PERSONAL ITEMS.

—* Mr Cullen, of Auckland, has been appointed stationmaster at Eltham. I A London message states that Earl TVmterton will succeed Lord Lytton as! JJnder-Secretary of State for India/ # A London cable states that the Kinois slightly indisposed, and that His1 Majesty cancelled a dinner engagement' at the last moment. Mr and Mrs. L. A. Bone, of Hawera hope to leave on a trip to the Old Aril*?!' Vla Amfcrica ' b > the Tahiti on' Mr R. Miller, chief clerk at Hastings, has been appointed stationmaster at Stratford in succession to Mr Veale who is retiring on superannuation. ' Miss M. Mather, formerly of Hawera has been awarded by the New Plymouth ladies; Life-saving Club/ a bronze medallion, an honorary instructor's certificate, also the award of merit. Major C. H. Cooper, accompanied by Mrs' Cooper, arrived in Inglewood by the mail train last night on a visit to his brother, Mr A. W. Cooper. Major Cooper, who recently retired from the Army, arrived in New Zealand by the Corinthic. Mr Louis H. Victory, a journalist well known ;m New Zealand and formerly of Hawera, returned to Wellington by the Corinthic yesterday, after an absence of over five years, during , which time he worked at his profession in England, Scotland and Ireland. Speaking at last night's annual meeting of the New Plymouth Golf Club, the chairman (Mr T. P. Anderson) referred to the fact that one of i their members, Mr Andrew Smith, was m hospital at Trentham, and was likely ito be incapacitated for some time. He i was sure all members would regret to hear of this. At a meeting of Reform supporters ;Mr John Christopher Rolleston was chosen to contest the seat in the inter- , ests of the Reform Party for the Waii torao seat at the general election (says the Wellington Times). Mr Rolleston i v S,¥, ei\ a farmer at Rangitoto, in the I backblocks, for the last fourteen years j He is a son of tho late Hon. W. Rolles- | ton, a member of Sir Harry Atkinson's i Government Mr W. T. Jennings is the sitting member. The announcement yesterday of the death of Mrs Cullinan, wife of Mr E Cullinan, of Wellington street, was rej ceived with great regret by a wide IQU , Sfv fnends al* over South Tara- . naki. who had been ailing | for some time, was well known and highly respected by a very large num- , ber of residents all over the district, and by her kind and genial nature she , had endeared herself to all those with j whom she came in contact. The late . Mrs Cullinan had resided in Hawera for about 30 years, and .before coming to Hawera with -her husband lived at Patea, where Mr Cullinan was in business. She was a devout member of the Roman Catholic Church, and actively associated herself with matters pertaining to the welfare of the church, v^ith her husband and family much sympathy will herfelt in the bereavement they have sustained. i Much regret was expressed iri Manala , the very sad news was received |ot the sudden death of a very popular citizen, Mr Martin Howard, bricklayer which took place at Ohakune on Saturday night, where he was working. Mr . JiQward had been a resident of Mana-'a tor 26 years, and was held in very high .esteem by all in the district He al--1 Way* took a very" keen interest in all kinds ot sport, and held the position of captain and secretary at various periods of the Manaia Cricket Club. He also took great interest in ' the Waimate benior Football Club, and on many occaI sions waved the Waimata flag on the football field. He belonged to the Ancient . Order of Druids for many years. De- , ceased, leaves a sorrowing widow ami , seven of a family, three daughters and .tour eons: Mrs Parish (of ITithain), ! Beatrice, Annie. Raymond, Reginald j Mason, and Lionel to mourn the loss of la good husband and father. The fun.eral is to leave the Catholic Church I \T /cemetery on Thursday, March 23, at 2 p.m.. The residents of Manaia and district extend their deepest sympathy to Mrs and family in their very sad bereavement. ~The, Sydney Morning Herald states that the citizens' farewell to Rosa Alba , prior to her departure for London by the Ballarat on April 1, drew a large audience to the Town Hall, where the assistace of the Royal Philharmonic Society of Sydney, with which the singer has beeii identified by many appearances, gave added distinction to the ocasion. Miss Alba sang Mendelssohn's 'Hear My Prayer" with that fine chorus under Mr Joseph Bradley's direction, and both in the devotional opening aria, and in the declamatory passages, repeated unisonally by the •honsters, rendered her music with animation and sincerity. "Oh, for the Wings of a Dove" brought the motet to an ensemble conclusion of. tender | sweetness, dominated by the clear high' voice of the soloist. Miss Alba's other ??* ntri ™tlons included the Bach-Gounod 'Aye Maria" (with 'cello and piano), to which ''Sing, Sweet Bird" was brilliantly rendered m recognition of the en-! «t Sl^? 1 and abundance of flowers ' La Charmante Marguerite" was un-' affectedly presented, and was followed (as encore) by "Till We Forget," a simple, melodious ballad, for which a most cordial reception was secured Finally "Una Voce" enabled Miss Alba^ to .display her admired gifts as a i coloratura soprano. In addition, thei •departing artist joined effectively in! the "Prison Scene" from "Faust " j with Ernest ■ Archer and Reginald! Gooud. Quite a number of leading ar-l tists assisted in enhancing the interest of the concert, and nearly every nximber was encored.