LAID TO REST

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18618, 14 July 1930, Page 7

LAID TO REST

Burial of Sir Joseph Ward IMPRESSIVE CEREMONIES.

By Telegraph—Press Association INVERCARGILL, July 13. Sir Joseph Ward sleeps where he would have chosen —beside his loved ones in the picturesque little cemetery c: the Bluff Hill. He was buried this afternoon with full military honours in the presence of the greatest and lowliest in the land. All Saturday, his body lay in state before the altar of St. Mary’s Basilica, where many hundreds came silently and reverently to do him homage. On Sunday morning, the Bishop of Dunedin, (Dr. Whyte), his ministers and peoplt, offered prayers for the repose of his soul, in the majestic ceremonial of the Roman Catholic Church. In the afternoon he fared forth 1o his last resting place on Bluff Hill. As his body was lowered into t. grave, the low descending sun caused every colour to come into sea and sky, until it seemed that the hillside must ever be bathed in the glory of him who lay buried there. Thousands of mourners, thronging the streets of Invercargill and Bluff and watching the last sad rites, testified to the affectipn and esteem in which the dead leader was held, and made it impossible not to realise that, though he has passed away, his name will ever stand in the forefront of the immortals of New Zealand’s story. Pontificia! Requiem Mass. Never has there been a more impressive service in Invercargill than that in the Basilica this morning, when, with all the deep significance of the Roman Catholic Church, solemn Pontificial Requiem Mass was celebrated for Sir Joseph Ward. The Go-vernor-General was represented by Sir John Hanham. The Prime Minister (Hon. G. W. Forbes) and members of Cabinet; the leaders of the Opposition and of the Labour Party; members of Parliament; and representatives of local bodies were present. In a reverent hush preceding the commencement of the service, all eyes turned towards the casket which lay before the altar, and around which candles burned steadily. Many in the congregation were devoutly kneeling, offering -prayers for the soul of him Who lay in his coffin before them. Panegyric by Bishop. The Bishop of Dunedin, Right Rev. Dr. Whyte, was the celebrant of the Mass, and delivered a panegyric. His Lordship stated: “We are assembled this morning around the mortal remains of a great statesman and an earnest Christian. We are here to pray for the immortal part of him, his soul, which has already appeared before the judgment seat of its Creator. The mortal part will eventually put on immortality. In the words of St. Paul, ‘ the corruptible will put on incorruption.’ Prayers alone, especially Holy Mass, will avail him now. Praise will be of no benefit to him, but it may help, and encourage others to imitate his noble example. During the past few days, one harmonious chorus of praise has sounded throughout the Dominion fron# Auckland to the town he lifted out of obscurity in the morning of his public life. Maori and pakeha, pressmen and politicians, civil and j military and Church authorities all j have lamented the loss sustained by j our young country through the death of its renowned citizen. All have lauded his ability, his integrity, his cour- ! tesy. At the Council chambers of the Empire, his opinions were listened to with attention, and New Zealand acquired through him fame out of all proportion to the size and population of the country. In progressive, nay daring legislation, which also contributed to the fame of this country, Sir Joseph Ward took a conspicuous part. It is no wonder then that New Zealand is to-day bowed down with grief on losing a son who has written his name so large on our history of the past half-century. His life teaches many important lessons. If he belonged to the aristocracy it was the higher aristocracy of character and ability. As happens in nearly all cases in history, he became great by industry. He went on from height to height until he reached the alpine height of the Premiership. To very few is given the ability by which he achieved success, but perseverance and industry are within the reach of everybody. His example cannot fail to influence many young men of to-day. ‘He was a great Imperialist,’ say many members of the

