TRIBUTES PAID IN HOUSE

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24914, 29 June 1946, Page 2

TRIBUTES PAID IN HOUSE

FORMER MEMBERS HONOURED

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, June 28. Paying a tribute to Sir Charles Statham, the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser) said the House of Representatives mourned the loss of a great Parliamentarian, whose capa-1 bilities as Speaker were equal to any | in the British He was always; dignified, calm, and ready to give a wise, just, and fair decision. When he was Speaker he always inspired and compelled respect. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr S. G Holland) and members of his party and other Government members associated themselves with the Prime Minister’s tribute. The present Speaker (Mr F. W. Schramm) endorsed the remarks that had been made.

Referring to Mr R. Coulter (Government, Raglan), the Prime Minister said he was a modest, unassuming menjber with great depth of feeling and J a great capacity for loyalty. Mr Holland said he and Mr entered the House at the same time and, though political opponents, they formed a deep friendship. It had been a privilege to enjoy the friendship with the Hon. F. E. Lark, M.L.C. (Auckland), said Mr Fraser. He was very loyal, very true, and very sincere. Mr Holland said Mr Lark was greatly respected and played a great part in the Labour movement. Mr Fraser, in a tribute to the Hon. Vincent Ward, M.L.C. (Wellington), said he had possessed a depth of cordiality unusual in human beings. “During the war period my high opinion of him was, if possible, heightened by the devotion with which he threw himself into patriotic work. Soldiers, sailors, and airmen of! our country and of the United States. I United Kingdom, and other Allied, countries, who came here, had no finer, more sincere, or more active friend than Vincent Ward,” he said. “He was the life and soul of our patriotic work here.” This warm tribute by the Prime Minister was endorsed by other members. Members also honoured the memory of Mr A. E. Harding, a former member for Kaipara; Colonel G. J. Smith, f 9T mer member of both Houses; Mr E Newman, a former member of both Houses, and Mr Bradshaw Dive, who was the first member of Parliament for Egmont.