THE LATE T. E. TAYLOR.

Evening Star, Issue 14631, 29 July 1911, Page 8

THE LATE T. E. TAYLOR.

IN MEMORIAM. Let weapons and high words now bo put by; ■ . Now lies the valiant warn or in tin? dust, And ho whose busy blade could never rust Dies as the fighter born would choose to die; ‘ Nor theirs alone the lore who at his ay Rallied about him and in him put trust Implicit, blind, as loyal followers must; Nor ours alono whoso civic dignity He did uphold. The nation, as a whole, No party merely, mourns for him this day : This day has passed a very noble coni; The strife is hushed. Let all New Zealand say : “ Toll for the strong, heroic spirit, toll' A Power from our land has passed away.”. —Arnold Wall, in the. Christchurch ‘ Press. ’ TRIBUTE FROM MINISTERS. Sir James Carroll, Acting Prime Minister, telegraphed as , follows on Thursday night to the ‘Lyttelton Times’; By the passing of Mr T. E. Taylor the Dominion loses one of its best known public men. An able, attractive, and forcible speaker, the late Mr T. E. Taylor at all times commanded attention, and oven those who were compelled to differ from his opinions ever had to admire his complete mastery of whatever subject ho devoted himself to, ami the convincing manner in which he gave it expression. With leanings towards Radicalism, ho was ever on the side of the workers, and in him they had a consistent and exceedingly able champion. His was indeed a strong and unique personality, so much eo that, the throe Parliaments in which ho represented a Christchurch constituency—that is, from 1336 to 1899. 1902 to 1905, and 1908 to the present date—felt to a remarkable degree the impress of his ardent temperament and illuminating genius. His courage on all occasions was undoubted, and !iis advocacy of the principle set to his heart was wholesouled and characteiistically effective. In local politics he also gained the confidence of his fellow-citLvcns on many notable occasions, and tiro recent responsibilities cast upon him as. mayor of the. important city of Christ-church seemed just what was required to balance, develop, and give full scope to his great natural talents. Though. like many other public man, he had bis faults. New Zealand has reason to-day to dc-

