SIR JOHN M'KENZIE.

Lake County Press, Issue 975, 15 August 1901, Page 7

SIR JOHN M'KENZIE.

The news of the passing away of Sir John M'Kenzie, which took place at 7.30 p.m. on the 6th August, at his home at Heathfield, will have been receivxed in every part of the Colony with feelings of genuine The deceased statesman was born at Ardross, in Ross-shire (Scotland), on October 18, 1838, and came to this colony in 1861. The first employment he obtained was in the service of the late Mr John Jones on hi? run in southern Shag Valley, named Goodwood and Puketapu Mr M'Kenzie had been brought up on the farm of his father, who kept sheep and depended on the rearing of cattle and sheep for the support of his family. When Shag Valley was thrown open for settlement Mr M'Kenzie had a small farm lying on the southern side of the Valley. It was whilst he was on this farm that he entered political life, having Oeen elected in 1871 as a member of the Provincial Council, defeating Mr Join; Douglas, of Mount Roval, by nearly two to one. There had just been a severe contest between the late Mr Macandrew and Mr Donald Reid for the Superintendency of tb>I'rovince. In Otago proper Mr Beid received the larger number of votes, but in Southland (then recently reunited to Otago) Mr Macandrew's majority turned the scale. and he was re-elected Superintendent, The majority of the Provincial Councillors, however, were on Mr Reid's side, and Mr M'Kenzie entered the Council as a tupporter of Mr Reid. The great question that then separated parties was the Land Question. It was thought and said that Mr Macandrew ■mdulv favored the runholders. Mr Poid vas the champion of tb« Small Settler and or opening the runs. On this question—■fee more active promotion of settlement — Mr M'Kenzie was very pronounced. There had been much agitation about the openme dt runs in 1869, an Act called the "Hun dreds Regulation Act" having been passed in that year. The majority of the Provincial Council refused to bring that measure into operation, for it was said at the time that the Act gave to the runholders new terms that were inimical to settlement. After a session or two Mr (now Sir) Robert Stout entered the Provincial Council, and Mr Donald Reid. Mr Stout./Mr M'Kenzie. and others were all on one side. Mr M'Ken- * zie was even then a friend of several years of Mr Stout, and on account, of the similaritv .->.f their views on the Land Question there grew up between the two men a strong political alliance which subsisted for a areat many years. In the Provincial Conned Mr M'Kenzie was one of wliat was called the country party, and generally voted with Mr Reid. though he disapproved of the coalition which the latter formed with the late Mr Georgf Turnbull. The General Election for the House of Representatives took pla.ee on December 9. 1881, and at this election Mr M'Kenzie was returned for Moeraki, which included part of the present Waihemo electorate, and for that seat he has sat continuously until his resignation last year (July 15). In the first two Parliaments in which be sat he was a member of the Opposition, though he gave cordial support to several amendments carried by the Hon. Mr Rolleston in the Land Act. " Mr Rolleston. it will be remembered, was the first to place on the Statute Book a system of perpetual leasing with periodical revaluation, but the scheme, as a system of leasing, was marred by having a right of purchase -at the end of a certain number of years. In 1884 there was a dissolution, and' in the new House Sir Robert (still Mr) Stout became Premier and the late Mr Bnllance Minister of Lands, Mr M'Kenzie becoming senior Government whip. The Ministry were a Coalition Cabinet, Mr M'Kenzie representing the Stout-BaJlance-Buckley-Tole side, whilst the Hon. (then Mr) W. C. Walker, now Minister of Education, %vho was then looked upon as a Conservative, was junior whip and represented the Vogel-Richardson-Larnach side Until the defeat of this Ministry in 1887 Mr M'Kenzie remained senior whip, and -«as an efficient and popular one. In 1885 a new Land Act was passed, and Mr M'Kenzie was again found cordially supporting the combined views of Messrs Stout, Ballance, and Rolleston, who generally supported the same views. From 1887 till 1891 Mr M'Kenzie was in Opposition. When the Ballance Administration were formed early in the last-mentioned year Mr M'Kenzie was made Minister of Lands, and we know that it was at Sir Robert Stout's special desire that Mr Ballance designated his old-time colleague and friend for that especial portfolio. In 1890, during the maritime strike, neither Mr M'Kenzie nor Mr Seddon had openly sided with the strikers ; indeed, it was generally believed at the time that Mr M'Kenzie's sympathies were rather against the unionists. Mr W. P. Reeves was, however, included in the Ministiy, as his pamphlet on Socialism had made him popular with the trade unions. Mr M'Kenzie passed his own Land Act in 1892, but from pressure from his own supporters (the Hon. W. C. Smith and others) he abandoned the periodical revaluation, which was a cardinal feature of the perpetual-lease system, and adopted the lease-in-perpetuity system, which has no revaluation. For doing"so he was adversely criticised by his friend Sir Robert Stout. but Mr M'Kenzie said he intended to introduce a Fair Rent Bill, in which he would have made provision for a system of revaluation. But up to