OBITUARY.

Colonist, Volume XLVIII, Issue 11620, 7 May 1906, Page 2

OBITUARY.

MR. HENRY EDWARDS. Tho fact that Mr Henry Edwards is no ino i'e will come as a shock to many, and as he wasi well known, and jusfc aS widely respected ftiiton&st, all the older people of Nelson, ana Mrtriborou^hj and by tiiiiriy boy-end th'eboundaries of the jtwto p/ovine'es his' los's will be keenly felt by ti large iiumb&r of New Zealanders. He wa<s borri iri Es's&c Hii t^-eiejh't years ago, and. afc the age of twelve he left England with his parents for thia coloriy. After their arrival in Wellington in 18*49 they came to Nelson. When quite 4 lad .the late Mr Edwards eriMed , thd, law -#fifee\.of Mr Donald Sinclair, but. after ferrfaining there some three years he accepted u position on the staff of Messrs Sclanders and Co., general merchants of London and Nelson, a firm fchat was established in 1842 hy Mr David Sclanders, and which carried on a banking business here also in the early days. In course of timo Mr Henry Edwards rose to the position of Manager of the Nelson business and during the fifty years he was connected with the firm, and he remained with it till the business was disposed of to Messrs Levin and Co. He' won and Maintained, the high esteem of a'll ho canie in contact with, for he was an upright man of rare kindliness. So well was he thought of amongst business people that hig Services were sought as an abitrator. Outside of his official duties he took a keen interest in OddfelloWship, and he held the position of Treasurer of the Loyal Nelson Lodge foi' a greafc. many ears. Amongst other positions' held by him was Vice-Presidentship of the Nelson Savings Bank : he was C'hairnian of the Nelson Fire Underwriters' AsociatiOn'j a member of the Committee of the Chamber of Commerce, a Churchwarden, and later, Vestryman of All Saints' Parish, as well as President, of the Nelson Bowling Club. Since Messrs Sclanders and Co. closed their Nelson branch Mr Edwards has acted as atorney for the old firm, and has conducted all its business. He has also acted as the Nelson representative of the South British Insuranco Co. . and has held several agencies, he haring been assisted in these by his son Mr Dudley Edwards. In 1860 Mr Edwards married a daughter of tbe lato Mr John Nixon, and he leaves a numerous grown up family, including two sons — Mr Frederick Edwards and Mr Dudley Edwards. He was taken ill about a fortnight ago, but a week last Saturday he showed considerable improvement. A relapse came, however, and the end was last evening. With the deeply stricken members of his family there will be wide and heartfelt sympathy. He was a man of whom it has been said, and justly said, ho could entertain not an unkind thought, and such a memory is itself a heritage.