THE PASSING OF Mr. MASSEY

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, 11 May 1925, Page 9

THE PASSING OF Mr. MASSEY

MP. for Thirty-One Years

. OFFICIAL. The Prime Minister passed peacefully away at 5.40 p.m. Wellington, May 10, 1925. Although so very seriously, ill, Mr Massey was conscious until the closing stages, but on Saturday and Sunday he was in an extremely low, comatose condition, and the end came quite peacefully at 5.40 o’clock, in the presence ef his whole family. Those in attendance at the bedside were Mrs Massey, the three sons (Messrs Walter W. Massey, of Mangere; J;' Norman Massey, of Puni, near Pukekohe; and George Mgssey, of Auckland) ; the two daughters (?drs G. Lawrence Taylor, of Auckland; Mrs C. W. Salmon, of Wellington), and Mrs Massey’s brother, Mr John Massey, farmer, of Mangere. Mrs Massey is hearing up as bravely as possible in the very trying circumstances. It has been decided that the remains of Mr Massey shail he interred at Point . HalsWell, on the Defence Reserve at Miramar Peninsula, which is one of the most outstanding sites overlooking Wellington Harbour.

MR. MASSEY COMES TO NEW ZEALAND, Young William Massey was only fourteen years of age when he sailed in the ship “City of Auckland,” to join his parents in New Zealand. The ship was in command of Captain Ashby, and it took the average time of 84 days to make the voyage from Gravesend to Auckland, via the Cape qf Good Hope, The passengers included the Rev. Wt <L Whh ams > afterwards president of the Methodist Conference of New Zealandj the Rev, F. W- Isitt, well known for many years as the leading platform advocate of prohibition, and Mr. Pailiser, afterward a well-known Wellington contractor. One of the apprentices was Captain Bone, afterwards superintendent of the N.Z, Shipping Company in New Zealand, There were no unusual excitements on the voyage, and there were the usual devices to make the time pass socially and without tedium. Amongst these the most noteworthy was a Bible Class for young men started by Mr. Williams. Needless to say, the young Ulsterman was a diligent member of this group, There are few men in public life in New Zealand to-day who know the text of the Bible so thoroughly as he, and who can quote it, appropriately to the occasion and with ease and accuracy. The “City of Auckland” arrived at her destination on December 11, 1870 t " l —' "

ON HIS OWN ACCOUNT. Meanwhile the leasehold at Tamaki had been given up, and Mr. Massey senior had bought the place at Mangere where the family lived for so many years. Returning from Canterbury young Massey stayed with his people for the greater part of a year, and then struck out on his own by purchasing a steam threshingmill and leasing a small farm of 100 acres, part of his present property. Wheat was then (1876) grown extensively in the neighbourhood of Auckland, - and Mr. Massey found threshing a profitable business. He owned a plant constantly for 28 years, and one of his original hands, Samuel Ferguson, who usually took charge of the operations while he was absent, and particularly when public affairs afterwards called him so much to Wellington, remained with him the whole time, Mr. Massey was 21 when he bought the threshing plant, and, what with the development of this business and his own farming, he prospered fairly well. So well, indeed, that five years later, on April 5, 1882, he married Miss Christina Allen Paul, the eldest daughter of a neighbouring farmer,

tagonism of views between what were then called Conservatives and Liberals, The real clash was to develop in the early nineties, The National Association (Auckland District) was essentially a political association, the first that Mr. Massey had taken part in, and of this too, he was elected president. A leading mover in the Assocation was Mr. C. E. Button of Auckland, who had been a member of the House of Representatives for Westland, and also for Auckland City, He was at that time Mayor of Birkenhead. ENCOURAGEMENT IN PUBLIC LIFE. It is quite evident from the period of life (85 years) at which he first stepped into a political association, that Mr. Massey had no particular ambition for political life. That he was a public spirited man was the natural outcome of his intelligence and his wide reading, and it was shown in the constant interest whieh he took in every society which concerned itself with the purely local and agricultural'interests of the district. Political service was first suggested to him by a great personal friend, the Rev. Mr. Kirlcbride, Anglican vicar of Mangere, a brother of the late Mr. M. M. Kbrkbride, M.P. The vicar was president of the local debating society, where he had an opportunity of noticing Mr. Massey’s first efforts at debating, and