worM-wide dominions of the Empire. Lo\. ..’s of discipline in every sphere of life are to-day shocked by the unwholesome spirit of independence that asserts itself in many civilised countries. Church and State are attacked by this unthinking spirit. Disorder raises its head against every form of government, and the twin demons of anarchy and irreligion are here and there let loose. The example of a man who stood for order and discipline, who loved and served his country unselfishly, will protect us, let us hope, against the encroachment of ideas that would destroy the State and Church, and trampling upon the King’s Crown and the Pope’s Tiara, would vainly strive to make every subject his own ruler and to tear away from human nature its God-implanted longing for religion. Sir Joseph Ward has been on all sides acclaimed as a gentleman. More than that, Sir Joseph was a Christian gentleman, and still more he was a fervent Catholic. It is because he was a Catholic who believed in his religion and practised it that we are here to-day, celebrating these solemn and venerable rites. A more appropriate Church could not have been chosen than this Basilica, in which he so frequently worshipped. He took his place here with the humblest parishioner, and listened to the explanation of Christian doctrine with as much docility as would the youngest of his constituents. The man was truly great in whom fame and modesty were so beautifully blended. Very many people nowadays sadly need the silent rebuke that is administered to the irreligious by men who are at once Christian believers and men of renown. Sir Joseph’s Christian life offers such reproof to those who are carried away by every wind of scientific doctrine. Our chief concern this morning, however, is not to praise him. but to pray for him, hence the Church brings out of her rich treasury of prayers petitions for the welfare of his soul. She sprinkles his corpse with holy water, asking that his soul be cleansed from sin and be made ready for that Kingdom into which nothing stained is admitted. The fragrance of floating incense is symbolic of prayer rising in its sweetness to the "Throne of God. As incense will not send up its pleasant odour if it rests not on burning coal, neither will our prayers ascend unless they come from a heart glowing with God’s love. Ancient prayers, majestic music, stately ceremonies, are plentifully employed as a beautiful garment to adorn the great act of sacrifice—the holy mass. Though the solemn Requiem Mass is stripped of every element of joyousness, yet there is a vein of confidence in God's mercy running through it.” Continuing, the Bishop said the holy sacrifice of which prayers and ceremonies are but an adornment, recalled the sixth chapter of St. John’s Gospel, with the marvellous promise it contained. It recalls also the Last Supper, when our Lord fulfilled His promise. The mind was carried back to the catacombs and its numerous petitions there found for peace and rest for the dead. In a later century (the fifth), St. Augustine told in his Book of Confessions that his mother Monica was buried with an offering of sacrifice of our redemption according to custom before her body was laid in the ground. It was in accordance with that venerable custom that Mass had now been celebrated before the body of the deceased statesman was taken to its resting-place in the cemetery. While they hiourn the loss of so worthy a man, they could thank God for having given him to this young country, as a model of patriotism and uprightness. His reputation of a gentleman who bore his honours meekly, and who never failed in courtesy or generosity to the poor, would be recalled even after his political triumphs had been forgotten. By Catholics he would be remembered where remembrance was sweetest, at the altar rails, and within the sanctuary. Many aged people whom he assisted would raise their withered hands to heaven, appealing for mercy on his soul, and orphans up and down through the land would lisp their simple prayers for .him. “Our religious communities of men and of women, praying in their little oratories when the world is still abed, will put him on their list of benefactors. We, Bishops and Priests of New Zealand, grateful to him. him that his edifying life and death will serve as a lamp to the feet of our people, will bear him in mind when every morning at the altar we- ask our Lord to be merciful to those who are gone before us with the sign of faith, and rest in the sleep of peace.” Bishop Whyte concluded by offering prayers for the sorrowing friends. The Last Journey. Long before mid-day, residents from country districts commenced to arrive in Invercargill, the main roads carrying a constant stream of people anxious to pay their last tribute to thp great man who, from a humble beginning in the most southerly province of his adopted country, had risen to the greatest heights of statesmanship. The presence at the final obsequies of such a huge crowd of people, representing all interests and communities, was eloquent testimony to the high sense of esteem and gratitude in which he was held by everyone. Their attendance was a public acknowledgment of the great benefits which their departed chief had conferred upon the people by his political efforts, and an indication that by very many spread widely through the country he was regarded as a close friend. So it was that those who gathered to pay homage numbered many who reckoned his personal worth greater than his political achievements, and on the occasion of his funeral felt it their duty to give a final tribute to his memory. It was a reverent assemblage, which felt too deeply the national loss in the death of an outstanding personality, to be merely anxious to witness the pomp and ceremony following his passing. It was most fitting that he should find his resting place overlooking the port of Bluff, where he first trod New Zealand soil, and where he lived for the greater part of his life. The district which nourished and fostered him in his earlier activities which led to higher things, had claimed its most famous son. A Great Gathering. Although two large trains which left for the port before the procession through the city commenced had been packed, and hundreds of cars had already left Invercargill, the entire route from the Basilica to the station was crowded with a dense throng of people, which had commenced to form up a considerable time before the cortege left the church. At both the Basilica and the railway station, the numbers were greatest, and

at either terminal there must have been several thousands gathered. A softly tolling bell ringing at short intervals at the Convent beside the Basilica heralded the departure of the cortege for the station. A parade of returned soldiers formed a guard of honour from the portals of the church to the hearse.

