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PARS ABOUT PEOPLE
NEW ZEALAND is singularly free of national heroes, and especially of national political heroes. Therefore Mr Statham, of Dunedin, is hereby awarded the new year belt tor political heroism. He is not disposed' to retain the Dunedin Central seat unless he can retain it with the assurance he has not won it on a technicality." The average New Zealand politician—God help him— would retain his seat on the casting vote of the Devil, the greed of the place-hunter being superior to every feeling of patriotism or decency, lne hi<rh-minded man, whether a recount placed him in the detestable position 'f MP or not, would immediately resign his seat. There is little room in the House for the man who is unimpeachably honest The hideous quibbles that have altered the composition of the New Zealand House Semns the .wfooie political sysSm? Sd makes Parliament a place that is damnable to anyone who pietends to the position of gentleman. ® <© ® Gladdening to observe how young New Zealanders wandering round the heart of Empire are strained to the chest of John Bull, and fitted with military commissions while they wait. Noted that H. Lan Simeon, one of the large resonant Napier Simsons, and son of old Horace, has been given a commission in a British cavalry regiment, on his way to deride death on the bloody plains of La Belle. Curious that the same type of young New Zealander wouldn't have an earthly hope ol a commission in the British cavahy in peace time—too expensive. Anybody without £1000 annual pocket money is a fool to try tbe cavalry in peace time. Young Simsoin is one believes, the lusty youth who has for some years made himself heard in Johannesburg, where he has been the head front (and voice) of the New Zealanders there gathered. It stood that oratory on the held of battle is barred, however. o • • Young Ivan Orbell, of the South, is another New Zealander who has thrown aside his "civvies" to gird on a "Sam Brown." He was learnin"- to be an architect in the Homeland—a place where the Huns are trying to destroy architecture, and he heard the clear call, and will probably get to the front before his brother' Harry—a major with the Egyptian lot—has killed • his first TiTrk The Orbells, by the way, are squatting people of Waikouaiti, and Harry, the major man, began real soldiering as a mere trooper in the first South African lot. If Ivan is as crood a soldier as Harry he won t regret having abandoned architecture for Mood. <© <® ® One of the strangest things the Police Department does is to "promote" chief detectives to be police sub - inspectors. It presumably selects men from the uniform police for the criminal investigation branch on account of their special qualification for crime detection. When a chief detective is at the acme of his power as a detective he is "promoted" to sub-inspector, and his special training is thrown in the gutter. Apropos of which, Chief Detective Broberg, of Wellington, is promoted sub-inspector of uniform police at Christchurch. "Bro." is a born Aucklander; a large, fair, imperturbable chap who really has done some nice work in his special line. New Zealand police rarely have complicated matters to solve, but they often have a very hard job. Thue "Bro." is remembered best as the capturer of Ellis, the murderer
of Collinson on Te Awaiti Station, Martinborough. The police were out after the outlaw murderer for weeks, and "Bro." ran him to earth in a hut. Broberg entered the hut, and found Ellis with a magazine rifle in his hand on "the other" side of the hut table. Broberg, who was of course ragged and unkempt with weeks of search, simply said: "G'day, mate! You the boss of this shanty?" and, moving quickly up, bore him to the earth before he pulled trigger. a • • The man who takes Broberg's place in Wellington is Tudor Boddam, for a good many years of New Plymouth, but formerly of Auckland. Tudor, it may be remembered, married Miss Lydia Fuller, daughter of Silvery John, the multi-mil-lionaire impresario of Auckland, Wellington, and the rest of the universe. Tudor's special distinction is that he looks like a cavalry officer, and was chosen for his beauty as one of the detectives accompanying our present king when he, as Duke of York, travelled these parts. Tudor exhibits, with pardonable pride, a massive silver inkstand, suitably engraved and bearing the royal arms, which His Majesty presented to him for his faithful services. Mr Boddam's promotion has been long delayed, and will be welcomed by him. He has been for some time de-tective-sergeant, and is senior in service to Detective-Sergeant Jack Cassells, of Wellington, the officer who was sent to London to attend