ENTRY INTO PUBLIC LIFE. Shortly after settling down to married life, Mr. Massey began to take an active interest

WILLIAM FgRCUSON ' MASSEY. - PERSONAL LIFE OF THE PRIME MINISTER. . (Amplified from “ Who’s Who ip New Zealand.”) The Masseys originally belonged in Ireland to, the County of Tyrone, where the name is vary well known. It is a Norman one and appears, commonly in Normandy . to-day as “Masse.” But from Normandy to Ulster was a long way round. Mr. Massey is himself three parts Scots. His father’s mother was a Hamilton, and his own mother bore the name of Fergu'son. Her family crossed over to Ulster from Scotland, probably probably about 1680. As for the Massey side of the family they arrived in Ireland in tho person of tv/o brothers, who took different names, one being called “Massey” and the other “Massy.” Both names are widely scattered over Ulster to-day, that of ‘‘Massey” appearing frequently in the register of the cathedral at Derry. The Ferguson family settled at Limavady( in County Derry, about twelve miles east of Derry itself, a pretty little market town in the valley of the Roe. Here they had a suburban section of ten or twelve acres, on v/hich. the homested stood: and they leased as well from the McCauslands of Drenagh a small farm which they held for many years. In Ulster the tenant had the right to the fixing of a fair rent by valuation. The valuation could not bo raised on his own improvements, and he had the right of transferring his occupancy—all privileges unknown in the rest of the country. THE PRIME MINISTER’S BIRTHPLACE. William Ferguson Massey, the eklfest son of John Massey, was born' on March 26, 1856, in tho old homestead near the Church, where a stone house now stands. There were five in the family, and with the others William Ferguson went to the National School at Limavady, under a teacher named Logan. From this, at the age of 12 or 13 he passed to a private secondary school kept by a Mr. Brandon, a fine classical scholar and an accomplished linguist. As a boy the Prime Minister had the reputation of being able to run faster and learn quicker than any of his fellows, The learning was on the approved lines of a classical school of those days—Latin, French mathematics, mensuration, Euclid, algebra. Last, but not least/there was political economy. TO A NEW LAND. While young William Massey was still in his. primary school, his parents took the critical step of emigrating with the rest of the family to New Zealand, though the Maori wars had not yet ended. New Zealand was being a great deal talked of at this time as a field for settlement. Within the next few years another noted Ulsterman, George Vesey Stewart, of County Tyrone, left with his family for Taiiranga, Te Puke and Katikati. And as yet the Vogel immigration policy had not come into force. Leaving their eldest boy at school in his native town, John Massey and his family sailed in the ship Indian Empire. On landing at Auckland they visited their selection in the Kaipara district. The outlook was frankly disappointing. The “settlement,” if such it could be called was very remote, absolutely unloaded and uncleared, far from markets and very scantily peopled. The only neighbours they were likely to have for many years were the natives and those who had come with themselves. It was too much of a handicap for people with young - families to settle down in that distant spot at the back of Puhoi when there were localities which offered educational facilities and the other amenities which even pioneers expected. The Massey family accordingly did not go to Kaipara. John Massey, sen., paid rates on his sections for thirty years and then sold the land for 5/- an acre without even occupying it. Instead of going to Puhoi. John Massey turned his face southwards, and took a farm on lease at Tamaki. It was here that they were living when their eldest son, having finished his education, came out to join them.

