NEW ZEALAND MOURNS

Hutt News, Volume 13, Issue 41, 3 April 1940, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND MOURNS

During the previous .IS months Mr: Salvage had been suffering irom n an illness which was accentuated by s the physical strain ol important e office, and in August lust he entered a hospital and underwent, a serious o abdominal operations. Towards the 1 end of July, when Parliament was s Bitting, Mr. Savage was indisposed / for several days, hut bravely re- t: iurned to the House of. Represents- I tive on the night of August Ist to e read the Financial Statement in the capacity of Acting Minister ol Finance while the lien. \\. Na.-h ■was in' London. the followm:; ; morning he entered hospital and . 'was operated on on Any est mI.. After a few days of a:i>:i- ty, Mr. ( Sava££*'s'eetWCd to make rapid progress towards recovery and w..s ;'-"'"Ij after three weeks to return io ins home to complete his convalescent--. On tlt<! eve of the adjournment of * the session', October i'-th. ne paid his- last visit to the JlO'l.'e of llepre- j sentatives, and received -a reception from all sections in ''"'j. House. j] Mr. Savage was a native ol vie toria, Australia, having . on a farm near H.-nalla in thai on March 7, Jl<' w'as j his <s!>h year. His lamer, Kiriiard Savage, who had arrived with In.:' wife from Ireland a slion time fore the son was born, had a (arm ( about 1- miles from I'.enalla. and n._ was in this atinosphei>' ol' life that the future Prime Minister j of New Zealand spent his early | years. , At the age of 111 years he took a position as' a shop assistant >u a general store at ISeitalia. a,id worked there till the big bank crash of, JBJKI occurred. Tiiousands ol j.eopb-1 were compelled to loot.' lor woik.l and Mr. Savage was one of ihem.j He moved to New South Wales, and j there found employment ou "ae- oi j the stations of Sir Saniuei Mc- j Caughey, afterward a «>1 the Legislative Assembly, and o:k- I of the few millionaires of Aus-j tralia. . J For a great part of his time- on j that station, Mr. Savage worked a* j scooping out irrigation channels The district. almost uninhabited j then, is now the site of the town oi J Griffiths, with a population ap-. proaching -d.i 'id people. Mr. in;*, age found employment, with other men in the district till I■ ; ' 1- when he went to the mining town of liutherglen, in Victoria, where his brother was working. He did not intend to stay, but before long lit? lound himself working in a deep alluvial mine at North Prentice, near Rutherglen. He then became secretary of the Political Labour Council, which is now the Australian Labour Party, and it was there also, during his first six or seven years, that, he met Mr. P. C. Webh, who is now .Minister of Labour and of Mines in his Cabinet, and has ever since been one of his closest lrietuis. Mr. Savage wa.s closely associated with the co-operative movement started among the miners, and lie was appointed organiser and subsequently manager of the bakery and grocery store. However, Jie joand that this tf'ork was not congenial, and after nine or 1" nionihs in the Htofe h6 was induced by .Mr. Webb to come to New Zealand. I hough he had decided to go to the West Coast, he went first to l'almerston North. It is significant, perhaps, that Mr. Saviftje land.ed in New Zealand on Labour Day, 1!»mi. His first employ metn was in Mr. George Seifert's flaxmill. ftt Tokomaru. He worked therjs si>; lll01!ll!s < however, when Bp^Preference to the stalling of a comparative grocery in Auckland attracted him there. That' particular venture did not COT3BO 'to anything, hut lie made Auckland hris home town Irom that time? tiH he' became Prime Minister ja l!>3s,i.When, naturally, he became • a citizen* of iWellington. He obtainetl.wartc in Hancock's brewery in A upland, where the varied mechanical- knowledge he had acquired was turned to good account. He was jnatolydemployed as & cellarman.

