LADIES AND GENTLEMEN

NZ Truth, Issue 507, 6 March 1915, Page 2

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN

li AND OTHERS. ; ; JJ. ]

A genial ana friendly soul passed out } when -John Fraser Macqueen Fraser, 'j Dunedin, crossed the bourne. Johnny? was always a decent old stick, with a I joke anC a smile for everyone. At times j his temper was anything but saintly, I aud occasionally, too, ho laid the legal J lash pretty heavily on tho shoulders of j Labor; J. F. M., as the day-lies knew j him when he wasted his timo writing | public letters, -was Crown Prosecutor m Dunedin, and though neither a legal nor a shining light he was, when the subject permitted an occasion for much mirth from the woolsack to the dock. Johnny was no mean imperialist, but his interests m matters British, it is said, occasioned his flrst serious illn_pss, owing to his great anxiety when the war broke out. It will ; be remembered that the late Mr. Fraser's partner, Mr. Woodhouse, came to an untimely end by his own hand last year. So the old Fraser-Woodhouse firm passes completely away now, and ' Dunedin losesa land-mark thereby, Consequently, "Solly" the shining Roslyner may, come Into his own. * • * "Te Sou' Siland" lost an\ old Identity -m the person of Hare Patu, who died- the other -day at his residence, Glenn-road, Waimate. Hare was a son of an Otago Maori, and consequently, was of theNgaitahu tribe. In the early days Harry, "followed" the sea. His specialty was. the .slaying of the niammal m, which Jonah once boarded for "half a week. Of course, there is, no record that he ever slew the Identical mammalian boardihghouse from which Jonah was evicted, but he, has slain many whales and brought many tons .of oil " home from his roaming. After ono of his voy- j ages to Australia ho acquired a pakeha wife. Eventually, when land began to tako on its inflated, value, Hare found that his rents were sufficient to warrant a cessation of the whaling industry, so he settled down to a somewhat more prosaic life, and on his visits to Mania on settling-up day, Hare usually laid a rich carmine color on the aspect of things. Harry was the allotted throe score and ten, minus Aye. "Haere, © Hare, haero ki to kaika o ou tlpuna," which is, m plain Irish, "Go O Harry, 1 go to the dwelling-place of your, ancestors." #■ ■ , * " » Wellington is at present inhabited by Maurice Laveny, who has passed through many of the shades of shadows of this life. Years ago Maurice used to handle "tho big spoon" and his duties wero heavy and onerous. Ho wns a navvy In the world of work. His father, \vho resided somewhere down tho wild, wet, West Coast, was also a contractor, but illness ovortook him and there was no One to look after tho contracts, and things were getting out of hand. Maurice- took up his father's job and pushed , the contract business

