PERSONAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 111, 3 February 1908, Page 6

PERSONAL ITEMS.

Tho . Premier to-day will .be en route to Wellington from Auckland; tho -Hon. W., Hall-Jones, the, Hon. R. M'Nab, tho Hon. J. M'Gowan, the Hon. G. f'owlds, the Hon. Dr. Findlay, and tho Hon. J ( . A. Millar aro in Wellington; and: tho Hon. J. Carroll is in Gisborne. . > .

Mr. T.. E. Donne, General Manager of the Tourist Department, returned on Saturday from inspecting tourist and health resorts in tho north.

Archdeacon Devoy, of Wellington, and Father Hickson, of Christchurch, returned on Saturday from attending ( a Chapter of the Marist Society in Belgium.

: Captain Wray'and Colour-Sergeant lludkins,'of the Civil Service Rifles, were , the recipients of wedding presentations from the corps after tho parade on Friday night;

Mr; H.: Linloy Richardson, the newlyappointed, assistant art master at the Wellington .Technical. School, arrived on Saturday by the Corinthic. Ho is accompanied by Mrs. Richardson. : A caricature sketch of tho captain - and officers of tho Corinthic writ executed. 1 by . Mr. Richardson during tho voyage, and was a decided hit.

; .lilrl 'Director of' tho School i fort. Defectives'; to • becestablished near Oamani, arrived ,by ; the ..Corinthic' on ' Saturday with Mrs. Benstead: Mr. Benstead was selected: for the .position by Mr. Hogben' (In-spector-General of Schools), while recently at Homo, arid by the Hon. W. P. Reeves, High- Commissioner, arid, Dr. • Shuttleworth, who was highly qualified to. advise on such a matter. Mr. ;■ Benstead, who possesses excellent testimonials and had had largo oxperionce, was selected out of a considerable number of : applicants. The school of which ho is to have charge is not ready yet, but preparations are well forward.

Mr. A. P. Webster,, local: man&geriof. .the Bank of Australasia, who has been acting as' tho bank's chief.inspector for' New. Zealand since the late Mr. H. K. Bethuno was incapacitated by. illness some months ago, has now been permanently appointed to tho p'osition. .Mr. Webster was born in Dundee, and came to Now Zealand as a child, in 1859. He was educated at , the Church of England School, Riccarton, ahd'at Christ's College, Christchurch;' .He joined the Bank of Australasia in'lß76,as a junior, rose to the position , of ledger keeper, " s was promoted to Masterton as accountant in 1880, filled tho samo offico at Wanganui two years later, was niado manager of tho bank's Feilding branch in 1883, 4 and was transferred toAshburton in 1886. In 1887 ho went to Patea as manager, and he remained there till March, 1894; when he was appointed manager at Palmerston North. He left that town sis years ago to take the position- of sub-manager at Wellington, and was appointed manager • not quite a year ago..