T. E. TAYLOR.

White Ribbon, Volume 21, Issue 241, 19 July 1915, Page 1

T. E. TAYLOR.

(The writer of the following brief sketch of Mr T. L. Taylor*!* eharaeter and career desires to acknowledge her indebtedness to various friends, whose tributes to his worth and ability she has freely made use of in its compilation.) Mr T. F. Taylor was born in June. 1803, in Kerton Lindsey, Lincolnshire. His mother, a woman of extraordinary strength of character, and energy of mind and body, is stiil amongst us, and .it the age of Sj has all her mental faculties clear and strong, accompanied with a wond.rfui amount of physical energy as well. His father passed to higher life at the age of 75, and of him his son wrote as follows some little time before his death “Think of it, you anxious, eagei business man, as you strive for the bread that perisheth with an energy which leaves you with slight desire for the simpler joys of life. Here lay a ian who never made a lucky spec, in his life. He had never bet on a horse race, or bought a section or shares for a hm*- had never tried to corner a market. He coveted no man’s land, or house, or pictures, or furniture, or possessions—his soul knew no envy ; he has no unsatisfied ambition. He knew no social disappointment, because bis spirit gave him the contentment which a natural life, and the performance of life’s common duties can only afford. “He was eagerly interested in the movements, whether political or social, which make for clean living, and

brought to bear upon the problems of the day a judgment free from personal interest. lie understood the .1 rt of giving in mui h the same spirit as prompted the widow who threw her two mites into the treasury, and, as from one poorer than himself he never turned away, it i- scarcely necessary to say that he has no real estate, and requires to make no last will and testament. “At 74 years he was drawing near to the close of his great career. Of few men can it be said that they discharged the duties of life fearlessly, and that they have nrv< r suffered a sense of defeat in life’s struggle; yet of this man it may be s.iid with truth: Simply a man. “‘What did he die worth?’ is a question frequently asked of a man. No one will evi r ask it of this man. Neither the legal profession nor the Government Stamp Duty Department will benefit by his death when it happens, and ye f his children visit his bedside with feelings which ma/.y a millionaire might starch for in vain amongst those who will share his gold. ‘Yes.’ he said last Sunday, ‘l’ve had a royal life, and I’ve no fear of the great change that I feel is coming.* A contented and a »ust man. ” All who kmw Mr Taylor, senr., recognise the truth or this beautiful testimony to his siciling and Christian character. When Mr T. E. Taylor was five years old the family moved to London, and by the time he was seven he was giving indications of his life’s bent. A Hand of Hope Mission was carried on near his home by a Mr Myers, a gentleman actively identified

with Dr. Harnardo’s Homes, and tne boy be<ame, even then, an ardent helper. He signed the pledge himself, and never (cased wonting until his father, a vert moderate drinker, had done the same, and was unceasing in his efforts to persuade the < hildren in the neighbourhood to come to Mr Myers’ meetings and sign the pledge. At ten he tame with his parents to New Zealand, and very soon after arrival they went to live at Addington, where the rest of his unmarried life was spent fie was no sooner settled in his new home than he resumed his temperance activities. lie joined the Addington Free Methodist Hand of Hope, and by the time he was sixteen he knew of every drink * ursed family within a mile of iii- father’s house. The time that other lads of like age spend in amusements, in the cricket and football field, was devoted by him to earnest endeavours to induce men, women, and children to come to temperance meetings and sign the pledge. Time does not allow to tell of the cases which «ame to bis knowledge, and in which he took a leading part, but they were many and various; ana they burnt into h:s soul a passionate pity for the victims of drink, and an equally passionate hatred of a trade which works so mu< h misery and degradation. He was but fourteen when he passed through a religious crisis, ai.d definitely resolved to give his life to God, and immediately threw himself into religious work with energy and ardour. He offered his services as Sunday S< hocl teacher, but was considered too young. He met the intimation of this objection with

