PERSONAL PARS.

NZ Truth, Issue 119, 28 September 1907, Page 1

PERSONAL PARS.

Mr 'Jas. Buttle, General Manager of the N.Z. Insurance. Company, is absent from Auckland on a business trip to New South Wales*

Influenza is still playing havoc m Wellington, and Mr C. R. C. Robinson, of the ' Tourist Department, has been a victim and is still confined to his room.

Mr Robert Bannister, late managing Director of the New Zealand Times Company, has purchased a property m Palmerston North, where he intends to reside m future..

Mr T. H. Hamer, Under-Secretary of Mines, recently celebrated his fif-ty-second birthday and was the recipient of numerous congratulatory messages and presents. Among the latter was a very handsome one from Sir Joseph Ward.

As an instance of the popularity of Mr V. J. Brogan, who has ■ lately retired from the Postal Service, it may be ' mentioned that there were something like 700 officers who contributed to his presentation. Mr Brogan, who has been m poor health for some time, -was advised by his physician to relinquish office work. His position will be filled by at T. Markmann, who has been, stationed m Wellington for the last ten years.

The new daughter of Lady Plunket has been christened Ehna Victoria Mahine— the first an old Irish name, the second alter Lady Plunket, and the third a Maori word signifying "fair-haired daughter." How naice ! That little bit of taffy to Madtiland doesn't wipe out the insult offered to the colony. Nobody seems to have tumbled to the fact that Lady Plun.ket went 'Ome to be delivered of her child. It would not do to have a child born m the awful colonies. Why, it's worse than N.S. Wales. Governor Beauchamp's Birthstains blunder.

Few people are aware that Mr T. E. Taylor is a sculptor of considerable merit, but those who have seen his clay model of a bust of his late father have any doubt of his remarkable ability, m that direction. In an exceptionally busy life he . has been able to execute a number of works of undoubted merit. As an artist m black and white he often affords considerable amusement to his friends with his talented, caricatures. Now, when anybody says that Tommy does get on a bust occasionally, they'll have to be careful lest they're "not understood." ,

Andrew Carnegie has been deploring the possession of wealth, and when the telegraph operators m America recently threatened to strike for more wages the canny Scot bloodsucker thus addressed some of them :

"Some men say that poverty is dreadful— others that riches corrupt a man's life. They have a one-sided view. I have lived on both sides, and I know that there is little m wealth that can add to happiness. I think that wealth beyond a moderate competence decreases rather than increases happiness, for I do not know many millionaires who laugh." Carnegie was once a telegraph messenger himself, hence his interest m the operators. Anyhow, the man who gets a few million quids honestly can afford to smile. If Carnegie can't raise a giggle it /Is due to the fact that his conscience is pricking him. The man who could smile and remember the helpless workers he had shot down m cold blood is a monster.

J. 'A. McCullough, president of the Farm Laborers' Union down Canterbury way, has a* delightful wit. It had been proposed by the Templeton branch of the North Canterbury branch of the Farmers' organisation that every farmer should keep a book m which the qualifications of the laborers employed by him be set forth. The worker would be supplied with a copy of the contents on leaving, and that copy should be presented when application was made for subsequent work. McCullough characterises this as an unworkable scheme, and calls it unadulterated bunkum, and other things too numerous to mention. He suggest m his solemn, cynical, way, that the employers resort to a practice that was m vogue m tke fifteenth century, or some such remote period. If a farm laborer left his master without permission he was summarily dealt with by two Justices, and ordered to be branded on the back With a red-hot branding iron and sent back to his village. If the branding on the back wasn't sufficient to teach him the error of his ways the beaks again cruelly ordered him to be branded, this time on the forehead. That usually made him sit up, and every farmer could see at a glance what kind of a character he bore. McCullough thinks the North Canterbury farmers might well consider this capital scheme. Not a bad idea.

Father Clune,. Head of (the Re'demp* torist Monastery m Wellington went South last week to conduct a mission m Temuka. The good priest will not return to Wellington till December.

