MEMORIAL UNVEILED.

Otago Witness, Issue 3993, 23 September 1930, Page 23

MEMORIAL UNVEILED.

LATE MR W. F. MASSEY.

UNITED EXPRESSIONS OF ESTEEM.

GOVERNOR-GENERAL’S TRIBUTE.

(Photograph in This Issue.) WELLINGTON, September 19. Its marble colonnades gleaming in the sun like piled up snow, recalling the stately architecture of Greece, the memorial at Point Halswell to Mr W. F. Massey, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, was the object of a large pilgrimage this afternoon when the official unveiling ceremony was‘performed by the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe.

The memorial bears the following:— The Parliament and People of New Zealand have set apart and dedicated the land on which this Memorial stands to be the last resting place of William Ferguson Massey, M.P, 1894-1925. Prime Minister 1912-1925.

The setting, with its wide sweep of [due harbour, intensified in colour by the bright sun, the long encircling hills, and distant white crested peaks, appearing to take their point of radiation from the elevated memorial site, impressed both the speakers and the silent listeners with its ~"ess. wheeling seagulls and vessels gliding past were witnesses of the impressive ceremony that was performed txt?,- 0 ” a idling cliff at the threshold of Wellington. Unstinted tribute to the national and ,J’ p J re J " ork .Mr Massey was paid by' all shades of political opinion and his endeavours and achievements on behalf of the people as a whole wer e full recognised. "

MR RANSOM’S TRIBUTE. The Acting-Prime Minister (Mr E. A. if: V s re S re tted that the . , e -Munster, who was abroad, could Mn ß h e v Pr T Dt ’ and . also Dame Christina that P h? W ??- ’"disposed. The fact to th TrT rl ,n - e i was on his way debt of m Perial Conference recalled the to Mr f I\r ratltude k la t tfle coun try owed to Mr Massey, who had rendered valufftVthl’T ” Ot onl ? t 0 New Zealand he E i mP?re -, On those occasions when lie attended similar conferences. Hie parT coherences and the part he took m them were regarded as the Empire eat T? lUe to , New Zealand and one .Lmpire. Those who knew him nnd X !■:«. Sette the, not knew him** 1 ” 6 S,de tbe douse or n I ' - 1 a 9 a man who, once he fntak P1 ‘ OmiSe ’ saw tha * I’o kept k M?sse r r reidered f ai f, Mr R - ansom ’ Mr ZeX/a yahable service to New alised°thi t t r} hi t °d Pr T P " ritye - reS it r was”rebahlv ™ V 6 ,.devotion to duty was prolei'^bXlse “S " beef ! IISV'SeZ”' ae'dX °eU?,£"“ Gh '“"« who i p ? aker P aid a tribute to those h ? d , be . en concerned in the construction or the memorial.

a practical imperialist.” Beneath our feet on this lovely protlip I 'Ro y ' i n s ? gbt skips arriving from of ‘ and ’- as "T 1 - 1 as of the capital ot this Dominion, which he served with ™ervmg fidelity and unflagging zeal, rest the human remains of a great niacsev 1 ” \ m P? r ’. a J' st v > William Ferguson Massey, said the Governor-General,- “It is not perhaps inappropriate that a space °? ce , st< ? od a _,battery tc defend Wellxlngtons beautiful harbour should now contain the body of a statesman, "I™ a .??, ew x , to world liberty and the honour of the Empire, took so prominent a part in the efficient prosecution of the war and the attainment of the blessings of peace. The surface has in part been laid out as an attractive public garden, and on the spot where we are assembled there has been erected this memorial structure bold in outline, original and artistic in conception and skilfully executed in New Zealand marble which 1 am now called upon formally to open to the public. Mr Massey a son of virile Ulster, was, like Mr Seddon and Sir Joseph Ward, in the truest sense, an Empire builder. Ihe eventful 12 y'ears of his administration included the period of the Great War. During that strenuous time of anxiety, military activity, and preparation,. domestic bereavement, and ultimate victory, ; practical Imperialism was put to the acid test, and emerged victorious. Side- by side with the unsurpassed achievements of ■ the New Zealand Division of the British-; Expeditionary Force will stand ever in history the sturdy and indomitable, but always sympathetic/' figure of him to whom this memorial lias been raised, and whose counsel as a member of -the Imperial War -Cabinet was- acclaimed as prudent and statesmanlike, and whose wisdom as one of the negotiators of the Treaty of Versailles won the admiration of all his colleagues. “William Massey, like so many men who have sprung' from the soil,’, and are normally, employed .in winning a .living from it in> all conditions of weather and fluctuating fortune, was a man of ? simplicity of life and-faith, of robust courage, and unquenchable hopefulness. ' He was a shrewd and formidable fighter, but his force of character, coupled with his sincerity and honesty of purpose, impelled a measure of. confidence and respect such as surely few parliamentary protagonists have enjoyed. From a life such as his we learn the value of the subordination of self to service; the sinking of personal ambitions and' interests in zeal for the public welfare. These are attributes of all statesmen who have left their mark on history, and without them no man can live permanently in the memory of bis fellow-countrymen.

