PERSONAL NOTES FROM LONDON.

Auckland Star, Volume XL, Issue 52, 2 March 1909, Page 2

PERSONAL NOTES FROM LONDON.

<From Our Special Correspondent:') _-.'... y 7 7 - LONDON, Janua7ry^2. .Thejiew. .High. .CbinmifißioHer7-fb'rTfew. "Zealand paid, his first visit, .to the.-New Zealand Office in Victoria-street oh Fri- ' day last,, the morning. after" his arrival in London.. He. wag , welcomed _ byy. Mr. . .Eennssvay-and; the" £taff< and shovrti.over: ... the office; and introduced "to -the:various "members ,of th^. 7 .Since tljejv'Mr. Hall--Jones has Deen kept "busy receiving _-a str.eanx- of -New Zealand and other callers, including Pressmen and Press photoygraphers, all anxious to make the aeaequaintanee of the new High Commit _j sioner. In the course of a brief interview - Mr. Hall-Jones said realised that in --following -so-able a man as his predecessor Ms : task would be a-danicult-one, 16et:ause was not -a. shadow- of doubt tha,t the Hon. W. P. Reeves was an ideal. High Commissioner, who gave satisfae-1 . .tion.7botk here and in the TDominion. Mr. Hall-Jones made his first public; . appearance as" High Commissioner on : : Wednesday evening, when he attended the dinner given as-a-"Welcome Home" to I . -Xord- Korthebte,-the- late l -Governor-Gen-' ; era! of the ■ Australian Commonwealth.. -jEnfriiste<l"wf£h "the toast of "The Queen and-the Royal Family" the new High . Commissioner made a felicitous little speech, referring to the loyalty and affection always shown towards the Throne -by the people-of Ivew Zealand. ■ At this dinner M-r. Hall-Jones sat at the .principal fable, between Lord Milner - and ■ the Bight Hon.-- Alfred -Lyttleton, the ex-Coldniar Secretary. Amongst the .. conipahy~preseht were Lord -: Eosebery,-Lord Crewe, -the -Dukes of _"orf oik"-and- Marlborough. Lord Amp thill, "*-"_brd Tenh-ysb'n, il e-Marg.niJs ot "^lisbury, —and.Lor-dlStratheona.. . * ~„'..,'. . - On- Wednesday afternoon Mr. Hall-"Jones:*was-7pre'sent'at" an afternoon tea givpn by. ihe-Hon. Kathleen Plunket, who. ■came : frdm-_ew Zealand' in the same .**4teiinier.y'He'has. Appointed, as .his pri-* _.vaie Augustine Mason; who ■'■ acted in- 'the; same :caipacity _>r: the, Hon. ■"Wrf.'Tßeeves. during the latteris tertn of offifie as High _.:.. ". ' "HenrilvTßerger, of Feilding, and: his •wife, are in London just now. r They, have been absent from the .Dominion; about two years, during which time they have travelled in Canada and the United States, and practically all over the tinentr - They- propose- -to -return to New; Zealand .in - September., Mrs. Berger studied drawing_and jainting in Ameri; ca, and is-eest-ihuing- -her studies at the Eoyal School of. Art for women. Later--Efee-will-go-tou -Brussels to -take-, further lessons there. Herr Berger proposes to" settle^-either in. -J-Vellington or Auckland on his return to New Zealand. . ;Mr- P. - W. Pennefa'ther, LL.D.", sbmetbne" Judge of the Supreme Court of New is one of the co'ntribu tors to a series, of on- the Pritish Empire-wMeh-the history section of the League of the Empire- has -undertaken- in con--neciaon. with the' late Mr.' Louis Trust! The first-volume of" the series ;was publisned to-day,- rinder the title, "The'-British Empire: Its Past;" its Pre- *'. *ent-and-4ts= Future.'/ 'It' is- intended -primarily " for the general ' public, ' for -"teaeheSfe and fitudertts.' The other vol ;.. ■_nes-.'Will^bey%vxit'ten.more '■'. particularly for the uses of the schools'. •'-- --"£o--a7New -Year -letter- to -the- members.' .of the Church of England, Men's Society,. the Archbishop-elect. 61. York "(P.ev. Dr. Cosmo Gordon Lang) : refers- to the -dis- a ' appointment ie has experienced in being- i unable to accept the invitation, of the - Archbishop's ami; Bishopg of Australia] . 'and. "New "Zealand- to* visit :the7 Anti-1 • _ pode__and_:undertak.e a special mission to" men. Biit it is, he says,- good* news that the Eev. H. S. Woollcombe, head of Oxford House,-has. consented to act as the representative "and miss Toner of the* -society across the seas. During the next - ■ few'years°Mr..-Woollcombe is,- it appears, _. *? .^'t..An?l r »Ma, : South.-Africa-,! India, and other countries. He leaves London -'■ at-Easier to -start on- his 1 thission. -It is __ interesting to 'note that last'.jfear Dr."Xang "spoke at. nearly fifty gatherings on hehalf of thia society,- a rate of work ". .■'Khich, .lie remarks,' it would be impossible"'for him to maintain as Archbishop -of "York. All the same, Dr. Lang will . continue for the present in the "post of .__ chairman of. tho gociety's council.

