PEOPLE m PERSPECTIVE

A familiar figure m former Wellington military pageants and MAJOR BEN processions was Major HARRIS. Benjamin Harris, M.L.C., Maori War veteran and politician. That he no longer responds with alacrity to a quick step is not to be wondered at, for he is now nearly four score years and Jen. Born In Ireland, the Major spent some years m England, Canada, and Australia before coming to New Zealand with parents m 1847. The land about Pukekohe looked good, so the young man m his wisdom began farming on, a 400-acre block, and there to this day his household gods have been m possession. Quite early m its history the Major spent two years | ayvay from the farm soldiering. He took part m the Taranaki and Walkato affrays, and at the request of Colonel Wyatt and Major Greaves led the 65th Regiment through native tracks into the Maori settlement of Taukau. When peace came he got busy with civic affairs, being twice elected chairman of the Manukau County Council, and lor *s long as 23 years he was chairman of the Harrlsville school committee. For a time he was a member of the Provincial Council. He also sat m the House of Representatives for Franklin, and was chosen Opposition J Whip. ' His speeches m tho House were neither frequent nor long, but al- | most Invariably were tinged with fncetlousness. Later the Major was called to the Upper House. It is cus- ] tomary for him to wear, with pardonable pride, . a valuable albert guard which was presented to him by the Pukekohe Volunteers, and if questioned about it he would probably say it recalled the best days he knew. i: ii ss It was well and truly stated m "Truth" a Bhort time ago THE MURPHYS that the Clan WilOF MURIWAI. Mams, which came over with the, first missionaries and settlers to the Far North, covers the East Coast from where the Port Elliot went ashore even down to Cape PallJser — and then ■ome of it hat spread Into the Interior and across to the other coast. A chinaman has even Invaded our Parliament. But there is another clan, this time from the Emerald lalo, that owns largo patches of the East Coast, and the i name thereof Is Murphy. Some beautiful country lies within 30 miles of Gisborne. and it Is out there that Ro- ! land M. flourishes, whilst his big broj ther Is pome lf> miles nearer to the copltal of Poverty Buy. The Murphys I are Entirely surrounded by Maori settlers, und th<» two M.'h are certainly rulers of tho roud speeders when they are In a hurry either to get there or back. Murphy money is well invested m the eemi-clty and also m good lands and stock, not to mention the golden fleece, which has turned them m a very pretty penny this wool season. The magic of Murphy Is a name to conJuro with, otherwheres than Ireland. is » : t ' Somewhere near the time when the Chrlstcliurch llrm ofAutacHAPPY brook and Co. could Just HARRY about count tho numWr of FULLER, biscuits they baked In a diiy, knlrkerbockerod young Hurry Fuller plrascnl the cyo of Mr. John Aulsebrook. tho founder of the firm, and ho wan Riven- a Job. That wriH half ii eontury nuo. juid Harry 1« still In the firm's employ. Certainly ho'rt not m tho snmf job ns Ihnt m which old Mr. AulHcbrook (rave him hl» introduction to TMBCUlidom, but .vhatovnr hi« Job Is now. and whatever It has boon m the pnat. Hurry P. ha« been a llvo wiro and ono who has not

