LORD BLEDISLOE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22059, 15 March 1935, Page 10

LORD BLEDISLOE

VICE-REGAL FAREWELL STRIKING FINAL SPEECH HAPPY DAYS OF OFFICE NEW ZEALAND'S LOYALTY NO FEARS FOR FUTURE [BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] WELLINGTON, Thursday Representatives of every section of the community assembled in the Town Hall to-night on the occasion of the civic farewell to Their Excellencies, Lord and Lady Blcdisloe. The hall was packed and thousands who were unable to gain admittance listened outsido to the speeches by means of loud-speakers. The speakers were the Prime Minister, Mr. Forbes, and the Mayor of Wellington, Mr. T. C. A. Hislop, who presented Lord Blcdisloo with an address from the citizens of Wellington and the inhabitants of the surrounding districts, Tho address was accompanied by a small watercolour reminiscent -of the district and was enclosed in a caskot of Now Zealand woods. When Their Excellencies came to New Zealand, said Mr. Hislop, much was expected, for Lord Blcdisloe was known as an eminent man of great scientific and scholastic distinction, but these expectations had been exceeded many times, and no one ever vacated office more honoured and respected or beloved than Their Excellencies. New Zealand owed them a debt of gratitude that could never be repaid. He, announced that Lord Bledisloe had consented to have his portrait painted in England for permanent housing in the National Art Gallery in Wellington. Mr. Forbes, in a eulogistic speech punctuated by applause, said no matter where one went, from one end of the country to the other, Their Excellencies' name was spoken of with the greatest affection. "When one looks back on the time of their arrival and remembers "how things have been very, very difficult during the period they havo been here, one realises how much they have done to encourage a spirit of optimism when the clouds looked dark."

Five Eventful Years In his reply Lord Bledisloe said:— "The address which you have handed to me on the eve of my departure from your hospitable shores and the speeches to which I have listened have touched me so deeply that I crave your indulgence in my attempt to aeknowlego them. I cannot adequately express either our gratitude to, or our affection for, tho kindly inhabitants of this loyal Dominion, and especially the people of all classes in this its capital city among whom we have spent so large a proportion of our time during ni3 r term of office, and I shall not attempt to do so. "Suffice it to say that nothing could exceed your steadfast loyalty to our much-loved Sovereign whose representative I have been hero for the last five eventful and anxious years, your unswerving attachment to tho land of your forefathers and your unbounded friendliness to ourselves. Your overwhelming generous appreciation of such services as wo aro deemed to havo rendered while sojourning among you cannot fail to be intensely gratifying to us. But I would beg of you to remember that at the best we have but done our duty, and the fulfilment of it has fallen far short of our hopes and ambitions.

Dominion's Wealth ol Scenery "You New Zealanders —pakelias* and Maoris alike —are curiously unaware of some things that you ought to know. One of them is that you have a greater variety of beautiful scenery than any country in the world and that, if duly exploited and advertised, your tourist traffic ought to bo your most lucrative industry—a source of immense wealth as well as of aesthetic and spiritual inspiration . "Another is that you are the world's most lovable people. It is indeed your amiability and toleranco rather than our merits which you should appreciate and see rellected in your all-too-generous valedictory encomiums. Your references to my wife 1 desire to endorse. Without her sunny comradeship and never-fail-ing inspiration, my task would have been indifferently discharged. Your loyal message to His Majesty shall certainly be delivered, corroborated by our own unvarying experience throughout the Dominion. Your loyalty to tho Crown is robust, universal and unchallengeable. Let me add that His Majesty was much touched and gratified by. the cordial and generous wclcomo accorded to his son. "This is not tho occasion to assess in detail the qualities of your people, your natural endowment or your future prospects as a nation and as a partner in our great British Commonwealth of Nations, whether industrial, social, financial, ethical or cultural. But this I can say, and say with confidence, as my own settled conviction after a quinquennium of meticulous study and observation of your country, its resources and its potentialities, that 1, for my part, have 110 qlialms regarding its future prosperity, happiness and progress, provided that you are blessed for the nc»t decade—which should open up for you a new era of confident progress—with wise ; and - far-sighted statesmanship, sound public and local administration, productive efficiency, .generous educational enlightenment,' and a growing sotiso of national solidarity and mutual interdependence.

