LORD STRICKLAND DEAD.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 227, 23 August 1940, Page 7

LORD STRICKLAND DEAD.

LONG SERVICE TO MALTA. Received August 23, 9 a.m. LONDON, Aug. 22. The death has occurred of Lord Strickland. Formerly Sir Gerald Strickland, Lord Strickland was bom in Malta in 1861, and devoted much of his life to its interests. He was Assistant-Secretary of Malta in 1888 and Chief Secretary in 1889, later being appointed Governor of the Leeward Islands (1902-4), Tasmania (1904-9), Western Australia (1909-13), Norfolk Island (1913-14), and New South Wales (1915-17). From 1921-30 he was a member of the Malta Legislative Assembly and from 192130 Leader of the Constitutional Party. lie was Head of the Ministry and Minister of Justice iri Malta from 1927-32. Public interest became prominently focussed on Lord Strickland in June, 1930, when he suspended the Constitution of 1921 after a decade of fairly satisfactory government. Friction had developed between the Italian leaders and Lord Strickland largely because of the latter’6 attempt to restrict use of the Italian language in the Courts and primary schools. A Royal Commission attempted to patch up tho difficulty following the suspension of the Constitution and after apologies had been made on both sides the Constitution w-as restored in M oh, 1932. Lord Strickland (who was Count Della Catena in Malta) brought about many reforms during his administration of tho island. He was a son of Captain Walter Strickland, R. N. and T-ouisa Bonici, heiress of Sir Nicholas Bologna. He married Lady Edeline Sackville, oldest daughter of the seventh Earl De La Warr, who died in 1918. His second wife, Dame Margaret Strickland, was a sister of the late Sir Edward liulton.