BIRTHDAY HONOURS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14214, 10 November 1909, Page 7

BIRTHDAY HONOURS.

NEW ZE ALANDER KNIGHTED SIR GEORGE ? McLEAN, M.L.C, TITLES FOR AUSTRALIANS. SIR G. H. REID, K.OM.G. \ : ; :> 'NO NEW PEERS. By Telegraph.—Press Association.—Copyright. (Received November 9, 11.30 p.m.) London, November 9. In commemoration of the King's Birthday a number of honours have been conferred, the following being among the most noteworthy or interesting from an Australasian viewpoint: PRIVY COUNCILLORS. To be members of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council: — LIEUTENANT-COLONEL J. E. B. L SEELY, Under-Secretary for the Colonies. ADMIRAL SIR E. H. SEYMOUR, Admiral of the Fleet since 1905. SIR EDGAR SPEYER, financier, who has taken an active part in a number of charities. ..,..'.," NEW KNIGHTS. . _ Twenty > hew., knighthoods have been granted, including:—. * LIEUTENANT E. *H. SHACKLETON, leader of the last ■ Antarctic expedition. "'• ../ : •■ ' > ; '• '}' ■'' ■ ■ ■■ : " MR. W. ROBERTSON NICOLL/ M.A., • editor of the British Weekly. , The following are to 'be Knightsbachelor :— :i HON. J. W. TAVERNER, AgentGeneral in England, for Victoria. HON. GEO. McLEAN, member of the Legislative Council of New Zealand. MR. T. SCOTT, Secretary of the . Cpmmonwealth Post and Telegraph Department. . G.CiM.G., To be Knights Grand, Cross! of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George:— •- '■'. ADMIRAL LORD CHARLES BERESFORD, late . Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet. ADMIRAL SIR HARRY 'RAWSONJ ex-Governor of New South Wales. K.C.M.G. To be Knights Commanders of the Most Distinguished .Order of St. Michael and St. ; George:— '-'•■•' '■ ■ MR. G. H. REID,* M.P., Sydney. . SIR JAMES MILLS, managing director of the Union Steam Ship Com- ' pany. ■ >• . > ■ _■■ :' ; , . C.M.G. To be Companions of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George: ' .'., , '' :/ ' CAPTAIN J. R. CHANCELLOR, secretary to the Colonial Defence Com- _'\ ''--' mittee. ,':-"'" : ; ''( ■ \':'-" r ' : : ' LORD RICHARD NEVILL, . chamberlain to the Governor-General of the Commonwealth. '.'.,. = ; " \~, % ''■ K.C.B. . ■* ~' ' To be an ordinary member of Military Division ,or; Knight Commander .of the Most Honourable Order •of the Bath— to LIEUTENANT - GENERAL R. S. BADEN-POWELL. ■ ,-.,- - K.C.I.E. An honorary Commandefship * v of the Most' Eminent .Order of the Indian Empire has been conferred on DR. SVEN HEDIN, the well-known explorer. t> THE , NEW KNIGHTS. Sir George McLean, M.L.C., was born at Elgin, Scotland, in 1834, and was educated at the local grammar school and St. Andrew's. In 1852 :he emigrated to Melbourne, where he entered the service of the Oriental Bank. Fifteen years later Sir George McLean was appointed manager of the Dunedin branch of the Bank of New Zealand, but lie resigned that position and entered into private business. Turning i his attention to politics, he was appointed a member of the Otago Provincial Council as. representative of Waikouaiti, becoming Provincial Treasurer in 1861. When the provincial. councils were abolished he successfully contested the Waikouaiti seat, and for 10 years represented that electorate in Parliament, holding office iff the Vogel and Atkinson , Cabinets as Commissioner of Customs and For some time he was chairman of directors of the Colonial Bank of New Zealand. He has also been closely identified with the. Union Steam Ship Company since its inception, and for some years held the chairmanship of the board of directors, which he resigned in '1907.. ' Sir George McLean - is a life member of the Legislative Council. - "'*" Sir George Houstoun Reid, K.CM. was born at Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland, in 1845, the eldest son of a Presbyterian minister. He arrived in Australia with his parents in 1852, and went to New South Wales in 1858. He was called to the Bar in 1879, and. the year following entered the Legislative Assembly for East Sydney. Sir George Reid succeeded Sir Henry Parkes in the leadership of the Freetrade party, and, upon the overthrow of the Dibbs Ministry in 1894, became Premier and Treasurer. He carried changes into the Customs ■ tariff, making New South Wales the freest country in the world in this. respect. In 1895 Mr. Reid brought about a* conference of Premiers, which advanced the federation of the States. . In the Commonwealth Parliament' he was leader of the Opposition until, on the defeat of Mr. Watson's Labour Cabinet, in 1904, he became Prime Minister. This Ministry resigned in July, 1905. Sir George Reid is a CobdenClub medallist, and amongst other literary works wrote five essays on freetrade. Whilst attending the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in London (1897) he was, created P.C. and D.C.L. of Oxford. He has been mentioned as likely to receive the appointment of High Commissioner hi London for the Commonwealth.

Sir John Taverner has acted as Agent» General for Victoria in England since February, 1904. He was born in Melbourne in 1854, and was elected as the Parliamentary representative for Donald and Swan Hill in 1898, retaining the seat.until 1904. Sir John held office as Minister for Agriculture, Commissioner of Public Works, and Vice-president of the Board of Land and Works in the first Turner Government (1894 to 1899), and Minister for Lands and Agriculture and President of the Board of Land and Works in the Irvine Government until his appointment as Agent-General.

Sir Robert Scott has been Secretary to the Department of the Postmaster-General and permanent head of the Commonwealth Telegraph Service since July, 1901. He is a native of Berkshire, England, being 68 years of age, and arrived in Australia in 1848. • Sir Robert was educated at Brisbane, and entered the general office in that city in 1862. He was appointed Under-Secretary and Superintendent of Telegraphs in Queensland in 1899 and filled that office until the transfer of the service to the Commonwealth in 1901. . . * '

Sir Ernest ■ H. " Shackjeton was born . in Ireland. :■ At, the age -i,"pf,i 17 > he went to sea, and -after several .years in i the mercantile service took part in; the transhipment of troops:to South Africa, at.th«

time of the war. He went with Captain Robert Scott on 1 the voyage of the f Discovery to the Antarctic at ■ the 'end tof 1901, and on his return to- the Old Country acted as secretary to the Royal Geographical Society of Scotland. • Last ;■ year he commanded an expedition which also had for its object the .reaching of the South Pole, but although unsuccessful Sir Ernest had the satisfaction of getting farther south than any of his predecessors. ' ' ' : "' '" '

'. ; Sir William Robertson Nicoll, M.A., LL.D.,.editor of the British Weekly, is the eldest son of the Rev. Harry Nicoll. He received his education at the Aberdeen Grammar School and Aberdeen University, and secured his M.A. degree in 1870, being at that time 19 years of- age. : ; After leaving the University he entered the Church and was in charge of the Free Church, Dufftown, from 1874 to 1877. and of the Free Church, Kelso, from 1877 to 1885. He is the author of several' works, including " Literary Anecdotes oj the Nineteenth Century," " Life of James"Macdonell," " Letters on Life," " The Life of lan Maclaren," "The Return to the Cross," and "The Church's One Foundation," and of many other theological volumes. He edited " The Expositor's Greek Testament," vols. 1 and 2, and was editor of the complete edition of " The Works of Charlotte Bronte." \