RAILWAY ENGINEER RETIRES

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 160, 1 April 1919, Page 5

RAILWAY ENGINEER RETIRES

{TRIBUTES TO ME. H. H. JACKSON. Heads of the Railway Department, with tho Minister of .Railways (Hon. W. H. Herries) and the Hon. A; 11. Myers, who formerly held the portfolio, gathered iu Bellamy's yesterday to bid farewell to Mr. E. H. Jackson, who has relinquished the position of Chief Mechanical Engineer to retire on superannuation. The Hon. W. H. Herries voiced the regret of the gathoring at Mr. Jackson severing the pleasant relations which had prevailed. Mr. Jackson had, he said, seen tho railways grow from the start; lie had grown up with them, and he went out with the very best wishes of his colleagues, and fcK'eir hope that his future asa.farmer would be profitable and happy. They alsa hoped, added Mr. Herries jocularly, that lie wwild not pester the Department for fanning concessions.

. The Hon. A. M. Myers stated that during his Ministerial association with the Railway Department ho had been greatly impressed with Mr. Jackson's directness oi: speech and tho' high respect in which he was hold by all tho members uf the Department, who realised that ho liad been right through tho mill. Ho looked upon it as a national loss that Mr. Jackson, with his abilities and his '42 years of service, should be lost to the Dominion's service. "TJie loss of Mr. Parry, the Chief Electrical Engineer, and of Mr. Jackson at the present time is/' said Mr. Myers,national one. I had made up my mind when Miiiister of Railways to ask Mr. M'Villy and Mr. Jackson to make a tour abroad, as they ,had the necessary qualifications for .the respective positions, and it would have been in tho interests of the Dominion to give them the opportunity of seeing the railways and the methods of working in other countries."

Mr. E. H. Hiley expressed his gratitude to Mr. Jackson i'or his'" assistance during the speaker's five and a half years' term as Goneral Manager, adding that ho would bo sorry to lose his sound technical advice. The officers of the service wished him every, happiness in his retirement.

Mr. R. W. M'Villy also expressed appreciation of the work of the guest,-and his regret that he would, lose his services when he took over the administration of the Department. The health of the guest was enthusiastically, and Mr. Ja'ckson made a characteristically brief reply. Ho felt keenly the parting from good friends, he said, but he liked to see the younger men getting a chance and thus enabling tjje railways to progress. He appreciated very much the consideration which had been shown to him during the whole term of his long gerrics.