PARS ABOUT PEOPLE

Observer, Volume XXX, Issue 39, 11 June 1910, Page 4

PARS ABOUT PEOPLE

BY the death of the Hon. Richard Harman Jeffares Reeves il. L. C.,' which occurred last week, the Legislative Council has loßt one of its most, genial and capable members, and the country'has been deprived of one of its most consistent Liberals The late Mr Reeves had been for some years before his death Chairman of Committees of the Legislative Council, to which body he was called in 1895, being re-appointed in 1902. Previous to that, he had represented Grey 'Valley in the Lower House from 1878 81, and Inangahua from 1887-92. He was an Irishman, and had had a fairly adventurous career at sea and on the gbldfields. As P. J. O'Regan, who defeated, him for Inangahua in 1893, said Of him :—" A kindlier man never lived, and hence his long-standing < popularity. He appeared to know \ everybody, and to be on good terms with everybody. Even under the ' most adM erse circumstances—-and he encountered more than the usual share of adversities —be never loßt his rare good humour, and his hearty, genial laughter seemed to be infectious." Though the dailies have had a good deal to say about the connection of Hon. " Dick " Reeves—no one irt Parliament or on the West Coast spoke of him otherwise than as" Dick"—with the Nelson and West Coast members' Representation stonewall of the early eighties, they have been silent as to another stonewalling feat in which the Hon. "Dick" had all the. honour and glory to himself. Yet this particular affair forms one of the few humorous episodes embodied in the generally dry-as-dust pages of "Hansard." It occurred in the House one evening about the year 1889. At that period it was customary, towards the end of the session, to strike off the order . paper all bills that were considered to have no chance, of passing that year— the annual "slaughter of the innocents," it was called. For that purpose a motion was necessary, and Sir Harry Atkinson, the Premier of the time, moved it. •. •- . . • ■ Among the doomed measures there happened to be one fathered by Frank Lawry, entitled the "Foul Brood Among Bees Prevention Bill." For ' . some reason or other the West Coast members, and " Dick " Reeves in particular, wanted to gain breathing space that night—probably to enable .. negotiations, to be carried on with the Government for the reprieve of one or other of the bills that were set down for assassination. At any. rate, " Dick "applied himself to the task of occupying an hour or two in time- - wasting talk,, and very interesting talk he made it. Taking Frank Lawry's bantling as bis text, he proceeded to show reason why. Frank's bill should not be thrown upon the dust-heap. For that purpose he delivered an exhaustive lecture ..upon the bee, its habits, the orderly government of its little communities, and so forth. When he bad exhausted all be knew or could invent as to the natural history of the bee, he took up the subject of the disposal of the products of the hive, and fairly broke up the House when he told it that one thing of which honey was - an ingredient was Athol Brose, mainly composed of honey and whisky, to which her then Majesty, Queen. Victoria, was very partial. *' ■'•■ '.■ -..•"'•' However, even " Dick's " entertain- ' ing oratory did not avail to prevent Frank Lawry's little Bill from going the way of much other private legislation for that session, though whether > "Dick" gained his point of tactics, whatever it was, has always been a v mystery. ,In < bis day, Mr Reeves was - - one of the<moat conspicuous figures on 1 ' the West €oast, even mono so thaa

his friend and colleague "Dick" Seddon, though the latter did even- ■ tually outstrip him .in , the race for fame and power,; A stone waller gets little chance to exhibit his powers in the serene atmosphere of the revising chamber, and it was upon his stoneWalling powers that "Dick" Reeves_ political celebrity mainly rests. M ■ — A convict named John Carter, who was serving a ten years' sentence in an American gaol, has been ordered to be released because it-has been discovered that he is a poet. Great Scott! That ought to be all the more reason for keeping him locked up. The probability is that there will -now be an epidemic of ppetry in the Yankee prisons. Racher a black look-out for the unfortunate warders. It is to be hoped the epidemic doesn't spread to >•. the Auckland gaol. r H. .J. Greenslade, Waikato's genial M.P., recently purchased a new hat, for which he parted up the substantial sum of one guinea. For a week or two that hat was the pride and joy of Henry's heart, and he used to keep a watchful eye upon ie at Education Board meetings, .because he thought he detected a covetous gleam in the intelligent optics of Alf Harris. But, alas! during a recent visit to Raglan, the vigilance of Henry slept for the nonce; and When he came to ..look far that "clobber,"

