LATE SIR JOSEPH WARD.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18616, 11 July 1930, Page 8

LATE SIR JOSEPH WARD.

CONDOLENCE OF UNITED PARTY. TRIBUTE TO DECEASED STATESMAN. By Telegraph—Press Association WELLINGTON, July 10. The Dominion Executive of the j United Political Party' has forwarded the following to Mr Vincent Ward:— “The Dominion Executive of the United Political Party tender you and members of the family deepest condolence in the grievous blow you have all sustained in the death of your illustrious father, the Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Ward. They beg to convey to you their affection for your father as a man; their respect for his high character, both as a statesman and a business man; and their admiration for the vast range of the great service which he rendered to New Zealand and the British Empire. To-day, the Dominion mourns the loss of one of its greatest men, whose long, devoted and faithful service and high public ideals will never be forgotten in the land he loved so well. With genial, kind personality, he ruled every Department in the State. His great services to New Zealand are a household word, and the admiration of the people. Widespread happiness has come to many as a result of his work in the public service; for justice, righteousness, and fair play were his constant objectives, and generosity his most conspicuous quality. The public sorrow for his loss, and its deep gratitude for his invaluable services will, we hope, help to console the personal grief of yourself and other members of the family.—Yours very sincerely, James W. Henderson (chairman), J. A. Shand (general secretary) .”

MAORIS’ LAMENT. TOUCHING SCENE IN PARLIAMENT HOUSE. By Telegraph—Press Association WELLINGTON, July 10. In manner typical of their race, a large gathering of Maoris paid their last tribute to Sir Joseph Ward this morning. Gathered around the bier in the central lobby at Parliament House, as only Maoris can, with bowed heads, they intoned a highly emotional lament to" the dead, which may be freely translated as follows: -Pass on our elder from the world of life, from the murmurs of the many and the envy of thousands. The Great Fish has left its recess. Antare’s place is a gaping void.” Many of the native women expressed the sadness with i their hearts by shedding tears as they stood. Having finished their mournful song, the party slowly filed out. The dirge was led by a native woman named luruhira Hinewhakina. The Maoris present were representative of the Waikato, Taranaki, Wanganui, Taupo, East Coast, Hawke’s Bay. Otaki and South Island tribes. The Prime Minister (Hon. G. W. Forbes) and the Minister of Native Affairs (Hon. Sir Apirana Ngata) stood silently by with heads reverently bowed, as the touching scene was enacted.

AN INCENTIVE TO THE YOUTH OF OUR LAND. BISHOP’S EULOGIUM OF SIR JOSEPH WARD. (Special to the "Herald.”) CHRISTCHURCH, July 10. “Our young country may have its cycles of depression and prosperity, and many have to start life without any help of family prestige or personal wealth, but an example of such, as that offered by the record of Sir Joseph Ward, proves that hard work and honest effort, combined with the many opportunities that come to all, will ensure ultimate success,” said his Lordship Bishop Brodie, in his panegyric on the late Sir Joseph Ward at the Solemn Requiem Mass celebrated in the Roman Catholic Cathedral at Christchurch to-day. The cathedral was crowded by a congregation which included many school children and representatives of various organisations, apart from the Roman Catholic community.

As the procession of clergy proceeded to the Sanctuary, the organist (Miss K. O’Connor) played Chopin’s “Marche Funebre,” and then the rites of the Mass began. Father J. Finnerty was celebrant, with Father F. L. Dignan as deacon, and Father G. Daly as sub-deacon. His Lordship Bishop Brodie presided in the Sanctuary, and Father J. McMonagle was master of ceremonies.