the enquiry, “Well, if 1 gather my own class, can I have a place to teach them in?” Permission given, he turned up the following Sunday with u hoys he had '.gathered off the streets, and had the place to teach -them in been refused there is no doubt he would have found a way through that difficulty also. At one time he entertained thoughts of entering the ministry, but though the idea was finally abandoned, he always thanked God for the religious influences which moulded his life. He had only a comparatively brief public school education, but he had a passion for reading, and his evenings, after he left school, weie devoted to reading Carlyle, Ruskin, Emer>on, and works on social and political hi-.tory and economy, while Lowell, Tennyson, Wendell Holmes, and Whittier laid hold of him, and he became saturated with their poetry and sentiment. Even in the days when he was looked upon as a “man of one idea,” he delighted his friends, and often confounded bis opponents, b> the sudden revelation of a remarkably wide range of knowledge and ideas, and all through his early years, at chuich meetings and literary societies he gave evident e of his coming powers. As a lad of fourteen he entered the employ of Heywood and Co., more than once giving evidence of his unflinching integrity and high principles. He rose to the position of manager, leaving in i«St>s to go into business for himself, thereby securing greater freedom for political and temperance work. Already he was well before the public notice. His clear-sighted-np" showed him that the abolition of the liquor bar was the* only effectual remedy for drunkenness, with its attendant moral and .physical ills ; so, enlisting the co-operation and help of the Rev. L. M. 1 >lll, who had lately been appointed to the charge of the Sydenham Wesleyan Church, he organised the campaign which resulted, after a two years’ fierce struggle, in the election, by the ratepayers, of the famous Sydenham Licensing Committee, pledged to refuse every license in their district. The election of these hve men Rev. L. M lsitt, Messr. G. J. Smith, W. J. Rudd, and R. Beatty -in April, IX9I, is one of the notable incidents in New Zealand history, as from it sprang most of our licensing legislation which has attracted world-

wide attention, for the decisions of the Supreme Court and Appeal Court, upon a legal technicality, quashed their decision, ousted the Committee, left th**m with £(KXi costs to pay, and started the campaign for the Local Option vote, so magnificently conducted by the Rev. L. M. Isitt throughout the colony. Those were stirring times.

Sydenham has the* honour of forming the first Prohibition League in New Zealand, with T. E. Taylor as Secretary, and L. M. lsitt as President. There, too, “The Prohibitionist” was born, the party’s powerful paper, which, under that name and th.it of “ The* Vanguard,’ has, from that day to this, so ably and consistently advocated the cause of temperance and the people’s right. Alongside the* demand for Local Option raged the agitation for Woman’s Suffrage, ably conducted by Mrs Sheppard under the* auspices of the* Women’s Christian Temperance Cnion. For this reform Mr Taylor was a stalwart champion. He never had to be persuaded that women should be allowed to take their place in the civic and political life of their country! He always held that God meant women to be a help-mate to man, first at the hearthstone, and afterwards in all the relationships of life —at the ballot box, at the Council table, on our Boards, and in the councils of the nation among its legislators.

So splendidly and strenuously were these reforms advocated and striven for, that 1893 saw them both passed into law, though both Acts were marred by injustice—the Woman’s Suffrage Act by the clause which debars women from Parliament, and the Local Option Act by the iniquitous three-fifths majority, two injustices wh'ch obtain to this day. The great campaign for the Local Option vote placed Mr T. K. Taylor among the foremost leaders of the Temperance movement. He was then a member of the Sydenham Borough Council, a position he filled for six years, and an untiring worker and brilliant speakci for the Prohibition cause. In 1896 began his political career. In January of that year he offered himself as a candidate for Parliamentary honours at a bye-elec-tion held in Christchurch the following month. So intimately and strenuously had he laboured for tem-

perance and prohibition reforms that people, who knew little of him personally, were not disposed to regard him as likely to make his mark in this field, but his friends thought otherwise, and their opinion was fully justified when he opened the battle at the* Opera House with a speech that won high praise and admiration, —broad, progressive, and thoroughly well informed. Rarely has a new man displayed suc h a grasp of public questions, and such ability to state them. It was so progressive, so earnest, so attractive a speech that it at once concentrated all the opposition of politicians, the liquor ring, and, to their shame be it said, of the newspapers on thi> Radical Independent. The Government candidate was R. M. Taylor, while the Conservatives ran Mr Chas. Lewis. The three strongest members of the Ministry, the Premier (Mr Seddon), the Minister of Lands (Mr J. McKenzie), and the Colonial Treasurer (Mr Joseph Ward) came to Christchurch to take part in the light, which resolved itself into a ceaseless campaign against Mr Taylor, rather than an advocacy of the* Government candidate. The result was the return of Mr Lewis with 4714 votes, Mr T. E. Taylor second with 4302, and the Government man last with 31316. In the following August he fought the* famous Coker Hotel libel case, whic h he practically won. He fought the battle* not for himself, but for the party, and the case greatly added to his influence and popularity The general election took pla< o at the end of the year, when he again contested the scat, and was successful, Messrs Lewis, (i. J. Smith, and T. E. Taylor being returned as the Christchurch members. By way of comment on the bye-election, it is int; resting to note that on this occasion R. M. Taylor polled only 555 votes, T. E. Taylor polling 5443. To those of us who were privileged to take part in those great campaigns, the temptation is very great to linger over them, but we can only say that the joy and enthusiasm that was ours over the victory achieved by our great and wellloved leader, will be an abiding memory with us while memory last*

