PERSONAL ITEMS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2804, 11 December 1907, Page 25

PERSONAL ITEMS.

A London message advises the death of the wife of Vice-admiral Sir Lewis Beaumont.

A Press Association telegram Bays: — As a result of Mr Ferguson's resignation as secretary, the Wellington Harbour Board has decided to promote certain members cf the staff, and give them acting appointments for one year, subject after that date io three months' notice. The promoted officers are: Mr H. E. Nicholls, from accountant and cashier to acting-secretary, at a salary of £650; Mr E. D Cachemaille, fiom assistantengineer to acting-engineer. £600; Mr V. L. Cachemaille, from assistant-secretary to actingtreasurer,' £300; Mr J. E. Gamble, from "second clerk to assistant-cashier and actingaccountant and cashier, £300. , Mr W. J. Prictor, the well-known" newsagent of Princes street, who has retired from business- for a" time, was a passenger by the Manuka for Wellington, en route for London, on . th-e 3rd. Mr» Prictor accompanies him, and a number of friends were- at the wharf to see them off. Mr and Mrs Prictor expect to be absent from Dunedin fox about 12 months.

Mr James Shiel, of the well-known firm of Nimmo and Blair, has decided on retiring from- the business with which he has been connected for so many years, and intends to take up his residence in Dublin. Mr Shiel will remain in the_firm until the end of the year, and in March next year will leave the Dominion.

A Press Association telegram from Auckland states that Mr Baume has expressed his determination to again contest the Auckland East seat at the general election, contradicting a rumour that he intended retiring in favour of Mr Myers, Mayor of Auckland.

Mr A. Mobs, of Dunedin, will take up permanent occupation on the managerial staff of the Pollard Opera Company, in which he is financially interested. Mr M.oss is now in Christchurch.

The Rev. S. J. Baker, who during the past seven years has raised Emanuel Church, Palmerston North, to its present condition, has received a unanimous invitation to Christ Church,. Launceflton, Tasmania. He has accepted the call, and enters upon, his new ministry in January. In his inaugural address in October of this year the Chairman of the Congregational Union of South Australia said : — " Every one in our churches knows that friendly man and pioneer of Congregationalism in this State, the Rev. C. Hodge. He 'has closed during the year a long and honoured - career in the active work of the Christian ministry by resigning the pastorate at M'Laren Vale. He and Mrs Hodge have resolved to spend the evening in peaceful resting, and happy* waiting for the Masters call. The Rev. C. Hodge is well known in New Zealand "Congregational churches, having visited this colony severs times. He is also known as the father of the Rev. A. Hodge, of St. Clair. Mr James Ashcroft has completed his twenty-fourth year as an Official Assignee, 14J years having been spent in Wellington, and the balance in Dunedin.

The Waikaka Valley Presbyterian Church has extended a call to the Rev. E. Sydney Hill, who has just completed his theological course at Dunedin.

The H<m. W. Hall-Jones, Mrs Hail-Jonei, and Miss Hall-Jones will (says the Timaru Herald) leave London for Wellington by the Corinthic on the 13th inst. The. steamer is due on January 38. A cable mesaage received by the Prime Minister states that Mr ±1 allJones is in good health.

The members of the Gore Presbyterian Church choir met at the residence of Mr John Mac Gibbon on Decembei & to entertain Mr and Mr» Brownell, who are leaving for Port Chalmers. Mr Bowler, on behalf of the choir, presented Mr Brownell -with a handsome case of pipes and tobacco pouch, and expressed the regret oif all at losing the valuable services of Mr Brownell as secretary to the choir. The Rev. Mr Gray presented Mrs Brownell -with a silver toast rack and butter dish and silver j"ewel box.

The Wakatipu Mail reports the death of M_rs James Keay, one- of the oldest and most respected residents of Queenstown. Mrs Keay arrived in Otago in 1861 in the ship Lady Egidia, the family then comprising her mother and sister (Mrs W V. Wilson. Bluff) and brother (Mr S. N. Brown, Dunedin). The deceased lady went to Queenstown m 1864, was married there, and reared a family of four sons and four daughters, all of wham survive.

Last April a. young ntm named Thomas Gregg, who owned a farm at Gummie's Bush, near Riverton, went home to Ireland under medical advice. Some time previously he had jumped into the Jacob's River after a duck, and contracted a cold, which he was unable to shake off. He spent a considerable time in the Riverton Hospital. Word has now come to hand that he died in Ireland from pneumonia.

