PERSONAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Volume 23, Issue 2684, 23 August 1905, Page 69

PERSONAL NOTES.

— General Sir Julius Richard Glyn died in London on the 16th June, aged 81. ijo served under General Sir Harry Smith in South Africa in 1848, when the Boere were defeated and driven across the Vaal River ; as captain in the Kaffir war in 1851-52; went through the siege of Sevastopol, being also present at the actions of the .A lisa and Inkerman; ;ind was in action at Cawnpore, at the final capture of Lucknow, and subsequently served in Oude till the end of the war.

— General Maximo Gomez, the comman-ckr-in-chief in the struggle for Cuban independence, ha* died. He was one of Ihe greatest of guerilla fighters the wars of the world have produced. A man of iron with a tender heart, a cunning strategist, a fearless fighter, he held in check an army five times as large as his own and 50 times as well- equipped. He was a Creole, and in latter years wore an enormous white moustache, which leit a military fierceness to an otherwise kindly face. Aged 79.

— Lord Oamden, the new Lord-Lieute-nant of Kent, has all manner of rights and privileges not given to the ordinary man. r It need not be feared that he will be caught tripping over them. One of his ancestors learned enough wisdom from folly to satisfy all succeeding generations of his family. He asked a friend to look him in the .stocks for an experience. The friend did so — then went his way, leaving the inquisitive Peer a prisoner. 7n vain he implored passersby to release him. "Oh, fie," they said, and passed by in haste, scandalised to see so exalted & man punished, as they supposed, for some outrageous offence.

— Numerous friends of Sir Jacob Wilson (says the Field) will rejoice to hear that his Majesty" has been pleased to raise him to the dignity of a Knight Commander of the "Victorian Order, in recognition of his eminent services to agriculture in general and to the Hoyal Agricultural Society in particular. Sir Jacob's connection with the premier agricultural society has extended over the long period of 50 years, and for the greater part of that time he has served on its council, and for nearly 20 years acted as hon. director of its shows. This is the second occasion of whioh Sir Jacob has been ■singled out for royal favour, aiad it will be generally agreed that no one has done more to earn the enviable distinction. - — Mr James Mansergh, F.R.S., past president of the Institute of Civil Engineers, died on the 15th '"June at Hampsrtead, London; aged 70. During his long engineering experience, Mr Mansergh .was the engineer of over 100 sewerage and water schemes, in connection with which he had visited every part of the globe. Perhaps the greatest engineering feat was the Birmingham water scheme from TElan Valley, which was completed last year, and opened by King Edward. Mt Manse-rgh had been connected with the Institute of Civil Engineers since 1859, and was elected vicepresident in 1£95, and filled the presidential office in, 1900, succeeding Sir Douglas Fox. He was presented with the freedom of the borough of Lancaster, of which he was a native, on March 24, 1903.

— The Khedive of Egypt is fond of England, for the present is his taird or fourth visit. Tliere was a time when he disliked everything British, and when the dislike was reciprocated. Sir John Scott has lold us how it came about that Abbas II became converted from implacable enmity to warm regard for England. "He said he has tried to fee what was best for Egypt," Sir John has written, "and he told me that after mnch hesitation he has made up his mind that British rule was the, best : the people were happier, less taxed, better supplied with water, and there was no difference made in the administration of justice between the rich and the poor." That is a splendid tribute to. Lord Cromer's Esyptian rule, and enable? him to laugh the more at tbose who u^ed to sing of him, when he was plain Evelyn Baring : —

—Mr Miolia-el S. Hawker, president cf the Pastoral Ms' Assooiatidn of South Austialia and West Darling", is considerably the youngest of the presidents of the Federated Pastoralists' Associations, biit -when his colleagues on the council nominated him for office they had many years' experience of his r.brcwdnoss and staunchness in time of trouble, brides the respect generally

' entertained in South Australia and beyon it for the family of which ho is the eh:e£ pastoral representative. As managing part- | ncr of Hawker Bros., Mi Michael Hawser has maintained and improved the reputation ot the Bungaree nock and wool, and shown remarkable enterprise m takirs- ng abswloi.sd areas in the far north of South. Australia, where he has formed the Camewerloo and Parellena st-ations. The success the Bungaree sheep have met with inthi3 dry country has induced Mr Hawker to aim at introducing the Bungaree strain for -usr in the back country of- New South. Wales and Queensland, and with this object he «en* a few specimens to tne Melbourne, sales last year, And to the Sydney. sales this year and on both which occasions they attracted much attention. Besides having a thorough practical knowledge of all branches of pastoral work Mr Hawker is an enthusiastic gardener— Pastoralists Re"^Memories of long ago are awakened by the announcement of the death ot Mr Augustus Gregory at Brisbane m his eightysixth year. It was in 1848 that Gregory, whose father had taken him from his JNottincrhamshire home while still a lad ob 10 to Australia, began his career as am explorer, and on the tnree principal expeditions which he conducted he displayed many sterling qualities, and made large additions to our then extremely scanty, stores of knowledge of the great island continent. Two of his younger brothers also won for themselves ronsiderable reputations as explorers. The Gregory family, indeed, enjoyed the rare, if not the unique, distinction of having two of its members recipients of the gold medal of ;he Royal! Geographical Society. Sir Augustus Gregorys—whose K.C.M.G. only dates from two years ago — received the medal in 1857, two years after it had been conferred on Livingstone. The medal was given to Gregory as a reward for what was, perhaps, tho greatest of his three expeditions, when for 18 months in the years 1855-56 he led an. important expedition right aoross the north of Australia from the Victoria River to Port Curtis. On this expedition one of Gregory's companions was Dr, afterwards Sir, Ferdinand yon Muller, the famousbotanist. One object cf the expedition was to discover some trace of the unfortunate explorer Leichhardt, whose disappearance still remains one of the- unsolved riddles of the Australian continent ; but though the expedition 'did not succeed in this, it re&ulted in the exploration of a large area of hitherto unknown territory, and won for Mr Gregory a permanent place on the distinguished .roll of Australian explorers. Two years latex he-was again on foot, partly to follow up fresh traces of Leichhardt which were believed to have been supplied by the statement of a convict, who declared that the missing explorer wag living at a settlement of escaped prisoners in the interior. But though the search, was futile, the expedition resulted in the ■exploi-ation of "the Bareoo Hiver district, accomplished under the usual difficult conditions, with which Gregory's previous expeditions had made him familiar. Like bis even better-known fellow explorer, Sir John Forrest, the late Sir Augustus Gregory took a promin&ut part in the public affairs of the continent, with the early history of which his name will always be honourably, associated. — Field. — The Mexicans are the greatest smokers in the world, even women and children, being habitual consumers of tobacco. —It is Interesting to note that the highest price ever paid for a Shetland pony was 125 guineas, which was the sum given at Lord Londonderry's dispersal 6ale_ in 1£99 for a particularly magnificent specimen of a Shetland called Odin. He is now the property of the Ladies Hope, -and is the sire of no fewer than six champion and first prize ponies. Shetland ponies live to a great age, and retain their good looks: in a wondeiful way. In 1891 a Shetland Pony Stud Book was compiled, and' published at Aberdeen. It has been kept up to date by the issue of a volume every year since. No pony is allowed to be .entered in the stud book over lOhds 2in in height.

id