Sir Joseph Ward when a madman was dogging that statesman's footsteps. In some police circles it was thought that the "chief" job in Wellington would have gone to him. One never knows! <S5 ® ® "D. M." declares:—When De Wet was im England I met him twice. He was then a decently tall, thin, loose-limbed man, walking with a queer swagger that tells of the saddle life. His face was rough, furrowed and sun-bitten, the whiskers cut down to a rough of hair at the chin. The eye**, dee{ se* grey and steadfast, vjre always half-covered with a sheath of heavy lid. His clothes were those of a second grade artisan. English newspapers would never have got an interview with De Wet but through the matter of clothes. The Boer generals absolutely refused to see the Press. But for official reasons they had to be fitted out with evening dress clothes —things they had never worn before—in a day. The man who said he would dress the Boers in time for dinner was Mr Jack Ellis, of Messrs J. and S. Ellis, and he kept his word. He also provided London with the newspaper story. ■ • •. Knowing that all the Press was clamouring for an interview, Mr Ellis took two accredited! London journalists on as his assistants in tailoring. They were taken up to
±j>e y»e.us ueuroom when tue trying on hour arrived. De Wet thought that they were painstaking young men, and for once he talked. Afterwards they told De Wet the truth, and he was quite amused. In fact, he got on better with the Press afterwards. Quite a lot of people used to regard De Wet as a sort of master genius, because the British did not capture him. If you ask Colonel Seely when he comes back from the front, he will tell you, as he told a party once at which I waspresent, that it was as much our folly as De Wet's cleverness. "W« had him in a net once," said Colonel Seely on the occasion to which I refer. "We had the scouts secured who knew the country thoroughly. But saddles were wanted, and the officer in command sent a letter asking for them. A formal answer was received, saying that they could only be supplied when the request was made on the proper form! So there were no saddles for our scouts, and De Wet escaped." We always tried to tie up this slim Boer with red tape. ®> ®> ®> Be it known that Lieut.-Colonel C. M. Gibbon, Chief of the General Staff of the New Zealand Defence Forces, is a worthy and laudable Englishman. Possessed' of the regulation English public school accent, the words roll out of his lips like music, and he can voice the strongest criticism in the most exquisitely pleasing manner. Could a military leader have higher qualifications? His keen eye never missed the smallest detail when he inspected the Maori contingent at Avondale a day or cwo ago, and he took the keenest, interest in all matters related to sanitation and the health of the men. Needless to say, all his inquiries met with a response that was entirely satisfactory. He watched the officers drilling the men, and when he called them aside his address to them might be described as a verbal work of art. He's a rangitira. Hooray for him! © f$ ® One is quite sure that every word cabled' to New Zealand papers about the war is true—judging from the reliable information sent about two great figures of the war—the Emperor of Austria and the King of Prussia, Emperor of Germany. A few months ago the ancient figurehead of Austria was declared to be sobbing out his last drops of life. He survived the newspaper liars, and at the glad season is reported to be "sinking fast." So greedy are newspapers to print everything they pay for that on the same day Josef is reported dying he is also reported quite well! One day the Kaiser's eyes are shining "with phosphorescent fire," the next' day he has cancer in the throat, and the following day he is rushing away to the . front—all because every rag of ru- i mour is made to earn money for cable liars, and no New Zealand sub. / dare burn rumour that is paid for. j As for the German Crown Prince, he | has been dead, ill, buried l , resurrected, victorious, defeated, ill, wounded and decorated. At. an early date ' we may expect him to. die some . more, and to signalise his death by some more victorious defeats. j © ® $5 l