B. from the New Zealand University. Education has always' received close and earnest attention from him. As far back as 1890 he was working strenuously for the establishment of Saturday training classes for teachers and others in" Invercargill, and always urged the necessity for training schools for young men and young women. Mr M'Nab "is strongly opposed to denominational education, and is' an ardent supporter of our present system of free, secular, and compulsory tuition. He is a lucid and vigorous speaker. It is understood that on two occasions the member for Mataura declined a position' in the Seddon Cabinet.

Mr John Andrew Millar was born at Julinder, in the- Punjaub, India, in Julv, 1855. His father was a captain in the 29th Bengal Staff Corps. At the conclusion of the Mutiny the family went home to Edinburgh, where the subject of this no-, tice was educated, attending the Southern Academy and the Institution in "Queen

street. The intention of the family - was' to have the "hoy trained for the army,: but he did not care for that life, and when fifteen years of age he was sent out to his uncle in Otago to learn sheep fanning, his passage being taken in the James mcol Fleming. The trip out gave'J.A. a taste for the sea, and.after a very short spell) on the farm,he decided to become a' sailor, ! and was apprenticed in 1871 to the Patrick Henderson Company, joining the Christian; MAusland... He remained in the Home, trade, coming to New Zealand mostly in vessels of the Shaw-Savill and the New Zealand Shipping Company, until 1882, "having by that "time risen to the position of chief officer. In 1882 ha left the oversea trade to join the coastal service in vessels of the Black Diamond Line as chief officer and master. His last ship was the wellknown twin-screw steamer Go-ahead. He finally left the sea in 1887, having been appointed to the position of general secretary of the.Seamen's Union. .In 1888 there was a strike in the Northern Steamship Company's fleet, and all the seamen camo out. Mr Millar thought that the most •effective way of coping with this would be to charter steamers, • and thus find employment for the locked-out seamen, and run the vessels in opposition to- the Northern Company. This was done. Three steamers were kept running for sixteen months, when an agreement was come to and the chartered vessels were returned to their owners. Mr Millar was secretary of the Seamens' Union in 1890, when the big strike took place. Prior to that strike ho was busily engaged in organising labor throughout the colony, and assisted largely in the formation of the Wharf Laborers' L'nion, the, Carters' Union, and the TailorUnion. He was also president of the Trades and Labor Council, and secretary of the Maritime Labor Council. In those stirring days the name of " King I Millar" was fcare'd and worshipped. His admirers declared that with a lift of his finger he could paralyse the shipping trade of New Zealand from Auckland to the Bluff. His opponents dreaded him. Speaking the other day to Mr Millar himself about those times, he remarked : " The big strike caused a great deal of-suffering to those involved when it came to New Zealand, but,-it. was a blessing in disguise to the colony, as it ended the days of strikes, [ and as it taught the workers that active participation in politics was the safer and surer road to success. This strike was primarily responsible for the formation of the present Liberal party, and therefore indirectly the cause of much of the beneficial legislation which is now being copied throughout the uorld." In 1890 Mr Millar contested the Chalmers seat with Mr Jas. Mills and was defeated. Three years later he stood again for the Chalmers constituency, and was elected, beating Mr E. G. Allen. In 1894 he was-appointed a member of the Otago Dock Trust. In 1896 he was elected one of the members for Dunedin City, dividing the late Mr Scobie Mackenzie and the late Mr Fish, and since then he has been returned for the City at every election. Twice he polled the highest number of votes recorded in the colony, and once he had second highest number. In 1899 he was made chairman ->f the Labor Bills Committee; in 1900 he acted on the Federation Commission; and in 1902 he became Chairman of Committees in the Lower House. So that Mr Millar began his political career as a fiery partisan, and by stages so won the confidence of the country at large as to be accepted for a post which is invariably kept for a judicially-minded and impartial member. This is a very rare evolution. Mr Millar is not given to boasting, but, being pressed, he owns to being proud of having helped to perfect the Shipping and Seamens' Act and the Factories Act, two important measures which he assisted to pilot through Parliament. It be added that Mr Millar eat for five years on the Conciliation Board up to the time when he was appointed to the Federation Commission.