The ex-bike rider, "Dick" Arnst, is after sculler Webb's scalp, and has put up a deposit to bind the match. "Truth" dreads to think how long it will be before that match comes off, as Tressider is m first and cannot get accommodated till next February, so it looks as if Dick's chances of a match are very remote.

■A festive trio from the South hare been "doing" Christchurch this week, Messrs R. Scott, of Geraldine, P. ; Gaffney. of Temuka, and H. Geaney, of Timaru, where Hall- Jones hails from. And they are all quite well, thank you. If they take sundry specimens of influenza away home with them Christchurch won't grudge it.

A rather clever invention was tried by* the tramway officials the other day, namely a patent trolly-head and; ear, so devised as to make it practically impossible for the head to be pulled out. This should prove a boon to all tramway companies, as repeated trials proved it to be a great success. The trolly-head is the invention of one of the Council's employees, D. Amos, now employed as a jmotorman.

Since J. C. Williamson's company, was last here things have happened a bit m managerial circles. Dick Stewart, the ever-popular biz manager, always has had plenty on his hands m the land of the Moa, and with a view of helping; him to bear the burdens and to carry the cash, of which there is always plenty when J.C.W. is on tap, Wally Monk has gone up one as Dice's first lieutenant. Eddie Odell is another who has, been promoted, as Eddie now ranks as chancellor of the exchequer. . Eddie is a pushful and smart young individual. and the many who know him will not be behindhand m extending their congratulations. •

The advent of "Mother Goose" " m New Zealand climes has been the means of introducing to the press of the Dominion, Albert Goldie, who is poin-g ahead of the Mother Goose Co. as avant courier. Albert was formerly on the staff of some - o£ Australia's leading dailies, and everywhere he lias so • far been, the ex-pressman has been hailed as a darn good fellow. Taking them all round, J. "C. Williamson's managerial staff are the best of . bright boys. Of course; Bert Ro^le is too well and: popularly known m. New Zealand to be paragraphed m these columns., Bert is quite a land mark,- aird it will be a sorry day when he is missing from his post "at the front." /■ ...'.::

■X Wanganui paper tells of a noted Maori ■ warrior just passed out :— ; "Kereopa, a well-known Maori warI rior, whose exploits on the .West Coast will be • re-called by the early settlers, died . at Waitotara on Monday last, Kereopa was m the early sixties a pupil at the Kai Iw.i Mission Station School. Later on when Titokowaru raided the Waitotara district and incorporated the Waitotara natives, Kereopa became one of Tito's twelve apostles, and knowing ;the district well he led the marauders round, burning the settles' houses. One day he and five others burned Mr John Handley's house at Okehu, and but for the extreme caution displayed by the officer m command of j the party sent m pursuit of the fire raisers Kereopa and his gang would have been captured. On the occasion of the misguided attack by our cavalry on Tito's pah. Sergeant Maxwell was killed and Trooper H. Wright's horse was shot under him, pinning Wright down by the foot within a few feet of the palisading. Kereopa essayed to tomahawk Wright, but a well directed bullet from Mr T. D. Cummins, caused him to change his mind, and Trooper Wright was fortunate enough to wrig« gle himself loose, and get away. On the occasion of the ambuscade of a party of A.C.'s under the., command of Sergeant Menzies. late of the 57 Regt., the party had left the camp on the top of Karaka hill for the purpose of gathering peaches on the opposite side of the Waitotara River at Papatupu. While quietly withering the fruit, they were suddenly attacked by a large party of the enemy led by Kereopa. One man fell wounded, and remained quiet, and was -not noticed by the enemy. Another ran into the scrub and escaped. The rest bolted for their canoe, hotly pursued. Kereopa jumped down the bank and caught the canoe, :ind held it by the bow whilst the other natives massacred the defenceless A.C.'s then m the canoe. Kereopa. cut off one of Sergeant Men/ac's legs, and afterwards told with gusto how he ate it. Although a turbulent fellow he was generally considered by the settlers to be "ene of the most trustworthy; of the Maoris.