REFERENCES IN PARLIAMENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2326, 29 September 1898, Page 18

REFERENCES IN PARLIAMENT.

APPRECIATION OF DISTINGUISHED SERVICES. WELLINGTON; September 21. On the Council meeting at 2.30 p.m., and before the orders of the day were mentioned, The Hon. W. C. WALKER said it vas only fiting the Council should pay wh.it respect they could to the memory of Sir George Grey, and place upon record its appreciation of his services. After brieily eulogising the career of the deceased statesman both in connection with the colonies and the Empire, he moved — " That the Legislative Council of New Zealand desires to place on record its high appreciation of the distinguished services rendered to the empire and this colony by the late Right Hon. Sir George Grey, and respectfully tenders to the relatives an assurance of sympathy with them in their bereavement." Tho motion was seconded by the Hon. Mr M'CULLOUGH. After a few sympathetic words from the Hon. Mr TOMOANA, the resolution was agreed to in silence, and the Council immediately adjourned. The House met at 2.30 p.m., and after formal business, Tho Eight Hon. Mr SEDDON said that throughout the Empire there would be great soriow and general mourning. Australasia and Cape Colony would ever remember the everlasting and beneficial services rendered by Sir George Grey. None would feel the parting so much and none atouW regret him more than tho pcoplo of Now Zealand, to whom ho had rendered such grcafc services. He felt he was echoing the mind of the colony when he said that tho greatest man

that had ever been in the colony, and than whom no greater, in his opinion, would ever be seen in the colony again, had passed away — called to his long home. Last year had been a year of rejoicing, and none felt more rejoiced than Sir George Grey that ho had lived to see the Queen's Jubilee. But the year 1898 had been a year of mourning. England had to mourn Gladstone, Germany Bismarck,, -and now those in Australasia to-day mourned the loss of their greatest man and the greatest statesman that had ever been or probably ever would be in these latitudes. Sir George Grey had been the founder of Liberalism in Australasia, and his work was a lasting momiment to his memory. He briefly referred to the more important events in the life of Sir George Grey, and dealing with his action in connection with the Maori war he said that the difficulty had been removed by Sir George Grey's firmness, determination, and kindness. At an early period he had thorough command of the Native race, and the love then created between the Natives and Sir George Grey ever endured so long as he lived. After referring to Sir George Grey's labours with respect to the drawing up of the Constitution of the colony, he pointed out that Sir George had ever been sincere in helping the struggling and weak' against tho strong. In many instances throughout his long and distinguished career he had been the champion of the rights and privileges of the people, and speaking of the period when Sir George Grey was Premier of the colony he said it was questionable whether they would ever again have such a Premier or Minister. He dealt at considerable length with the services rendered to the Empire by the dead statesman, and referring to their personal attitude to each' other he said that since they had first met the greatest friendship had existed between. Sir George Grey and himself. He moved — " That this Hoxise places on record its high appreciation "of the beneficent and ever-en-during services rendered to the colony and Empire by the late Right Hon. Sir George Grey, X.C.8., and respectfully tenders to his relatives its sympathy with them in their irreparable loss." Captain RUSSELL, in seconding the motion, said when he looked back on his early life his memory clung to the year 1846, when as a child in the neighbourhood of Wellington, he had had the honour and pleasure c making the acquaintance and enjoying the friendship of Sir G. Grey. One of the most pathetic things in connection with the late statesman was that with all his love for children no child of his remained behind bim. But his great name Avould live in the memory of the people of the colony. For 50 years Sir G. Grey had been inseparably associated with New Zealand, and yesterday they had lost a great New Zealander, the Empire had lost a great son for whom the world would mourn as well as the small section of it in New Zealand. Sir Georgo Grey's life had been a remarkable one. Born in days when autocracy was rampant throughout Europe he had lived to see the powers of monarchy limited, democracy triumphant, and the privileges of the classes destroyed to a great extent. We in New Zealand claimed that the freedom of the people was attributable to his efforts. Though Sir G. Grey was autocratic by nature, he yet devoted himself to the services of the people. He had desired power in order to exerciso it for the good of the people, and had been a veritable Csesar, wishing to baso his power on the votes of the people murder to use that power in the interests of tho people themselves. It would be diiliciilfc for his contemporaries to estimate Sir G. Grey's character. The future historian would be better able to depict him. But no matter how people might differ from him politically, they could not help admiring him. Mr SCOBIE MACKENZIE in a brief appreciative speech referred to Sir G. Grey as the greatest figure that had filled the eye and imagination of New Zealanders. Mr HOLLAND referred to the services rendered by Sir G. Grey to Auckland, and said his name would ever remain green in the memory of the people of Auckland and their children. The Hon. Mr CARROLL referred to the high esteem in which Sir G. Grey was held by the native race, who looked upon him in the light of a father. The motion was agreed to unanimously, and the House adjourned at 3.30 till 7.30.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, September 21. Speaking in the House this afternoon on the death of Sir George Grey, the senior rr ember for Dunedin said : As one who was somewhat closely associated with Sir George Grey in his later years in this House, I hopo it may not be regarded as presumption in me if on this the occasion of the sad announcement of his removal for ever from amongst us, I say a few words to humbly mark my own appreciation of his character and aims. Ido not think that anyone will accuse me of exaggeration or extravagance if I say that he was far and away t.ht greatest figure who has ever filled the eye or appealed to the imagination of the New Zealander on his own ground. But he belongs not specially to New Zealand but rather to the deathless roll of the great men who have helped to make the British Empire what it is to-day. We here in this House are apt to judge of all men according as they play their part on the petty stage of our own politics. Very possibly from that standpoint Sir George Grey did not play his part well. But the essential difference between him and all others who have appeared on the platform of our local politics is that whereas they had to rise in order to become successful politicians Sir George Grey had to stoop. He was fit for greater things. He had played his part nobly in greater affairs. I think it is a truth that just as smalj men are unable to play their part with great men in groat affairs, so tho great arc often unable to cope with small men in small affairs. Addison has left behind him an imperishable name as one of the greatest masters of prose which the history of the English language has revealed. But when, by perhaps unhappy chance, he filled tbo greatest position of Secretary of State, and was asked to draw up a, note of condolence upon the death of a foreign potentate, he