he discovered that some bold, bad Raglanite had, got -Way with it, and had left a common, or garden, shilling one in its place. The cream of the' jeat lies in the fact that eventually the missing hat is stated to have been . found on the cranium of one of Raglan's most prominent citizens. _ Bob Noton now has big hopes of roping in Harry. Greenslade as a promising recruit to the No-bat Brigade. • • • Apropoß of the Knyvett case, it' may not, be generally known that H. W. Northcroft, who recently retired from the Si M. Bench, was once tried by court martial some time about 1875. At that time he was a subinspector in the old Armed Constabulary, and was serving under the veteran Colonel Lyon. Young Norjihoroft had obtained leave of absence in order to visit his people in Taranaki,. and instead of proceeding to New Ply- ' mouth by sea, be rode thither overland, passing through the King Country en route. : Now, in those days the King Country, was the sacredpreserve, of the Maoris, and the subinspector had committed an offence by trespassing therein. Therefore, the huge farce was gone through of holding a court martial upon him. Naturally, he was honourably acquitted, and told not to do it again. Knyvett hadn't puch luck, but there ' were no Cock Robins in the colony in ' H. W. Northcroft's younger days. v _ , _ -

Things were humming on the Devonport water front one day last week, the innocent cause of the disturbance being a juvenile fox terrier, in which John Fuller has lately invested. ' The , dog had an accomplice in the shape of a disgraceful duck. This biped had contracted a habit of making night hideous with sonorous "quacks." John was annoyed about this, and so also were the neighbours, who found their beauty oleep considerably interfered with. Finally, one wise neighbour, who reckoned he was a duckologist of considerable knowledge, suggested to John that he-, should procure a mate for that noisy biped,/ and then probably the latter would make a trifle less noise. John' fell in with the suggestion, and, on his next visit to town, he procured the necessary feathered mate. At the same > time, he purchased a big bag of oranges, and, with the biped under one arm, and the oranges under the other, set forth for home ■ • • It was when he was within a few * yards of his own front gate that the tragedy commenced. As he was approaching " Geraldine," that frisky fox terrier made a sortie, and proceeded to bark at its boss in a manner tbat, was both irreverent and scan-, dalouß. John was hampered by reasons of the duck and the orange?. His sole weapons of defence werejbis feet; and - the dog was careful to keep out of the way of these. John has an angelic temper, but it isn't proof against the evil doings of fox terriers. So he threw the duck to the four wings of heaven, and the next moment, residents in the vicinity were treated y to an unrehearsed vaudeville turn, in the shape of John.hurling oranges bolus bolus at his own dog. The latter at last got one fairly on the nose, and beat a hasty retreat, but whether John recovered that duck or not, history doesn't relate. Why wasn't there a moving picture operator present? 'Twould have made a star film for the Opera House. ■ a a One of our local members of Parliament (we will spare his blushes by not mentioning bis name) found himself in an awkward fix one day last week. He happened to meet a couple of friends, one of whom had just given the other a cheque for £5, which the latter- wished to get cashed. Not caring to bother about going to the bank, he invited the other two to accompany him to an.adjacent hostelry, the host of which, he reckoned, would cash the cheque for him. Accordingly, they invaded the bar, and the owner of the cheque ordered drinks round, which were duly served, and in payment for which the cheque was handed over. But the licensee had in the past had painful experience in the way of dishonoured cheques, and pointblank refused to cash it. This would not have been so bad, only for the fact that the combined coins of the trio fell short of the amount necessary to pay for the drinks. ••'• '"- ' " •' . The situation was a delicate one. In vain the owner of the cheque informed the licensee that the drawer thereof was a man with a substantial Bum in the bank, and the owner of Borne hundreds of acres of freehold land. In vain he pleaded that Mr Blank, M.P., who was with him, would guarantee the genuineness of the cheque. The licensee was'adamant. There was only one thing to do, and that was to take the cheque round to the bank and exchange it for bullion. But here another difficulty arose. Boniface objected to allow them to leave the house until the refreshments, were paid for. Ultimately, the M.P. and one of his friends had to remain In pawn, while the third man scooted round ito the bank to procure the wherewithal to redeem them. People who were in Queen-street at the time say that greased lightning was nothing to tbat scoot. Ultimately, the M.P. and his friend were released from pawn. The M.P. says he wouldn't go through such an experience again for £500. He considers that the curiosity of jbhe other people in > the bar at the time was quite unwarrant- , cd. ' ,