through to a successful ' isshe. Unfortunately a few tons of N.Z. landed oh the top of Maurice and this resulted l^a a hospital holiday. The .Lavory, however, was not to bo daunted by such an incident, so he made the; best uso of a bad opportunity and commenced ;^q swat! The result was that he eventually landed himself into a schools master's chair m the vicinity or direction of Pallisier Bay. More swat eventually landed him on the top of tile "hass," which legal animal he'iklYceritsed to ride. Lawyer Lavory was wiih d city Arm and saw to it that land sattfa didn't slide or divorces miss Are. tie is now on his pat and; as he says, "taking a big holiday, as a man m^y only get one big holiday iv a life." ■•'-' At the beginning of : thisi "week ftf press cable ' announced the ''death !0f Frank T. Bullen, the sea novelist, whoso work has delighted the bojto. Twice he visited New Zealand, \ t^e last occasion being m '1906 on a lecturing tour. Writing recently .otjrts pitiable plight, "Truth's" Lorift6'fi,/correspondont revealed the fact that he was a hopeless Invalid, and Uved on a charitable allowance, of 30s. a^ week. Yet he got letters from^pqOMe, £ on the strength of his reputatfon, ask> ing for money. Mr. Bullen was not tho flrst gifted writer who had experienced the agonies of grinding poverty-." • * * William Charles Nation,, of, nowsW*S&!b>fame (some peoplo use infamjfowliql^y describing - happened «%o ♦''bo*-*' born at a placo named Sydheypwfiich^* so it is asserted, is on the coast, dtl'i^W' South Wales, and boasts ii harboiy tho biassed claim is almost as asthat of tho Empire City, Gorzot\& 'Vt&t was m 1840. His dad, tho lato Bjtll ;s&_ ■ tion, founded the "Nelson Colonist?' iw •> 1857. What his mother founded- ian't * mentioned, unless lt was' ; Willla , ttt*> < r Charles himself, Anyhow ho mustflifate . : Imbibed the newspaper taiut With his.' earliest maternal lacteal sustenanS^o iorY. ho started as a runner m tiia,;.sLbs£ i prlntery and spent 7 years on. tli^.^K[6l-\ son production. He was for 11 years' on . tho "Christchurch Press;" and\ wofi^lso busy with Ink and stuff ln the- ;^ Oytr Zealand Times" during the reign ot»Mfr, Chantrey Harris. In 1880 he bucked mat tho "Wairarapa -.Standard," which bandrol was being waved; at that timo by Mr. Wakelln. After 13 yeafs of Rubbing and snubbing on the aboyo ;,otgan ho sold out to Mr. Roydhouse. t fThafc was m 1893. Ho ; then went, >$)>'«? to Shannon and established tbo "Manawatu Farmer." This doesn't merift that he planted a cockatoo, but thht ' he founded tho newspaper of , that^rtSffl'c. ' Amongst other crimes Mr.' Ntraoh is credited with, being the causative 'action In the establishment of Arb^r.X)ay fc , >< a leader of his In the "Standard"' bjjlnfc responsible for tho genlses of * this; •*'. movomont. Ho lately moved tho shoars and titled the imploraont that is said to bo mightier than tho sword (although modern newspapers and -the present European war don't show^'ft) at tho sanctum of the "Horowhpoun. Chronicle." Mr. Nation has beeij for many years ono of the mosf active members of tho spiritualist fratepnitK, having been for some considerable ;.tlino . tho prosldont of that body In the Dominion. Ripe m years and newspaper production he has, at long hist, retired. • ■ ■ * ,* ■^... C. A. Jeffries has written ; 'to s'ydnpy ( , "Truth" complaining that he $jp $fit" his job on tho proposed tiabo?? doily,} "The World," on account ot having had to give ovldenco m tho oaso against Grant Hcrvey. "Jeff," -In his* callow youth, was a railway, employee in*- 1&» South Island. Ho wrote Innumerable stories for tho Sydney "Bulletin" under tho headings "By Rail and.Scmbp&brc" and "The Shepherd Kings of p&nter- , bury." After seventeen years';, Bor^nco on tho "Bully" staff, during WPBt of which time he wc/> rcsponslbloVfor tho sporting pago, he left to beoomo'asso-clato-edltor of "Tho World" at-£*ooa<" year. It Is possible that It #a.s ,not so much "Jeff's" connection «ijh tho caso that resulted In the loss of : his position on "Tho World" as tha probability that thero will be np I_.ah.pr, dolly., published ln Sydney until the war is ended, lt is a proposition that hnsdiung? lire for many reasons, chief of 1 which has been an Injudicious uso of capital subscribed by the unions, somo eighty or ninety thousand pounds, which has been found Inadequate. In Bydnoy' "Truth" "Jeff" repudiates Horve^'a. 0.0; , cusatlons mado from tho dock that be la an adulterer, a forger nnd-ft pOTJurojy? "He shot mo m tho back through; the bars of his prison, not becauso I was a perjurer, but bccauHO I was not,? «.aya "Jeff." «• * ' Another old "warrior Is tnklng his rest." Tho Rev. Talmona Haplmana woh a soldier of Christ and tho sphcro of his good influence was exerted m the King Country until quite rccojitly, when ho passed away to moot h|H <jpnjmandor In that land which ts ..beyond "To reronga walrua." Ho was 'a chief of high rank among tho Arawad, Ami wns trained for his matches with tho arch enemy of mankind at To Rau Pol~ logo, Gisborne; joining the qUftlltlofl m 1593. Tho old gentleman was t\lghly respected by both colors and warn lino preacher. Tho many dtfllouttles under which ho labored ln tho King Country will probably novor bo known. 7 .Thoro ' arc many places whero tho white,* man could never have Introduced hit .bible, or religion If It had not been fdr;auch as Talmona. The huge tangl l«r just now- ovor, and thlß colored soldier of Christ Is laid to rest with his StiVestora who would have eaten -tho irfti'oducer of his belluf In their day^, but death has brought them all to ono dbnx-f mon clay at lust, • • « Tho wanderlust strike* some peoplo at an enrly ago and hoiiio Just on tho afternoon of life. Away up the .Isaat Const there onco dwelt n man well;advanced m life named Alexander. Mr. Alexander dwelt pencably In th«» district adjacent to Opotlkl and cuttWltod tho cow, nnd did all the rural frork which pcrtaina to the ngrlr.uitnmU*t and pastorallst. Then tho wdndorluafc ntnick him and ho wander! listed to nomo extent. Ho humped hla "blupy" or whatever kind of rotlcule he' affected and faded away from tho lainlncktieJ H.O got into something floating, and,' after an elapse of lime landed niKonj? tha InrturroctionlHtH of South America. For political reasons or something they would not let the wandering Ajex wander onto their yellow- fevor territory/ «a he struck a hooker and hooked. lt. for, the upper half of America-— where" thoro* m plenty of "graft," a yellow fever of quite a different kind but Juwt as catching. It* grafted himmdf to the land of graft nntl Tafl tor awhile, dwelling In 'the Vewnlted Slat™, or. rather, pretty near upr^adlng himself all ovor It- «, bit at a time, pf eounuv After somo mor<* wandorlimilng he hopped off a VM»e| happening round thl* .-nd of tho earth and won m evidence- onco moro at tho Opotlkl ond of Maorlland; only for a few dnyn, however, na he Ih "off to Mell>ourno tn tho morning." Ho b» the ?*ort thai ilnds rcat In roaming. i