DEATH OF MR T.E. TAYLOR.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 189, 28 July 1911, Page 5

DEATH OF MR T.E. TAYLOR.

AS HE LIVED SO HE DIED. ! AN HONEST FIGHTER TO THE FINISH. PRESS ASSOCIATION.] Christchurch, July 27. The Alayor. Mr. T. E. Taylor, M.P.. passed a quiet night, but was gradually becoming weaker. He. still retained consciousness up to, about midday. During the morn-, ing he had an interview with Air.; L. AL Isitt, and dictated several, messages to his friends and con-j stituents. Air. Taylor was in a! very weak state, and the conversation was conducted in whispers. This morning the Deputy-Alayor, Mr. J. J. Dougall, called at the nursing home, and was informed that Air. Taylor was sinking and! could not last much longer. At| 3.10 p.m. it was reported that Mr.; Taylor was gradually getting worse. [ The whole of his family were pre-; sent, and the end was expected at' any moment. At 4.20 p.m., there! was no further change reported, I and he died at 5.15 p.m. !

The deep tolling of the Cathedral; bell late this afternoon proclaimed; to a saddened city that the end had! come, ami that the Alayor, Mr. T.; E. Taylor, ALP., had passed away.! His immediate illness dated from | only a week ago, but so serious; was the disorder that death came' with almost tragic suddenness. AU first no serious consequences were anticipated, but as the days went l by the bulletins issued became less; and less of a reassuring nature, uu-! til finally it was announced that no hope of recovery could be held out. Despite his bodily disorder, his j mind retained an extraordinary' alertness, and even up to yesterday morning he was dictating to a close friend final messages to his constituents and others. On Wednesday Air. Taylor passed a quiet : night, but as the day advanced; he weakened gradually, until at mid-day to-day he lapsed into un- ; consciousness. Now and again he, brightened up, and he spoke to his wife at about three o’clock in the; afternoon, that being his last con-, scions act. From thence forward he seemed to slumber, and shortly after five o’clock he passed away.

STORY Ol ? HIS SHORT ILLNESS A short history of Air. Taylor’s illness was supplied officially tonight by the surgeons in attendance. Air. Taylor, it was stated suffered from chronic indigestion for many years. He attended a public meeting on Wednesday evening of last week, and during the night was seized with abdominal pains. A consultation was held on Sunday, and it w*as then decided that an operation was necessary. It was found that there was a longstanding ulceration of the stomach and the adjoining bowel, with a recent perforation of the ulcer in the stomach and local peritonitis. It was hoped first that the operation would be successful, but on| Wednesday serious symptoms' arose, and an examination showed! that nothing further could be done.; The doctors and nurses in attend-) ance were very much impressed;

; with Mr. Taylor’s fortitude, his I i calmness, and his thoughtfulness! ! for his family and others. j i FAREWELL TO HIS FRIENDS. | What was practically the final; interview between Air. Taylor and! his friends took place yesterday i morning at ten o’clock. Mr. L. M. | Isitt, who for many years was as-! , sociated with Air. Taylor in the! Prohibition campaign, and Mr. H. j Cole, one of Mr. Taylor’s business; partners, were summoned into Air. • Taylor’s room. Air. Taylor, whose; illness had reduced him very much! indeed, appeared to be unconscious, i but when he spoke it was evident! that his mind was working with | some of his old vigour. He asked j his friends to take down some fare-; well notes and messages to his! friends. In a message to the Rev.; John Dawson, general secretary to' the New Zealand Alliance. Air. Tay-i lor addressed the following words :; 1911 is our year of emancipation if we are true to God and our op portunities.” Turning then to Air.' Cole, the dying man said. Cole,; they call us fanatics, but National; Prohibition is worth living for and worth dying for.” A message f r Labour was given to Air. Isitt - — “ Isitt. this is a lovely country ; Tell my Labour friends that they have a divine chance here if they; will only recognise the religious element and lift the movement to its highest plane.” There were; other messages of a private nature. ‘ and the interview, which had been; an extremely affecting one to; those concerned in it. terminated.! Air. Taylor spoke very little after-! wards. j

' FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS. i The- funeral will lake place on Sunday afternoon, and will be a | civic funeral. The body, which has ; now been taken to Mr. Ti' A > s 1 private house on the Cashmere ' Hills, will be brought to the C it\ Council Chamber on Sunday m.»rn- ; mg. and the funeral cortege will : start from the Council Chamber. WIDESPREAD AND UNIVERSAL SYMPATHY. Wellington, July 27. : 'Widespread regret is expressed in Wellington at the death of Mr. T. E. Taylor. ; The Trades and Labour Council 1 to-night passed a resolution of ! regret and condolence with the ! family, and decided to be reprei sente’d at the funeral by the presi- ; .lent. ; The Wellington City Council passed a resolution of confidence with Mr. T. E. Taj’lor’s family, and adjourned for ten minutes as a mark of respect. ! AfESSAGES OF 1 SYMPATHY. ! Christchurch. July 28. ! Alessages of sympathy with Airs, i Taylor have been pouring in all the i morning, the common note being I admiration for the splendid fighting i career of the dead man. ! A AIEAIORIAL SUGGESTED. i There is a disposition among ! local Prohibitionists to make the ; appeal to the Dominion for national ! prohibition this year as a memorial [ to the dead leader of the move- ; ment, and in all probability this 1 will be adopted as the rallying cry !of the party in the coining campaign. AN UNSELFISH LIFE.

Air. Taylor knew on Wednesday; that his case was hopeless, and sent ; for his friends to discuss business: affairs and aspects of political; work. His farewell words to Air., L. Al. Isitt were, ”1 have made' many mistakes, but I have .tried toj live an unselfish life, for the good! of the many.” Earlier he had said,! 'I have had a happy life, and it! has been full from beginning to; end. I am very tired. I know 1; shall be happier where I am going,. but I am glad to think that I have; lived out every moment, and that; I have tried to do always what was; right.” LABOUR’S TRIBUTE TO THE i DEAD MAN. Wellington, July 28. The following resolution was ■ passed by the Council of the New Zealand Labour party to-day: —; “That this Council, in the name of: the entire body of the Neiy Zealand Political Labour party, places on recqrd its great sense of loss and its feeling of deepest sorfpw in the , death of, such a brave fighter for principle, justice, truth, and right,, as T. E. Taylor. ~We realise fully ‘ that the workers of New Zealand had no truer friend than the de-; ceased, and we trust that Taylor’s 1

last message to the workers of our country may inspire the minds and hearts of all our members and lift our movement, as he wisely urged, to the highest moral plane.’’ ALLIANCE’S IRREPARABLE LOSS. Wellington, July 28. The executive of the New Zealand Alliance has passed a resolution placing on record its sense of irreparable loss the cause of temperance and national righteousness has sustained by the death of Mr. Taylor, also its appreciation of the invaluable and unrivalled services which his courage, his enthusiasm, his high character, his eloquence, and his unflinching devotion to principles have rendered to the cause. The Alliance extends its profound sympathy to the widow and family, and expresses the hope that the people of New Zealand! will be inspired by Air. Taylor’s! example and by his dying message) to be “ True to God and our oppor-: tunities,” and to make 1911 “our! year of emancipation.” ;

THE LATE MR. T. E. TAYLOR.; AN APPRECIATION. ! (By T. Clarkson.) ; I can well remember the time! when rotten eggs constituted the; chief attention given to the late Air.; Taylor when he ventured to express j an opinion in public. His rostrum! would be the tailboard of a enrri-' er's cart, and his assailants a band of Christchurch larrikins who; sneered and jeered at the aggres-j sive youngster who dared the public platform at a period when most; of his mates were playing football; or billiards. His text was •‘Prohi-; bition” and it was one which had; few followers at the time,, anil its advocates had to endure something very much akin to persecution. But neither jeers, sneers. nor threats could daunt the courage <>t’; this unusual youth, and sc-on his persistence, coupled wit h that magic personality which has become.