was so long over it, and displayed so much mental distress at the task, that a nameless subordinate in his own office was called in, and did the work in a few minutes. The mind of Addison was too great for the conventional and commonplace duty. Thg mind of the subordinate was exactly equal to it. Sic Geoi-ge Grey, it must be owned, displayed a great distaste for and often bufe little knowledge of the useful but prosaic* bills and papers that came before the House\« But it is a significant fact that John Bright, whose lofty eloquence has dene as much to» mould the mind of the English-speaking race as the life work of any man who eyeK lived, admitted towards the close of hia career that ho doubted whether he had ever in his life read » bill cc a parliamentary paper entirely through^ Sir George Grey had the defects of his qualities, but his qualities wens the qualities of greatness. He was a closa friend of Froude, the historian, whose genius is often disparagingly contrasted with the verbal accuracy of the dry-as-dust historians whom the schools for a time preferred to him. After the historian's death, some noble threnodial lines were written,, which may well be quoted for their application to Sir George Grey: We act no critic's part; and when They rate him less than lesser men, We feel the golden thread that goes To link tho periods of his prose. Should anyone in the future point out to me that Sir Georgo Grey was inferior on the petty stage of colonial politics to inferior men, I shall do in the future what I have done in the past, point to the golden thread that linked the periods of his eloquence to the Imperial chord he struck ! when nearly all the great statesmen of our country regarded the latter day expansion of our Empire as a danger and a weakness to it ; and if we want any other testimony of his greatnesß we would do well to remember the noble simplicity of his life, recalling the words of Tennyson on tho i great Duke of Wellington : And, as the greatest only are, In his simplicity sublime. At the usual meeting of the Trades and Labour Council the following resolution! was unanimously passed: — "That this* council desire to place on record their deep appreciation of the many service* rendered by the late Sir George Grey to ; the working classes in the Australasian , colonies."