Mrs. Fraser

New Zealand Listener, Volume 12, Issue 299, 16 March 1945, Page 5

Mrs. Fraser

HE death of Mrs. Fraser was more than a blow to the Prime Minister, though that was its first and most tragic effect. Mrs. Fraser before her last illness began had become a Dominion figure and it is not therefore straining words to’ say that her death was a national as well as a personal calamity, and that we shall _be lucky if it has no national consequences. For she was not merely the wife of the Prime Minister. As long as she had her health she stood between him and many of his most exhausting distractions -a shield, a counsellor, a wife, and a courageous defender of his faith. It is a grave loss to him and therefore to Cabinet and Parliament that all these unreported services should now have ceased. The life of a Prime Minister today is more dangerous than that of a king used to be. In a truly democratic country it is almost impossible for him to escape overstrain and overwork. Only one}

New Zealand leader this century has been able to retire from office with his health unshaken, the physical story of the others — Seddon, Massey, Ward, Savagebeing almost unrelieved tragedy. How to escape the physical consequences of leadership no Prime Minister has yet discovered, but Mrs. Fraser knew part of the secret, and it is a melancholy thought that she did not know or would not acknowledge what her vigilance demanded of herself. But it is more profitable to recall the things she did know, did acknowledge, and did without ceasing — exhibit charity, tact, and simplicity. She was one of the very rare people who can meet kings and commoners, cooks and dukes, on exactly the same terms. Many "people can do it now and again, but she did it always, and it is not sufficient explanation to say that she was naturally humble. She was. But she was also naturally proudtoo proud either to fawn or domi- ; nate, and too earnest and wise for any kind of pretence.