DEATH OF PRIME '' MINISTER

Mr. Savage became a leading nember of the Labour Party and ,tood for the Auckland Central •lector;;to in its interests in UHI ,nd l!Ht, being defeated on both (pensions by Mr. A. EI. Glover. In he won the Auckland West eat, which lie has held ever since. U that time he was National Secreary of the New Zealand Labour 'arty, but resigned the position on .I!tiring Parliament. Deputy-Leader of PaVty. W in n Mr. James McCombs retir- ■ d from the position of deputyeader of the Parliamentary Labour >art\ in 1!'-"., Mr. Savage was 111aiiimensiy appointed to the posiion. I'nder Mr. Savage's leadership the Labour Pai'ty won a sweeping vic.ory at the general election on NoiVinber _7. in::.".—the first to be held U'ter bis selection as leader of the lariy. W'iiliout detracting in any ■ vay from tile work of other memucrs. of the party it was generally igix-if ibaf the result, was to a very laru'e <■ \1 - iit. a personal triumph for r-\,va::e ami an endorsement of hiimaniti;l'ian ideals which he n::.d consistently advocated. Indeed, !t can he said iiiat few Prime Minisk rs have enjoyed the same measure o!' p--r~.ona! ju)j hi In rit y as Mr. Savage. ami even his" bitterest poliijt-:> 1 opponents have always recognised rcspecte.il his honesty ami sincerity of purpose. ,V ami persuasive debater whit a ready wil, Mr. Savage's lin.eche; .showed careful and painsia I:ing preparation. Kven before he i ; iin.e Li i.der of the Opposition he I'reiluently nil-(1.■ the opening speech for his party in important debates. A man of high ideals, 'Mr. Savage had urea! hopes in the influence of the Leavw! of Nations for the peace of the world, but this was not to be, for iie went i.o his grave - with the [■".muire a' war. Indeed, his very last i.ublic utterance was an address ex-Piv-an;;- his admiration for th« armed forces which had taken a stand for democracy and freedom. Mi. Savage had a great capacity for friendship, and many of his closest friends differed from his politically, it was a real joy to him to meet people, whether in his! office in Parliament JUiildings on in their own homes. Michael Joseph' Savage was a man of the people, whose memory will be treasured by many. His Last Public Appearance. Few public appearances have been made by Mr. Savage since his operation last year. His last was at the reception given by the Government on January -1 in honour of the Papal Legate to the National Eucharist ic Congress, Archbishop Panico. and his suite. He also spoke at the ollicial farewell in Parliament House grounds earlier that month to the troops of the First Echelon of ihe Seccml New Zealand Expeditionary Force. For a few weeks before Christmas and again after the holiday vacation period Mr Savage attended fairly regularly in the mornings at his office in Parliament Huildings. The last Cabinet meeting al. which he presided was a whole day meeting of the Ministry on January Few interests outside politics have claimed Mr. Savage's attention during recent years. He was at one time a keen bowler, but an occasional visit to a race or trotting meeting or an occasional motor drive at a week-end was his main relaxation since taking up his residence in Wellington at the end of in:;.-,. There was nothing he enjoyed better than a morning stroll, and ■with a Ministerial colleague, it was, before the days of his illness, a regular thing for Mr. Savage to take a daily walk in the Botanical Gardens, along the waterfront or in the city. Although a bachelor, Mr. Savage was a home-loving man. He was an excellent host and at weekends be frequently entertained old friends. Mr. Savage was a man of modest and simple tastes. His loyalty to old friends was demonstrated when be came to live in Wellington on assuming the office of Minis-

ter, and a family with whom he had shared a home in Auckland for the previous :i0 years accompanied him to the capital. They were Mr. and Mrs. A. J. French, in whose house Mr. Savage lived when he first went to Auckland from Australia. Mr. Savage and Mr. and Mrs. French, on taking up residence in Wellington, lived first in the Ministerial residence in Molesworth Street, but recently they moved to a more commanding site at Northland, and it was there that Mr. Savage died. "One cannot live with people for all those years without a common bond being established," said Mr. Savage when mentioning after the lMi) election that Mr. and Mrs. French were to accompany him to Wellington. "I should feel lost without the companionship of such friends. Long Hours in House. When the Prim© Minister lay in state in Parliament Buildings, thousands of people paid their last tribute to their friend and leader as they reverently passed through the crowded halls. The funeral obsequies were commenced in Wellington on Saturday morning, when in brilliant sunshine, with fujl dignity and solemnity the casket, mounted on a gun carriage, the funeral cortege walketl through the city streets, lined with thousands of mourners, to the railway station where it was placed on a special" train for Auckland at 10.30 where it arrived at 2.15 on Sunday. En route train was stopped at various towns to enable residents to pay their last respects. New Zealand's beloved Prime Miiu ister was buried at Bastion Point, Auckland, on Sunday afternoon amidst scenes of unprecedented grief and affection.