BORN MARCH 26, 1858

DETERMINED TO BE A FARMER. Young Massey on landing went straight to his parents on the leased place at Tamiki West, where he remained until his seventeenth year. The place comprised a fairly large block of scoria land impossible to cultivate and was not large enough to employ both father and son when the latter came of age. “I persisted in being a farmer,” Mr. Massey once said, “but the old man said, ‘Well, I can’t teach you any more here. You will never be a farmer here.’ So he wrote to Mr. Grigg asking him to give me a show on the station.” Thi3 was John Grigg, the original owner of the famous Longbeach station in Canterbury. On coming to the colony first he had taken up land at Tamaki, where he was a neighbour of the Masseys. In fact, some of his land is now in the possession of Mr. Massey’s family. Being attracted to the more settled provinces of the South Island, Mr. Grigg took up his abode in Canterbury and by a supreme effort of organisation and perseverance he gradually drained a great swamp and formed the present model station of Longbeach. Young Massey spent two and a half years in his employ, learning a great deal of good farming methods and equipping himself to take on a piece of land on his own account.

in the public affairs of the district. His first office was that of member and chairman of the Mangere Road Board. He became a prominent Freemason, being initiated in Lodge Manukau, N.Z.C., of which later he became senior warden. But what may be regarded as Mr. Massey’s real initiation into public life was his election, in 1890, as president of the Mangere Farmers’ Club, one of those purely local organisations of agricultural interests which were later displaced by the branches of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union. There were about fifty members, and Mr.'Massey was the first president. Mr. Massey does not appear at the time to have had any ambitions in political life, he graduated steadily as a leader of local opinion and a champion of local interests, towards the wider field of service for the country at large. POLITICAL LIFE IN THE EIGHTIES. The depression following the boom of the seventies continued more or less acutely for fifteen years. The inefficiency of politics, which was a mere succession of re-arrange-ments of the Cabinet, was expressed in constant changes of Premier with little alteration in the personnel of the Administration. All through the eighties there was no great an-

DIED MAY 10, 1925.

he was specially insistent that he should read up and practise with a view to entering public life in some wider sphere. “I feel sure you will be wanted some day,” he remarked.

The future Prime Minister had strong encouragement, too, from an ever more authentic source, and it served to clinch the advice of Mr. Kirkbride. One night, somewhere about 1892, at a meeting in the small hall in Queen Street, where the National Association was formed, Mr. Massey was asked to make a short speech. Amongst the audience was Sir William Fox, one of the two men singled out by the biographer Gisborne as “born premiers.” He had been out of politics now for a few years, but he was one of the veterans of public life in New Zealand, for he had served seven years in the Wellington Provincial Council and twentyone years in the House of Representative. His political interest was as keen as ever. A few days later Fox suggested to Mi*. Massey that he should go in for politics himself. “Oh, no,” laughed the young farmer, “I don’t know enough about it. As for lengthy speeches, it is quite out of the question.” “I have been in politics many a long year,” replied Sir William, “and I have made a point of dealing with any subject in not more than six minutes. I limit myself to that. Of course I may have

ARDUOUS AND DISTINGUISHED CAREER CLOSES

Nearly Thirteen Years Prime Minister

half a dozen subjects; that Is another story. You will soon get into it. I strongly you to keep this in view.”

