CABINET CHANGE.

Northern Advocate, 26 June 1924, Page 4

CABINET CHANGE.

MINISTER OF LANDS RESIGNS. MR A. D. McLEOD APPOINTED. WELLINGTON, This Day. The Minister of Lands, the Hon. D. H. Guthrie resigned his portfolio yesterday and Mr A. D. McLeod, M.P. for Wairarapa, was appointed to' the vacancy. A meeting of the Executive Council was held at Government House, at which the ■ new Minister was duly sworn in as a member' of' the Executive Council by his Excellency the. Go-vernor-General. Mr McLeod was born in the Wairarapa and is 52 yeats of age. For very many years he has followed farming pursuits and has throughout his experience taken a keen interest in the welfare of the agricultural and pastoral industry. He has been closely associated with local government affairs and was for a long time chairman of the Featherston County Council. He was a member of the Wairarapa Hospital Board and has taken great interest in sport, being a steward of the Wairarapa Racing Club. He was for seven years a member of the Wellington Harbour Board, retiring on his election as a member of the House of Representatives for Wairarapa in 1919, when he defeated Mr J. T. M. Hornsby. Mr McLeod was re-elected in 1922 by a substantial majority. Mr McLeod's speeches in the House have been marked by sound commonsense, showing shrewd powers of observation. His remarks in the House, especially regarding matters associated with primary industries, have always commanded attention. The Hon. D. H. Guthrie, who retains his seat on the Executive Council without portfolio, was born in Ireland in 1856, arriving in New Zealand at the age of 20 years. He was connected, with the teaching profession for 16 years. He took up land in 1881 and has been engaged in all classes of farming. For many years he was chairman of the Rangiwahia Dairy Company. He was a member of the Kiwitea County Council for six years and chairman of the Works and Loans Committee. He has been a prominent member of the Farmers' Union, holding a seat on the executive since its inception. He was a member of the Wanganui Education Board for ten years. Mr Guthrie was elected to the House of Representatives for Oroua in 1908. He was elected Whip in 1911 and raised to Cabinet rank in February, 1918, as Minister of Lands. For a period Mr Guthrie was also Minister of Railways, being succeeded by the Hon. J. G. Coates, the present holder of that portfolio. Mr Guthrie's first Ministerial act was his visit to . the Waimarino fireswept area in Match, 1918, when he arranged for assistance to the settlers who had suffered Vi consequence of the conflagration. His work in administering the repatriation and settlement of returned soldiers was a tremendous task to which he applied himself vigorously, sparing neither time nor personal effort. During his regime in that connection advances under the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Act totalled £22,000,000, while a further £6,000,000 was expended on estates purchased under the Act. A total of 84,767 returned soldiers passed through the department administered by him, the area of land settled being over 4,000,000 acres.

Mr Guthrie's health broke down early last year and he took a trip to the Islands to recuperate. Although attending to his duties regularly, Mr Guthrie's health has been causing his friends some anxiety. He has left behind him, in his various departments of State a reputation for able, fearless and sympathetic administration, while in his electorate he has always been revered as a man of kindly, natural temperament who watched closely over its affairs.