Ills entrance into Parliament was immediately signalised by his attack on the Government with regard to the Police For.* During the debate on the Address in-Reply, he delivered such a powerful indictment of the ad*

ministration of that Department, hi** charges were so serious, and so obviously backed by information, that the appointment of a Royal C ommission was inevitable. Upon it > appointment Mr Taylor abandoned his business, and for several months devoted him self to gathering material to lav he fore it ; he was to all intents and pur poses the Public Prose utor, and he proved beyond all question that »he appointment of the IVmmiss on v, afully warranted, and it r Milted in .1 great improvement and purifie ation of the Department of Justice. His ser vices to the community and his sacrifices on this occasion were never adequately recognised, and his v.hole action in connection therewith was a display of rare patriotism and devotion to public duty. In iSqq the war fever and jingoistic spirit was rampant, and Mr Taylor strongly expressed opposition to the Boer war (as a purely capitalistic one, an opinion fully sustained and justified now), which cost him his seat at the general election of that year; but m or out of Parliament h s influence never waned, and his opinions on public questions and events were as eagerly sought from the defeated candidate as from the victorious number. Ilis independence, his unbending adherence to what he believed to be the right, forced him into refusing to ally himself absolutely with any party, and always brought against him, in his election contests, the combined opposition of party and press. In i»)oj he was returned for Christchurch City at the head of the* poll. In 1 <><>4 he appeared as defendant in the Seddon-Taylor libel case, which hr defended personally, with the most consummate skill against the* highest legal talent in the colony, the verdict being practical!) in his favour. The “voucher question” came to the front in the following year, and was the cause* of his defeat at the general election of 1005, but a most brilliant victory was bis at the election of iqoß. It is impossible to give in detail the splendid work he did in Parliament, where he was always a forte for righteousness; it must be sufficient here to say that his warmest support was ever given to every measure making for the betterment of the people of this land. Kvery proposal for moral reform, for bettering the* conditions under which men and women live and work, for the removal

of the civil and political disabilities T;\ which women arc handicapped, for the relief of the poor, the* fallen,' and the down-trodden* had his utmost sympathy and his strenuous assistance, both in and out of Parliament. To his particular and persistent Itf fort* arc due two importaht Alterations of the law relating to women. It did not matter how false, flow gross, how undescrv.il a slander might he* uttered against .1 woman, she had no reined) in law unless she* could prove that her power of making a living was injured thereby, and we are indebted to Mr Taylor for the fact that in this matter men and woaum arc now equal in the eyes of the law. Again, no charge* c ould be brought against a man for indecent assault upon young girls under the age of consent unless it were laid within three months after the* commission of the- offence. Mr Taylor succeeded fn getting the time doubled, it still being only six months.

Kvery measure tending to purPy of life and justice to women was sure of his earnest support. This great knight of (iod had no false notion of one standard of morality tor me n and another for women. He believed m “the white life* for both” alike; he entertained no belief in the regulation of vie** in any form whatever, and he ld that the only way to banish venereal diseases from our midst is to abstain from the vice which creates them, and to live chaste and clean live s.

A very notable incident in his Par liamentary life wa> his position with regard to the gift of the Dreadnought. He did not object to the* gift, but he emphatically objected to the* manner in which that gift was made, holding that the I'n mier had acted in the most unconstitutional manner when he pledged this country, w.th its million inhabitants, to an expenditure- of two million sterling without the consent of Parliament or consultation with the people's representatives. W hen oue remembers the price it cost, in past days, to secur** for us the right to refuse taxation (unless imposed upon u> bv ourselves through elected representatives), it is a most amazing thing that the people of New Zealand generally took this flagrant infraction of their rights with the indifference they did. or that any sec tion of the community could be found supporting it. It is to the everlasting honour of Mr 1 avlor that he

worked up such a strong protest against it that its repetition will not occur again m a hurr), and he* did it m the teeth of the bitterest opposition a*nd the fullest misrepresentation.