Mr Thomas Grant, who has been acting in the capacity of teller in the Queenstown branch of the Bank of New Zealand for the la«i three- years, has received notice of his transfer to the Dunedin branch. Mr Grant is on leave at present, but he will only remain in Queenstovrn a few days after he returns, and then he takes his departure.

The Oamaru Mail reports that Mr W. H. Dansey, one of the oldest of North Otago settlers, has decided to leave Oamaru for the purpose of joining his friends in the North Island. MY Dansey came to New Zealand in 1864. After spending three or four ■weeks in Neleon he, with Mr F. A "Weld afterwards Premier of New Zealand, and subsequently Governor of Western Au«tra'io, suid Dr D. Munro, afterwards Speaker of the House of Representatives, started on an overland journey to the Waitaki He afterwards acquired a run in Southland, and later held Ot-ekaike Eun for about eight yeare. Fortune refujsed to gmile, and he lest practically everything, and has earned his living about the town of Oamaru ever since Daneey's Pass bears his name. One of Mr Dansev's experiences in "the earlier days, when the roads were not and bridges a convenience that eculd only be thought about, is worth recording. He, along 1 with a cotnDanion, was crossing the Waitaki from Papakaio to Pike's Station (now Waikakahi) on horseback. By a fortuitous circumstance his horse dTowned under him. carrying him underneath before he could free himself, Mr Dansey passed into unconsciousness, and was washed on to one of the islands of the river. How long he remained on the island he does not know, but he eventually came to Seaa-ch parties were sent out from the station to, if possible, recover the body of the supposed drowned man, and one of the party came acrow him as kg w in tie duusrous jusi

of fording the stream between his desolate -isle and the mainland. The assistance was timely, for Mr Dansey was by this time much exhausted, and probably would, after all, have become a prey to the treacherous Waitaki.

Mr A. Bain -has been elected (unopposed) for the tenth year in succession chairman of the Southland H. and C.A. Board.

The Railway Department haa decided upon the appointment of two locomotive inspectors — one for each island. Mr A. MEenzie, ol Christchurch, haa been appointed for the South Island and Mr G. Bowles, of Auckland, for the North Island. The engagement is announced of Mr Cyri\ Ward, eldest son of the Right Hon. "Sir Joseph Ward, to Mies Davidson,_ only daughter of Mr ~3. B. Davidson, of Brisbane, niece of Mr Aloysius M*cDonald, of Wellington, and first cousin of Mrs Babingtom, wife of General Babingitbn, the late Cammandamt of the New Zealand Forces

His many friends will learn with regret of the death of Mr Neil Suminerell, commercial traveller, which took place aa "Wednesday night at Timaru. The deceased .was a wellknown figure' " on the road" for several years, and being of * Ttindly disposition, he- was highly respected -by his brother- travellers. His illness was of short duration, lasiing'only a few days. He is survived by a widow and a family of three — two girls and a boy",— for whom the deepest is entertained. On the occasion of the severance of his connection with the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, after 28 years' service, during which time he has. as the result of his uniform- courtesy and businesslike talents, surrounded himself with wellwishers, not only with the staff and country agents of the firm, but also in Ot«go generally, Mr Andrew Todd was presented with a handsome silver salver, so engraved as to render it a. memento which the recipient and his family will be glad to 'cherish In years to come. Mr, Frank Venn all and Mr James Croiker, speaking on behalf of the firm's staff and country agents, said they were happy days which had been passed under Mr Todd's management, and expressed the heartiest good wishes for his good fortune in the future. Mr Todd has now assumed the management of the Otago Farmers' .Co-operative Association. ~ • '

The Rev. E. Sydney Hill, to whom it was reported a call had been extended by the Waikaka Valley Presbyterian congregation, has received and accepted a call to Clive, Hawke's Bay.

Mt Tasnmn Brownell, stationmaster at Gore, has been transferred to Port Chalmers, where he assumed duty on the 6th. Before hia departure he was presented with a case of pipes and a silver matchbox by the chief clerk, Mr Foweraker, on behalf of the staff. We understand that Mr Charles Draper, of Milton, has been appointed auctioneer and stock salesman for the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, in succession to Mr Chas. Turnbull, who is shortly retiring from the company's service. . Mr Draper possesses wide experience and reliable knowledge of stock of all descriptions, such as, it is believed, will stand him: in good stead in hia new appointment. The Southland News records the death in Gippsland of a couple who were Southland pioneers. In the early 'fifties Mr and Mrs M'Rae settled down at Invercargill on what is now called the Oteramika road. Their house was noted for its unstinted hospitality. After some years they went north and took up land at Patea, but on the eve of the Maori war were compelled to leave, and finally went to Victoria.

