A NOTABLE CENTENARY.

Grey River Argus, 8 May 1912, Page 1

A NOTABLE CENTENARY.

BIRTH OF SIR 'GEORGE GREY. . OUTLINE OF HIS CAREER. Every New Zealarider is familiar, with the .name of Sir Georgrev Grey. The events of his life arid his influence on thehi'story of New Zealand as Governor and Prime Minister are not so well known, and i: will probably surprise many New Zealanders to learn ;he 14th of this month was the centenary of his birb. , ! On April 6, 1812, 'the .Anglo Portuguese Army, under the command of the Duke of Wellington, stormed and took Badajos. Colonel Grey,: the command er of the third division, fell at the third assault. Eigtt days later his son George, destined to be revered at the two ends of the worlds was born at Lisbon- Sir George Grey wrote from Wellington to a friend in Auckland :— ".My poor father 'feH on the nig-ht of the assault (the 6th), and I was born on the 14th. My birth was hurried on by his death at Lisbon, where my dear mother would reside, to be near her husband to nurse him if; he were wounded. In such sorrow as my entry into life. Young Grey naturally inclined, by his father's career, to enter the army; and he gained a captaincy by the time ho was twenty-four. He afterwards turned his attention to exploration work in Australia. In the second expedition he saved the lives of his party by pushing 1 on Alone to Perth for help. So greatly as he changed by his suffering's that nobody recognised him, and he was taken by one lady who knew him for a crazy Malay. His story of his trials' are among- the most , romantic in the^ history of Australian exploration, and reveal his courage persev ■erance, and endurance under privations GOVERNOR OF NEW ZEALAND. At the end of 1840, when he was 28 years of age, Captain Grey was appointed Governor of Soutb Australia, and in 1845 he was appointed Governor of New Zealand, succeeding Captain Fitzroy. . He was launched upon a sea ot troubles. There was no money; a large sum was afloat in debentures, and the natives ere disaffected everywhere, being fearful of the, confiscation of their lah.ds,w bile Hone and Kiiwi'ti, at the Bay of Islands, were flushed with the confidence of victory. The new Governor borrowed, from the military coffers and dealt with the debenture question. Then he went 'to the scene of operations in the Bay of Islands, and directed a plan of campaign; and after returning- to Auckland to have important ordinances pas sod, he went back to the Bay oi Islands to direct the operatioii&Sfllie famous Ruapekapeka pa. He was an eyewitness to the ; capture of the pa in 1846, and virtually engaged in .the assault. Heke's power was broken; and the war ended. A WORLD-WIDE REPUTATION. There was' still 'trouble in 'the sou! 1 owing to the conduct of Te Rauparaha and Rangihaeatea ; and in July of the same year the Governor landed with 130 men a 1 : Poriruaj seized the murderous Te Rauparaha, and took him away prisoner on a warship. Peace reigned after that till 1860. It was for these services that Capain Grey was knighted in 1848, and ithe degree of L.L.D., was conferred uipon him by the University of Oxford, and his reputation quickly became world-wide. INFLUENCE WITH THE MAORIS. Sir George Grey's career in New Zealand is divisible into three periods. From 1845 to y852 he was Governor of a Crown Colony, and practically autocratic. Thereafter till 1868 he held office With a responsible Government which virtually transferred his power bo those of his constitutional Ministers. From 1874 to 1890 he was a leading member of the House f Representatives and for two years, 1877-1879, he was Prime Minister. It may be said thai Sir George found the country in a state of depression and war, and left it at the close of his first administration enjoying peace .and prosperity. He gained a personal influence over the natives I fcuclr as no other single person has ever exercised. He studied deeply •their traditions and songs, and his collection of Maori petry established itself as a standard. He preserved the literature and .traditions flf an. interesting race, and did more for philology than many, men who have .. devoted a lifetime to study of the science.* NEW ZEALAND'S INTERESTS. . In 1847 Earl Grey, Secretary of State for the Colonies, sent' out a Royal Charter making certain changes in the constitution of the colony. But Sir George ! Grey, seeing that it would set the whole country in a blaze, set aside,. and reassured the natives tha**; their interests would ibe preserved as to the understanddiig in regard to waste land In 1852 a new constitution was framed upon his plans. -" s .. For a very small ;um Sir George Grey bought the rights of «the natives to the Middle Island, after allowing them ample reserves. Thus die islandwas opened to European settlement, and Canterbury and Qtago were soon founded by the New Zealand Company. ■-: IN SOUTH AFRICA. . In 1885 Sir George was appointed Governor of the Cape and High Commissioner of Raffraria, but three years later, owing- to the. promulgation of a policy, distasteful to -the British Government, for the: federation of South African States, he; was recalled. There was a sudden change of Government and 12 days later, while he -was on his \yay- to England,., was - reinstated :and

he returned to finish bis term.