In the Public Eye

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 61, 15 March 1924, Page 24

In the Public Eye

SOME POiNTS OF NOTABLE

PERSONAGES

The. King has approved the appointment of Sir Henry 'Robert Conway Dobbs lo be High Commissioner for Iraq (Mesopotamia) in place of Sir Percy Cox, wliose retirement took place recently. Sir Henry Dobbs, who was knighted in 1921, is Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, and it is iii India and on the frontier that most oi his official life has been spent. He entered the Indian Civil Service thirtythree years ago, and held various posts in that country until the outbreak of war, when lie was appointed to Bagdad a-5 Consul-General. A year later he was a Revenue Commissioner for Mesopotamia, and in 1916 he returned to India^ where, in 1921, he headed the Biitish Mission which negotiated peace ■with the Amir of Afghanistan. He was educated 'at "Winchester and Brasenose College, and. is fifty-two years of age.

The new home secretary of the Church Missionary Society, the Rev. "V?. W. Cash, who was only recently appointed, is a Cheshire man, his home having been at Sale. He went into the mission field as a layman under the Egypt General Mission in 1901. He was ordained a year after taking up work with the Church Missionary Society in 1909. The same qualities of leadership and efficiency which he had evidenced in this sphere led to his appointment as assistant principal chaplain to the Army in the East, a post he occupied after being attached to the army operating in Sinai. Although'he. held military rank and undertook military duties, his' power lay in evoking friendship and trust. On one occasion he was sent to deal with a difficult situation in the Menoufia district, where it was stated that half a million people were seething with unrest. Only a handful of soldiers accompanied him. On his arrival he found matters were serious, but the reinforcements he sent for were not more troops but his wife and children. By settling down quietly with his family in this troubled district,- by his life "and demeanour expressing his faith and trust in the people, he. saved the situation and overcame dissatisfaction. Mr. Cash is a fluent speaker of Arabic, and the Aiabs used to flock to hear him talk. Aihcmg tlio Copts he has been equally popular. He was several times mentioned in dispatches and received the D.S.O. and 0.8. E. At the thanksgiving service in Jerusalem after Allenby's entry lie was one of the speakers. He has been reorganising C.M.S. work recently in Palestine and Egypt and the Sudan,-and since his return to England he has lived at Banbury.

Mr. F. Pethick Lawrence, M.P., writing in the "Star"' on Mr. J. Ramsay MacDonaid, M.I 3., says:—-'Mac-Donald owes his position and his inlluence lo four main gifts—first, bis indomitable energy; secondly, his integrity, which has forced him on more than ono occasion to champion the unpopular cause; 'thirdly, his keen judgment, rarely, if ever, at fault; and finally, his humanity, which makes him loved a s well as admired. MacDonaid is no good as a flagwaver whether for country or party. Neither has he in the past nor will ho in the future satisfy those who make this demand upon him! Rut those who ask for more solid service, who want hard and intelligent thinking, well-informed criticism, and effective building on firm foundations, will not look in vain."

Mr. Justice Talbot, the latest addition la the Bencl; in England, is a son of the late Right Hon. J. G. Talbot, who at the time of his death was' the father of the House of Commons. Mr. Justice Talbot. is a great ecclesiastical lawyer, and before his appointment was Chancellor of the dioceses of Lincoln, Ely. Lichfield. Soutlnvark. and Winchester. His kinsman. Bishop Edward Stuart 'lalbot, lias recently resigned the see of Winchester, and before that was Bishop of Southwark. The Talbots are an ecclesiastical family, Bishop Talbot's son. Neville Talbot, being at the present time Bishop of Pretoria. It is rather curious that both the Bishop and the Judge are connected with the LyltelLons. The Judge's mother and the Bishop's wife were both daughters oE the fourth Baron Lyttclton. Mr. Justice Talbot is an Anglo-Catholic, and a frciiui'titer of Grosvenor Chapel, where Bishop Gore often preaches.

The Duchess of Atlioll, M.P., belongs to a family of great scholastic attainment. Her father, Sir James Ramsay, is an historian whose work ■ has mainly been concerned with medieval tngland. One of her sisters was a Senior Classic and married Montague Butler the famous Master of Trinity. Mrs' butler s-sons, one of whom was the unsuccessful candidate for Cambridge University at the recent election, have inherited the family talent. The Duchess of Atholl herself is an author. '."

Dr. Montague Rendal, who has been headmaster of Winchester since 1911, and who is shortly to resign, has taken a notable part in the local life of the city and is extremely popular among his fel-low-citizens. Dr. Rendal was second master at Winchester for. twelve years before he succeeded Dr. Burge the" pre sent Bishop of Oxford, as headmaster, and he has been on the teaching staff of the school since 1887. It is rare for the governors of a public school to choose a headmaster from one of the assistants. One. of Dr. Rendall's brothers, Mr. Vernon Rondal, was for many years editor f •HH e "A, lhellacum-" Dr- Rendal won his 'blue" for Association football at Cambridge, and afterwards played for the Corinthians.

>o recent public appointment has given such unqualified satisfaction as that of Sir Josiah C. Stamp, K.8.E., U.bc., to the Reparations Commission as one of the three British experts. Sir Josiah is one of the most brilliant representatives of modern Wesleyan Metho. dis.n, says "L.F.C." in the "Wesleyan It ?n ' ISV He is thee West son of Mr. Charles Stamp, of Sidcup, and lias haa a remarkable career. In 1896 he entered the Civil Service. From 1911 to 1916 he obtained high academic honours ginning a First Class B.Sc. (Ec-on.) at London University, and becoming Cobdcn Pmcman and Ihitchmson Re' ■search Medallist, and finally a Doctor nt bcicnce in Economics, lie ha s dui-'•"VTrVcf-1" 8 SWVe:I as a" Examiner in Political Science, Public Finance, and Economics ?t the University of London, v.licie he is an important member of the Board ot Studies. At Cambridge he i-lin hT',"" for tlle Economics 1np,,.. and at (ilr.sgow he hns examined nuulida o 3 for Iho L 1..8., .U. Sc ., and M.-A. bnlluuit a s Iliis academic record