A noteworthy wedding ceremony took place on the 4th inst. at Wvndham. On a certain, memorable occasion, the wife of Mr James Milne, the well-known farmer and president of the Dairy Association,- presented him with triplets — a boy and two girls. These three have now groWn to man and womanhood, and on the occasion referred to the girls were married. Miss Sarah Mitchell Milne was married to Mr John Walker, and Miss Christina Milne became the bride of Mr Chas. Joseph .burrows. The ceremony took place in the presence of a large congregation. A London message advises that Mr D. S. Adams, of Greenock, has been appointed Professor of Church History and Systematic Theology at Ormond College, Melbourne. Mr F. G. Dorrington, who has for some years past held the position of manager of the Bank of New Zealand's branch at Port Chalmers, has received intimation of his promotion to a similar position at the Hokitika branch.

A Sydney cablegram states that R. Arnst, sculler, was a passenger by the Maheno, which sailed for Wellington on Saturday night.

Mr H. E. Williams, general manager of the National Insurance Company, returned to Dunedin on Saturday by the Mamma, with v;hich steamer he connected at Sydney on the arrival there of the Orient Company's steamer Ortona from Europe, via Suez.

The death is announced of Mr Edward Hawksworth Hudson, one of the early settjers of Canterbury. Mr Hudson, who was born in 1822, was originally intended for the medical profession, but after a serious illness ■went to France. After his return to England he took up journalistic work for Punch, among other journals. He arrived in Lyltelton in 1861, and took up Greenpark, which from- a dismal swamp became a prosperous farm. Possessed of a strong vein «f humour, and of «n old-time gallantry of manner, Mr

Hudson was a genial companion, who endeared himself to all with whom he came in contact. At a social gathering of the employees of J. Wilkie and Co. (Ltd.), held on Friday evening, Mr T. Lindsay, who is leaving the letterpress machine department for the purpose of starting in business at Alexandra South, was presented with a gold albert and pendant as a parting mark of esteem. Mr E. E. Wilkinson made the presentation, and several cttner employees expressed regret at losing Mr Lindsay from the companionship. Our Wellington correspondent states that Mh: Y. W. J. Donald, assistant accountant for the Bank of New Zealand at Christchurch, has been promoted to the management of the Port Chalmers banch in succession to Mr Dorrington, and Mr A. M'Lellan, of the Christchurch staff, has becomes, assistant accountant there. Mr J. F. White,, of "Hokitika, has resigned to go into business for himself.

Miss M. A. Reid, formerly school teacher at High Street School, and now a missionary in China, is slow, we are informed, progressing well towards recovery <aft«r her i recent severe illness from typhoid fever, and hones are . entertained by the doctors of -.her ■ ultimate recovery. Word to the above effect has been received* by her Dunedin relatives. . The North Otago Times records the death at Otejaopo' O&JMrs Donald Forbes. The deceased Iwdy (nee Helen Sutherland) was born in Caithness,' .where she wa9 married to MiDonald Forbes t in 1860. Coming to the colony in the 'uxlies, the couple 'settled in Otepopo, where the deceased lady was one of the best known and most respected of its residents. Mrs Forbes leaves a husband and a large family of sens and daughters and grand-children to -mourn their loss. The late Mr William' Dormer Delaney, whose death, at the age of 58, occurred' r at Wellington on Thursday morning last, was (says the Post) 'the youngest' veteran of the Maori war (except for his brother, Mr Walter Delaney)). ■ Deceased was bora ■at /Capetown, but in hia early youth he was brought to New Zealand from Victoria by his father, who was recruiting sergeant for the lato I Colonel Pitt, who raised the Ist Waikato ' Regiment when the- early troubles* with the Natives were experienced. Artorwarda young Delaney took service with the colours as bugler to th* left wing of the Ist Waikato .Regiment, and at Waioeka he was instrumental in saving an outpost, and also the township, by giving a timely alarm when the foe was about to aff*at a surprise attack. This event was shortly after {he murder of the Re*. Mr Volkner at Opotiki. In days subsequent to the war he became a noted athlete, and ran with aucoew at Auckland, Thames, Westland, and Wellington. Four years ago he lost his eyesight, and he was then made an inmate of Mother Mary Joseph's Home of Compassion, where he remained until the day of his death.