PERSONAL ITEMS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 4 October 1924, Page 4

PERSONAL ITEMS.

Mr Francis Buck, well known in Wellington in the early days, died at the age of 91 years, over 70 of which weye spent in Wellington. Mr Brian Horner, son of Mrs E. Horner, Pa tea, was successful in qualifying for his surveyor’s license at the examination, held recently by the Surveyors’ Board. Their Excellencies Lord and Lady Jellicoe have arranged to leave Wellington on October 6 in order to pay a number of farewell visits in the South Island. They will return on October 22. Mr Edward Smith, of Auckland, has been appointed examiner in* materia medica for the Pharmacy Board of New Zealand. Miss Martha Root, granddaughter of Elihu Root, the famous American diplomat and statesman, was the guest of the Wellington Pioneer Club on Wednesday afternoon. Mr Reginald Newberry, ’ who was well known as an Auckland boy soprano, is at present in Sydney, on his way to Milan, Italy, where he will continue his studies. An old Maori war veteran, in the person of Mr William Pathern Hartstone, of Woodville, . passed awav on Saturday morning after a short illness. Deceased was born in England 84 years ago. Mrs Mary Ann Smeaton, who passed away in Auckland this week, celebrated her 99th birthday 6n July 9 last. She had been a resident of New Zealand since 1859. Her late husband did patrol duty in Auckland during the Maori war. She leaves one daughter, eight grandchildren, 21 greatgrandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren. Private information records the death m Melbourne of Mr, Charles •E. Gardiner, general manager for Australia and New Zealand of Cassells, Ltd., the publishers, with which firm he had been associated for 50 years.—Press Assn. “Another feature of. America that ] think is worth noticing” said Dr. Macmillan Brown, Chancellor of the New Zealand University, on his return from America, to a Wellington Post reporter. “It is the enormous* number of students attending the universities. It is the tendency to ‘clean-collar’ professions or employment that is becoming so strong in the. United States. In teh University of California there are 17,000 students; and, besides : that,. Leland Stanford Universitv. a little further south, lias between 3000 and 4000 students. This in a population not much larger than New Zealand is ominous of the future. There are far too many rushing into the professions. The same tendency appears in New Zealand, but not to so great an extent. "What is wanted is that that talent should be diverted to the fundamental industries of the country, farming especially. It is the only wholesome advance that a country or people can make—towards the development of the farming industries. This is a line that I took un last year in my address as Chancellor of the University ; and I .am more and more convinced* that we should have to do something for the diversion of the youthful talent of our country in the direction of agriculture. We need scientific farming if we are to save the country when lower prices come.”