OBITUARY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9155, 10 September 1888, Page 10

OBITUARY.

The House adjourned on the "20th August (says our Wellington correspondent) in i token of respect to the memory of the late j Dr. Menzies, M.L.C. The Premier, Mr. ; .Lance, and other members delivered j speeches eulogistic of the virtues, public ; and private, of the deceased member. The ! following biographical particulars will be of ; interest concerning the deceased : —Dr. j Menzies, having been called to the Legisla- j tive Council on the '2Sth January, ISSS, j had held his seat for upwards of thirty j 7,' ears. By seniority he was three years j "ahead of the next member (Major Eaillie, I ■who was called in ISOI, the next being Sir G. Whitmore, in ISG3). Dr. Menzies was born in Perthshire, graduated as a physician at Edinburgh, and then visited Australia. Leaving there he came to New Zealand, and was one of the earliest settlers in Southland, where he bought land, and has lived for over I 30 years. He early took an active part in j political life, and when Southland revolted ] from Otago and became an independent pro- ■ vince, he was elected the first Superinten- : dent, holding that office till the abolition of j that province in ISSS, when he was called to j the Legislative Council, of which he has ] been an active member ever since, and was j an active member of the Bible-in-schools i party. He was president of the Caledonian j Scciety in Southland, and was fondly called j " The Chief." He married Letitia, eldest daughter of the late Mr. Isaac Earl FeatherStone, and leaves two daughters and a son. 'in consequence of the sudden death of his manager, Dr. Menzies left Wellington, and cn the journey home caught a violent chill, which ended in bronchitis and pneumonia. We regret to chronicle the death of Captain Thomas Wing, for many years Harbouraster of Onehunga, who died on Aug. 19 at the residence of his son-in-law, Mr. McAlpine, of Mangere. Captain Wing came to the colony as early as IS4I, and Las been for many years resident at Onehunga. He was formerly pilot in the Manukau harbour, and then took the position of Harbourmaster, which he retained till within about a twelvemonth of his death. About a year and a-half ago he sustained a paralytic stroke, and, though tor some time able to get about, he never -ecovered completely, and was for many toonths quite helpless. During the last few weeks he gradually got. worse, and eventually succumbed. Captain Wing leaves two sons and three daughters, one of the latter being unmarried. The interment took place at the Onehunga Cemetery ■on August 21.

On the IGth August Mr. Peter Conning •died very suddenly at his lodgings, Alfredstreet. Mr. Conning was a gentleman ■well known in Auckland, having been transferred from Dunedin to Auckland several years ngo in connection with the Colonial Mutual Company. He was a widower, having one daughter married at Timaru. For some time past Mr. Conning has suffered from heart disease, and in April last was attended by Drs. Erson and Gledden for this complaint. He was about to go over to Devonport on above day, and was taken ill on board the steamer. He was at once taken back to his lodgings, and about half-past twelve o'clock expired, never having regained consciousness after being taken ill. Drs. Bond and Cobbett were in attendance upon him at his death, but Drs. Erson and Gledden gave a certificate as to the cause of death. No inquest was held. The deceased gentleman was GO years of age, and had insurance policies upon his life amounting k> £3000.

The death of a very old Auckland colonist, Mrs. Ann McDermott, is announced. Mrs. McDermott, who was the ■widow of the late Mr. Martin McDermott, had at the time of her death reached the age of 75 years, of which she had spent 49 in Auckland. Deceased was Jiving with her son, Mr. Saul McDermott, 3n Gladstone Road, Newton, and up almost to the last was a hale and healthy woman, her death being due rather to an accident than to old age. She was born in Glasgow, sind about 50 years ago went out to Sydney. From there she came to Auckland in company with her husband in 1839. Mr. McDermott was one of the first to carry on blacksmithing in Auckland, having come over under an engagement to Messrs. Kennedy and Co. Mrs. McDermott's mother died at the ripe ■age of 98. She leaves three sons—Messrs Lewis, Martin, and Saul McDermott, and three daughters, who are all married. Being such an old identity, Mrs. McDermott was very well-known, and was greatly respected. Mrs. Burrows, wife of the Rev. R. Burrows, died on August 22 at her residence in St. Stephen's Road, Parnell. The deceased lady was an old colonist, having been resident at the Bay of Islands and in Auckland for many years. opera Kuikainga, a well-known chief living at Taiparu pa, Waipawa, died on August 17. His death was accelerated, it is Eaid, by an operation which he recently underwent in the amputation of a toe. Nopera was much respected in the district, and was possessed of considerable means. Lyrhe death is announced of Mr. William Telford, one of the pioneer settlers of Clutha.