' r Jobn Yonlin Birch (he also answers t to the names, of " Jack," " Johnny," 1 "-■; and plain " John ") has gone the way I that many a pressman has travelled in < the past, and has definitely entered j the theatrical world as press repre- « , sentative for George Willoughby. Mr :> "Biroh's departure will be a big loss to :' "the " Herald," for whjch paper he has i "for many years acted as dramatic i ' critic. Mr Birch, has been in New i Zealand since 1895.- He was born | in 'America and educated in* England. In 1893 he returned to i America, and went to Chicago, where the World's Fair was then in progress. ] Here he acted in a secretarial capacity to Arthur Day, who is a well known representative of British exhibitions at ' Home, foreign, and colonial expositions: After the closing of the World's Fair, Mr Birch followed com-, mercial pursuits in Chicago for about a year. His patents coming to New : Zealand, Mr Birch them, and lauded in Auckland on New Year's Day, 1895. I?or five years, oft and on, after that, he was a clerk in various gold mining offices in the Ohinemuri and Thames districts, and it was this that indirectly led to his entry into the journalistic World. In 1896 he was employed for some months on the Waihi "Miner" (now the Waihi" Telegraph.") Shortly afterwards came the chance of his life. When the Boer War broke out in '99, the "Herald" proprietary despatched their mining reporter to South Africa as special correspondent, and Mr Birch stepped into his shoes, joining the '■■ literary staff of the " Herald " in that capacity in 1900. Very soon afterwards, he was appointed dramatic critic, a position in which he has always displayed more than average ability. R • ; • Then came another change. In 1906, Mr Birch received an offer to join the literary staff of the N.Z. "Times" (Wellington) as dramatic critic. He accepted it, and held the billet until, when the -M Times's" rival, the "Dominion," was established, a general shuffle took place. He then received the choice of two or three tempting offers, and finally decided to ' return to his old love, the "Herald," to which he returned exactly three years ago—June, 1907 — taking up . again the duties of dramatic critic. A year later, the genial John was stricken down by appendicitis, and an operation became necessary. As Dr

de Clive Lowe was Mr Birch's collaborator in opera, John decided that he should also be his collaborator in operation. So the doctor tackled the job, and had the patient out and about again in no time. A year ago, Mr Birch received another lift in life. Farmer Wbyte, then sub-editor of the " Herald," left for America to manage the troupe of performing Maoris who went to tour Yankeeland, and in the game of general post 'that ensued in the " Herald " office, Mr Birch received the plum of the chief reportership, still retaining, however, the portfolio—if we may so describe it—of dramatic critic. Then came Mr George, Willoughby's offer, which Mr Birch accepted. He is to act as special press representative for Mr Willoughby in connection with Clarke and Meynell, and this is a billet that hjß should be singularly well adapted for. For the first twelve months he will be travelling ahead of the company in conjunction with the advance, agents, but his duties will be solely to look after the Press work. His many Auckland friends will be pleased to hear tbat he is due to pay a visit to Auckland next December as Press rep. of George Willoughby's company with the farcecomedy "Mr Preedy and the Countess."- _ • •• • . . * Mr Birch's literary work has not been confined to the columns of the , daily press. As a playwright and librettist he has won renown. His operas and musical comedies include " A Moorish Maid," written in conjunction with Alfred Hill. He collaborated with "Thomas Humphreys (Dr de Clive Lowe) in " Manuella (produced here most successfullyjast June), " The Golden Wedge," "Ptah ■ Ptah " (an Egyptian comic opera), and " The Kitten and the Goldfish" (the English rights of which are held.by Miss May Moore Duprez). Mr Birch also collaborated with Mr J. H. Philpott, organist of St. Matthews, in a musical comedy enjbitled " The Second Mrs 5.," which 1 wjrts; produced by suburban amateurs;,:;jußt r prior to the first staging'some years ago of " A Moorish Maid." Mr Birch's dramatic • works to date are " Babs," a domestic comedy drama, and " The Black Cap, a melodramatic play. Latterly, his duties have prevented him preparing any more works for the stage. The Observer wishes John Birch every possible success in his new part on life's stage.

