Valedictory.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 53, 4 March 1914, Page 5

Valedictory.

a man could have. It was difficult on such an occasion when one's feelings were strained to the utmost pitch to say properly how he appreciated all that had been said of him. His first visit to Stratford dated back thirtyfive years, when Stratford was the terminus of the railway line from New Plymouth. The train went through the bush and wild pigeons were so plentiful •that they could be knocked down with sticks. At that time the bridge across Patea river was on an angle to Mountain Itoad. Very early in life he decided to become v a member of the legal profession. When he was nine years old-.he was sent to Nelson College, having to leave New Plymouth by surf-boat. Later on in Wanganui he met the Mayor and Mr W. M. Bayly. iAt twenty he passed his examinations and his twenty-first year saw him in business on his own account. It was a bold move to take, but it was the 3nly possible one. He could not get a position otherwise—one party to whom he applied for employment told him there were more cats than mice. His father formed a special settlement at Midhirst. He got a thousand acres of land on condition that he cut it up into small holdings and put people on it. He was rewarded by seeing the settlement a success, and some of the best farmers in the district put on the land. He had seen .some of the Crown grants of these settlers. Good deeds'they were and the owners had never a thought of a mortgage. Those Avere the days when farmers were offered 4Jd a pound for butter, and most often did not get cash, having to be content to take the value out in stores. He (Mr Fookes) was pleased to see present that night Mr Ralfe, a pioneer of the first co-oper-ttive dairy factory in the district—the Cardiff factory. He was sure the success of that factory had done much for the province. Dairying, was the chio; industry of the Dominion, and Stratj rord, he was pleased to say, was the I .•outre of probably the best dairying listrict in the Dominion. He had an ; ip hill fight to make his living w*hen ho arrived in Stratford first. Court day was looked upon as a great day. Al! the unemployed—and the majority ol the residents seemed to be unemployed

-came to the Courthouse. There was inly one legal gentleman in practice it the time—Mr Barleyman, who was .>ld enough to be his grandfather. Mr barleyman was a man of an odd temperament, but he had.only to he known 'o be likeff. He was fond of getting into print, and did much to keep the newspapers going. Mr T. H. Penn's contributions to the "Taranaki Her.ild" were also looked for by Stratford ••esidents. They were a hearty lot of ,nen in those days, and even the c-tationmaster used to suspend his duties to take part with the porter in daily cricket match. There were some great "sports" in the town, and one morning the big railway gate was round on the top of a verandah. Ho could not say who put it there. Mr Newton King used to visit the town weekly to hold his sale and was accompanied by Mr Clark, New Plymouth manager of the National Bank, who came dressed as a farmer. Mr Liardet was then Mr King's Stratford manager. The population of the town was about three hundred. Then theto\vn started to go ahead. A Town Board was'formed and had constant trouble with the County Council. The County Council did not do much for the town, and the town therefore decided to raise a large loan for the makiug of Broadway. In the course of these improvements the town cobbler (Mr Melville); had to be shifted, as his shop was in the middle of the road. Along the streets they had to walk on planks, and if one got off the plank he was up to the waist in mud. There was, however, a hansom cab, which was '. steered by Mr Gooch, the town's firstl cabby. There was a combined tailor and barber, but he was brilliant in neither art. Dr. Valintine came, to Stratford and would probably be still here if he could have got a house, but he had to live in Inglewood, riding backwards and forwards to Stratford. The doctor showed his mettle on one occasion by administering severe punishment per fist to a man who collided with him on a road. The Magistrate (Mr Stuart) was a fine old gentleman, and his judgments usually split the difference between the parties. When he (Mr Fookes) arrived in Stratford there was not a foot of metal on East Road, though a contract had just been let for the metalling. Ho went out to Toko in connection with the license of the hotel there and had to walk along fascines and make sundry deviations right off the road altogether. How the settlers managed to live he never knew—the price of provisions must have been very high. He could remember Mr Charles Bayly going out the road with the iron for his house on his horse. There were very fine dances in those days and good theatricals, Mr T. H. Peun being a comedian of the highest order—ho was a regular Toole. Later, when things became more civilised there was the advent of Dr. Carhery, than whom there was probably no better exponent of the comic ait in the country. He took up the running when Mr Penn had had enough of it and organised theatrical entertainments second to none in New Zealand. With his sister, Mrs Uniacke, he did great work for the art. Referring to the remarks made that evening in reference to himself, whatever he had done for the town ho had always tried to do his best. Nobody knew better than he did himself the difficulty before a man when he set out to compass a set task. Failure to \ satisfy oneself was a chief cause of worry. A legal man's work and worry was not done when his office door was closed, and many of them took their worries with them on their week-end holidays. A man who had hard manual work slept well afterwards, but a hard mental worker did not have the same good fortune. It was a pleasure to him to take part in the public lifo of ,