He- feared no human being and no Ttuma'fi power in the. discharge ol his duty; he never considered public opinion expediency had no meaning tor hitJt,' and soe iul ostracism no terror, lie has blazed the: way for many reforms, and the path of the pioneer is ever hard. If he was relentless in hi- fight against newspapers, and certain politicians, it was because* of thcrir opposition to muc h-needed reforms,'or because they stood for that which was objectionable or debasing in politics, or in the life of the* nation. His work cannot be measured. He inspired and organised a great bony of public opinion that was animated ay the purest patriotism and the- purest love of humanity. From the* moment -he stepped on the platform lie was ever a Uric of growing power for good, always to be reckoned with in the public life of the* Dominion; and there exists not a hamlet in this country that has not felt his influence, an mfiuence of inestimable and incalculable value.

lie: was always a commanding figure in the House, due, not to his physique, but to his immense vitality and extraordinary ability. The announcement of “Taylor’s up” meant the- abandonment of all intermediate tasks, sent eve ryone hurriedly to his seat, and an empty chamber and press gallery filled immediately. W hen his opportunity arrived, he never missed it. He was up, straight and erect, and whilst others were struggling to their feet, his quie k “Mr Speaker, Sir,” invariably caught for him the Speaker’s eye. He, was by turns bitingly sarcastic, withe rmgiy denunciative, pathetic, pleading, generous; but whatever his vein, hi-* choice of words, and expressie ns, and similes, was always happy and convincingly certain. 111$ plain, Anglo-Saxon was .1 marvellous illustration of the- beauty of the rifctit word 't the* right time. Xo more brifTiant orator has ever sat in the House. ll.* never hesitated, never was at a loss for a word, marshalled his fact- and opinions in a logical sequence that was marvellous and impressive; and his gift of ready analysis was as striking as his enormous faculty *of assimilation. Interference dr interjections were cither , /

brushed aside with contcmp’uous indifference or countered with some swift rejoinder that left the (rushed offender wondering where he had been hit first.

In the lobbies his geni d, tourteou®, charming personality endeared him to all, and the meeting of the Parliament of njii was clouded by the knowledge of his serious illness. The news of his passing settled like a pall over the House, and the unanimous and heartfelt eulogies from every side of the House testified to the respect he had won there, from friends and foes alike.

In addition to Parliamentary duties, the Police Commission, and work tor the Prohibition movement, we must not forget his organisation of the “Electrical Construction Company,” which secured and carried out the contract for the construction of the Christchurch Tramway system, or his labours in connection with the “Take Coleridge scheme.” When he went to the Old Country to enjoy, as he put it, his first real holiday, he spent weeks in enquiring as to the latest developments in electrical machinery, gathered information concerning tramways, interviewed experts and engineers regarding water power, and brought back a mass of informationwhich he placed freely at the disposal of the public. These works alone are monuments to his wonderful ability and marvellous energy. These last so impressed a hard-headed Scotch business man, to whom Mr Taylor became known during his visit to the Old Countiy, that this gentleman offered him a position guaranteeing him /j(X)o a year. Mr Taylor’s reply was that the money was not coined that would keep him away from New Zealand! His holidays were always full of work. If he tried to hide himself in the country, or tried to rest at the seaside, some one sought him out with work to he done, and he never spared himself. He was a most humane and tender man. The lives into which he brought help, healing, comfort, an- inspiration are innumerable, -nd are scattered all over New Zealand.

In April, icjii, Christchurch honoured hcrsell by electing him Mayor by a very large majority, and he immediately shewed his administrative talent, entering enthusiastically into a campaign for the betterment of the c' nditions of life and labour in the city,

and his road scheme i> a marvel of ability, but his brief career as Mayor gave the public only a glimpse of the brilliant administrator.

At the very summit of hts career, when, after twenty years of dauntless courage and energetic struggle for righteousness, the people, not only of Christchurch, but of the whole Dominion, had come, at last, to something like a recognition of the rn«gnifkent qualities of their born leader and tighter, their hearts were smitten by the suddenly Hashed tidings that he whom they loved lay at the point of death. And a grand and noble life was closed here by a triumphant entrance into a higher and wider sphere of service. Those privileged to attend the last moments of his earthly life tell of the characteristic forgetfulness of self; his kindly remembrance of many absent friends; the cheerful, even joyous spirit with which he faced death, and of the concentration of his failing energies upon the great purpose of his life, as he held impending dissolution in check while he dictated messages of encouragement to the comrades left fighting in the held. To-day these message ring out like* clarion calls. Listen 1

