NATIONALIST LEADER.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 224, 21 September 1928, Page 8

NATIONALIST LEADER.

ENTERTAINED BY UNTTEDS.

PRESENTATION MADE

(By Telegraph.—Parliamentary .Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Thursday. Members of the United party in Parliament entertained Mr. G. W. Forbes, Leader of the Nationalist party, tonight and made him a presentation to mark their appreciation of his services. Every member of the party attended, and during a very pleasant gathering, which was a bright interlude relieving a long sitting on the Licensing Bill, Sir Joseph Ward, on behalf of the party, presented to Mr. Forbes a pair of binoculars, suitably inscribed, as a joint present to Mr. Forbes and his wife. Sir Joseph congratulated the recipient on the service he had been able to render to the party, despite many discouragements, complimented him upon his equanimity of temperament, and expressed a hope that it would not be long before further political honours would come his way. The present, he added, carried with it the goodwill of every member, and it was a happy coincidence that the day was Mrs. Forbes' birthday anniversary. Everyone present added a tribute to the good qualities of the guest's good fellowship. A capacity for giving help to every colleague had been an important factor in the success of his leadership. Mr. Forbes, in reply, declared that the gift, accompanied by such expressions of kindly feelings, would always remain his most treasured possession as a reminder of the spirit of eo-opera-tion and friendship which existed in the party. Referring- to Sir Joseph Ward's tribute Mr, Forbes replied that under no other leader could the new party look to the future with such fine prospects of success, and he felt that the outlook for the United party was more hopeful than had been the case for many years.