only been appreciated by those at tho top of the ladder, but also by everyone right down to those on the bottom rung. When the man we're speaking of Joined up, Aulsebrook and Co.'b premises consisted of a shop and dwelling which you would walk right through without knowing you'd entered it. To-day the firm's pren^i.sos comprise a block- of buildings that it would take a fortnight to look over thoroughly, and eVen then there would remain a lot that, hadn't been pcen. That's the buslneoi that Fuller has watched and helped to make grow, and it was quite litting that the other day, when he celebrated his iiftleth anniversary of his service with the firm. Mr. R. E. MoDougull (the present sole proprietor), and forty of the oldest members of the various staffs, should entertain him at a dinner and make him the recipient of handsome presentations, calculated to keep the fifty years' association with tho biscuit people evergreen m his memory. t: :: :t Whatever one may think of the politics of his publication, HEMINGWAY moat people will adTHE mire the energy of HELPFUL Edward Frederick Hemingway, the little editor-manager of the "Patea Press." Ned originally came from the Old Dart, and, it Ik Bald, when he landed m this fair land he could hardly buy himself a feed. All credit to him therefore that to* flay he has turned out 10 well, and owns the "Butterfat Buster," as well aa a comfortable shack. When Mueseylam m the cow country was threatened, It was Ned who led the wuy m a campaign of organisation for the salvation of the Tory regime, and ever since he has faced the jeers and rebukes of the opposing forces for the Hake of bis principles. He Ih nut much over live feet, but he has enough inlelllgenve undvr his Htruw Vadie to put tiny of the village lawyers to shame, fur bus he not diplomas wtowed away for only but favored eyes, proving his qualifications? When George Pearce, <-x-M.P., was In a mesa. Ned Hemingway stuck to him and risked extinction for the sake of Old Bill, but so far the Big Man's only reward for hlB loyalty la but a wave of the hand, and a "carry on." a it :: Can anything good come out of Hallance? Lots of good to PROFESSOR thin and other eouuHOLDAWAY. tries has come from the fact that there \v.;ik a .lobn Tlullancp to work reforms In democracy. And now the townlpt thnt was, n«m«'d after the iI.L. statesman ban pluced lou'lf on the map some more. Itallnnce 1*» m th« J'nhiuUm <llntrlct, Jl mll«s north by east o( Wellington. It Is essentially a dairying ! dlmriet. and it m because of that fact that it Is on the map some more. Once upon a time thero wan a Holdaway family milking cow* m Ballanco. Charlie H.. the head of the family, now 9, resident of Hamilton, had a son

of the same front name who grafted during overtime hours with the cows and m between times got m some education. But mostly son Charles was absorbed m the scientific side of dairying, and he sot a whole lot of enthusiastic help from Manager Camoron of the Ballance Dairy Company. Charlie Joined up with the industry, and gained much coat-off experience m various pnrts of the Dominion, by working m several factories- up and down and across the North Island. Then he thought he would like to enlarge his knowledge still further. So off he went to Canada, and thence down into tho States of America. Today ho is Professor Charlea Holdaway, having occupied the Chair of Agriculture m Virginia. He is looked upon as one of the authorities on dairying m the States, nnd Is bead of the Polytechnic Institute of Virginia. When m Canada he married. And thus yet another New Zealander makes goad overseas. : : : : :: Lawyer Stevenson, whose dapper figure was LAWYER STEVENSON lately outlined m "Truth," is notable among tho younger members of the Wellington Costs Brigade. There is something ineradicable about the Tommy Army training, it Is said, and m Lawyer Stevenson* case It is oertalnly bo. In hla bearing and demeanor there Is something so redolent of the sabretachetrailing;, carry-on Serge. -Major type that It comes as no surpriso to hear that he was five years m the English Army, the last two of which were on service m India as a full blown enpttUn — what! — before whom wallahs flew at bIH caprloe. Lawyer Stevenson was a youngster not long emerged from the 'varsity — where he hold sumo prestige aa v boxer, being the Vlrtorlu OolU-fjc featherweight cook o' the walk — when th«* w;ir broke out, and he left with the Wellington Mounteda iv the Main liody to look for xtnu&h m a wider Held. In Kgypt he wus oflfereJ a cornmltfulon m the LancaMhlre Fusiliers with the famous 291h. Division and saw service with them on Hellen and at Suvla and on the Sinai Peninsula. l*ncer he was with the Division In France where, at the end of three years, with the rank of cuptain, and an M.C. plokod up at Ypres, lie wan transferred to the Indian Army, find was In tho Punjab at tho time General Dwyor denned up the fnjiurreetlonlsts at Arnrltznr ho druitticiilly — and aft wards retired from the Army. Stevenson wan ul«o In Afghanistan during the rlMlng of 191'j and can dangle a modal for (hat ndvenluro among the others which came the way of good noldlerß. It was not until 1920 that he returned to New with n fair »llcc gone from the period of hl.s legul career, but th<» firm he wan with when he left. Me««rn, Iwml tmtf Wenton, stood by StovtMiton properly and ho hn« been admitted to :i partnership. A« tho court work man for the firm he keep* his end up well and never fall* -to tell a good tale to the bench.