Captain: Glossop, commander of the victorious Sydney, was within four feet of death during the fight with the Emden. He had taken his; place on the bridge at dawn, accordin.g to accounts from eye-witnesses, I, and was still there when the shells >'• were whistling overhead. The first} shell that struck the Sydney killed an A.B. standing at Captain Glossop's side, and broke the range-find-! er. Those who know the captain X suspect that he did not turn, a hair- } He stayed where he was, controlling >, engines, rudder, gun crews and tor- J pedo tubes, and the greatest testi- 4 mony that could be paid to his . nerves lies in the fact that, ten minutes after the Emden fired that first shell she was crippled and beaten. Captain is a well-groomedl little man, £ ruddy of hair and countenance, with >. a brisk manner, and a philosophy | described as "old-fashioned." On. his ship all is extreme tidiness, and the crew knows that in return for cretting the best of everything it § has to give the best possible work. f
retary of trotting, stepped ashore for the Tauranga races, braced up with. a real first-class Zeiss pair of binoculars. Bob Wynyard - also meandered ashore with a—well any-old-thing-will-do pair of race watchers. Wynn Grey, of blue yarn fame, was leaving for the course when accosted by aforesaid Fred Yonge to get his glasses off his dressing table. Bob Wynyard also bunked in the same room in the same hostelry. Conversation—Bob Wynyard: "Looking for Fred's Glasses? Here's mine! I want Fred's; I'm on a handicapper's gjame to-day. Hand mine to Fred and tell him any old tale." Fred Yonge, disgusted with the exchange, smells a robbery; meets a D., who had been well coached on the exchange joke. The D. accepts the challenge to find his glasses. End of day Zeiss glasses produced; recognised and claimed by Fred Yonge with glee, but gleefulness disappears when the limb of the law assures him that he must wait -over frorti Saturday's excursion for Auckland boat until Monday to identify, etc., before the police court to get conviction of prisoner. He protests. No qo\ The boat k leaving. Fred Yonge, who has taken elaborate precautions at all sorts oi expense, glides aboard the boat ai the last second, hides himself, and, when the steamer is well under way comes into the open—and meets th< D. Fred is not as young as he usee to be. ® ® @ 'Tis reported that James C. Glee son, better known as "Jimmy,' came away from Ellerslie on Satur day considerably richer than when, faarrived there. Further, it is stater that Warstep and Downham wer the quadrupedfe that were instru mental in heaving Jimmy financially By the way, after the Cup, in whic Warstep was the winner, a touchin scene was witnessed in the saddlin
paddock, where there was to be seen James fondly embracing or words to that effect—Luk© Wilson. "But," said one of the friends of the smiling James, "Luke didn't ride Warstep." "Too true, oh king," replied James in effect, "but he rode Reputation—and lost by half a head, don't you see?" ■$> @> ®> Fighting with the Naval Brigade at the defence of Antwerp was P. L. Haycock, a brother of R. F., of the "Herald" advertising staff. P. L. is an amateur oarsman of some repute on the River Thames, and some years ago joined the Naval Volunteers. Finding that business would not allow him the necessary time he gave up volunteering, but when the war broke out he broke away from the high stool of an insurance office and rejoined his old company. Shortly afterwards he was sent to Antwerp, and took part in the severe fighting there. Most of his companions were led into Dutch territory, and were interned, but he managed' to make good his escape, and returned to England none the worse for his adventure. When the last mail left he was expecting to be sent to winter quarters in Scotland. © ® ® The genial Mr F. W. Mander, who represents the Marsden electorate in . the Government interest, had rather an amusing experience while walking up Queen Street with a friend on Monday. He was accosted in a hearty manner by a young man, who exclaimed, "Good morning,' Mr Ley- - don." The M.P. looked surprised, ' and informed the young man that he - was making a mistake, whereupon j he was told that the young man I thought he was Mr E. Leydon, chair--3 man of Mr Albert Glover's (M.P. for - Auckland Central) election commit- . tee. Mr Mander smiled audibly, but 1 did not enlighten the young man ; with the fact that he was on the l other side of the House.
