LORD BLEDISLOE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 20058, 15 March 1935, Page 8

LORD BLEDISLOE

A MEMORABLE SCENE By Telegraph—Press Association WELLINGTON, March 14. Representatives of every section of the community assembled in the Town Hall to-night to the occasion of the civic farewell to their Excellencies Lord and Lady Bledisloe. The hall was packed and thousands unable to gain admittance listened outside to the speeches by means of loud-speakers. The speakers were the Prime Minister and the Mayor of Wellington (Mr T. C. A. : rslop), who presented Lord Bledisloe with an address from the citizens of Wellington and the inhabitants of the surrounding districts. The address was accompanied by a small water colour and was enclosed in a casket of New Zealand woods. When their Excellencies came to New Zealand, said Mr Hislop, much was expected, for Lord Bledisloe was known as an eminent man of great scientific and scholastic distinction, but expectations had been exceeded many times, and no one ever vacated office more honoured, respected or beloved than their Excellencies. New Zealand owed them a debt of gratitude that could never be repaid. He announced that Lord Bledisloe • had consented to have his portrait painted in England for permanent housing in the National Art Gallery here. Mr Forbes, in a eulogistic speech, said no matter where one went from one end of the country to the other, their names were spoken of with the greatest affection. “When one looks back on the time of their arrival and remembers how things have been very, very difficult during the period they have been here, one realises how much they have done to encourage the spirit of optimism when the clouds looked dark.” Ilis Excellency’s Reply Lord Bledisloe, replying to the address and the speeches, said he could not adequately express either Lady Bledisloe’s gratitude to, or their affection for, the kindly inhabitants of this loyal Dominion. “You New Zealanders, pakehas and Maoris alike,” he said, "are curiously unaware of some things that you ought to know. One of them is that you have a greater variety of beautiful scenery than any country in the world, and that, if duly exploited and advertised, your tourist traffic ought to be your most lucrative industry, a source of immense wealth as well as of. aesthetic and spiritual inspiration. Another is that you are the world’s most loveable people. Your loyal message to his Majesty shall certainly be delivered, corroborated by our own unvarying experience throughout the Dominion. Your loyalty to the Crown is robust, universal and unchallengeable. Let me add that his Majesty was most touched and gratified by the cordial and generous welcome accorded to his son.” Lord Bledisloe continued that after five years’ study of the country, its resources and ‘potentialities, he had no qualms regarding its future prosperity, happiness and progress. After expressing a hope that his successor, Lord Galway, would enjoy both from the Government and the people the same measure of friendly goodwill which had been accorded him, Lord Bledisloe stated that whatever might be the Dominion’s transient and superficial maladies, it was sound at the core. Its heart beat steady, and it would respond to the stimulant of the better time that was coming. Sad at Heart "Our love for you is deep and sincere,” he concluded, “and if we have, as you are good enough to indicate, found a place in your hearts, it will be to us a potent tonic, an elexir vitae, to sustain our vitality and possible utility in the days that lie before us. With sad hearts we wish you farewell. We certainly shall not forget you.” At the conclusion of his Excellency’s speech, the audience rose and cheered him. The National Anthem was sung, and this was followed by the singing of “For They Are Jolly Good Fellows,” with more cheering. Leaving the hall their Excellencies were given a continuous friendly ovation, while outside an enormous crowd lined the streets and watched them drive away amid cheers. It was a memorable occasion, and eloquent testimony to the affection in which their Excellencies are held by the people. Children’s Farewell Nearly 10,000 secondary and primary school children of Wellington city and suburbs gathered on Newton Park this afternoon to bid farewell to Lord and Lady Bledisloe. In brilliant sunshine the scene was an impressive and animated one, and when their Excellencies arrived they were given a most enthusiastic reception. The atmosphere was reminiscent of that at the display given by the school children during the visit to the Duke of Gloucester,

WELLINGTON SAYS FAREWELL