ploro the cutting otf of a public-spirited legislator and citizen, and the heartfelt sympathy of the people will go out to his sorrowing wife and children. The Hon. T. Mackenzie, Minister of Agriculture, telegraphed : I have just hoard the terribly ead news of tin; passing of Mr T. E. Taylor. It is death removes from public life in this 'Dominion one of the* most fearless men that wo have had in our Parliament. and one who had reached a, position where his wider usefulness to the community would bo of much valve. IJc; will bo greatly missed from mu Parliament, and an outstanding figure has passed away. A BISHOPS TRIBUTE. •‘WORTH HATING AND WORTH LOVING.” Bishop Julius, when seen by a reporter, | said that Ohiistchurch, by the death of I its mayor, had lost more than its chicle*! | citizen. *' 01 Mr Taylor’s parliamentary ; career I have nothing to say,” said the ! Bishop, “ but of bis career as a citizen 1 | wilt say this much, that be bad ideals that » were neither selfish, mean, nor unworthy, j and he worked for them. Ho had convictions and lie stuck to them. Mem might agree with him or they might oppose him. but they could not despise him. He was a man worth bating and a man worth i loving. In auv case he was a man.'’ 1 l i A WOMAN’S APPRECIATION. ‘ - By the passing of Mr T. E. Taylor to | many thousands of the women of the Do- j minion the zest has been taken out of New ; Zealand polities. For us he lias been the ; embodiment of our ideals. Every hope i we had in the betterment of social condi- i lions centred round him. To us in all j the land was not bis peer : to us he is I New Zealand's most honmed soul W1 fitside of aspiring humanity was foreign) to j him? A keen lover of all that is brauU- | fill in art and woithy in science, a student | of literature and history, an ideal son, i husband, and father, a passionate devotee j of the truth, a high-born, noble knight in | the service of mankind 1 No single move- : merit dear to the hearts of the dreamers of ; fairer times and fairer manners but has I Deem battled for by him. 'J he poor drunk- ; an!, the .scorned women, the helpless child, j the frail, the went, the ago*], the broken- : hearted, all had in him a. triend am! chain- . pion. valiant, incorruptible, and redoubt- j *blo.-- Ada Wo-’.lis Christchurch. ■ ME EE PENCK'S IN PARLIAMENT’. | When the House, met yesterday afternoon. The Acting Prime M mist or ret erred to the death of Mr Taylor, who. since the House last met, had been gathered to the fold. He characterised the deceased politician aa a strong, fearless man, whose j loss would be keenly felt by the whole I country. His extraordinary powers soared . to the highest. He was a genius. lie had shown great qualities. _ and had distinguished himself in public life. This country had lost a powerful mind! a strong, ( , vigorous -spirit of tireless energy, a great champion of democracy. Ha moved—i “That the House places on record its high 1 sense of appreciation of the services r-n----dered to the Legislature by the late Mr ' T- E. Tavlor, and extends to bis widow and family the assurance of its sympathy : for them In their bereavement.'’ | Mr Massey, in seconding the motion, ! said he wished to express lbs sincere sympathy with the widow and family. Though l rnanv differed with the. bon. gentleman, all I were ready to honor the memory of him whom no one could say did not possess many good and remarkable qualities. He had few equals on the platform, and no equals ns lar ns this country was concerned. No member who ever sat in the New Zealand Parliament would ever forgot Mr TV E. Taylor. The Minister of Education (Mr Fowlds) said that to-day New Zealand mourned the loss of one of the greatest politicians ever seen in the country. Mr Taylor was, without douhl, the greatest speaker ever heard in Parliament- or on the platform in New Zealand. He had heard most of the I great speakers of the Old Land, and he 1 placed Mr Taylor second to none. The 1 position New Zealand occupied in temper- | ance was mainly due to Mr Taylor and a j few others associated with him in the I earlier periods of the movement. Since, Mr Seddon died he was sure nothing had made so gre.at an impression on the public as the death of Mr Taylor. Those who had not seen him in the bosom of his family had not seen him ai his best. The Hon. D. Buddo and Messrs Russell, M’Laren, Hogg, Malcolm, Laiu-onson, and Poole also made eulogistic reference to the | late, member. ■ The motion was put and carried, and ’ the House adjourned till 7;o0 p.m. on Tuesday. ; THE FUNERAL. j Government will be represented at Mr j TavlorV. funeral by the Acting Prime Minister iSir James Carroll). the Hun. George 1 Fowlds. and j 0. Hardy, chief Opposition Whip, will I officially represent Hie Opposition. Among ; members who intend being present are Mr ! L-iurenson, Mr Davey, Mr Witty, and Mr ■ Poole. , , . , T , . , .',r A. S. Adams (president ot the. United | Temperance Reform ‘Council and president i of the Otago No-license League) and Mr i c. Broad proceeded to Christchurch by | the second express to-day to represent the i Dunedin Prohibition party *at the- funeral (.to-morrow.

A COMRADE’S WORDS. THE MAN AND*HIS FRIEND. WORK NOBLY HONE. “ New Zealand by the death of T. If. Taylor has lost a greater man than ninetcntbfi of tho people will ever realise,” said Mr L. M. Isdtt to a member of the ‘ Lyttelton Times ’ staff on Thursday. Mr Ifiitt labored beside Mr Taylor ’in the early days of tho late Mayor’s career as a reformer and a politician, and tho acquaintance between tho two men ripened into an intimate friendship that was destined to last as long as life. “ Underlying our pride of country and the self-assertive-nee* common to young nations is the conviction that •nothing here equate the standard of the Mother Land. If onr othletos had not actually demonstrated their ability no one would ha,vo believed that they could compete with Britain’s host men. The hare suspicion, then, that the man we have lost —the man whom tho jieople have called, lovingly or scornfully, as they were frioads or enemies, ‘Tommy Taylor'—was a truly great man has never entered their minds. For ten years it was my privilege to travel Great Britain, to hear practically all and to meet privately many of the leaders in thought, statesmanship, and oratory. I onlv say now what I have said to many while lie was living : that I did not meet throe men who were bio equals in platform ability or a dozen his superiors :n native genius and force. “ Th private life I listened to cranio brilliant conversations about men who could draw upon stores of scholarship accumulated through long yeans of study and wide experience.: always I found myself comparing those with Taylor, and never to bis disadvantage or to the lessening of my estimate of his mental scope. When he v> as in Britain ten years ago he was very ill. afflicted with the trouble that itas endi-d his life so tragically, and it was with dilticulty that I persuaded him to speak at two meetings. At neither was he in his true form, but. at both he took the people by storm, and at one. a garden party at, Chiselburat,, 1 was besieged with inquiries from prominent Liberals a.s to the man and his historv.

