DEATH OF THE SPEAKER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 9, 11 June 1913, Page 5

DEATH OF THE SPEAKER.

SIR ARTHUR GUINNESS EXPIRES. Per Prete Anoei&tion. Greymouth, Lait Night. Sir Arthur Guinness, Speaker of the House of Representatives, died' at i o'clock this nfternoon.

I A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY. Greymouth, Last Night. There was a great shock in town when the death of Sir Arthur Guinnes9 became known. He was about his duties on Saturday, cleared the mail at the Post Office the same night, going through a budget of correspondence till midnight. He was unwell on Sunday, and complained of a severe headache. He took a very bad turn yesterday, and bceame unconscious, and with one brief interval remained so till his death at 4.20 p.m. to-day. Sir Arthur had been very busy for a few weeks forming branches of the Deep Sea Harbor League. On Wednesday night he addressed a public meeting at Hokitika, returning to Greymouth on Thursday morning in time to take part in the official visit to the battleship. The party.went out in the tug. Heavy rain fell during the trip, and the sea was very rough, and Sir Arthur suffered severely from seasickness and was thoroughly drenched. It is thought that this may have brought on his illness. Deceased was born in Calcutta in 1836, and was educated at Christ's College Grammar School, Christchurch'. He was admitted as a.barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court on May 2(1, 1807, and was appointed notary public in 1888. He practised in Greymouth from December, 1807, to date. His last appearance in the local S.M. Court was on Monday, June 2. He was elected a member of the Westland Provincial Council in 1874, and continued a member until the abolition of the provinces in 1876. He was elected a member of the Grey County Council in 1876, and was elected'chairman of the' first and every subsequent meeting for nine years. He ceased to be a member in 1890. He was a member of the Borough Council in 1888, and held a seat for one year. In 1884 lie was elected M.P. for the Grey district, and sat continuously for it till the present date. He was appointed a member of the Grey Harbor Board in 1884, and held the position till date, except for the two years in 1887 and 1889 when Sir H. A. Atkinson's Government removed representative members and appointed Government officials on the Board. He was elected Chairman of Committee of the House of Representatives on July 13, 1893, and was re-elected till June 1903. He was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives in June, 1903, and re-elected in June, 1906, 1909 and 1912. He was knighted in 1912. He was appointed Governor of the Greymouth District High School in 1893, and held that position up to the time of his death. He was captain of the Westland Cricket Eleven from 1876 to 1888, and patron of innumerable societies throughout the district. He leaves a widow, but no children.

MR. WILFORD'S TRIBUTE. Wanganui, Last Night. "Is it true? I am dreadfully shocked," said Mr. Wilford, M.P., when the news of Sir A. Guinness's death was conveyed to him to-night. "I had a letter from him only a few days ago, saying that he hoped to meet me all well on the 26th. I knew him very well, and was, a personal friend." But, Mr. Wilford added, apart from that, he had been in the House fourteen or fifteen years with Sir Arthur. He was a strong partisan on the floor of the House, but absolutely impartial when in the chair. His position would be very hard to fill. There was no man in the House capable, in Mr. Wilford's opinion, of carrying out the duties as Sir Arthur Guinness carried them out. It could only be done by a man having exceptional ability and possessed of knowledge gained by long experience of Parliamentary methods and procedure.

MR. MASSEY'S APPRECIATION. Wellington, Last Night. The Prime Minister, the Bon. W. F. Massey, paid an appreciative and sympatlietic tribute to the personal qualities of Sir Arthur Guinness, when seen by a pressman to-night. "The news of his death came- as a great shuck to me,'' said Mr. Massey. 'Onlv yesterday 1 received a letter from him on a matter affecting the West Coast, written, in his own handwriting, and without anything to show that he was other than in his usual health. Sir Arthur Guinness was not only my fellow member lor many years, but he was also my personal friend, and I need hardly say that I sincerely regret his death. As Speaker of tin; House of Representatives, he was a great, success, firm, but tactful, and very considerate towards new members. He had won not only the respect, but also the affection, of the House in a degree very seldom experienced. He was a painstaking member, neglecting no de tail, and his death will be a loss to hi* electorate and to Parliament and the Dominion as a whole." A telegram of sympathy and condolence with the relatives of the doceased Speaker was dispatched by the Prime Minister to Lady Guinness this evening.