PERSONAL ITEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9496, 27 April 1894, Page 6

PERSONAL ITEMS.

Mr. Phillips, Town Clerk, has returned to ■ his duties. - ; Captain the Honourable Sir Henry A. ; Ogle, of H.M.s. Rapid, will pay an official , visit to the Mayor (Mr. Holland) on Saturday morning. i Our London correspondent, writing on March 24. sends us the following personal items :— By the Rimutaka's next outward trip, Mr. W. J. Payne will return to Auckland, lie is at present staying at Brighton. I hear that Mr. Luscomba Sear ell, al3o well known in New Zealand, leaves to-day for South Africa on a tour with an excellent company. Mrs. Percival Johnston formerly better known in New Zealand as MissSehultze, has left London for Paris where she intends to stay for a time. At a meeting of the Council of the Royal Colonial Institute held on Tuesday last, Mr. J. Taylor Dalrymple, of New Zealand, was duly elected Fellow of the Institute. I heard yesterday from Dr. Honeyman, who is still at Brighton, that he continues in much better health, and gets on well with bicycle - riding, which suits him exactly. Mr. and Mrs. George Beetham are still at Brighton. Mrs. Beetham's health has been improved by the change of air, but it does not seem to suit Mr. Beetham so well at present, and I expect soon to see him back in London. I find that that excellent article on " The Timber Industries of New Zealand," which 1 mention elsewhere, was written by Mr. Percy Johnston, who has contributed much information on this subject to most of the trade journals during the past few months. Mrs. Lusk, of Auckland, who came Home some short time ago on account of illhealth and who underwent an entirely successful operation at the Middlesex Hospital, will return to New Zealand by the Ruapehu's next trip, I understand that her health has been quite restored. Mr. and Miss Izard, of Wellington, who arrived in London a fortnight ago, have removed from the Langham Hotel to very pleasant rooms in Margaret-street, close by. Mr. Izard has already consulted an eminent oculist {Mr. Cowper), who takes a far more favourable view of his case than anyone "ventured to hope for. Among the saloon passengers by the \ lonic, for Auckland, is Mr. E. H. Chute, a relation of General Chute, who was formerly so well known in connection with the Maori war. Mr. Chute goes out to his uncle, Mr. F. Pyne, Pokono, to learn farming, wiih a view to ultimately settling in that part of New Zealand. Bishop Jenner, the first Bishop of Dune' din, although advancing in years— is now 74 —writes that he is in " rude health." He is at present mourning the loss of a very dear brother. By-the-bye, but for the unlucky technical complications which led to his resignation, Bishop Jenner would now be senior bishop of New Zealand and ipso facto Primate, pending a special election. In my last letter I mentioned that Mrs. Giiiborne, of New Zealand, presented her two married daughters at the last Royal Drawing-room. Your lady readers will doubtless like to have an account of their dresses. Mrs. Reginald Brittan's dress was of white satin with flounce of fine old Honiton lace, caught with sprays of real lilies of the valley, bodice of white satin, trimmed with Honiton and lilies of the valley ; cuirass of pearl and crystal trimming train (from the shoulders) of white satin covered with gauze worked in white silk and silver ornaments, pearls and turquoises ; bouquet of lilies of the valley. Mrs. Edward Rosebery Anson's presentation dress was of white satin trimmed

with flounces of old Point de Saxe lace ; bodice of satin trimmed with similar lace and berthe of crystal and pearl trimming, white satin train from the shoulder with scarf of Point de Saxe lace ; diamond ornaments ; bouquet of lilies of the valley and fuchsias.