the present no Fair Rent Bill ha? been passed by our Legislature. Sir Robert Stout re-entered the House in 1893, and he was urged to join the Ministry as Attorney-General". He, how ever, declined to do so, much to Mr M'Kenzie's chagrin. The only difference that Mr M'Kenzie had in the House with his friend was over the Pomahaka. purchase. Sir Robert Stout, whilst acquitting Mr M'Kenzie of having ii.ai'e a md bargain, said that this land" would not be suitable for settlement; and the result has proved that statement to be true. M • M'Kenzie pushed on Bills for the compulsory purchase of estates for small or close settlement. A measure of this character had been introduced by the Ministry in 1886, but had not been "passed, and it was not till 1894 that an efficient compulsory measure was placed on the Statute Book. How that system has worked is well kno-»n. Many of the estates purchased have been closely settled, and in almost all of the purchases there has been a great success achieved. With the furtherance of Lan'J Settlement and the promotion of small farming the name of John M'Kenzie will ever b-' k intimately associated in the annals of this §j*ony. Urder Mr M'Kenzie's management Ihe Department of Lands and Agriculture greatly widened its functions. The daily industry sprang into life, and shows great development. After he became Ministei of Lands, Government Inspection ol Stock, a Veterinary Department, etc.. were all attended to, so that the Agricultural Department has now become one of the most important under the Govern ment. A new system of Land Valuation. Experimental Farms, etc., have all had Mi M'Kenzie as their author. Through prac tice, Mr M'Kenzie became a vigorous de bater. He had an excellent memory, anc though his language betrayed the land o his birth he was not an unpleasing speaker though his onslaughts were often more vigor ous than convincing. He was ever a popula member, for his kindness of heart was pro verbial. He had all the virtues of th» Celtic character that distinguish his northen countrymen, and he was themainstay of tin Ministiy after Mr Ballance's death. Oi many occasions his tact saved Ministers fron

defeat, and, though few people knew it, it was his strong caution that prevented the Administration from too frequently entering on the path of experimental legislation of a dubious cl.aracter. His was, in truth, the steadying hand that kept the ship of State from dangerous shoals. A few months ago Lis colleagues, with the approval of all classes of the community, called him to the Legislative Council, hoping that with improved health he would once more be able to aid in framing progressive land legislation; hut. alas! these hopes were never to he realised. And during the visit of the Duke of York at the end of June last the hon. gentleman received at the hands of His Royal Highness the dignity of knighthood, in recognition of his eminent services to the land he loved so well. Starting life with few educational advantages, his great mental ability and his assiduity enabled him to overcome his defective education. In fact, through political life he educated himself. He read considerably, and was well acquainted with the history of the Highlands. When not roused in a political fight his geniality was great, and opponents and friends alike respected him. Like those of his sturdy race, once he made friends he kept them, and perhaps he was not so ready as some to forget past fights. He was not, however, revengeful. He appreciated much a kindly word from an old opponent- He was very determined, and would not submit to dictation from anyone in his department. Everyone in Wellington knew that in his own department his word was law, and that the Premier dared not interfere with him. It is said that when Mr Ballance was alive Mr Seddon once complained to him that some step Mr M'Kenzie was taking would injure the Ministry. Mr Ballance handed the telegram to Mr M'Kenzie, who told Mr Seddon in plain language to mind his own business. Mr M'Kenzie was masterful, and no one was allowed to interfere with either his department or his measures. He never forgot his old friends, thoftgh there might be partial disagreements with them. His word was always to be taken, for if he once passed his word it would be kept. His loss will be felt much more than is at present seen, for he had a hold on the affections of the small settler that no other member of the House has. He was trusted, for he was guided through his whole political life by one aim—the promotion of small settlement. This is seen when it is remembered what he did before he got into the Otago Provincial Council, and what he did afterwards in the General Assembly and as Minister of Lands. His laudable" efforts for land settlement were not to catch votes, but because he knew such was necessary for the progress and development of his adopted country. He did not tako much interest in any political questions outside of those tha*< concerned Land Settlement and Agriculture. On many subjects he was what would be. called Conservative. In fact, he was essentially the small farmer's friend, and for them and their interests he was ever found an active worker and a reliable supporter. It was this that gave him so much popularity in the country districts, not only of Otago and Canterbury, but also of the North Island. Whatever Ml M'Kenzie undertook he carried through, and whatever