tswoe __wi/. • " ™»»,. — — The Grace family, of New Zealand, are pretty well distributed, and more than one of the house has distinguished himself in the world. - News last week concerned a young scion of the family, Lieutenant H. G. Grace, of one of the British cavalry regiments in India He is at present on furlough in England for the sake of his health. He contracted malaria while shooting in Kashmir, and returned to bis military duties too soon: result, a bad breakdown. The young lieutenant may pay a short visit to New Zealand at the end of the year. He is a son of Archdeacon Grace, of Blenheim, and will be remembered in Nelson as one of the Old Boys of Nelson College. -.-_'. * ■ ' • «■ • The founder of the Grace family was the reverend missionary of th.at name, who settled at Pukawa, On the southern shore of Lake Taupo, in the very early days, and preached to the Maoris for many a year. The missionary- Grace was the grandfather of the present young cavalry lieutenant. Another of that ilk is Mr Alfred A.' Grace, of Nelson, the clever writer of Maori stories; and author of "Tales of a Dying Race." Mr Alfred_Grace is a younger brother of Mr L. M. Grace, of the Native Department, the tall, grey-moustached, straight-backed gentleman who was once an M_H.K., later Maori interpreter in the House of Parliament, and who now has cfaargVof the "Kahiti," the Maori Government "Gazette." * s '-" ■ •■'•< • •"' •- • Mr L. Grace has seen a lot of the. real wild Maori life. Another brother is Mr William Henry Grace, of Kihikihi, Waikatb, who is, like Mr L, married to a Maori lady of high rank.. When Sir John Gor_t was in New , Zealand, three years or so ago, he paid a visit to Mr W- H. Grace,-at Kihikihi, and talked with the missionary s son of long-ago happenings in the days when the Waikato and most of the rest of the North Island was still in the hands of our brown brother. " Kerehi" the Maoris call the Graces. In Alfred A. Grace's •« Tales of a Dying Race,' ,, there is a very "fine account of ihis, mother's arrival at Pukawa, Lake Taupo. Mrs Grace was a vfcry beautiful woman, and the Maow poetically accounted for this blue of her eyes by saying they were made so by long gazing on the vast Wue ocean over which she had sailed to(New Zealand. She was thefirst

Cabled that Dinizulu, the imprisoned Zulu chief, has been released and presented with a farm and an annual pension 1 of £500 by the British Government on condition that he keeps the peace.- WeUVDini is the unfortunate possessor of 27 wives, and how on earth does the British Government expect anybody to keep the peace with that wholesale lot of femininity , tooling round his establishment. Why, it will take him all. his time to save the pieces. -■ . ■. ' ' • ' . - • The Hon. George Fowlds, in the course of his speech at Grey Lynn; hinted that influence had been used to - draw the North Auckland Railway eastward. Perhaps so ; but of course - no influence was used to bring the western deviation into being—oh, dear, no. • pi' -■ The irony of fate again.- lb is understood that had the unfortunate young man Albert Spalding not met with the sad fatal accident at the Newmarket railway workshops last , Saturday; he would have been richer. * by £300, for it is stated that he struck the double in the Great .northern' -, meeting, having invested money on the dual forecast of Wimmeia and Red Me regor, and the substantial sum named was the amount that would have been due to him.'. Whether his next of kin is ; legally entitled to it should form an interesting -and pos"sibTy unprecedented question. • ■'.".'■'• ■, - The many friends of Hubert Dacre— ', ' better known as "Hubie"—will be pleased to learn that that genial gentleman is now nearly convalescent. Some four or five months ago, " Hubie," who was then practising as s a dentist in Mangonui, in the Fai North, was stricken down by typhoid fever. He managed to vanquish this insidious foe, only to be again floored —this time by an internal complaint. He was operated upon in a private hospital, and the operation proved successful. At the same time, these two attacks had so pulled him down that his weight subsided from over twelve stone to nearly eight, and his • own brother, when calling to see him, , didn't know him. However, V Hubie" ", ie now round the corner, and; in his ,; own words, he is hungry enoagb to eat the very plates that his meals are \ : , served up on. As lie isn't an ostrich, V<it is to be hoped that he will suppress -,£ his cravings in this respect. ■