FIRST POLITICAL CAMPAIGN^ Mr, Massey never saw the old veteran again. Fox died in June, almost a year before Mr, Massey came into the House. Ballsance died in April, 1898, to be succeeded by his-mas-terful lieutenant, Richard J. Seddon. It was at the general elections at the?end of the year that Mr. tyUassey made his first essay in national politics. A good number of Mr. Massey’s friends, well aware of his qualities and abilities as president of so many local sssiciations, prevailed upon him to stand for Franklin. Mr. Massey was opposed by Major B, Harris (now the Hon. B. Harris, M.L.C.) who had previously represented Flanklin from 1879 -84. It wap a hot contest and a close result. The south end of the district was too strong, and on December 18,1898 Mr. Massey was defeated by a narrow majority,, ’ ELECTED FOR WAITEMATAi ' But the chance was not long in recurring. The election of Richard Monk for Waitemata, which he had represented in Parliament since 1886, was declared void a few weeks later. Mr. Monk was unseated. He came back again in 1896 and represented Waitemata in two more Parliaments, but meanwhile he was disqualified, and it was necessary to find a candidate to win the seat for the Opposition. Directly after the voiding of the election (February 9, 1894), the committee cast-about for a suitable candidate. They had no difficulty in deciding upon the farmers advocate who had made such a close fight in the neighbouring electorate. A telegram was sent to Mr. Massey signed on behalf of the committee by Mr. W. Stewart, of Helensville, and some of its prominent members. The incident of receiving this telegram was recently recallted by Mr. Massey to a journalist (at the time of’the death of Mr. Stewart, in January, 1921). He was busy harvesting at the time, and was actually on top of a stack when the message arrived. It was handed up to him on the point of a patchfork. The signatories included Nathaniel .Wilson and Richard Monk, and they invited Mr. Massey to contest the seat that Monk to meet the committee on the following d<ay to receive their invitation formally. He went to Auckland accordingly and agreed to stand. Nathaniel Wilton, who has since died, was chairman of his committee. Mr. Massey’s opponent was Mr. Jackson Palmer, the sitting member, whom Mr. Monk had defeated. Again it was a hot contest and resulted in a win for Mr. Massey. It was a point of honour with the Liberal Party to win the seat if possible, and a whole cohort of prominent speakers went to Waitemata to oppose Mr. Massey. Among them was Mr. (now Sir James) Carroll, Mr. Frank La wry, also a debutant of 1887, and then representing Parnell, and last, but not least, the masterful Richard Seddon himself came into the electorate. Waitemata was then a very wide and wild electorate, with much bush country and very poor roads, which made travelling slow and irksome. It included, also, the deafcched island of Great Barrier, where at that time there were a large number of electors. Out of the few weeks at his disposal to fight the campaign, Mr. Massey could not find time to visit the Barrier, and practically the whole of the electors voted against him. That might easily have been fatal, for his majority was only a narrow one. The poll took place on April 17, with the result that Mr. Massey won by a majority of 188, thus entering Parliament in 1874. CONTEMPORARIES IN PARLIAMENT. Mr. Massey came into international politics at the mature age of 38 years. Seddon, who had already been there for fifteen years, was 34 years old when he came in. Ballance, who had died a year before Mr. Masstey’s election, entered Parliament in 1875, at the age of 36 and had sat continuously with the exception of one Parliament. Captain Russell entered a year later than Ballance, at the age of 37, but had been in the Provincial Council at 31. Sir Joseph Ward was 31 when he was elected for Amarua, and Sir James Allen was 32 when he was returned for the first time. Two months after his election, Mr. Massey went down to Wellington for his first session of Parliament. Whom did he find there of the great protagonists of politics? On the Government benches were Seddon, with 15 years parliamentary experience, Ward with 7, John McKenzie with 12, Pember Reeves with 7, Cadman with 13*. Buckley with 16 (in the Legislative Council), Carroll with 7, and Montgomery with 20 years of the National Assembly and 8 more in the Provincial Council of Canterbury.

The titans of Parliament then in the House included Sir George Grey, who was still the representative of Auckland City until his final retirement in July, 1895. He dated back without a break to 1875, and had sat for Auckland all the time except for the election when he went to vindicate himself at the Thames. Stout was there too, for Wellington, in opposition to some points to Seddon. In point of seniority, Mr. (afterwards Sir William) Steward was the oldest of all, for he came to Wellington in 1871, but he was out of the House from 1875 to 1881. Alfred Saunders (Selwyn) dated back, with gaps it is true, to 1861. Willian Kelly (Bay of Plenty) first came in in