SIR DONALD McLEAN.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume II, Issue 243, 17 September 1912, Page 2

SIR DONALD McLEAN.

SIR JAMES CARROLL’S AI’PRE CIATION.

FOND RECOLLECTIONS

Sir James Carroll gave a charac.eristic addri ss at the Lc>s Institute. Auckland, on Friday night last. His <■:<: was “Statesmen of New Zealand.” and as the Auckland “Star” tciscly puls it, lew men ■cnld limn the great ones among his Dominion’s past statesmen as Sir James Carroll, a member i.i me lative race, sketched them, almost inpromptn. during the course of iris address this evening.” Demands ■ o mr spice to-day prevent the re

publication of the Auckland “Star’ 1 : ' ■ep< rt in full, but Sir James’s euiogv >f the late irir Donald Mcl.ijMi musi find place in a Hawke’s Bujy paper, riie “Star” reports: “Sir J ■ini'? Carroil bad fond rcc<. licet ions ,oj ■ s o' Donald M vLcau. describi <1 ittL i li.‘ •hairmnn (Mr. T. W. Levs) as he sreatesi. Native Minister v,bo Im, ■tiled in Now Zealand. It was Sir Donald who had lured the speakt o a boy out of C<jinmissioimr Locke’s i.fiiee in Napier in the ieviiitics, taken hint for a year’; xpcrience in Wellington, and given lint the ambition which had set Ir.i ’oct. to the political ladder. 8:r Donald, said Sir Donald's exprotege, was a Highlander, a trio 1 Celt, wbo iiund cut hire in thi’ native race a yet pie like Irs own >ei pie in the Highlands divide t atn tribes, with a. high pride of ind a l< Hy sern-e of honour. S;c Dc.mdd sit to wrk. and in a very ittle lime aeqiiireod the lan gunge of .he old classic M m ri. a language m, (iff) rent from tlm present-day Maor: speech as tlie English .of to day ana ■■■cm old Creek. Sir Donald used '< qicnk to tin 1 old Maori chiefs as lo lie maimer born, using the nneivut u'ii m- and method.- of oratory. H’’ was a ver;, painstaking man, br.t sound, not given to precipitancy, and ilways went on the rule “sufficient for the day.” Ho knew that H.o Mniri wus m i carried away l>y essive hast;, was a deliberate poron : that ■.vhntevor proposal was nil mi ii 11 f I to him, Ihi’tigh lie migiit i? the position clearer himself than lie n. he ilw said \\ a. ” rhere wis no one who uinlendoo I be policy of taihoa mori’ Ilmn Sir Donald McLean, and by it he was •espomibie for more land setthm n.t ord acquiring more land from be natives than was <l<nie under any >th< r policy in New Zealand. He bad meh an extraordinary gift *’or ingratiating himself in the minds of he people, t hat what over he asked 'er vCis gr;i<■ ioiisTv handl'd over l>y ho chiefs. Had he lived, the Mao’m.vcmld have bi'iiel'ittcd l?v the fulfil mint <f promises tor the handing back of Crown lands L r reserv"o’s. ind tl'c currying out of ninny tliine,'ic bad determined to carry out. He vas a man wh dealt orally with Im Maoris. and rareiv I r-insmit I, cd hing’:-. to paper, and there was noth 'ng of these things on record wli.i, he s'.iddi-nlv and prcmntnrely died.