“ It is my pleasure and pride,” continued his Excellency, “ now to declare this memorial open,' and at the same time to express the sincere hope that

many will arise in all and parties in this Dominion, and help in the shaping of its destinies who will seek to emulate the simplicity, piety, and honesty of him whom it so fitly commemorates.” MR COATES’S ADDRESS. “We can truly say that the passing away of Mr Massey marked the loss of a statesman and a true son of the British Empire,” said Mr Coates. “We can speak of him as a friend, as a colleague, and a man in whom each and every one of us had implicit faith and confidence; a man who carried the mistakes of others, who never whimpered nor did he ever complain. He was a rock and an anchor, and it is these characteristics that his colleagues, to-day call to mind. We remember him, and I think the country will remember him as a straightforward and unselfish man. He saw his duty and did it. He had an abiding faith in the Anglo-Saxon race; he had faith and confidence in the Empire, and he was wrapped up in the well-being of the people of New Zealand. His faith and courage bore him through those terrible years of affliction. It was that faith which, I think, radiated out to the people of this country in the very darkest hours of our trial.

“We remember him as a keen debater, probably none keener, contesting every point and every measure,” said Mr Coates. “We remember him when feeling was hard to control, and when individual feelings probably got out of hand; but I think all parliamentarians will bear testimony that Mr Massey came through with the respect of every member of Parliament who knew him. He was an honoured opponent.” The memorial was not too beautiful for the man; it was possibly the finest tribute to any single individual in the world. His exampie would be a guide and lesson to men and women in the future. The speaker believed that in the hearts of the people that day, whether they supported Mr Massey’s particular form of politics or not, there was no man held in deeper respect than Mr Massey. Mr Coates said lie wished to thank the Government for the arrangements it had made in connection with the ceremony and for the opportunity it had given people from every part of New Zealand to be present that day. LABOUR LEADER’S TRIBUTE.

“ I would like to re-echo the sentiments expressed by each of the previous speaker/?.” said Mr H. E. Holland, Leader of the Labour Party. “As you know. Parliament is a battle ground of ideas, and on the floor of Parliament Building, especially in the chamber of the House, men had come into conflict with one another, and I think those of us who figured as opponents of Mr Massey knew one side of him probably better even than those who were his close colleagues and were in line with the policy he advocated —we got to know the human side of him. Once his word was given it was honoured. That was my constant and unvarying experience of Mr Massey. It is fitting that he who gave the better part of his life to the turbulent fighting in the realm of politics should sleep his last long sleep here, surrounded by the magnificence of the hills, in view of the harbour where the sea will betimes murmur its lullabies, and where all God’s wildest storms will reach. And this splendid memorial which has been officially unveiled by’ his Excellency is a fitting tribute on the part of the people not only of Wellington but the whole of New Zealand to the statesman by whose tomb we are standing to-day—-a statesman whose name is written very largely , not , on ly in the records of these little islands, these most favoured islands of the southern seas, but written largely into the records of the British Commonwealth of Nations.” Dr Sprott, Bishop of Wellington, led the gathering in prayer at the opening of the ceremony and gave the benediction. Dev. George Budd moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbytrian Church of Napier conducted the dedication service.