NOTES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1500, 7 March 1887, Page 3

NOTES.

From end to end of the colony the news of the sudden removal from our midst of that genial and warm-hearted political veteran, James Macandrew, has been received with one universal expression of regret. Sir George Grey excepted, probably no man was so widely known and, without any exception at all, certainly no man was so generally loved. And the manner of bis death seems to deepen the general sorrow, the common remark being that it is sad that he should have come to his end m the way he did, and that it is a pity he was not spared till old age brought about the severance of the thread of existence, so that he might have died the painless and easy death ot those with whom the lamp of life has burned so low that it takes but a breath to extinguish the feeble flame. That is no doubt a natural feeling, but unable as we are to read the future, it is impossible to say whether it be a wise one, and we may well be content, as he who is gone would himself have been, to leave the whole matter to the infinite wisdom of Him m whose hands are the issues of life and death. It would, however, seem to have been foreordained that the deceased should meet his death by being thrown from a vehicle, tor we learn that the runaway horse which he was driving followed the windings of the narrow Peninsula road m safety, and passed through the gateway at the foot of the drive leading to Mr Macandrew's residence without bringing the wheels into collision with either of the stone pillars, and being completely run out was walking quietly up the drive to the house, when a wellmeaning man-servant injudiciously sprang to seize his head. This had the effect of again starting the frightened animal, and the result was the almost immediate fatal capsize. It will further be remembered that some five or six years ago Mr Macandrew verj narrowly escaped a similar catsstrophe. He had arranged to drive home m the buggy of the late Mr Seaton, M.H.R., on the very day that the latter was killed by being thrown out through his horse running away, but missed his appointment by about five minutes.

The place chosen by Mr Macandrew for his last resting place is on his own property, about half-a-miie up the hill above his late residence. It i_ a little, level place near the hilltop almost surrounded by native bush, open only on the side which, looks towards Pelichet Bay, and commanding a magnificent view of the harbor and ol the city. A small square plot planted with flowers, embowered m macrocarpas, and enclosed m a picket fence, marks the resting-place of Mrs Macandrew, who was interred here at her own request some ten or twelve years ago j and m that spot, guarded with loving and reverent care during the years of his survival, the remains of the husband and father have been laid side by side with hers. There is something which strikes us as distinctively characteristic of the man m this choice of a grave, according as it does with his strong religious feelings, his reverence for the sacred Scriptures ; and one thinks as one gazes upon this quiet burying ground on his own land of Abraham and the cave of Macpelah. All the same, we fear that m the time to come there may be cause to regret that the remains of Otago's foremost colonist are not safely deposited m a public cemetery. We have m our mind's eye the case of another old colonist who on the opposite side of the harbor was also buried on his own property some years ago, and over whom a splendid marble monument has been raised. That monument now stands m the middle of a Chinese market garden, and cultivation goes on busily within a few feet of the headtone, Possibly m the years to come Mr Macandrew's remains may be removed to some City Cemetery, where his grave will be safe from desecration, and where the visitor may read the record of the father of his people; but whether or not this be the case, there can be no . doubt that Otago, nay, all New Zealand, will fail m its duty unless an abiding reminder of him that is gone be set up m some prominent place m the city of Dunedin. If a Moorhouse and a Godley deserved a statue at the hands of the people of Canterbury, assuredly as much, if not more, does Macandrew deserve a statue at the hands of the people of Otago, and we are glad to see that at the meeting held m Dunedin the other day it was determined upon that a statue should be raised, and a scholarship m the University founded. Both should certainly be done, and we feel sure that if those who have initiated the project only address themselves vigorously to the work of carrying it out ample funds for both purposes will be iorthcoming. There is yet one other thing which should be done — a portrait should be painted and hung m the corridor of the General Assembly Buildings, and we hope to find this also carried out so soon as Parliament meets.

The more news which reaches us of the state ot affairs m Tonga the more clear does it appear that the disturbed

condition oi that island kingdom is wholly attributable to the despotic tyranny of the ambitious ex-missionary, who has almost autocratic control of its affairs, Baker's conduct indeed appears to be almost incredibly tyrannical, and it is no wonder that the people whom he so cruelly persecutes long to shake off his intolerable oppression. The. Wellington Press fitly characterises him as a despicable tyrant, and expresses the very general feeling of New Zealanders m the following terms : — '• We do not wish for a moment to be understood to approve of the attempt to assassinate Mr j Baker. The wounding of Miss Baker, though doubtless accidental, is infinitely to be deplored. But while we condemn the method, we heartily sympathise with the object, and we recognise the difficulties that lay m the way of achieving it bjr _my other method. W e believe it would be welcome news to the vast majority of the people of New Zealand that the Tongans, instead of being terrified by King George's bloody assizes and wholesale slaughter, had risen as one man, enfranchised themselves from Mr Baker's yoke, and hanged their oppressor as a public enemy, m front of the royal palace at Nukualofa."