Death of Mr T. E. Taylor.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 2929, 1 August 1911, Page 4

Death of Mr T. E. Taylor.

UNIVERSAL REGRET

Mr T. E. Taylor, M.P. for Christchurch North and Mayor of Christchurch, who was operated upon on Sunday week for an internal complaint, died on Thursday at 6.15 p.m. Though it was recognised from the first that his condition was serious, reports as to his condition and prospects of recovery were hopeful till Wednesday morning when it was reported that his condition was hopeless, and from then onward he gradually Bank. Notwithstanding his weak condition, his mind, up to within a few hours of his death, was alert and active and he saw a number of friends and officials and dictated quite a number of farewell messages.

To the Rev. John Dawson, general secretary of the New Zealand Alliance, Mr Taylor addressed the following words: —" 1911 is our year of emancipation if we are true to God and our opportunities."

Taming then to Mr Cole, the dying man said: "Cole, they call us fanatics, but national prohibition is worth living brand worth dying for." A message for Labour was given to Mr laitt:—" 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." His farewell words to the Bev L. M. Isitt were: " I have made many mistakes, but I have tried to lire an unselfish life for the good of the many." Earlier he said: " I have had a happy life, and it has been full from the beginning to end. lam very tired. I know I shall be happier where I am going, but I am glad to think that 1 have lived out every moment, and that I have tried to do always what was right. There were other messages of a private nature, and the interview, which had been an extremely affecting one to those en* gaged in it, terminated. A short history of Mr Taylor's illness was supplied officially by the surgeons in attendance. Mr Taylor, it was stated, suffered from chronic indigestion for many years. He attended a public meeting on Wednesday eveningof the previous week, and during the night was seized with abdominal pains. A consultation was held on Sunday and it was then decided that an operation was necessary. It was found that there was long-standing ulceration of the stomach and adjoining bowel, with a recent perforation of the ulcer in the stomach and local peritonitis. It was hoped at first that the operation would prove successful, but on Wednesday serious symptoms arose, and an examination showed that nothing further could be done. The doctors and nurses in attendance were very, much impressed with Mr Taylor's fortitude, his calmness, and his thoughtfulness for his family and others. The funeral, which was a civic one, took place on Sunday afternoon, and the cortege was the largest of its kind yet seen in Christchurch. Every section of the community and every local body and organisation was represented. Hundreds of messages of sympathy have been received by Mrs Taylor from all parts of the Dominion, and members of Parliament of all shades of political opinion have joined in bearing testimony to the sincerity of purpose and the unswerving loyalty to his conception of political righteousness which characterised the late Mr Taylor's actions. His death is an irreparable loss to the Dominion.