Subsequent Activities
After the war, the coalition government collapsed, and Allen once again became Minister of Finance. He also gained the additional responsibility of Minister of External Affairs (the precursor to the modern Foreign Affairs portfolio). He took up these posts reluctantly, describing himself as weary of politics. In 1920, he resigned from Parliament to take up a position as New Zealand's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He also represented New Zealand at the League of Nations, taking a prominent part in the League's Permanent Mandates Commission.
After returning to New Zealand, Allen became active in a number of organizations. Reflecting his long-held interest in the Pacific Islands, which had been stimulated by a number of visits in the course of his political career, he was a prominent member of the Institute of Pacific Relations. He was active in All Saints Church, Dunedin and also vice-president of the Bible-in-Schools League, reflecting a cause which he had controversially championed while Minister of Education.
On 1 June 1927, Allen was appointed to the Legislative Council, the (now-abolished) upper house of Parliament. The Legislative Council was considerably more sedate than in the lower house, and Allen was not overly stressed by its activities. At the end of his first term in 1934, he was reappointed (until 1941).
Allen retired from public life in 1938, and died in Dunedin on 28 July 1942. He received the KCB in (1917) and the GCMG in (1926).
Read more about this topic: James Allen (New Zealand Politician)
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