broken promises might be laid at the door of the Ministry, none can say that he deceived the settlers. Many anecdotes might be told of his determination. Here is one that the late Rev. Dr Stuart used to tell. He said that he was visiting Goodwood, and Mr M'Kenzie, then a shepherd, called on him and asked him if he could baptise one of his children, then a baby. Dr Stuart replied " Certainly," but added : " I am leaving to-morrow morning Unless you can bring the child early I am afraid I cannot." " At what hour?" asked Mr M'Kenzie. Dr Stuart mentionec 1 seven o'clock. " The child will be there," said Mr M'Kenzie ; and (said Dr Stuart when telling the story) " sure enough Mr M'Kenzie was there in the morning before I had had breakfast." "There was something," added the Doctor, " that struck me about Mr M'Kenzie that I never forgot, and I said : ' If we have settlers like you Otago will prosper.' " Sir John M'Kenzie bore his recent illness with great fortitude and very uncomplainingly. In later years he appeared so robust thai no one would have thought that his life would have been shortened. When he entered the Provincial Council he was not always so vigorous or robust. He was liable to colds, and his lungs seemed not very strong, but in later years he was not troubled in that way. It is said that the trouble that carried him off was not unknown in his family, his father having been a similar sufferer." He has died, however, at a goodly age, and with honor. His loss will be felt all over the colony, and in many a settler's home (here will be sympathy for those whom he Las left behind. If, instead of entering the political arena, he had paid attention to stock-raising and stock-selling — he was a real good judge of stock—he would no doubt have made more money, for it is understood that he has left his family none too well provided for. He has, however, done good work for his fellow-colonists, and his name, we have no doubt, will not be forgotten, when the coming historians will have many good things to say of John M'Kenzie. Though we have often had occasion to adversely criticise him, we never doubted his sincerity nor his anxiety to further the true interests of settlement. And we conclude by here tendering to those nearest and dearest to him our kindliest sympathy in this their day of sorrow. AS LAND REFORMER AND ADMINISTRATOR. AN APPRECIATION. When the history of our colony comes to be written the historian will give to the statesman whose sad death has just been chronicled the first place among our land reformers and land administrators. The mere mention of his name will always bring up the Land for Settlements policy as the peculiar feature of his long and successful administration—the policy which asserts that wherever land is wanted for close settlement there the surplus acres of the large landowner may (after reasonable compensation has been paid) be drawn upon to supplv the demand, and that regardless of the will of the owner. That is undeniably John M'Kenzie's policy, and belongs to no other man. While we are paying the dead statesman's memory a priceless tribute in mentioning the Land for Settlements policy as the great result of his connection with the lands of the colony, we are not discounting the efforts of coming Ministers when we say that Sir John M'Kenzie's name will stand alone associated with that policy. The legislative proposals which inaugurated compulsory land purchase were brought down and p"assed into law in the session of 1894. The scheme had been before the country during the previous Parliament, but the then law only allowed voluntary purchase, and the financial arrangements of the statute only placed at the disposal of the Minister a very small sum of money. It was the opposition of those who held land just where it was most wanted that forced the Minister to provide fin- compulsory purchase. Had land been available where and when wanted compulsion would never have been introduced. But the checks on the settlement of the country provided by the landowners'

" No" caused the community to examine why a man should have power to stop others from getting land to live upon, while he could not prevent the State from taking land for a host of other purposes, all of less importance. When the pinch of getting Crown lands was added to the refusal of the owner to sell, the indignation of the country gave the Minister power to take it. But without money the system would have broken down, and when we recall that the Act of 1894 placed in the Minister's hands no less than a quarter of a million per annum for disposal—quite apart from the vote of the House—some idea can be formed of the tremendous hold John M'Kenzie had secured on the confidence of Parliament. It may not be out of place to record here, while the facts are still impressed on the memory, the various circumstances which were present to instil this confidence in the minds of legislators. It is usual to express astonishment that the late Minister succeeded in attaining the position he did. No one acquainted with the practical politics of this country could possibly express astonishment. The very points which some consider to his disadvantage were the foundation on which he rose to eminence. He started out on his political career with a firm conviction that New Zealand was made for the small farmer, and he devoted the whole of his immense resources to