At the entrance to the sanctuary stood the catafalque, representing the casket containing the remains of the dead statesman, draped in black, with a white cross, and flanked on two sides by three tall, steadily burning candles. On the high altar stood another six candles, their light reflected from the gleaming white walls of the sanctuary, which was the more impressive by being in contrast with the darkness I of the rest of the building, in which j no lights were burning. The chant of the Mass was rendered I in plain Gregorian by a choir of priests 1 drawn from the city and suburbs, led j by Father J. Hanrahan. Red and white-vested boys faced the altar. ! holding in front of them high candles, ’ and on each side of the Sanctuary gleamed candles in the hands of all the choir and clergy. On one occasion the solemn tolling of the bell broke in on the chanting. Then his Lordship Bishop Brodie rose to pronounce the panegyric: “The members of the Catholic community are called together to-day for the purpose of associating with our fellow citizens throughout the Dominion in a tribute to the memory of Sir Joseph Ward, who, in his public life, attained to the exalted dignity of Prime Minister of our Government, a position which he held until ill-health forced him to hand over the keys of office to one whose health and vigour would be equal to the strenuous task,” said his Lordship. “In public life it often happens that varying interests and conflicting views obscure the vision and detract from the true perspective of the aims and motives of our public men. A candidate who aspires to political honours is often accused of ambition, but to this accusation I would say it is a noble and laudable ambition to devote time and talents to the public good. Our wide and generous franchise gives to every citizen the right to seek the suffrages of his fellow-citizen, and it should be our wish and prayer that God will ever inspire men of ability, of upright motive, to seek the honour of being associated in the honourable and arduous work attached to Parliamentary life. “A review of the career and work of Sir Joseph Ward impresses one with the rich treasury of inspiration the lives of our public men must offer to

the youth of our day. When we recalf the lives of past Premiers, such as the Rt. Hon. Richard Seddon. the Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey, and now the latest name to be added, that of the Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Ward, the record of selfgovernment in New Zealand becomes illustrious in the careers and accomplishments of men whose political record reaches a high standard of statesmanship. “When it is remembered that Sir Joseph Ward commenced his public life with no other advantage than that of a boy leaving our primary schools, and from this huir le beginning, by his own God-given talents, by personal diligence, he so improved himself that his fellow citizens deemed him worthy of the highest honour within their bestowal, the Prime Ministership of the Government, such an -achievement must be an incentive to the youth of our land. Fittingly may I apply to Sir Joseph Ward, and the other departed leaders, whose names I have mentioned, the lines of the poet:

Lives of great men all remind us we may make our lives sublime, And departing leave behind us footprints on the sands of time; Footprints that perhaps another, sailing o’er life’s solemn main. A forlorn and shipwrecked brother seeing, shall take heart again. “Another phase in the life of Sir Joseph Ward calls for mention, namely, his association with Mr Massey in the anxious days when the War Cabinet guided the destinies of our young nation,” continued the Bishop. “Whatever may be the attraction of public life in time of peace, those attractions were absent during the war. and our rulers were called upon to render faithful service and endure personal anxiety, sometimes even great personal risk. Our late Prime Minister was not found wanting in those years of danger, and his fidelity under such conditions added to his life-long serI vice for the public well-being, justify the eulogies so generously bestowed on his life and work. “In addition to our association with the public tribute being paid to the late Sir Joseph Ward, we assemble today for a purpose sanctioned by scriptural authority, in the words of the 2nd. book of Maccabees, Chapter XII., v. 46, ‘lt is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead.’ We are united in that sublime act of worship, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In the prayer of the Requiem Mass we say, ‘Oh God, Who hast this day called the soul of Thy servant out of this world, grant through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and through our ! prayers, that the departed soul may I enjoy eternal consolation and eternal ' reward.’

“May comfort come to the hearts of the sorrowing family, and may I also ask, as we* stand in spirit by the mortal remains of our departed statesman, that those to whom the vote of the people will confide the guidance of the destinies of our young land, may ever have sympathetic encouragement to aid them in the arduous task of surmounting the difficulties occasioned by the widespread gloom of unemployment, that we may all rejoice in seeing our young nation go forward in the path of industrial peace and progress, to the realisation of the highest ideals of national prosperity and national greatness.” The lights in the body of the church went on, and with the clergy and choir grouped round the catafalque, his Lordship pronounced the Absolution. Then the organ, silent throughout the service, pealed forth in the strains of the Dead March in “Saul;” while the congregation, standing in silence, paid its last tribute to the dead Prime Minister, and the clergy slowly filed i from the Cathedral.