Life in Early Poverty Bay
Sir Francis Bell's Tribute
Sir Francis Bell's Tribute.
For himself, he wanted to give happiness, to plan great things, and help to carry them out (in which last attempt he beggared himself more than once), and to leave the world better than he found it. He was utterly lacking in the chief virtue of the commercial world. He had no money sense. With all his influence among the Maoris and his opportunities to enrich himself, he never accepted land or gifts from them. A prodigal giver, often in financial difficulties himself, he could make fortunes for others but when he earned a hundred guineas on a brief he would visualise a £300 plan of getting rid of it. Most kindly yet a born fighter; often impatient of a habit of thought or a standard lower than his own, he was greatly loved by many and disliked and feared by a few. Perhaps his most outstanding trait was that voiced by Sir Francis Bell: “One of the most unselfish and public-spirited men I have ever known.”