THE HON. R. M'NAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2995, 5 February 1917, Page 4

THE HON. R. M'NAR

The Hon. E. M'Nab, whose death we regret to announce to-day, was ontitled on many grounds to public respect and appreciation, and his removal at the present juncture is a distinct public loss. More perhaps on account of a certain aloofness_ than for any other reason De. M'Nab was upon the whole less successful in the field of politics than some of his contemporaries, but he was a public man of the type that appears to the best advantage in times of exceptional stress and difficulty. This appeared conspicuously in his service as a member of the National Government, which has lost a valued member by his death. It is the universal testimony that no momber of tho Ministry showed a more loyal determination to sink all party issues and concentrate upon the prosecution of the war. As an administrator, during the war period, De. M'Nab did good and able service, an'd his public utterances struck emphatically the note which these critical times demand. It should not be forgotten that De. M'Nab played a very big part in stirring up public sentiment in the Dominion in favour of compulsory military training-, prior to the adoption of that measure by Parliament. All must agree to-day that his advocacy of military training was an instance oi admirable foresight as well as of public spirit. There was much in the field of politics that Dn. M'Nab loft unpursued or did not pursue successfully, but the things upon which ho concentrated were things that mattered, and his services entitle him- to a place of lnbro than orainary eminence. His literary work, particularly in the domain of historical research, is well known it occupied no small part of an active and busy working life, and n arc of Permanent value iJit. MNab was such a man as the Dominion could ill-afford to lose at any time, and least of all in the critical period through which it is now passing.