the town. The work of the town wae now fairly well distributed, but in th» early days there wore men who did more than their fair share. Probably he had tried to do too much and his health had suffered in consequence. He was sorry to have to go away, but iJr. Paget was the one who had convinced him to leave. Since Dr. Paget had convinced him to go away he had steadily improved in health from that time to the present. He had to express thanks to his numberless friend* in all parts of the district for their encouraging expressions of sympathy. Accompanied by his wife and daughter he intended leaving for New Plymouth on Wednesday, and after a few days spent with his people he would continue his journey to England. He was sorry his boys were not to stay in Stratford, because the Stratford school was one of the best in the country. The school owed its position to the good administration of Mr Tyrer. He was assisted by a very capable staff, but Mr Tyrer had won one of the highest reputations both in primary and secondary work in the Dominion. He (Mr Fpdkes) hoped to return to New Zealand in October thoroughly restored to health and to find all his friends enjoying the best of health and prosperity. On his trip he hoped to visit Mr Monkhouse on his Worcestershire farm and to chat with him about the many friends both had left on this side of the world. He would like to refer briefly to Mrs Fookes, who had been his helpmeet for nineteen years. They were married in the Stratford church. She had stood by him through manytrials and troubles and a better wife lio could not wish to have. As she would be willi him he expected the trip to ho the most happy of his life. He thanked the citizens for the presents made and the kind words spoken, which he valued greatly because he knew they were thoroughly heartfelt. He was particularly touched by the remarks of the other members of the legal profession. The Stratford bar was second to none in Taranaki. When he returned he hoped to see the Mayor turning the first sod in connection with the town's tramways. Mr Fookes concluded b,\ once more thanking his friends for their gifts. He was again loudly applauded on re--uming his seat. Cheers for Mr and Mrs Fookes and a vote of thanks to the chairman closed the meeting.

MR THOMAS C. FOOKES,

AN ENTHUSIASTIC GATHERING*

A presentation on behalf of the citizens of Stratford was made last night jin the Borough Council Chambers to Mr T. C. Fookes, who is about to j leave for England on a health trip. jTho Mayor (Mr W. P. Kirkwood) pre. | sided, and a good number of citizens were present. A number of apologies jfor absence were read. The Mayor. Mr Kirkwood said the citizens had decided that they could not let Mr Fookes depart without doing something to show their respect for one of [the oldest residents of the town. When I he returned the speaker had no doubt jthat lie would be able to give them 'many valuable hints on municipal government. Since coming to the town Mr Fookes had taken a great interest in its affairs, and he was one of those • who had never faltered in the work, of helping the town and district. He (the Mayor) had first met Mr Fookes when ! he was an articled clerk for a big legal firm in Wanganui and he was pleased on coming to Stratford to find ' Mr Fookes here. Mr Fookes could properly be called one of the pioneer townsmen. He came to the town when it was not necessary to dodge motor cycles and motor cars—the mud was the chief thing to be dodged. He had not only had faith in the town, but had acted up to that faith and remained in Stratford. No doubt, as soon as Mr Fookes got well on his voyage lie would enjoy it to the full. While he had been acting as Borough Solicitor Mr Fookes had had the confidence of everybody with whom he came in contact, and the speaker believed that Mr Fookes had not made better friends than among the members of his own profession, whom' it was pleasant to see there that night in such numbers. During his absence his friends would have to deny themselves the pleasure of political arguments. The citizens' mark of esteem would take the form of a pair of binoculars for Mr Fookes and a gold bangle for Mrs Fookes. Addressing Mr Fookes the Mayor said: "It gives me great pleasure to make this presentation as a token of the esteem in which you are held by the people of the town. I sincerely hope that you and Mrs Fookes will have a pleasant voyage. lam sure the goodwill in evidence to-night will be equally in evidence on your return." (Applause). The Legal Profession. Mr R. Spence said he desired to speak of Mr Fookes professionally, ahcT most men desired to hear the opinion of others in their profession. I It was often said that it was hard to find an honest lawyer, but Mr Fookes was not only an honest lawyer, but an ultrahonest lawyer and a good man in his profession. That was not an idle statement but an honest conviction after thirteen years' experience of him. Everybody knew what a help Mr Fooko 3 jhad been to all kinds of sport in the I town, especially football. Mr Fookes and the speaker had had their profes|sional disagreements in Court) but | there had never been any personal animosity. In Court Mr Fookes acted as he did in the general affairs of the town-7-he never hit below the belt. In speaking as lie did he felt sure that he was voicing the opinion of the whole of the profession in Stratford. There could be no doubt that Mr Fookes' bad health was" due to his unceasing efforts in the interests of his clients.

Mr J. B. Hine, M.P.,' said Mr Fookes had watched the town grow from its infancy, and had taken his part in every walk of municipal life, doing everything possible for the advancement of the town and district. Everybody knew how Mr Fookes encouraged the Stratford football team by his presence at matches, and the speaker'was sure that the team always played better when they knew Mr Fookes was watching them from the line. It was easy to understand' the [strain there must be on a man of Fookes' energy—he put his whole heart into anything on Which he M'as engaged. On his holiday he should go away | somewhere where even wireless could not reach him.

Dr. Paget said the trip Mr Fookes was taking was highly necessary to recuperate his health. Everybody knew him as a good sportsman and a good townsman, and he (Dr. Paget) knew him as a good friend. In his mind's eye he would see Mi Fookes in frock coat and top hat, going down to see the Derby run. He hoped the Stratford binoculars would enable Mr Fookes to pick the "dead s uns" and refrain from backing them. Mr Wright said that as the oldest member of the legal profession present ho desired to say that in any settlement lie had made with Mr Fookes ho had always found him an impartial man, which was the best possible guarantee that clients' interests would be iproperly looked after. Impartiality, such as Mr Fookes had, was one of the the most valuable assets of a solicitor.

Mr T. U. Ponn also spoke shortly. Ho had known Mr Fookos, he said, sinoo his arrival in Stratford about twenty-four years ago, and he had never met a better personal friend. Mr W. G. Malone, who also knew Mr Fookos during the whole time of his residence, paid a tribute to Mr Fookos personally and professionally. Mr Fookes in Reply, Mr Fookos was heartily applauded on rising to respond. He said be was sure that the meeting that night was a gathering of the truest set of friends