making farming the great industry of this country. To accomplish that within a reasonable time he saw the necessity of extensive powers being given to the State to supply land when and where it was wanted, apart from the whims and caprices or the death of the large private landowner. When powerful opposition confronted him, then was seen the strength of his " disadvantages." Had Sir John M'Kenzie been a colonial he would have merely been disappointed at the failure of a cherished dream. Had he been an Englishman he would have felt sore that some day the landlord and the landless would assume the prominence he recalled in his native country. But the Highlander saw more than that. He saw men and women and little children driven out from their homes in the large private estates in the Highlands to make way for sheep and for deer. His early life supplied him with a. host of illustrations, and the bitter experiences of his own relations and kinsmen, who had been driven to seek in America and Canada or Australia the homes denied them in the country of their birth, burned into his breast a recollection of what his countrymen had suffered, that no length of time dimmed, no opposition quietened, and no surroundings prevented from being heard. It was another Cawnpore and Majuba Hill to him, and the recollection of it caused the fiery Celt to reply in the words of the Roman : "Carthage must be wiped our." In the New Zealand Legislature nothing carries support like zeal without faddism—that zeal which is begotten of earnest conviction upon a subject of practical politics, and which is supported by practical men. The zeal of the late Sir John M'Kenzie had a wonderfully powerful effect upon the younger generation of politicians, who have appeared in fairly large numbers upon the floor of the House during late years. That effect could only have been obtained by one who had himself seen the evils of the system sought to be prevented in this colony. "The "disadvantage" of his opponents was the strong point of his friends. But it not only rendered his influence potent in the Legislature ; its memory also sustained him in adversity or against the strongest political assaults. There might have been other ways of accomplishing the purpose he had in view, but his sound, practical common sense told him that what was required was a policy of immediate action, "and that the State would in this colony always prove a more liberal landlord than any individual possibly could. Hence he was' often impatient at the suggestion of alternative methods. " You have only to keep discussing enough alternative methods to stonewall all reform which can be suggested." A fear of "blocking" his reforms was always present in his mind. but no amount of influence in the House can avail against want of influence in the country, and here his so-called " disadvantages " gave him a hold over the community never enjoyed by a former Minister. He was essentially one of the settlers themselves. He had seen why they had to leave their native land, and had left it himself. He had taken up land m this colony when the facilities were not very great, and knowing the difficulties he had set himself to overcome them. Where could the settlers themselves have got a better champion'.' He was trained in the school of adversity, and finished his education in the Parliament of the colony. Where is there a better school for primary work? Where will you find a. finer university college? These" two points—the sway he exercised over the young politician, and the hold lie had over that large section of the community, the present and the prospective small settlers —formed the basis of his hold on the community. In the eyes of some people the " disadvantages" which he labored under were considered to be want of opportunities, but these were really tho opportunities wanted for the colonial statesman, and on these he educated himself in the House. No analysis of the great land legislator's development would be complete if it did not make mention of the manner in which all criticism appeared to rebound from him against the critics themselves; in fact, if ever there was a man who was made by his opponents it was John M'Kenzie. Failing to realise that men in sympathy with their surroundings must lie very carefully dealt with, the criticism of the earlier years of his administration were directed to his humble origin, to Iris occupation, and to his alleged want of a college education. Imagine criticism directed against the very points which endeared him to the people of this country ! If one thing were wanted to complete the disaster of his critics it was their habit of rousing the Celtic blood that was in him by their exasperating taunts and supplying him with the very spur he required to marshal his immense array of unassailable facts, and to give his speeches a fluency and vim, and to render them the most effective speeches of the session. As a debater pure and simple lie was not a great speaker, but the last three Parliaments will be searched in vain for a more brilliant or effective piece of oratory than his last speech in the House when defending his administration. The occasion was a vigorous attack upon his administration by one of the ablest speakers of the Opposition in 1898 (and in justice to the critic it must be admitted that the speech created a wonderful impression). The Hon. John (not then Sir