DEATH ANNOUNCED

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 176, 28 July 1942, Page 6

DEATH ANNOUNCED

SIR JAMES ALLEN

PROMINENT IN LAST WAR

The death of the Hon. Sir James Allen, G.C.M.G., K.C.8., Order of the Crown of Belgium, Member of the Legion of Honour, is announced in a Press Association message from Dunedin. He was known to the majority of New Zealanders chiefly for his long association with the Parliamentary life of the country, and for his service in London as High Commissioner from 1920 till 1926.

Six years ago, when his portrait was presented to the National Art Gallery in Wellington, the late Sir James Allen was described by the late Mr. M. J. Savage, Prime Minister, as "a man who had done much for the Dominion and for the British Empire." He began his public work as a member of the Dunedin City Council, and entered Parliament in 1887. In his first contest he defeated the then Prime Minister, the late Sir Robert Stout. Never before or since has a Prime Minister in this Dominion been defeated in his own electorate.

In 1912 Sir James became a Minister of the Crown, and for some years held the portfolios of finance education and defence. All his efforts during World War I. were devoted to the arduous and unprecedented task of creating, training, equipping and dispatching the first New Zealand Expeditionary Force. During those years his name was a household word. University Chancellor It was Sir James Allen's boast that alone among the British Dominions New Zealand's division of troops was the only one maintained at full strength throughout the war. During that period, Sir James added to nis other burdens that of acting-Prime Minister. After the war, problems of the greatest complexity were attacked by Sir James during his six years as High Commissioner, and many tributes were paid to his services in the early work of the League of Nations. He was honoured by His Majesty, and the French and Belgian Governments.

As Chancellor of the University of Otago, of whose council he was the only life member, and as a member of the Legislative Council since 1927, Sir James performed much public service. He also did valuable work in the Anglican Church, and served on many public bodies. It was said of Sir James by the late Mr. Savage that his influence on the minds and destiny of the people of New Zealand was such that it would live for generations to come.

In 1925-26 Sir James was a member of the Imperial Economic Conference and of the board of the British Empire Exhibition. For manv years he was president of the New Zealand branch of the Institute of Pacific Relations. He was a lieutenant in the New Zealand Volunteers in 1891, and eleven years later, had risen to be lieutenant-colonel ' commanding the Otago division of the New Zealand Garrison Artillery. His work as a volunteer officer was recognised by the award of the Territorial Decoration, and the long and efficient service medal. A Distinguished Athlete In his early years he was a distinguished athlete, being a Cambridge Blue in Rugby football and an Otago representative player. He was an M.A. of Cambridge and was awarded the Royal School of Mines Bessemer and Murchison Medals. He was the author of four books on political, financial and defence subjects. A son, John Hugh Allen, was killed in action in the last war. Sir James was born in Australia in 1855 and came to New Zealand when on» year old.