Presentation of an Address.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXIX, Issue VII, 16 August 1902, Page 435

Presentation of an Address.

The employees of the CampbellEhrenfried Company presented the chairman, Sir John Logman Campbell, with the following address last week, Lady Campbell being present, as well as about 90 of the employees:— “To Sir John Logan Campbell, Kt., M.D. —Dear Sir, —We, the employees of the Campbell-Ehrenfried Company, Limited, desire to extend to you our sincere congratulations on the honour of Knighthood having been conferred on you by His Majesty King Edward VII., in recognition of your many acts of good citizenship during the sixty-two years you have resided in Auckland. As a pioneer settler and merchant you have been foremost in all measures having for their object the betterment of the community, and have crowned all with the munificent gift of the Cornwall Park to the people of New Zealand, who will bear your name in grateful remembrance for all time. We trust that you and Lady Campbell will be spared many years to wear the honours you have so worthily won.’’ The address has been tastefully Illuminated by Mr W. Gulliver, in lettering of the mediaeval school. At the top are the Sir John Logan Campbell’s family coat of arms. On the opposite side are the signatures of the employees in an oval, surrounded by specimens of New Zealand flora, clematis being tastefully intertwined with ti-reet, pohutukawa, and toi-toi. On one side is a nikau palm, and on the other a tree fern, while below is a well-executed kiwi. The address is enclosed in stiff binding of green, with tooled gold. Mr Arthur M. Myers, managing director of the Company, in presenting the address, said that Sir John had arrived in Auckland in 1840, when but few of those present were born, had worked as a pioneer, and helped to lay the foundations of the present city of Auckland, the largest and most populous city in New Zealand. He had taken his share in the foundation of many industrial enterprises which ijow were the pride of the colony. Whether in arts, commerce, or politics, their old friend, Dr. Campbell, had always been to the fore, and by his presence had added lustre to the undertaking. He would remind his hearers that in Sir John Logan Campbell they saw the originator of the volunteer movement, a movement which had rendered, and he hoped would ever render, conscription in the British Empire unnecessary. They themselves had sent four of their number to battle for the Empire’s cause, and he was glad to say that they had comported themselves with much honour and credit — one had earned the D.S.O. Mr Myers then congratulated the employees upon possessing in the chairman of the Company one who had lived up to a very high ideal of citizenship, and had crowned a long and useful life by the magnifioent gift of the Cornwall Park, which he felt sure would prove to be of inestimable benefit in the future, when the city of Auckland, instead of possessing 60,000 inhabitants, had a population of 600,000. Mr Myers then presented the address to Sir John Logan Campbell as p token of the employees’ sincere regard and esteem.

Sir John Logan Campbell feelinglythanked his good friends for their handsome token, which he said he would value as among his most treasured possessions. He felt that it was unnecessary, as he was sure he did possess their esteem and regard. In referring to the honour of Knighthood which had been conferred upon him, he said he appreciated the honour that had been done him, which he felt was due rather to the early pioneers as a body than to any individual. He humorously referred to the fact that the title of “Sir John” was not new to him, as in 1839, at the Edinburgh College of Surgeons, the president had dubbed him “Surgeon Campbell.” This had been buried under the M.D., and he had been Doctor ever since. He had no doubt that now, •s then, the “Sir John” would be merged into the soubriquet of the “Old Doctor,” which he had learnt to

love. He thanked them again on behalf of Lady Campbell and himself for their very kind expressions. Sir John and Lady Campbell s health was then drunk in bumpers of champagne, with musical honours.