ABOUT PEOPLE

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 27, 1 August 1911, Page 3

ABOUT PEOPLE

NOTES FROM LONDON.

[FROM OtJ& OWtf CORRESPONDHHT.] LONDON, 23rd June. Sir James Mills has'reached England, having come across by Way of Canada. Sir James expects to be in England until near the end of the year. Hia two daughters are how at school here. Mr. Joha Duthie (Wellington) is staying at the Langham Hotel. He was at the dinner on Saturday evening as a I guest o fthe Empire Frees Union. About the end of July h© will return to Canada. The ambulance corps had much less work to do at the Coronation than at the funeral of King Edward a year ago, chiefly because the weather was scarcely so oppressive. The St. John Ambulance Brigade was, however, fully prepared for a heavy day* Work, and several New Zealand members who happen to be in England took advantage of their presence^ get. an insight into the work on such an occasion. Corporal J. Becconeall, of the Palmerstoii North Fire Brigade Division, and Mi?a Collinson, of the nursing division of the same town were both on duty with their English com* Tades. Visiting journalists of the Empire wero entertained at dinner by the Empire Press Union on Saturday evening, when *Lord Burnham, the head and soni of the union and an inveterate advocate of closer relations with the oversea States, made one of his cotdial speeches ol welcome. The speech of the evening was that of Lord Curzon, of Kedleston, who eloquently exhorted his hearers to re- I gard the Coronation not as a pageant, but as the embodiment of an ideal. Mr. Geoffrey Fairfax, of Sydney, and Dr. J. A. Macdonald, of Toronto, replied on ] behalf of the Dominions. The New Zea« I landers present included Mr. John Duthie (Wellington), Mr. A. E. G. Rhodes (Christchurch), Mr. J. H. Dolamore (Gore), Mr. T. L. Buick (Dannerirke), Mr. E. N. Armit (Wellington), Mr. R. C. Horton. (Auckland), Mr. A. J. Heighway (Dunedin). Sir William and Lady Russell weTe of the small proportion of people how in London who left the metropolis during the Coronation. They were, of course, offered eeats ih the Abbey to View* the ceremony, but Sir William, though .jow j fully recovered from his recent indisposition, did not feel quite equal to the long ordeal, and they decided that it j would be better to go quietly away to Devon than to undergo the anxieties and bustle of the time. The Hon. A. Lee Smith and Mrs. Smith were also obliged for_ similar reasons to decline theopportunity of witnessing the ceremony in the Abbey. The New Zealand friends of Bishop Wallis will be much interested to hear that he is feeling considerably better for the voyage to England, which was a thorouglily pleasant one, the Arawa proving herself an excellent seaboat, and the presence oft board of so many New Zealanders, including' the Coronation Contingent, under" Lieut. -Colonel Abbott, added greatly to the pleasure of the trip. The Bishop'B party consisted of Mrs. Wallis and her sister, Miss Williams. Since aniving in, London the Bishop has consulted the physician to whom Dr. Fyfie referred him, and the conclusion arrived at is that no work must be undertaken aL present, and a journey to Marienbad % is i recommended for August. After that it is hoped that ifc will be possible for the Bishop t<> take up his duties as Archdeacon of Wiltshire, under the Bishop of Salisbury, who, I regret to say, is still not in robust health. The late Bishop of Wellington hopes to be able to relieve his brother-in law of some of his work at the close of the year. Some time ago the announcement was made that Bishop Wallis had been appointed to the cure of a parish in Marlborough, but this announcement is quite : without foundation. Ifc is a noteworthy coincidence that the day on which Bishop Sprott was consecrated to the Wellington diocese, Bishop Wallis was licensed to the Archdeaconry of Wiltshire. Lieut. rColonel Hughes, commanding the New Zealand rifle team, will be stationed at Bisley until the shooting is over, and while the team is at practice. He purposes going to the Hytlie School of Musketry for a few days. Lieut. - Colonel Hughes will remain in this country until October, and naturally he is anxious to see as much as possible in the time. j Mr. and Mrs. Mark Smith (Wellington), who came over via Canada and America, do t not expect to reach New Zealand again until December. They are entirely on pleasure bent, and intend making a long Continental tour before joining their boat at Naples. Mr. Smith is a native of Warwickshire, which country he has been revisiting after an absence of 38 years. Dr. Mawson has arranged for the fot. lowing officers to join his expedition:—Lieut. t \Vatkins, a well-known aviator; Captain J. K. Davis, to command the Aurora; Dr. t Mert.2, a setentfet, mountaineer, and ice expert, who was in 1908 champion ski runner of Switzerland; Mr. Frank Wild, who was with both Scott and Shackleton ; and Lieut. Ninnis, of the Irish Fusiliers. Mr. and Mrs. H. T. Bullock (Wellington) were travelling in America for five weeks before coming on to England, where ifc was natural that their native county of Cornwall should claim first attention. Ofl the Ist August they will leave for the Continent, joining ' their steamer at Naples. New Zealand should be reached in the early part, of October.