PERSONAL NOTES FROM LONDON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2359, 11 May 1899, Page 28

PERSONAL NOTES FROM LONDON.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

LONDON, March 24.

New Zealand papers are asked to give publicity to the death, which occurred on the 15th inst., at 3 Rosebery terrace, Glasgow, of William Gilkinson, of Linlithgow and New Zealand. The deceased gentleman was in his sixty-seventh year.

One of the most interesting " Service biographies" which have appeared in the Broad Arrow is that of a New Zealand veteran, Major-general Sir John Carstairs M'JVeill, V.G., who was in the colony in 1864-5 serving as A.D.C to the Lieutenantgeneral Commanding, and who was present at several actions. As given in the Broad Arrow. Jiowever, I am afraid many of those who were also in the engagements would hardly recognise the names, or at any rate, some of them. Of how Majorgeneral M'Neill gained his V.C. the following interesting story is recalled: — On the 31st of March, 1864, the major-general was sent to a post called "Te Awiimutu," his escort " consisting of -Privates Vosper and Gibson, of the Colonial Defence Force."' On his return lie had passed by about a mile a post called " Owapu,' 1 occupied by a detachment of the 40th x Regiment, when he perceived th^ road was blocked by a body of Maoris. Major M'Neill drew up his little party, and sending Trooper Gibson back to " Owapu " to bring up troops, waited with his other orderly, Vo3per, to observe the enemy. Suddenly from some fern close at hand some 50 Maoris, up to that time unobserved, burst forth and made for the major and his companion. Evidently there was nothing to be done but to make their way to the nearest post. They therefore at once turned round and set spurs to their horses. In the act of turning, however, Vosper's horse- fell, throwing his rider. The man's fate appeared sealed, for the foe were close at hand. Luckily his superior officer and comrade was staunch, and he, not finding Vosper at his side, looked to see what had become of him. What he saw was sufficiently alarming. Vosper was struggling to bis feet, and his horse was loese, and the Maoris were racing up like a pack of hounds running into a for. A moment's hesitation would have sealed the man's fate, but M'Neill did not for an instant hesitate. Returning at once to Vosper's side, and apparently running into the open jaws of death, he caught the loose horse, helped his orderly to mount, and the two then galloped away. They ran it very close, for the Maoris were almost up to them, and it was only by urging their horses to their utmost speed that they escaped, pursued, too, as they went, by a heavy fire. For this act of prompt devotion Major M'Neill gained the Victoria Cross. He returned to England in 1866 with Sir Duncan Cameron.

"A remarkable influence for good over all sections of the people" was exerted by the late Rev. W. J. Habens. Such is the comment of the Daily Mail.

From Aberdeen, Birmingham, Belfast, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Ipswich, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Plymouth, Sheffield, and many other less prominent centres come some press eulogies of the late Sir .Julius Vogel. Mr Prideaux Selby writes to The Times to "recall recollection of the fact that Sir Julius's great borrowing scheme of 1870, so largely in excess of previous colonial borrowings, was based on a more statesmanlike principle than the execution of public works for the benefit of the existing population of the colony." The Rev. James Archer Spurgeon, uncle of Pastor Thomas Spurgeon, formerly of Auckland, died very suddenly >n Wednesday laab. Th« circumstaD^es oi Wa deatli

were of a somewhat painful character, .tßft fact being that he passed away when entirely alone, and, indeed, during the coursa" of a railway journey, his decease having" occurred fully half an. hour before his body; waa found.