John) M'Kenzie, disregarding the advice of his friends, came down to the House to reply. Tlis appearance that evening showed that his illness was becoming serious, and he himself had a presentiment that it was to be his last. In a crowded House he replied to his opponent. Never before diu he marshal his facts so magnificently : never did his impulsive Celtic temperament serve him in better stead than when that evening he punctuated his statistics with impromptu vehement onslaughts upon his hereditary opponents on the opposite benches. His own physical frame showed the disadvantages he labored tinder, and aroused the sympathy of his listeners. It was indeed a great effort. That it was effective was shown by the criticism of the public Press on the charge brought against him. And the treatment of the critic and the criticism at the last General Election may justly be taken to

indicate the verdict of the country. From that time onward the disease made rapid strides, and, though at times arrested, it ran its course. And now the great land reformer is no more. Some have charged hini with an over-abundance of the Celtic characteristic of relentless hostility to an opponent. In the writer’s opinion that charge is an unjust and ungenerous one. To the coiporations and associations which without mercy fought him at every turn he was a relentless foe, but towards the individual his unfriendliness was always shortlived. When it is stated that be was opposed by .institutions that made their wealth out of what he desired to retain for the State, it can be understood what ne had to fight against. One had to go under, and it was not to be the late Minister of Lands. No class of the pastoral community were more opposed to him personally than those to whose relief he went in 1895, when ruin stared them in the face from the effects of tbs frightful winter of that year. It was but carrying out his idea of the functions of the State as a. landlord that, like a good private landlord, he would go to the assistance of the tenants when ruin overtook them. It was natural, it was humane, but it was novel. And by the irony of fate it was his opponents who derived the chief benefit. No criticism of the late Sir John MTvenzie's land policy would be a correct one which conveyed the impression that it was a policy of only one idea. Side by side with the development of his Land for Settlements policy was the growth of his Agricultural Department. Being firm in the conviction that the dairy industry would be the most suitable occupation for small settlers in New Zealand, he, as Minister of Lands and Agriculture, directed his attention to the dissemination of knowledge connected with that industry all over the colony. This paper is not to contain any statistics, but it is acknowledged that magnificent work has been done along the lines laid down by the promoter. To-day, thanks to the careful inspection of factories, to the still more careful instruction of dairymen, to the periodical free visits of Government experts, and the dissemination of literature broadcast, the dairy industry, though amongst the youngest of our industries, is the means of turning out an article which ranks as the best of our products, and successfully stands the competition of the world. ” That, too, in spite of the fact that the great bulk of the settlers engaged in this industry have had to commence with little training amongst stock. The Minister saw clearly that a State department, without injuring private enterprise, could raise the industry in a year or two to a position which only generations of undirected and uncontrolled private enterprise could accomplish. Extending his schemes for the settlement of the lands of the colony, the late Sir Jolm MTvenzie in 1893 outlined a plan for placing laboring men on the land by capitalising the expenditure necessary to make their sections profit-bearing, and charging by way of rent interest on such outlay by the State. The scheme was a magnificent one, and had it received the inestimable advantage of the Minister's own personal supervision would have had a great future before it. Unfortunately, just when it required Ids close attention, his illness prevented him from being able to devote the necessary time to it. Some of these settlements have turned out great successes—notably that one in Otago named after his own house, Heathfield, which was the first one to be founded. Some future Minister of Lands will take up the work just where the late Minister left oft, and will carry it to a successful termination. Meanwhile, the name of John MTvenzie will be cherished by those who have had the privilege in the House of Representatives of sharing in his legislative work. And if there be any who will cherish a dearer recollection of the dead statesman’s work and memory, it will assuredly be those settlers whose battles he fought so well in this colony, and for whom he succeeded in making homes in the land of their adoption or of their nativity. A FITTING MEMORIAL. The Hon. A. Lee Smith has suggested, as a fitting memorial to the deceased, the erection of a cairn on the top of Puketapu, on which Sir J. MTvenzie first did duty as a shepherd. The idea, which has been generally approved, will immediately take shape. The Hon. A. Lee Smith has headed the list with twenty-five guineas, and other substantial subscriptions are promised, all the Ministers assisting.