OBITUARY

Evening Star, Issue 20987, 29 December 1931, Page 6

OBITUARY

HON. W. EARNSHAW A Wellington Press Association tele* gram announces the death of the Horn W. Earnshaw, after a short illness. William Earnshaw was a Manchester man, born there in 1852. He displayed ability at school, and was apprenticed as an all-round mechanic. When twenty-one years old he went to America, and worked at his trade. Two years later he returned to England, but did not stay, preferring to come to' New Zealand. Soon after landing lie; made up his mind to try Australia, but; still he could not settle, and he made ; further visits to America and England then returning to Melbourne. In 1878 j he once more came to New Zealand, and - worked in the Addington Railway;, Workshops for two years, untd a 10, per cent, cut in the wages of Govern-, ment employees caused him to leave.-j In 1881 he secured employment as brass i finisher with the firm of Anderson and) Morrison in Dunedin, and remained in j that employ until elected to Parliament in 1893 for the Peninsula seat.He stood in the Liberal-Labour inter-1 est at that election. At the outset or j his campaign in that election he fainted! whilst addressing a meeting , in Nau--mann’s Hall, being pertinaciously | heckled, and when the two reporters who sat handiest to him went to hisj aid he told them that he would .chuck j it up,” but they got him a drink oU water, told him to buck up, and he dul| so with good effect. Three years Inters Mr Earnshaw was returned m the same interest for Dunedin City. Subsequently ) he broke from Labour, and became an j Independent. In the session of 189d-yu be allied himself with Sir Robert Stout,-, and thus incurred the hostility ot tue Labour Party. That brought about Ins, defeat in the election of 1892, and his stinging and historical good-bye to ,tn© electors from a window of the Garrison Hall, his winding-up remark being _to the effect that they could all go to the place of torment. Shortly after that defeat Mr Earnshaw went to Wellington, and engaged .in engineering being mostly interested in dredge buildmg for the West Coast. It was in 1913 1 that he was called to the Legislative Council. -