ANenrZeaiander,writing, from theDojmigion: t0... an_English : country ■wak_f gloomily satiTicar over the' recent elections in the Donirnion; "'"J fd/esee for this", country,"., he. says,. *pi_itics I governed by women and parsons. The results will be as they were in Prance in the seventeenth and" "eighteenth centuries: corrupt and corrupting ecclesiastics, and political heroines. We shan't Cardinals or Royal' mistresses'" perhapsT hut -the equivalent o£'them r both'-Ih. Puritan homespun. : 'An Austrian--savant, i see, predictsterrible destructive eruptions and earthquakes ""hero in 191 T. This is the year of- the next general -election, •so probably We.shalFgo under in the throes "of that triennial struggle, . Hallelujah:" -

The s.s. Paparoa,;of:thie.New Zealand Shipping Qpnipany'sLJiiLe,.lfift London to ; day for Nesy Zealand via Cape Town and Hobart. She._ takes the. followingBaJoon .passengers fqr._the .New. Zealand Bayliss, Mr. "NT: Block, JVIxS." -BJoeki-Mrs; Q. Bowrtßg, -Major-Gisneral. _Sir H. P. Ewartj ~lMj and-maid,-Mr. H. A. Goldschmidt,-Mr. M. F. Grant, Dr.-C- J. Harrison 7 .Mrs7 Harrison, Mr. V. Hollington, Mi-s. S. Marriott, Mr.' H. Proctor, Miss N. Reckitt, Mr. W.. Watkins, Mrs, Watkins, Mr. T. R. "Wfestray, Wfetray v Mr. "W. E.: Barker,' Mr. W. Bird, Rev. J. R. Burgin, Mrs. Burgin, Miss -I. H Burgin, Miss A. M. Burgin, Master *W:' Burgin, Mr D. H. Davies, Mr.' J." Ellis;: Mr. 7 " G. J. Hunter. Sirs. Hunter, Mrs. E. -Mosley . Miss -H M. Mosley, Miss E. Morrish', l\liss J. D. PeppercornyMiss M. Robinson, 3L-. &; L. Spreckley, Mr. J. W Warwick, Mr. j. W." Warwick, '-jiinr., and 16S in the third-class.

Two of the-battleships of the American "fleet, which is touring the world, called at Malta--this week, en-route to New York. Their_vojage. from .the Far East seems to have been -uneventful. ; -Indeed, ■ the most extraordinary .feature- -Gf-this - extraordinary cruise is-"tEe'-"laek' of i'n'ci-' dent-attending it, outside the lavis*h:'b.os. . pitality", whi6h has.- teen. iirTered, erary•where' to the-ofßtfers "arid *mep~" 'A %&&— "very . few-^rsailars-.-Jiave been dro-reuSi; there was a typhoon after leaving. Ofapan'; k ' but otherwise the ■things whi'cb -appear to & - have left the greatest impression on the ■ minds of the Americans are -the kiri'd- ■ ness of the Australians and-Japanese, ■ -and a fight in New; Zealand, in-which the ■ _.meriean sailors frankly and adtniring- [ ly f <>ono Brit-her licked six

I had a chat with the Hon. W- P. I • Reeves on the eye of'l^'Te_riqtri6hin|j"| '. t_3-dii„_r_r„iei*'"SgV to his: successor; but he preferred.hot'to' talk for'phblica'tion. -'tinay be penalt-'f ted to sag, however, the'atoatn of carrying on the double work of High Commissioner- foe-- New -Zealand-and di-* rector of the* Economics 6ince October last,.it-is with considerable . .relief that Mr -Beeves, hands over the" reins of office at Victoria-street to Mr HalKTones. Mr "Reeves has filled the post of Agent-Generai-and'High Commissioner in London- for 12 years with' the greatest! credit and distinction.: 'He has fe^ehby'general-consent the ablest of-all , the colonial representatives, and his pre- ! sence at the head- of the New Zealand office in" Victoria-street "has given Zealand, —..prestige here oi ■which far larger "States might :weli _c Jealous.. In resigning Tils post,, TMr Reeves ■will hare the-satisfaction of .knowing that, wherea?, the- paSme^'of "New' Zealand -was' by no means widely.popular in.LondonTwhen he first arrived, it- Ts now one of the best known' and' best liked in 'the whole of. the British Empire. No small share of tbe change -which has been effected in popular opinion regarding the Dominion .may be fairly credite3, 1... think, to the -ability-arid energy -of the late High Commissioner. .._."-