“ Let your readers believe it or not, 1 am certain that, given the larger platform of British politics, in six months T. E. Taylor would have stood shoulder to shoulder with Lloyd George, John Bums, Winston Churchill, and the like, and that his opponents, would have winced under tho fiery invective or logical criticism that became so familiar to us here. But 1 think that it is not so much his ability as his individual worth that looms largo to-day. ‘I have tried,’ said he. in a few whispered words of farewell : ' 1 have made many mistakes, but 1 have tried to live on unselfish life for the good of the many.’ Tho words wore said humbly, pleadingly; but v,bat man at the end of the journey inn malic nobler claim, and who that in familiar with the whole life—boy and man—lived hero in Christchurch, will not testify th-'U Taylor dkl not try in vain? “ From the very outset he was a reformer, and the- triend of the erring and intemperate. At an age when most lads think only of football and cricket, he was hunting tho Svdnehmn and Addington liquor bars foi ilei-elic:s. pleading wi’b them to sign the pledge lot the sake of their wives and lannlies. and often helping them out of his wages—-the scanty wages of an oilier hoy— to make a new start.

‘‘lfaults? Yes, lie liod faults. In libs Lite, as in ours, there were times when ho swerved from his own high ideals, and did and said things for which he sorrowed. But those who wcie in his closest confidence know how true was the course he bid and followed, how persistently and earnestly ho strove to fashion his life on noble linos. A keen lighter himself, the victim of constant and cruel misrepresentation and wrong, in the heat of the moment his retorts were not id ways measured. But he was swift to forget and forgive, and anyone who imputed to him the ca.pacity for cold liatred or malice did not know tno man.

“ His pliysni io-tis testify what a strain _«n nerve and' eelf-control hie illness during the past ten years has involved, and marve! how he could bear the bur-den and still do the work he has done, Aitnv ho has gone, and the -arrow of tens of thousands is tiro sinesi. evidence of 1 1 ts moral worth, iho st longest testimony to his. Inc atm ebaiucter. To-day the world i» grey—how grey to how tnanv I —and iitn, instead of being a /r.-i and a jov, for u while evil* he a. burden to be Ironic." a duty to Ire fulfilled, unt.il grief hits exacted her tribute and time plays her healing part.” ,MKh:SA(SIvH OF .SYMPATHY. (Pur If kited Press Association.] chiii stcteuj ten. July 'w. Fhxa'ri wow waved at bulf-mast in Ihe city to-day, and they won' the. outward and visible indic.-uion of the city's iorrow at the passing away of the mayor. livery - wbc-tc the event was discussed, and there w;cs only the -me opinion ——vt/.., that- the city had sustained a loss which was irreparable. There is no otto who can be _i« Christchurch wiiat Mr lay lor t'as to it. Heady sympathy tiowed towards the beleaved wile and family, whose loss igreater and more poignant than -that of the city. Messages of sympathy with Mm. Taylor"and family and tributes to her lute husband «oim received fr</iu a,ll pads of the Dominion. People tend organisations alike seemed to be alfoetod with the one feu line of -sorrow l-hat such an on i-ic iwl ir. figure in the public life of the country had been so suddenly removed. The following arc cxintcts from sonic of the telegrams roceivod Her Kscelieney and I desire to os pro* our sincere sympathy to you and your family in the sad and premature death of vour husband. —Islington.. li was with the deepest regret that I learned of the death of your dear hr-s----band. and 1 hog to espiesn tn you .ml vour family my heartfelt sympathy m "vour bereavement. Parliament lias indeed loel by Mr Taylors death a member who was gifted with exceptional talent and. ability, and whose sincerity ol purport' was u marked characteristic of his ptibiie i-aroer. .1, A. Millar. 1 deeply regret to loam of tire death of vour dear husband, who was uit-ielli-sh tliroughoul ills public career. He spent his hid in the public interest. His leva It v and friendship will be a memory to" a!]'who knew him. Mrs Buddo joins with me in conveying to you our deepest sympathy in your sad bereavement. — I>. Buddo. Air Taylor was universally er-Teemed for his faithful and distinguished servieflfe in the ya'oploh cause. —(,seo. Jones, .M.L.C. Trust you will find some comfort in the know ledge that he died working for the people.—Goo. Witty. M.l*. Wo tender yourself and family our ancons sympathy in your great ices. -- Hon. I’. M'Kion/.ie. The country can ill -afford to lose one, of such untiring energy. —W. Nosworthy, M.P.