Heads were bared at the appearance at the door of the church of the casket. The Prime Minister and his colleagues, who acted as pall-bearers, walked beside the coffin, which was followed by Captain Sir John Hanham, Bart, who represented the Governor-General. Then came Sir Cyril and Lady Ward, Mr and Mrs B. B. Ward, Mr and Mrs Vincent Ward, Mr and Mrs Gladstone Ward, Mr Awarua Pat Ward; Messrs Joseph G. Ward and Cyril J. Ward (sons of Sir Cyril Ward), Mr C. A. Tipping, Miss Kathleen Tipping, Miss Eileen Tipping, Mr Walter Henderson, Miss Lulu Henderson, Sir Francis and Lady Boys, and Mr lan Boys. The procession leaving the Basilica was led by the Civic Band, and an escort of returned soldiers. Upon arrival at the railway station, the casket was tenderly removed to the mortuary van, and was conveyed to the Bluff. Along the route at each station were crowds of mourners who bared their heads in tribute as the train passed. At more distant spots isolated groups had assembled, but everywhere was there apparent profound sorrow. No pen picture could do justice to the account of the return of the body to the soil of Bluff, whence the zeal, courage and vaulting faith of Sir Joseph had so many years ago spurred him on to great endeavours. Arrival at Bluff. The main street and precincts of the station were thronged as the train steamed quietly in. As the casket was brought forth to the station platform, a woman’s voice raised in the opening cries of a tangi wail was heard, and a compact body of Maoris, appropriately garlanded, with their heads bowed, came close by. Two chieftainesses of the Ngahuirapa tribe broke into plaintiff laments in which their companions joined in a resounding chant, the Voices rising and falling in wild cadences. The pathos and poetic force of the lament left an impression which will prove indelible to the minds of listeners. Subsiding into respectful silence again, the Maoris formed up in line and followed the casket to the cemetery. The casket was placed on a guncarriage, and the last solemn journey was commenced. The entire route to the cemetery was lined with spectators. Majestic pillars of Bluff granite in the vicinity of the cemetery were points of vantage from which many people watched the ceremony. At the gates of the cemetery the cortege was met by a clerical procession of acolytes, clergy, and the Bishop of Dunedin. The casket was removed from the gun-carriage and carried to the graveside by residents of Bluff, who had been personal friends of the late statesman, the cortege passing between a guard of honour. The Interment. At the grave, solemn funeral rites i were performed by the Bishop of Dunedin, and the casket was lowered into the grave. A firing party fired three volleys, and the plaintive notes of the “Last Post” rang out, followed by the “Reveille.” A quartette of pipers played “Flowers of the Forest.” A military escort then filed past the grave depositing a huge number of floral tributes which had been received, and soon they were piled high on the grave. Floral Tokens. Among the large number of floral tributes were wreaths from the following: The Governor-General and Lady Bledisloe; Dominion Executive of the United Party; messengers and orderlies of the House of Representatives; Hansard staff, the Mayor, Councillors and citizens of Wellington, Mr and Mrs T. E. Y. Seddon, the Prime Minister and his colleagues of the Ministry; his Excellency the Governor-General’s staff; Mrs R. J. Seddon, the Under-Secretary and Officers of the Lands and Survey Department, the New Zealand Educational Institute. Rt. Hon. J. G. and Mrs Coates, the president, members and secretary of the National Council of the Licensed Trade; the manager and staff of Bellamy’s, and the cleaning staff and nightwatchman; the Otago Executive of the United Party; members o; the Reform Party; private secretaries of Ministers of the Crown; Sir Francis and Lady Boys; Theatrical Sick and Benefit Society; Law Drafting Office; chairman and members of the Wellington Harbour Board; Franklin Agriculture Society; officers of the G.P.0.; the Speaker and staff of the House of Representatives; lion, Sir Francis and Lady Bell; Hon. Sir Thomas and Lady Sidey; members of the Palmerston North United Political Society; the Census and Statistics Office; the New Zealand Employers’ Federation; the staff of the Prime Minister’s Office; the South African War Veterans’ Association; and from many prominent commercial firms, some of which Sir Joseph Ward had been intimately connected with.

The family received a message of sympathy from Sir Charles LESSONS FROM SIR JOSEPH WARD’S LIFE. GOVERNOR-GENERAL POINTS MORAL. By Telegraph—Press Association CHRISTCHURCH, July 13. The life and achievement of Sir Joseph Ward was cited as an example to all young New Zealanders by the Goverhor-General (Lord Bledisloe), when addressing the students of Lincoln College on Saturday. His Excellency remarked that he would not have been able to pay such an early visit to the College had it not been that a calamity had befallen the country in the death of one of its greatest men. “In the person of Sir Joseph Ward,” he said, “one of the outstanding public men of this country has passed to his rest. From a humble beginning, he rose to become New Zealand’s best known statesman. His life is a splendid example of what young New Zealanders can do, and I hope that you who are his juniors, and who have more opportunity than he, will try to emulate him. What were the outstanding qualities of his character? ; should say that he was pre-eminently a straightforward, just, patriotic and persevering man. That last quality is important, because I imagine that there are many otherwise successful citizens who fail to achieve what they aim for just because of lack of perseverance. There is no better example of the presence of this quality in the veteran statesman than his final entry into politics at the head of the Administration of this country. Of him, it could be said, as Wordsworth said of the Happy Warrior: ‘Who not content that former worth stand fast, looks forward persevering to the last, from well to better daily self surpast.’ “What are the secrets of such a man’s life?” inquired his Excellency. “One was his high ideals, with no deviation into anything sordid or unworthy. Another was self-discipline. There is no quality more desirable among those who wish to serve their country well than self-discipline. During the war years we were all under intense self-discipline, and were we any the worse for it? Since then there has been a tendency to relax that hold over self.”