1 Mrs. Harriet Stuart, who passed away on the 3rd September at six a.m., after a brief illness, at the age of 83, arrived in Auckland in the early days with her husband, Mr. Henry Stuart, who died about seven years ago at the age of 94 } eais. He worked at his profession of landscape gardener until within aboutayear previous to his death and was an extremely active man. Ho was a great favourite amongst the amateur horticulturists and florists of the old days, especially the late Mr. John Williamson, formerly Superintendent of this province. He came to Auckland with good credentials from his employer in England, the late Dr. Arnold, with whom he had been for many years. Some few weeks back the will of the late Dr. Arnold was published, and was noteworthy for its brevity and comprehensiveness. \\ o were show on Monday the will of the late Mr. Stuart, and although made in Auckland in 18(31, it is in the exact words of that of the lato Dr. Arnold. An old Thames miner, named John Johns, dropped dead on the Ist September, about seven p.m., under the following circumstances :—lie had been calling on a friend, Mrs. Capill, at the Bay View boardinghouse, on the Thames beach, and had just turned to leave the house after shaking hands and saving good-bye, when he suddenly fell backward and expired. Dr. Payne, who had been treating deceased for about four months past for congestion of the lungs and heart, disease, was immediately sent for, and was present in a very short time, but his services were of no avail. Deceased had been a resident of the Thames goldtield almost from its infancy, and for the last fifteen years had been employed as timberman in the Moanataiari mine, which position he gave up about five months ago in consequence of ill health. Ho was about sixty years of age and unmarried, his only relative at the Thames being a nephew, but he leaves a mother and sister in the old country. The funeral of the late John Johns took place at the Thames on the 3rd September, and was largely attended by all classes of the community. The well-known and respected manager of the New Zealand Insurance Company in Christchurch has suffered a severe loss in the death of his eldest son. Mr. 1). C. Craig- The large funeral procession, including forty private carriages, indicated the respect in which deceased was held. The following letter of condolence, sent to his father, signed by twenty-five of the you lie: man's fellow-officers in the Bank of New Zealand, who, owing to the exigencies of Bank business, were unable to attend the funeral, shows the esteem in which he was held by those who, outside his family circle, knew him best and loved him most : —"Christchurch, August '20, ISSS. To David Craig, Esq. Dear Sir,—We, the undersigned, who have for some time past been associated with your son, David C. Crai< r , in the daily routine of business at the Bank of New Zealand, Christchurch, 'nave had many opportunities of friendly intercourse with him, and it is gratifying to us to testify how heartily and cheerfully he entered into all the duties assigned him. By his death we regret these associations are now broken off, and we, one and all, desire to express our deepest sympathy and condolence with you, Mrs. Craig, and family in the loss which you have sustained. It was our wish to have attended his funeral to-day, but, as you are doubtless aware, the hour will not permit us to do so." On the 13th August. William Hay, a compositor on the Lyttelton Times, died suddenly. He was seized with paralysis at five p.m., and died at eight. He was one of the originators of the Dunedin Herald. Henry Livingstone, Provincial Auditor, Dunedin, was found dead in his bed on August 14. Alexander Moffat, a steerage passenger by the s.s. Tarawera from Dunedin, died of consumption just as the steamer finished coaling at Russell on September 5. His body was landed at Russell for burial. Mr. George Duncan, a resident of over 30 years in Russell, died on August 16. Timothy Gallagher, a very old resident of the Builer district, M.H.R. in 1869, died on August '24 of congestion of the lungs. An elderly man named William Griffiths died very suddenly at Te Aroha on Aug. 17. He had been about town in the morning, and on returning to his home fell dead on the floor. Heart disease is supposed to have been the cause.