A familiar figure m both town and country is the burly "ONE OF frame of Philip Best. THE BEST." a sturdy son of sturdy pioneers of the Settlement now gone to rest. The agricultural district of Appleby has claimed Phil ever since he first saw the light of day some seventy years ago, and hopes to have him for her own for many years to come. What spare time could be found In a busy farminglife — m those far-off days the tillers of the soil knew what work really was — was devoted to local politics, and m his time Mr. Best has been a member of numerous local bodies. His best love, however, has been the Waimea County Council, of which he has been a worthy and popular representative without break for well over half his lifetime: and for the past decade has presided over the deliberations of that body with a tuctfulness that many another chairman could well follow, Perhaps if he has a fault it is allowing councillors a little too much latitude occasionally; but he abhors quarrelling just as much as he welcomes candid criticism. Knowing the county from end to end, his experience is of great benefit to the ratepayers; and as a valuer he has a wide knowledge of what a uroperty Is worth. In addition to his county duties, Mr. Best Is keenly Interested m education, and some years ngo held a seat on the Education Board: nnd is at the present time an esteemed member of the College Board of Oovernors, A warm, generous-hearted man, it Is not laying on the cream too thick to suy ; that there la not n more popular or universally respected pettier m the Nelson province than Philip Best. Bill Cummlng has had a go at many things. Me was ttvo W, GUMMING, years ailoat as a OF TIMARU. member of the Dominion section of Britain's Sure Shield, to wit, The Navy, and BUI Is a mighty proud man to-day when he Bays that he wag tho firm New Zeainnder to receive a "higher rating." as the ftailorA call it. He is a fair dinkum Colonial and saw his school days In Wellington. After ht> had finished hIR Naval career he landed In Auckland and wan appointed to the staff of the Avondule Mental Hospital, where he remained for a tow months until he trniiKfprrod to tho Education Dopartmpiil, and was j«p.nt tt» Join th»- staff of tlu* Hurnhrim Indus I rial Si'hOOl. lielUfj fxlrenvly intvrt»»;<»d In the wcl- ! fare- of the kiddie* iv general. Cummlng soon hemmv popular umoiißflt the lads who had boon pin cod m tho cure of the Institution, and he remained nt th<» school continuing his gnod work for a period of six years. Next we find him filling the Important post of Juvenile Probation Officer Mn the iiunny little town of Tlmnru. where he nun boon doing good work amongst th* youngfltoiH for n considerable time past. Tl»«r«» m nothing that BUI Cumnilnjr would not do for \h« benefit of tho children In hix eliargo. nnd "Truth" hnppenM to know thnt bo works without looking at th*» clock when ho Ih out to p'neo one of hln boys or girln m v poHllion when* ho can foci that tho child Ih In good hand*, and wht*ro Ohmo Ih opportunity of making a good citizen. Mr. dimming Is president of the South Canterbury Refer***' Am*oclh. tlon. nnd also view- president of the Public Horvlen A«Hoch»tion at Tlmnru "f !h aluo n member of the Caledonian Rotloty, and bin family of three hoys "<-hll« off tho old hlock," nro Hlroadv showing promlue. In tho football flHd Tlmnru Is fortunate to have for ita Juvenile Probation Ofncor a man like BUI Cummlng.

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