“This year is the year of our emancipation if we are true to God and to our opportunity.” Again, listen ! “They call us fanatics, but National Prohibition is worth living for, and worth dying for.” And then came his beautiful personal testimony: — “I have had a happy life; r has been full from the beginning to ihe end. 1 am very tired. I know I shall be happier where I am going, but 1 am glad to think that 1 have lived out every moment, and that I have tried to do always what was right.” And so, with joy, peace, and confidence, the heroic spirit passed through the gates of death to great *r life, and to that (lod so faithfully served hero on earth. Never in the annals of this country has such a tribute of respect and admiration been paid to any man as was paid to T. K. Taylor when, on July 27th, iqi 1, he went from us. Every part of the Dominion, every class and creed, every section of society (save that alone which exists on the moral degradation of the people), paid tribute to the dauntless courage, the

obvious honesty of purpose, the splendid ability, the high ideals, the unswerving faith in (iod and humanity, that so strongly characterised this born leader and lighter; and when, on the following Sunday, his mortal remains were carried to their last resting place, the homage that high character always compels from the universal heart of mankind was witnessed in the grief, the deep reverence, and hush that pervaded the multitudes who gathered to pay their last tribute of respect as he passed for the last time.

Fifty thousand people lined the entire route from the Council Chamber, where he lay in state, to the cemetery gates; and through this living avenue, extending for over a mile, the funeral procession, in whi<h over two thousand persons took their places, headed by the banner of the Sydenham Prohibition League, slowly and in solemn silence wound its way; while the bowed heads, faces tense with sonow, and often wholly unrestrained grief, showed the universal love and honour that was his.

And why? Neither wealth nor rank was his, neither place nor power. It was because that which distinguished him most was his self-sacrificing devotion to the cause of humanity. No thought of his own personal advant age or disadvantage ever staved him from the most unflinching hostility to that which he considered wrong, or opposed to the public good.

“He that is greatest among you shall be the servant of all” is the very heart of Christ’s message to the world, exemplified supremely in His own life, and in the lives of those ho have followed most closely in His steps; and Mr Taylor translated his deep sense of religion into a life >f service. There is abundant evidence from many that had he so applied his great ability he could have amassed a great fortune; but he was true to (iod and to his responsibility, and to no other man in this country, neither statesman, soldier, nor social reformer has such a universal tribute of sorrow, affection, and appreciation been accorded. He passed from us New Zealand's most honoured son.

Mr Taylor was .1 man of many and diverse gifts. He was artistic to a wonderful degree; he loved music, and delighted in poetry; in conversation he was brilliant and interesting. He loved life, which he held to be a

great gift, and he had a marvellous faculty of enjoying it. A beautiful landscape, flowers, sunshine, all the hundred and one things that lighten and brighten life appealed to his sense of enjoyment. He was intensely alive, and was always the centre of interest wherever he moved. Whether agreeing with him. or hostile *or the time being, the crowd loved to hear him, and gathered eagerly whenever and wherever he was to speak. Hut splendid as his public record is it was his private life that earned for him the deep, passionate devotion of those privileged to come into contae t with it, and only those know how happy he was in his domestic life, and how great the sacrifice made by Mrs Taylor in giving up so much of her husband’s time to public work. Hut for her loving care and increasing watchfulness, he would never have been able to compass the marvellous amount of work he crowded into his short life; and her loving ministry only ceased with his last breath. He died in harness, and he would have wished it so, but his work is not ended. A great spiritual influence* remains that still helps, sustains, and inspires his loyal comrades, and the God he* loved and served "ill see to it that the fight so faithfully and bravely maintained, oft-times in great bodily weariness, shall bring forth a glorious victory—but meanwhile what is the message of this great life to us here and now? Listen to it as it comes in ringing tones, from the lips of L. M. Isitt as he stood by the open grave of his friend :

“The one lesson we are going to learn from Mr Taylor’s life, is that we must struggle on. Amidst all difficulties we must struggle for Christlikeness in word, thought and spirit.” “1 want to say to those who are Mr Taylor’s comrades in arms, his coworker> in the gre.it c ause that was of all causes dearest to him, not because he was narrow enough to believe that there was no greater, but because he was so dear sighted, be recognised that Temperance Reform would pave the way for every reform we wish to sec accomplished—to those comrades I wish to say that if there is a man or woman among them timid enough of soul to bury in the grave before us one ray of hope, or one grain of confidence, let them step down out of the ranks until they learn a nobler courage.

“T. E. Tayolr was a great man, hut our cause is greater than any man, and because God has taken him from us, it does not mean that the inspiration of his life is not still with us. If we catch his spirit, the collective enthusiasm of the greater number will be more effective than that of one man. Are we, with an example like his to follow, going to despair? Here by this grave, in the presence of his loved dust, and in the view, I believe, of his beloved spirit, we consecrate ourselves afresh for the struggle*. We vow to our Lord and Master that we will work as we have never worked before, and we will pray and plead as we have never prayed and pleaded, until the hope of the life of our brother and comrade is consummated, and the people of New Zealand are freed for ever from the degrading influence of strong drink.”