Mrs. Gisborne's dress was of black velvet brocaded in a design of pomegranates in shades of yellow and brown, opening over a front of cream and gold brocade trimmed with black Chantilly lace at the sides and foot; train of black velvet caught on one shoulder, lined with cream and gold brocade, one side of the brocade turned back and trimmed with scarf of black Cba.nbilly lace, draped and caught at Intervals by tows of brown velvet and bouquets of shaded violets and yellow crocuses. The other side and foot of train were trimmed with a wide border of handsome jet paaeementerie. Ornaments, diamonds, and emeralds; bouquet of shaded violets and yellow crocuses. All these dresses were exceedingly handsome, and attracted much admiration. It has been remarked that New Zealand is always very well represented on these oc casions, when represented at all, and the present} instance was no exception to the rale. 'i-yl "Jy

Mr. Alfred Plum ton, who was in New Zealand with one of the visiting musical companies some years back, is now a very successful English composer. He is at pre- ■ sent musical director of the Palace Theatre and has produced some vary attractive music for association with the tableaux vivants now being given there. A great fuss will be made over Sir George Grey when the "Grand Old Man of New Zealand," arrives. He will be met at Plymouth by Lord Stamford and will go to the residence of his half-sister, Mr*. Biddulph, at Richmond. It is. nob at all improbable that the Ministerial party may endeavour to utilise Sir George's presence in England by enlisting his admirable oratory at some of their public meetings. Sir George Grey's approaching visit to England is noticed by the Echo, which refers to him as "one of the most interesting and unique personalities of Greater Britain— doyen of colonial Governors. It says " Sir George Grey is a persona grata with Her Majesty, as her oldest colonial servant," and that "ib is an open secret that the Queen has expressed a desire to see him once more." Ib predicts that "a reception and lionising will greet him in London drawing-rooms next May and June." A biography follows. An able article by Mr. Edward Reeves, in the Westminster Review, on "The Land Laws of New Zealand," has attracted a good deal of favourable attention. The Review of Reviews says of this article :— "The Land Laws of New Zealand are sketched in a paper full of facts and figures by Mr. Edward Reeves. He traces the gradual awakening of the conscience of the colony to the distinctive character of land, and the steps taken toward the acknowledged goal of its nationalisation; but Socialism is not encouraged in these

pages." At the Royal Drawing-room, Mrs. Honeyman, of Auckland. Now Zealand, who was presented to the Queen on that occasion, wore a very handsome dress made by Redmayne and Co., of New Bond-street. The corsage and petticoat were of rich ivory satin duchesse. The petticoat was arranged with a vandykod bordering of white and yellow flowers upon a veiling of white silk gauze, the corsage being very effectively trimmed to correspond. The train from one shoulder was of handsome yellow and white brocaded satin, with one cornor prettily draped back over white satin wth a handsome garniture of white and yellow flowers, and lined with yellow. The "ornaments were diamonds. Tom Sullivan, champion scullar of England and New Zealand, was married on March 7 to Miss Rough, of Putney. The ceremony took place in St. Mary's Church, Putney, and was performed by tho Rev. Keith Henley. The wedding was a very pretty one, and the church was filled to overflowing. There were also a great number of people outside who were not fortunate onough to get a seat in the church. Immediately the ceremony was over, the guests, about 80 in number, were driven to the Town Hall, Wandsworth, where the breakfast was held. Amongst those present were Mr. J. fl. Clasper, the celebrated boat builder, and uncle of the bride, Mr. Fred Rough, builder of this year's Oxford boat, W. East, ex-champion sculler, and W. R. Wilson, Auckland. Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan spent their honeymoon at Bournemouth. Sullivan intends settling in England. He has bought the Rutland Hotel, Hammersmith, and will give instruction in sculling. I understand that Mr. George Beetham, who so long occupied a seat in the New Zealand Parliament, will probably reply ill one of the reviews to that notorious article by Dr. Bakewell in last month's Nineteenth Century on " Women's Franchise in New Zealand," with which Mrs. Fawcett dealt in the last Contemporary. Mr. Stead takes up the same subject in the current Review of Reviews, and utterly ridicules Dr. Bakewell's paper as the work of a mere "frantic opponent," and as a specimen of "the art of attempting to explain away facts which you do not care to recognise." Mr. Stead remarks:—"Mr. Bakewell is a New Zealander, but the achievement which has made his country the pioneer colony of the British Empire he cordially detests !" According to the Review of Reviews " the two main planks in the New Zealand woman's platform are prohibition and secular education. They will have the schools as they are, with no Bible-reading and no religious instruction of any kind."