“THE BOSS ”

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11246, 26 June 1922, Page 3

“THE BOSS ”

A POPULAR HEADMASTER MR J. P. FIRTH AND HIS OLD PUPILS. CONGRATULATIONS RECEIVED. Mom hers of the , Wellington College Old Roys' Association tendered a social reception at Dustin rooms on Saturday night to the late headmaster of the school, Mr J. P. Eirth, C.M.G. —affeetionatolv known, as • “The Bos*”—for the purpose of congratulating him upon the decoration recently conferred on him in tho Birthday honours. There were alnvut two hundred of Mr Firth's ex-pupils present, many of whom now hold responsible positions in th* business life of the city. The president of the association. Dr J. S. Elliott, occupied the chair. THE PRESIDENT’S SPEECH. Proposing the toast of “Our Guest,” Dr Elliott said lie must endeavour to give some expression to what was in the minds of all. He belonged entirely to Mr Firth’s regime as headmaster, having been a pupil when Mr Firth first took charge, and he hau had the honour and pleasure of his friendship for thirty years. They were present. that night to rejoice in the decoration that had been conferred upon him. Tho merit of decoration, he said, lav not so muoh in the honour itself as in the discrimination and breadth of view displayed in its disposal and in the outstanding worthiness of the recipient. (Applause.) The honour that had been bestowed upon Mr Firth was a high one, but it was not equal to the measure of his worth. (Hear, hear.) Fortunately, its value was enhanced in many ways; it was an honour to that order of chivalry to which he had been appointed (applause); it was an honour to the great profession to which lie belonged—and the work of the teacher could never be over-praised; it was an honour to that gracious lady who was his life’s partner ; it might also be said that it was an honour to his old pupils, who were his friends and followers. (Hear, hear.) A FAMILY PARTY. The gathering that evening, continued Dr Elliott, was a family party. To use a Scotch expression, the “Boss’* was amongst his “ain folk.” Under such circumstances, they might say things to him and about him which might be of too personal and private a nature to be uttered more publicly. “I trust I do not presume upon his modesty and simple tfnaffcctedness,” said the president, “when l in the family, and in his hearing, I attempt to say what his life and his work mean to us. Mr Firth has been a great headmaster, both as an organiser and as a teacher. The work of the school' has prospered mightily in his hands. Fond memory brings back the light of, other days and the 6miles and tears of boyhood. Memories of our achool days crowd upon our thoughts. . . . The more we learnt from Mr Firth, the more we thought of him. . . . He infused into such stories as ‘lvanhoe* and the ‘Ballad of Sir Richard Granville* a spirit as much his own as that of the Black Knight or of old Sir Richard. . . PRECEPT AND EXAMPLE. “He showed us by <pre§|pt and example how to do our duty. If we did not learn all we might have learnt from him the fault waa our own. He showed us the nobility of work well done, the antidote of that poisonous doctrine preached nowadays that work is an evil and a curse, and a thing.to be avoided, instead of being the getter of happiness. . ♦. . It is fortunate for this city—for New Zealand—> that the young minds of the country have had this teaching for a long period of years, and- that it finally culminated in the greatest conjuncture of our history, when we had to fight, not so much for our national preservation as for the preservation of civilisation. (Applause.) Mr Firth was fortunate to see the good seed he had sown come to a rich and abundant harvest. What I have 6aid T hope may have shown something of his wisdom and judgment, but it is not for this alone that he is to all of us a friend and elder brother.

.... Oh, man, greatly beloved. It is for qualities of heart rather than of head thalT we are hero to-night to rejoice in your success and in the honour that is yotir due.”

In conclusion’, the president said it would be fulsotne for Em to say that Mr Firth was a faultless man. A man was judged by the relative success with which the good in him triumphed over the evil. Dr. Elliott also referred to the wholehearted and unostentatious patriotic work performed by Mr and Mrs Firth during the war. There was a remarkable demonstration wheii thq president raised his glass to propose the toast “Our Guest,V which was honoured with repeated cheers. The scene was even mote enthusiastic when Mr Firth rose to respond, round after round of cheers being called for the popular headmastei and his wife. “I THANK YOU.” “Wbat am I to say?” asked Mr Firth, after standing in silence for some seconds. as though at a loss to commence. “After all I cannot say much more than thank , you. I appreciate very deeply the great honour this groat gathering does me in asking me to meet it to-night,'the messages that have come from distant old boys, the feelings that have been expressed so eloquently, and all too generously, by the president, and tho fact that many of you have come here at considerable inconvenience. I see old friends and members of J ' the staff, including my successor as headmaster, and I thank you very deeply indeed. With regard to my decoration, I shall e'ly nothing, except this: that the president’s words and the messages I have received from all parts of New Zealand, from ■ Australia, and from London, fill me with gratitude.” From two letters of congratulation he had received ho quoted the following sentences: —“During your regime the college sent out into the world men \vho placed before everything truth, honour and loyalty. These attributes were planted immovably in the characters of your pupils, partly hv your oc* casional outbursts of eloquence, but chiefly by your own personal power and example.” . . . “It.was not merely respect and obedience with which you inspiredrUs. It wns a deep and lasting personal affection.” The latter was signed “Your very affectionate and grateful’ old pupil.” Letters such as these, and remarks such as had been made by the president, continued Mr Firth, were worth infinitely .jnoro than the highest decorations. He deserved none of the. tilings that had been said of him. Ho thanked them very warmly indeed for their hearty congratulations. (Applause.)

Other toasts honoured were “The Old School,” proposed by Mr R. Darroch, and v responded to hv Mr T. R. Cresswell, the present headmaster: and