known throughout New Zealand compelled respect even from his worst assailants, and the name of " Tommy,” originally given in ridicule, became a term of the most affectionate meaning to the younger generation in the Southern city. What Taylor did for the cause he took up as a youngster is easily told. Alore than any others of the great leaders of that party, he was;, responsible for giving that issue ( lie importance it bolds to-day. He fought for it with such vigour an J singleness of purpose that the principle became a live issue in the Dominion, and its determined advocate became known as “ Coldwater Tommy.” At this time there were few persons who realised the remarkable brain capacity of the man or his wide store of knowledge, and when he first stood for the House there was a good deal of curiosity as to whether he would be able to talk about anything bub Prohibition. It was my privilege to report that speech for the “ Lyttelton Tinies,” and though knowing 1 him well, I got the surprise of my life. Keen critics declared it to be one of the ablest political addresses that had been delivered in Christchurch. Its journalistic value was well assessed by my editor, who had allotted me two columns, and afterwards increased the space to four. That speech was afterwards quoted by Lord Rosebery in the House of Lords. From that time no one ever doubted Mr. Taylor’s political knowledge, and* no one will deny that Parliament House has held few who have had the masterly grip of political subjects displayed by this greatest of Radicals. His oratorical and debating powers are too well known to need more than a passing reference. To my mind he was without question the most brilliant and striking figure who has appeared

on the political platform during my life. True, he never attained Ministerial office, but, after all, of what is that a test ? No one, however gifted otherwise, can reach the highest political positions unless he is something of an opportunist, and Taylor w r as never that. Hg was one of those rare individuals w’ho spoke precisely as he thought—a> faculty that is quite foreign to the trimmers and railsitters who always weigh their words with a view to political advancement. In a man this uncompromising nature is the greatest of traits, but in a leader it may appear as a defect. Thus his opponents w*ere apt to say that Taylor could only pull down, that he could never be a successful administrator. Here they were only guessing. His recent election to the Mayoralty of .Christchurch gave him an opportunity of testing whether his versatility would again falsify the predictions of adverse critics. Unfortunately, Fate, held the “joker,” and the trial was stopped, but as far as it had gone the results were in Taylor’s favour. He was already 7 making good as the Chief Magistrate of the Cathedral city. What an orator he was! I havfr heard him scores of times, and on scores of subjects, and he was

| always interesting. He was at his i best at a stormy meeting, for Tay- ; lor was one of the keenest fighters ; I ever knew. Opposition merely i lent zest to his efforts on the puh- ! lie platform, and many a time he ! faced a howling mob that refused! to hear him at the outset, and cheered him to the echo ere he closed. Like all public men, be had to take his share of the fiokle- ! ness of the public. Christchurch | electors turned him down more | than once, but they came back to I him. and at the time of his death ; he was probably the most popular man in Christchurch. To be sure, he had his defects —we all have—but they were not grave ; whilst his virtues were magnificent. He was brimful of enthusiasm ;he was chock-a-block of high ideals and noble thoughts, and if in fighting for their fruition he sometimes fought ill, we can surely forgive him. I believe, now that he is gone, friends and foes alike will take this view, and if the people of Christchurch and of New Zealand are true to their own they will see to it that statues of the deceased

will be erected as an indication of the direction in which we New Zealanders direct our hero-worship. For Taylor’s fine qualities were not displayed merely in public. It was my good fortune to know him intimately, and I can say emphatically that his private life was absolutely of an ideal description. Anyone visiting his home at Cashmere Hills could not have failed to be impressed with the striking contrast between the outward appearance of the public man and the husband and father in private life. The man who had probably been waging a bitter political fight the. night before would be romping like a veritable kid with the youngest of his family. After greeting the visitor, the conversation would by chance touch some literary subject. Immediately the hi>s; would launch out with enthusiasm on a topic that ton had thought he could know n--

tiling of. and soon you ’•'ould ffi.r. that here again he had as <. m grip as he had of the political mat£rs more associated with his name. his all-ioui. ■ knowledge was remarkable, particularly in view of the fact that he seemed to be always m t n P u >i' eye, with no leisure for reading. And now he is gone. Parliament will go on without him. but it will, miss with a genuine regret one o’ I the most vitalising influences tha. deadly chamber has known. ine people of Christchurch will miss the magnetic contact of a citizen *ho seemed to infect with hisenthmi-. asm all whom he met m the course j of a day's business. And hundreds i of people in New Zealand who j never saw the man will regret ie loss of one who stood for unselfish | principles and dared alwavs to fight for them. But his work stand, and this is the only consola-, tion that remains for his sorrowing , friends. ’ —!