LONG CAREER CLOSES

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20679, 18 March 1937, Page 5

LONG CAREER CLOSES

PASSING OF SIR AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN United Press Association—By Elect-lo Telegraph —Copyright LONDON, March 16. The death is announced of the Right Hon. Sir Austen Chamberlain, who occupied a foremost position in the life of the Mother Country for many years, and who for a period held the position of Foreign Secretary. During his career he held many important posts, and was highly esteemed by all sections of the people. Parliamentary Tributes Sir Austen Chamberlain's death was entirely unexpected. It is only now that it is learned that he had been confined to his London residence for a few days with lumbago. It was not regarded as serious. He seemed better to-day, and started about 6 p.m. to go downstairs to the library, when he had a heart attack, and died in a few minutes, without regaining consciousness. Grief in Parliament The news of his death was received with grief by members of the House

of Commons and attendants, among all of whom he was most popular. Mr Lloyd George, when told the news, said: “Sir Austen Chamberlain was the most upright, and most straightforward man I ever met.” Mr C. R. Attlee said: “We have lost a great Parliamentarian—a very great gentleman.”

Sir Austen Chamberlain had long been one of the most prominent figures in British politics. He was born in 1863, and was educated at Rugby and Cambridge. He had from early boyhood enjoyed the confidence of his famous father, and on coming down from Cambridge was sent for a prolonged tour of the capitals of Europe to study international affairs through the Chancellery windows. In 1822 he entered the House of Commons as member for East Worcestershire, a seat he retained until his father’s death, when he became member for the paternal constituency in Birmingham. The young politician’s maiden speech drew a glowing and friendly compliment from Mr Gladstone, and it was felt that whatever he might owe to his father he had hight qualities of his own. In 1895 he became Civil Lord of the Admiralty, and in and in 1900 Financial Secretary to thet Treasury. In 1902 he was promote to the Postmaster-Generalship. In the following year he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, a post which he held until the Unionist debacle in 1906. In 1913 Sir Austen presided over the Commission on Indian Currency and Finance, and on the formation of the first Coalition he became Secretary of State for India, but retired on account of the Mesopotamia report. He was Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons in 1922, and became Foreign Secretary on the death of the Marquis Curzon. In later years he became even more famous, earning the title of “Peacemaker" as a result of his work at Locarno, which the King recognised by conferring upon him a Knighthood of the Garter. Personally, Sir Austen was a man of simple tastes and charming disposition. His tall figure, his pale, rather angular face, his light-coloured eyes, which had a trick of appearing to be always unusually wide open, the somewhat cold tones of his .oice, his almost meticulous. care about detail that most men would brush aside or skim over, and the swiftness with which he sometimes fell into a mood of icy severity had helped to build up around him a legend of aloofness which was entirely false. He was—strangely enough, considering his long experience of public life—a remarkably shy man, but once that shyness was broken down one found a warm-hearted, genial being with a sunny disposition, an attractive smile, a gift of enjoyable conversation, a penetrating but tolerant insight into human nature, a great capacity for friendship, and a quiet turn of humour. A “homely” nan, he liked to “put on his pipe” and chat, only less than he liked to become young again with his family. His great quality, both in his politics and in his private life, was that he “rode straight." His word, once it was given, was his bond. Twice he missed the Premiership owing to party difficulties, and the missing must have hurt him fearfully, but he merely screwed his monocle more firmly in and awaited the next opportunity of helping his country ar.d his party.