Mr Taylor's death makes a serious breach in. the bulwark of national righteousncsk—J. P. Lake, M.P. j Shocktd beyond expression at tragic j novvt-i of the death of your distinguished : husband Wc feel it as a personal Joes, j Mv colleagues join me in offering you I our sorrowing sympathy.- ituhani Hazleton, M.P. (Homo Itulc delegate;. Messages of condolence were received ; from almost every member or the House. When the Magistrate's Court oommenced ita sitting yesterday morning the. magistrate (Mr T. A. 3.5. Hailey) stated that lie could add nothing to tb« eulogies which had already appeared in the pajßT.s as to the sterling qualities or tire late, mayor. His death was a v-ry great lops net criiy to the citv but- to the country as a w uolc. Mr Ttivlor had been a. man of^ many parts of s'.criwur qmditiv*.. Whenever he. had put hi«v hand to anything he had not turned bide, and Iris steadfastness to his ideals was very marked. His energy and industry had been the wonder of everybedv. 'The late Mr Taylor bad been _ a born fighter, and it would bo come sati-s----f:H'tion°to his friends to know that he. had lived and died in harness. His Worship then adjourned th« Court for half an hour as'a tribute. of res pud. to the Into mayor's memory. The, funeral will -leave -tJa&Gfty ContHui._

building at 2.30 pjn. to-morrow for tho Addington Cemetery. The body will be brought to the Council Chamber at 10 a.m., and will remain in the chamber until the afternoon. The Council Chamber will be open to the public between 10.30 a.ru. and 2 p.m. Messages of toirow and sympathy are still being delivered in large batches to friends of the late Mr Taylor. They oorae from all parts of New Zealand, every district being represented, every public body, and almost ©very society. The demonstration of public sympathy is comparabioonly with that on theoccasion of the de.-i.th of Mr Seddon. Representative men are arriving from all parts of the Dominion. and the funeral is already assuming encli large' proportions that the city authorities have been compelled to make special arrangements to keep the route open and organise a procession. ' A meeting will be held this afternoon to make preliminary arrangements for a suitable memorial. The suggestion has rome from outside the circle of the immediate. friends of the dead man that a tund be. raised and presented to Mrs Taylor, so that the family may bo saved from suffering any hardship as tho result of Mr Taylor’s sacrifices in the service of the Dominion. It is understood that Mr Taylor left a very modest estate, which would liavc been far larger but for the time Mr Taylor devoted to public affairs.

At the meeting of the Momington Wesley Guild last evening, a resolution was adopted expressive of sympathy with the family of the Lite Mr T. K. Taylor in their bereavement, and also referring to the great work done by Mr Taylor o-n the temperance question. ’The Hon. J, T. Paul will represent the Otago Trades and Labor Council at Mr Taylor’;; funeral. The Rev. W. Slade has invited members of the Otago Trades and Labor Council to be present at the. memorial service to be held in the Garrison Hall to-morrow evening. At the meeting of the Taieri County Council yesterday the chairman referred to the death of Mr Taylor, and a resolution of .sympathy with Mrs Taylor and family wak passed in silence, the members standing. At, a meeting of the Otago Brassfiniaher-s’ Union, held last evening, the following resolution was carried by the members standing:—"That this union desire to extend to Mrs Taylor and family our sincere sympathy in tiieir sad bereavement.” The Otago'branch of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants yesterday despatched a. telegram expressing the sympathy of the members with Mrs Taylor in her sad bereavement. At a meeting of the Otago and Southland Moulders’ Union last evening it was decided to forward a message of condolence from tho members to Mrs Taylor.