OPERATION PENDING

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20007, 4 August 1939, Page 11

OPERATION PENDING

MR. SAVAGE IN HOSPITAL RECURRING ILLNESS FRIENDS’ SOLICITUDE (Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this clay. The 'Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, entered the Lewisham Hospital this morning to undergo an abdominal operation, which will -oe performed to-morrow. He was reported 'to be in excellent spirits when he ‘left his home at Northland, accompanied by two of his closest friends and colleagues, the Speaker of the Legislative Council, the Hon. Mark Fagan, and the Minister of Labour, ihe Hon. P. C. Webb. He had a friendly welcome at the hospital, five nurses practically forming a guard cf honour and preceding him to his rocm. Everything possible had .been done to ensure his comfort, and he has been given a room with a sun balcony which makes his surroundings as pleasant as possible. The doctors attending Mr. Savage are Di. J. Roberts '.Boyd as physician, and Dr. E. Gordon Anderson as surgeon. To accompany 'his chief to the hospital, Mr. Webb disregarded medical advice to remain indoors, as he had been suffering from an attack of influenza which has affected his eyesight to some extent. . (Mr. Webb immediately returned ‘to his ‘home and went to bed after seeing Mr. Savage comfortably settled. No Change For Year It is stated that there has been no new development or change in the Prime Minister’s condition for at least 12 months and the operation, which he has been persuaded 'to undergo by his personal friends, is to remove the cause of the trouble that persistently recurs.

This advice was proffered prior to the last general election, but the Prime Minister, feeling himself capable of undergoing the great physical ordeal of a Dominion-wide campaign, determined to wait till the election was over. Since theca, his absences from duty have become more frequent until he decided the situation must be faced. However, there was the Budget to present, though few iwho listened to the Prime Minister realised the real tension of the position. Mr. Savage had been away from Parliament Building nearly a week, acid Tuesday morning found him far from well. He only reached his office a few seconds prior to the evening sitting.

In the words of his nearest colleague, the acting Leader of the House, the Hon. P. Fraser, he set aside his own personal convenience and safety to do duty for the absent Minister of Finance. It was noticeable that Mr. Savage's voice at times was strained, lacking its usual vigour, but he never faltered during the one and a quarter hours' task. Then he immediately returned home, leaving to Mr. Fraser he duty of completing the proceedings.