Cordial Relationships "I take this opportunity of saying in the presence of the Prime Minister that my relations with my Ministers, founded upon the most perfect frankness, have been throughout my term of oflice most cordial. My successor, Lord Gal way, a man of high character, ideals and traditions, will, I hope, enjoy both from Government and people the same measure of friendly goodwill which has inado my task so easy and pleasureablet

"The infiuenco on the standard of life of a modern democracy and on its ethical outlook of an incorruptible and (intellectually endowed judiciary and press is immeasurable, and in these respects no part of the overseas Empire is better equipped than New Zealand. The standard of achievement of your Judges and magistrates and of your press is a valuable national asset which, in your best future interests, I trust may never bo lowered from its present high plane. "Wo have travelled far and wide sinco we entered your territory (perhaps more extensively than any of our predecessors) and have visited farms, minos, factories, wharves, shops, warehouses and ships, and have' become acquainted with tlioso who work in and upon them. We have found everywhere not merely lovely scenery and a healthy atmosphere, but warm loyal hearts and a courage and resourcefulness in times of earthquake disaster and widespread economic tribulation, which has been to us a veritable inspiration and a sourco of pride in the steadfastness of yotir-people. Whatever may be your country's transient superficial maladies it is sound at the core, its heart-beat

is steady. It will respond to the stimulant of the better times that are coming. "I go home after five years' sojourn in this the Britain of the Pacific with the firm conviction that the maintenance and integrity of the British Empire are essential to world progress and world peace, that only those qualities which made the Empire in the past can maintain it in the future, namely, courage, honesty, enterprise and faith. Of these the most vital is resolute and unflagging faith —faith in God, faith in our country and Empire and their high purposo and destiny, and faith in ourselves. "Within our Empire family, whose members are now grown up and no longer children, there may bo transient differences of opinion, thero may be fleeting clouds over the domestic sky, but behind them is the impenetrable and irremovable blue of a'firmament of irrefragable friendship, harmony and inseparable solidarity. If we have but clear vision, robust faith, and ever-in-creasing mutual knowledge, a future of harmonious and , confident progress (national and Imperial) is eternally assured.

"The time has now come for us to say a, final good-bye to this beautiful Dominion and to its loyal people of both races and all classes, whose friendship we have enjoyed and valued and who have made us so happy in their midst. Whatever wofds we employ in saying it cannot fully describo our feelings. You havo made us feel so much at homo during tho last five years that tho parting is to us a severance of strong ties of attachment and a sudden breaking away from an anchorage which threatened to keep the ship of our lives for ever in your relatively tranquil and congenial waters. "You speak of the Old Land ns 'Home.' We shall find it difficult in future to apply the term to one part only of the British Empire. There is an old French saying, 'Partir e'est mourir un peu.' 'To say good-bye is partially to die.' This seemed to reflect something of the sensation of devitalization which we have during our recent valedictory gatherings in the cities of this Dominion, until there came to our recollection another saying of a somewhat contradictory nature, arising out of the obviously sincere messages of affection which, havo poured in upon us during these last few days, namely, 'To live in hearts we' leave behind is not to die.' "Our love for you and your country is deep and sincere and if ,we have, as you arc good enough, to indicate, found a place in your hearts, _ it will be to us a potent tonic —an 'elixir vitae —to sustain our vitality and possible utility in the days that lie before us With sad hearts we wish you farewell. We certainly shall not forget At the conclusion of His Excellency's speech the audience rose and cheeied him. The National Anthem was sung and this was followed by the impromptu singing of "For They Are Jolly Good Fellows," with more cheering. Leaving the hall Their Excellencies were given a continuous ovation, while outside an enormous crowd lined the streets and watched them drive away amid cheers and farewells. It was a memorable occasion and eloquent testimony to tho affection in which Their Excellencies aro held by the people.

INVESTITURE AT DINNER ROYAL LETTERS PATENT [BY TELEGRAPH —PEES 3 ASSOCIATION] WELLINGTON, Thursday At the official dinner given at Government House by the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, "His Excellency presented to Sir James Grose the Royal letters patent in connection with the bestowal of the honour of Knight Bachelor by the King last year. CHILDREN'S DEMONSTRATION DISPLAY AT NEWTOWN PARK [BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] WELLINGTON, Thursday About 10,000 secondary and primary school childreai of Wellington city and suburbs gathered at! Newtown Park- in brilliant sunshine this afternoon to farewell Lord and Lady Bledisloe. The scene was an impressive and an animated one and when Their Excellencies arrived they were given a most enthusiastic reception. The atmosphere was reminiscent of that at a display given by the school children during the visit of the Duke of Gloucester.