PERSONAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2465, 12 June 1901, Page 69

PERSONAL NOTES.

—It is pointed out that the appointment of a Bishop of London who is still in the early forties is not without precedents. Lord Liverpool appointed Dr Howley (then Canon of Christ Church) to the bishopric when he was just 46. WKen Bifchop Blomfie'd was translated from Cnester to London by the Duke of Wellington he was only 42. Archbishop Tait was promoted by Lord Palmerston from the Deanery of Carlisle to the See of London when he was under 44.

— The greatest rame in the volunteer world of England is that of Lord Wantage, who was 69 on April 17. He has the distinction of wearing on his breast the "Victoria Cross, which \ias won when he was simply Robert Jame.3 Loyd Lindsay. At the Battle of Inkerman lie performed more than one notable deed of valour, so that the bronze cross was doubly won by him. Some years ago his Lordship retired from the army. In the earlier part of his career lie sought parliamentary honours, and sat in the House for 20 years.

—No one has probably been more interested in the question with regard to the putting down o} the Royal Buckhounds than the Earl of Cork and Orrery, seeing that he has filled the office of Master of the Buckhounds on three occasions. He has also held the exceedingly important office of Master of the Horse twice. It need hardly be said arter this that his favourite recreation is hunting. Among his treasured possessions is the Orrery jewel, which is connected with the secession of James I, while he also owns the prayer book that belonged to Charles the Martyr King. His Lordship was 72 on April 19.

— Rear admiral Arthur William Moore, C.8., C.M.G., left Portsmouth the other day in. his flagship, the Gibraltar, for Capetown, to take over the command of the Cape Station from. Rear-admiral Sir Robert Harris?. His selection is a very popular one in and out of the navy, as he is looked upon as a most promising young admiral in an active as well as a ehil capacity. His most recent billet has been that of Junior Sea Lord of the Admiralty, previous to which he had superintended the defences of Australasia, for which he was made a Commander of St. Michael and St. George. In 1889 he represented his country at the Anti-slave Congress at Brussels, and before that, during the Egyptian War of 1882, he had command of the Orion, and was present at the battle of Tel-el-Kebir.

— The Black Watch, one of the most famous of all the regiments in the service, will always keep alive the name of Lindsay, for its first commander was an earl of that name. It was he who rendered great service against the French and Turks, and in 1745 was sent to keep order in the Lowlands Long before then, however, the family waß distinguished, for the second Lord Lindsay of the Byres gave a grey horse to James 111 before the Battle of Sauchieburn, while the sixth Baron was implicated in the death of Rizzio, and the tenth Lord, who was also created the first Earl, was one of tho leaders of the Covenanters, but endeavoured to rescue Charles I from captivity the year before he died. The present Lord Lindsay was 69 on April 18. — Dr Alexander M'Laren, the " Grand Old Man " of the Baptist communion, has been minister of Union Chapel, Manchester, since' 1858. He is of Scottish extraction, the son of a Glasgow merchant, and was educated at Glasgow University. His sermons and expositions touch the high-water mark of such utterances in our time. As a preacher, he has a spiritual insight and elevation which are quite his own, and on the too rare occasions when he is heard in London no one is more eagerly listened to. It is a good thing that all the talent in the country should not be drawn into the maelstrom of fhe capital, and Dr M'Laren has always resisted any inducement to leave his charge. He once expressed the opinion that, for a Dissenting minister, Lancashire offers a better field than any other part of the country. The strength of the people's character, and the extensive influence of Sunday school training on the middle classes, lead him to this conclusion. This year Dr M'Laren, who is greatly beloved by his fel-low-ministers, is for the second time president of the Baptist Union.

— General Sir Alfred Power-Palmer, X.C.8., has a name that was on every-one's lips not so many years ago, when he took over the command of the operations in the Tirah in 1897-98 from Sir William Lockhart. Now he has been chosen to become the head of the army in which nearly all his service has been seen, as the King has confirmed his rumoured appointment to the Commander-in-Chiefship in India, the highest r-osfc but one in the whole army. The distinguished career, of which this is the consummation, began, like those of almost every other of our full Generals, in the Indian Mutiny, through which Sir Alfred Power-Palmer served with Hodson's Horse. In 1867-68 he tbok part in the Abyssinian War, and in 1878-79 he went through Lord Roberts's Afghan campaign. We find him fighting again in 1885, this time in the Soudan ; while seven years- later he commanded the Chin Hills expedition. His last "outing" was as mentioned above, in the Tirah, three years or so ago. Sir Arthur is 61 years of age, and, being 6ft 4iin, is one of the tallest men in the service.

— The Marquis of Salisbury has just established an honourable record which it will be hard to beat, as the Premiership is seldom intrusted to very young men, nor is it often held twice consecutively without a subsequent long term of waiting upon the front bench of the Opposition, owing to the inevitable swing of the pendulum, which is such an inexplicable feature in modern politics. Lord Salisbury has surpassed Mr Gladstone's brilliant and voluntarily resigned record of service as Prime Minister to the Bo\ereign, which was tip till now the longest on record i-ince the Reform Act — a landmark in the political world — and, indeed, since the Earl of Lh-erpool's famous Administration of nearly 15 years, which came to an end in 1827. Lord Palmerston could only total nine years and 156 days, which was. however, more than two years in excess of any since the Reform Act, but Mr Gladstone's four terms of office extended over a period of 12 years 137 days. This figure Lord Salisbury has just given the go-by with the net total of his foui Administrations, which extend from 1885 to the present moment, of course with gaps. —Dr Joseph Parker has passed the term of life allotted by the Psalmist to man's activity, but his natural force seems little abated. It was in 1869, when the mature men and women of to-day were ir the nursery, that he began his work at the City Temple, and ever since that time his voice has been a living power in our midst. He

was born at Hex'"nm, in one of the most romantic spots of romantic Northumberland, and, in spite of his long London experience, ho is still a child of the north at heirt. His congregations is like no other in London. People who are not, as a rule, churchgoers will attend his ministry constantly, fascinated by his eloquence, and even more by his strong and racy personality. He has all the gift& of the born orator, and chief among them the power of impie-piug himself on the audience which he is addressing. Dr Parker has been the recipient of many official honours, and is now, for a second time, chairman cf the Congregational Union ; but Ins position in the religious world of to-day is independent of all that. When he lost his accomplished wife some time ago, the multitudes who had been helped by his wiittcn oi 1 spoken woids joined in his sorrow. Yet, perhaps, the host ~ide of him is least known to the public, though many struggling churches could tell of his gencro £ii y.