Charlie Reade, the ex-Auckland newspaper man, who has been doing a town-planning stunt, has been extending his researches into the gumtree townships of Victoria, South Australia and West Australia, and so Grong Grong, Nap Nap, Sheringa and Booiigoolowu, each with a blacksmith's shop and a pub., will doubtless burst out into Parisian architecture right away. It is understood that Charlie intends to rush away to the continent, in order to give his valuable assistance to the authorities in Rheims, Namur, Lille, Nieuport and other places which seem really in need of town planners with acknowledged genius. Even if he could repair the suburbs of Antwerp he would "get a hand" from the gallery. <& ® ® Policemen are not the only people who give the order "move on," as now and again they are moved on themselves. As the result of a general poet among officers of the Force, Inspector McGrath has been transferred from Auckland to Napier. Inspector McGrath is a warm-heart-ed Irishman, and one of the most popular officers in a Force containing many popular men. Inspector McGrath has not been very long in Auckland', and prior to coming here he was stationed in the South. He was a brilliant detective, and he was responsible for the bringing to earth, of many a notorious criminal. He has a vast fund of stories, but he is very modest, and lucky is the man who can catch him in the mood to relate his exploits as a detective, and his experiences in the early days as a member of the old armed constabulary. He has a vast knowledge of the law, and can hold his own against the most brilliant of the "Devil's Own." Many friends in Auckland will regret his leaving us, but our loss will be Napier's gam. Good luck to him, for he is a "broth of a bhoy." ® <& ® If you have ever walked into the Auckland police station of your own free will, or even if you have been gently escorted there by a man in blue, and a kindly grey-bearded man has greeted you with, "Hello, bye, how are you?" you have met SubInspector Johnston. He is to be transferred to the charge of the new police district of Gisbdrne. Sub-In-spector Johnston is a real worker, and is held in great esteem by both officers and men of the Force. He is a particularly observant man. When he cam© to Auckland from Christ-
church twelve months ago. he used to wander round making himself familiar with the town. After a week he knew as much about Auckland as men who. had lived a lifetime here. He is a good judge of a horse, and liis upright figure can. generally be seen at most of the race meetings. A really dear old man is Sub-Inspect-or Johnston, and' Gisborne is fortunate in having him for its first police head. $> @> $&> Although the name of Professor J. G. Black, mentioned in the obituary columns of this week's papers,, might suggest little to. the present generation of Thames people older hands will remember him as the. man to whose pioneering work the establishment of the Thames School of Mines was due. Prior to the 'eighties mining education on the goldfields was carried on upon haphazard, methods—-if, indeed, there could be said to be any method at all. But just over thirty years ago the idea took root that it might be a good thing to sfaow the budding miners that a knowledge of geology and chemistry and mineralogy would be of some value to the people who hunted for and extracted gold—in short that a school of mines, such ac Otago already had was just what the rising youth of the district required. a ♦ a Accordingly, some of the leading spirits on the goldfields invited Professor Black, of the Dunedin University, to visit the Thames and show them what mining education was and what it could do. The Professor came, he spoke, he lectured, he experimented, and he demonstrated > and soon he had the Thames by the ears. His lectures and demonstrations—to say nothing of the littlejokes he played off at the exnense of "Willie," his laboratory assistanttook place in Curtiss's Academy of Music, the water-edge place of am-msem-ent, long since defunct, then the general house of assembly for Thames lecturers and entertainers. To say that they "took on" is to put it mildly. Scientific education became the rage on the goldfields. Clamour for the establishment of a proper school of mines set in and soon the school that has trained the present-day mine and battery ma»->----agers was opened. But for the fore--taste of its value given by Professor Black's preliminary lectures, the institution might never have been, and at any rate would have beeiv much later in its establishment.
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Bibliographic details
Observer, Volume XXXV, Issue 17, 2 January 1915, Page 4
Word Count
3,138PARS ABOUT PEOPLE Observer, Volume XXXV, Issue 17, 2 January 1915, Page 4
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PARS ABOUT PEOPLE Observer, Volume XXXV, Issue 17, 2 January 1915, Page 4
Using This Item
See our copyright guide for information on how you may use this title.