Newspaper Article 1931 – Mayoral Farewell

THE demonstration made in Woodville on Monday night in honour of Mr and Mrs H. P. Horne, the retiring Mayor and Mayoress was a gratifying evidence that the services of men and women who give of their best to the community are not permitted to pass without some tangible recognition. It would be a bad day for New Zealand if public men were treated like one would a lemon – squeezed for all that is in them, and then tossed, so to speak, away. There is an inexorable law which ordains that no man shall possess a prescriptive right to any public position. And it is the operation of this law which, for good or ill had deprived Woodville, in the meantime, of the services of a Mayor who at considerable personal sacrifice has rendered conspicuous service to the district. Mr and Mrs Horne should be very proud of the enthusiastic tribute that was paid them on Monday night, not alone by residents of the borough but by many of the leading residents of the district. It was a tribute as spontaneously tendered as it was richly deserved.