MR. FORBES’S TRIBUTE

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1018, 8 July 1930, Page 1

MR. FORBES’S TRIBUTE

RESPECT AND AFFECTION FOR LATE CHIEF BOLDNESS AND INITIATIVE Press Association PARLIAMENT BLDGS.. Today. The. Prime Minister, when approached by Pressmen. paid a very feeling: tribute to his old chief. “I cam© into the House,” said Mr. Forbes,. “when Sir Joseph was Prime Minister and before that I had followed h|s career very, closely, with admiration f. or his boldness and initiative. “He was one of the outstanding men of the very progressive Seddonian Ministry and when I entered the House he had succeeded Mr. Seddon as Prime Minister. I was struck then by his very capable gx*asp of all public affairs and the statesmanlike manner in which he handled the difficult problems which the Government had to face. Notably, there was the question of Imperial affairs leading ultimately to the gift of a Dreadnought to the Mother Country and the inauguration of the widows’ pensions and generally the carrying forward of the policy of his former leader. “Then the time came in 1912 when he stepped down in the interests of his party to make room for Sir Thomas Mackenzie. Throughout Sir Joseph’s term of Opposition 1 was his Whip and continued in that position for over 10 years. I came to know him very intimately during those years and 1 came to know how public spirited he was and how his sole desire was to do the best he could in the service of the country for which he had so great an affection. He would never countenance in any way methods which might be considered clever, but which were not straight. He was the soul of honour and very scrupulous in the observance of any promise he had made. “Then when the United. Party was formed and he was asked to take the leadership I was one of those appointed to urge his acceptance of that position and the result- of the election showed that this choice was a very wise one, because it was acclaimed by the people throughout New Zealand. When Sir Joseph Ward asked me to accept a position in his Ministry I was pleased to range myself alongside my old leader. “Right throughout the time I have been in the Cabinet I was very closely associated with him and gained his complete confidence. “When, owing to his failing health, Sir Joseph resigned the position of Prime Minister, and I was asked to assume that responsibility, I felt that in doing so it was with his full concurrence and goodwill. There was no doubt about his unfailing courtesy. Often in the stress and strain of political life it was tested to the utmost, but there was never a weak link. There was always courtesy for his greatest friend or his bitterest opponent.

“In his long illness, which we all regretted; he remained cheerful, and there is no doubt that it was his intense .desire, .to carry out his public duties faithfully and efficiently in line with his high sense of obligation to his country, which contributed a good deal toward his breakdown in health. Sir Joseph’s relations with liis Cabinet were cordial throughout, 'and we feel keenly the loss of a chief for whom we had the greatest respect and affection.”