PERSONAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2686, 6 September 1905, Page 80

PERSONAL NOTES.

Mr Pet-;f Waits was for some years president of the Paotoralists' As--ociatio.-i of South Australia and West Darling, and from the day of its foundation till tho present moment ho has been, and is, aleadmg spirit. A Fifeshire iad, he- camu out to South Australia in the fifties, and! •ittracted the attention of Sir Thomas, then Mr, Elder, who, noting nis capacity, fouiul fields for its development en a large scale. No one m South .Australia, which in this respect means Australia, has so much experience hi the direction of the management of dry country requiring several acres to oarry a sheep, which forms the greater part of" the pastoral area of this continent. In this connection his strong views about the advantages of comparatively small paddocks and extraordinary 'lght fences niad-a with stiff wire are well known. He has for many years been chairman of the great South Austrtliai firm, Elder, Smith, and Co. (Limited), as well as managing director of several large pastoral companies in. which be has big interests. Emphatically a, strong man, he is as energetic as he is determined, and has an -maginative qualify in his taient, which rujs into artistic directions in. private life. — Pastoralists' Review.

— Sir Walter Roper Lawrence, who Las received tho appointment cf royal cicerone in the forthcoming Indian tou. of the Prince of Wales, was Assistant Commissionei in Kurram during the Afghan war of 1880, subsequently proceeding to Rajputana. In 1889 he was appointed Commissioner in Kashmir. There he found and look his opportunity. The beautiful country was in ruin, its people down-trodden and dragooned, ; ts fianances ludicrously involved. But Sir Walter, the suave and tactful, evolved freedom from slavery, order from chaotic misgovemment, and revenue out of nothing at all. In 1896 he left Ind a to accept the Duke of Bedford's appo:ntm&nt as jhief agent of the Russell estates. But within two years he had abandoned his: pleasant dutips and assured prospects to actend Lord Curzon eastward. Ho ,was a. peerless private secretary. In his conduct of affairs rfir Waller combines an air of engaging- candour with a belief in the necessity for inscrutable mystery. He ever obtains and never parts with opinions. Ho conceals beneath his emollient demeanour a character both euereetic and resolute. Ha is a careful student of contemporary literature, and possesses a dir-eet and logical ren. With his sympathy for Indian customs and knowledge of Indian history, tho Prince's circerone will prove a useful as well as an agreeable travelling companion.

— The following sympathetic notice of the death of a distinguished personage is taken from the North British Agriculturist of July 12:—This morning a thrill cf horror parsed through the minds of the agriculturists of the country when they read m the morning papers 'the announcorrent of the dea;h of Sir Jacob WiJson, X.V.0., which took place at Chillingham. Barns last jight. Only a fortnight ago Sir Jacob was acting as honorary director of the roytl show, and toiling with all the zeal of a devotee to make that gathering a success. Despite his 69 years and his Ion" term of very acLve service in many different spheres of labour, ha was then looking vcrv fit and well, but in the course of a pleasant interview on the Monday of the show week with Mr Jas. Hope, Eastbams, ana tno edito- of +he North British Agriculturist, he confided to these friends tho lac. that he was -n reality feeling very ill but that at all costs he would stick to bis post till the show was finished. Ho did' so, but the exertion was too great for him, and though ho, remainsd at his po« and most efficiently discharged all the duties cf hci-orary director till the close of the «bow he returned home to die. It is a ?ad truth' but a truth all the same, that Sir .laccb died a inar+yr in the oause of the royal show. As every one knows he was femaltf-cd by Queen Victoria in 1889, shortly after tlio great jubilee show at Windsor, and in the list of the royal biithday honours ij^ucdl cmly last week, after the dose of another royal show, it was announced that bis Majesty the King had been graciously pleased tc confer upon him the dignity of a knight of the Victorian Order. Sir Jacob a 3 every agriculturist knows, was a <rOntleman of stately presence and the most perfect courtliness of manners. H« was a perfect incarnation of courtesy and kindliness, and his invaluable services to tho cause of agriculture and the Royal Agricultural Society will be most gratefully remembered by the agriculturists of tho country. ™~ Tk% inc *viry into tlle methods of tl'e War Office has again brought the name of General Sir William Butler into proninecoe. The Westminster printed the otber day some interesting- details of the career cf this lemarkable Irish Catholic soldier: — Sir Wiliiaoi is one of many Irishmen, as his spceoh readily betrays, who have rises to fame in thp. ranks of the British army. P-ut Jus oh-inces in this respect lookoj slender enough at one time. Those were the days of purchase', and the £1500 neededl to get Lim his company was hopelessly teyond his resources. A bright idea occurred to him however, and on the inspiration thereof he cabled to Wolseley. then in comnirnd of the lied River Expedition:' Please reirembcv me." followed up his wire ly the first Canadian boat, and by the sheerest good luck obtained the appointment coveted. His wif.3 P>as a personality scarcely less distinguished. Sir William had caught mUaria in ono of his campaigns. As he lay recovering- from the fever in Netley Hcs-pital he heard wonderful 1 acconnis cf a picture siamoc' "Tho Roll! Call," Ly a certain Miss Elizabeth Thompson, which was drawing all London to "RurI'i'gtop House, an.l wh.311 later, on !'is fii?fc day in London, ho went to <je>e it, his cegerness to- know the painter \vas_ irresistible. Miss Thomp=on became ti;e lion of the London sea=on; the Duchess of St. Albans introduced the soldier to the artist, md three years after they were man ana I

wife. When oolds and influenza rage, They add to life a dismal page, They make us all look twice oui' age-H And scatter death around. 'Tis then we find a frieid so sure In Williau Woods' Great Peppermint Cues, Which, always certain, always pure, i Will save us many a pound—O-