Mi 1 Spurgeon, who, of course, was a brother of the famous Baptist preacher/. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, was pastor* oS the West Croydon Baptist Chapel, where! he had carried on his ministry without in-« terruption for nearly 30 years. He leftf Croydon for London on Wednesday mom-« ing, intending to go into the City on busi-* ness, but on arrival at London Bridge La felt so unwell that he went into the refreshment room and took a little brandy* subsequently asking a porter to help him into the train leaving London Bridge' afc' 10.55 a.m., as he felt too ill to go on to the City and intended to return home at> once. The porter did so, and the train duly started, but Mr Spurgeon did nofc alight at Croydon, and there is little doubt that he must have breathed his last soon after the starting of the train. He was carried on to Preston Park, 40 miles ba-» yond his destination, where the ticket collector found him quite dead in the corner of a first class carriage. A doctor waa called in, but he staled that the revgentleman had been dead fully half aa hour, and probably much longer.- A. telegram was sent to East Croydon seating that an elderly gentleman having cards bearing the name the Rev. James Archer Spurgeon had been found dead, and 'the sad news was at once conveyed to Mrs Spurgeon, who at the time was attending, the funeral of one of her husband's seatholders, at which her husband had been; asked to officiate. She immediately leffc for Brighton to perform the painful duty of identifying her husband's remains. The caiise of death is supposed to have been failure of the heart's action. Mr Spurgeon. did not seem in the least degree unwell when he left his home for town ; indeed, earlier in the morning he had been travelling in one of the Croydon tramcars, and some friends who were with him remarked how particularly well and bright and cheerful be was. Had he lived for this year's meeting of tho Baptist Union he Waa to have been elected to the presidential chair ;: last year he held the position of vicepresident. • He was also treasurer of the Stockwell Orphanage. During a Saturday-Monday visit to Bolton, Lancashire, I had the opportunity of going over the famous printing and publishing works of Messrs Tillotson and Son* where certainly some of the best art printing I have ever seei» in this country is | carried out. Mr W. Brimelow. the manager, informed me that his firm did a large , business with the colonies, especially in works of fiction for serial publication- in | leading newspapers, and he remarked very j emphatically that New Zealand was thd ; most satisfactory country in the world with j which they. .did business. All their New Zealand experience, he said, had been most favourable, his firm having always met •with fair and straightforward treatment, including exemplary punctuality in respect to money matters. 'He also told me that; they Avere bringing out very shortly several important new works of fiction, which he had no doubt would find their way to the New Zealand journals. "Sir Julius Vogel was something, more than a colonial statesman" says the Saturday Review. " But for his increasing physical infirmities, which made him an involuntary recluse during the last 10 years, he would probably have found his way into Parliament. He was an advocate of Imperial federation in the days when the Manchester School was still a force to be reckoned with. He realised the value o£ the Imperial connection to the colonies, and he utilised the advantage to the utmost. Sir Julius Vogel was the author of a system of colonial borrowing for the purposes of public works of which hard things hay« been said by critics of colonial finance. The system no doubt has been carried to extremes. But in the days, when New Zealand first appealed to investors in the mother country the idea was little less than a stroke of financial genius." Mr W. P. R«eves is among the guests for tli© next Article Club dinner, when Sir Horace Tozer will open a debate on " Sugar Bounties."

Mr Stanley Gardiner, of Caius Cqllege, has sent me a copy of his paper on "The Building of Atolls," read before the International Congress of Zoology at Cambridge some time ago. The formations <it Tonga and Funafuti, among other places; are dealt "withr most interestingly. Mrs Bartleman,,, of 'Dunedin, who C3me to England last .year,. is now in London. Her daughter is -at school at Cheltenham, and Mrs Bartleman is staying with her sister, Miss Paterson. at Chelsea, where the latter has a nice flat. Mrs Bartleman contemplates returning to the colony some time this, year.

Apparently that notable play in which Mrs T. Harrisott Davis paraphrased a deplorable domestic affair that shocked New Zealand 10 or' 12 years ago has nofc achieved its expected success in spite of its lurid sensationalism. Yesterday statutory meetings of creditors and shareholders were held before" Mr A. S. Cully, assistant receiver, under a winding-up order made against the "Life Policy" Drama Syndicate. The company was registered in February, 1896, with a capital of £5000, in £1 shares, and it appeared that it was formed for the purpose of producing a play entitled "A Life Policy." The company was promoted by Mr and Mrs T. HarrisonDavis, tho latter being the author of the play, in consideration of the payment to Mrs Harrison-Davis of a royalty upon gross receipts based upon a sliding scale. The company acquired from her the sole right to produce . " A Life Policy " in London and elsewhere. No payment was made to Mrs Harrison-Davis in respect to royalties. In March, 1896;' a prospectns was issued privately to" friends of the directors and of Mrs Harrispn-Dayis, and in all 847 shares were issued,, in respect of which £550 was received by- the company. The play was produced in the provinces in March, 1897, but did not prove a success, and after running for only a -short time was withdrawn. A balance- sheet, made up to March 2, 1898,; showed a loss of £523, and the insolvency of tho company waa

ascribed to the production of the play not Jiaving been previously produced in London, and not bearing the stamp of a London success. The liabilities were returned at £304, and assets, consisting chiefly of unpaid calls, £100, with a deficiency as regards shareholders of £902. In the absence of a quorum the" meetings were adjourned. . I notice that the "Wide World Magazine " for March contains an article entitled " Sonny, the Water Baby," from the pen of a New Zealand gentleman, Mr Theo. W. Hickson, formerly an explorer and surveyor for the New Zealand Government. It is announced that another story by Mr Hickson,\ entitled " Lost in the Seventy-mile" — a personal experience — will appear in an early number of the magazine.

Mention of the " Wide World Magazine " makes one think of its eccentric protege Grin, alias de Rougeinont, who still figures in its pages. ' It is a curious illustration of the disgust inspired here by his imposture, that the Great Western express engine which bore the time-honoured name " Rougemont," after its predecessor, a famous broad-gauge engine designed by Sir Daniel Gooch and called after the historic castle at Exeter, has just had its name, ' " Rougemont," erased and a new name, "Bessemer," substituted. Mr W. Mudge, of Dunedin, who is making a tour round the world, is staying in London for the present, but intends to go through all the large cities. In his examination in bankruptcy this •week Mr Charles Godfrey, music hall artist, stated that he had lost about £300 in cash on Ms New Zealand tour.