LONDON PERSONAL NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9914, 1 August 1910, Page 1

LONDON PERSONAL NOTES.

NEW ZEALANDEBS AT HOME. [From Ouit Correspondent.] June 24. Mr Stephen Nikilin, of Ladbrooks, Cantcrburyj is a Russian, who,, originally a political refugee from his native land, and now a. resident of fifteen years' standing in New Zealand, has come to London in the hope of revisiting Russia. But this is not by any means an. easy matter,, in spite of the general amnesty announced by the Czar in 1905; to political refugees. To begin with, a passport is absolutely necessary. Mr Nikilin, before leaving Now Zealand, wrote to the Governor of his native province asking him to send a passport to London. But on arriving in England by the s.s. Devon this month, Mr Nikilin.found that no notice had been taken of his letter, and there was no passpart awaiting him here. Then he applied to the Russian Consul in London, but the latter refused to issue a passport to him, and w,ould givo no reason for his refusal. Mr Nikilin lias consulted Prince Kropotkin and other prominent Russian refugees in London, and they all advise him to keep clear of Russia. In every case, to go without a passport is simply to invito arrest and imprisonment. What makes Mr Nikilin so anxious to revisit Russia is the fact that when he left there as a lad of nineteen years lie was lieir to some property belonging to his father, who has since died. Ho has never been able to learn anything about the property during his fifteen years exile, as his letters to those most likely to be interested have remained unanswered. " I would not mind serving a term pf imprisonment in Russia," he told me, " if on. mv release I could claim my property, bub there is so much uncertainty about the 1 matter that I really do not know what to do." '

Speaking of geographical ignorance in the Mother Country, Mr W. P. Reeves told the company, at tho New Zealand dinner! last Monday that a London hostess once said to him at a dinner party: " I want to introduce you to a lady- who comes from the same part of the.world as you. She oomes from Jamaica"! Another instance occurred when he made his first speech, or one of ithe first, as Agent-General for New Zealand. He feTt very nervous about it, and took some pains to prepare his speech and polish up his epigrams. Opening his newspaper with some trepidation next morning to see how his speech looked in print, he found at the end of the report of the other speeches this sentence: "The toast of 'Our Colonies' was responded to by the Agent-General for Newfoundland." "I said to myself, 'This is a great country. I will never be nervous again,' " remarked Mr Beeves. Mr Reeves told a good storv at the Now Zealand dinner this week of the way in which he bad to vindicate in the great city of Manchester the original New Zealanders' reputation for hospitality. When he was AgentGeneral 3ie was invited to Manchester to inspect the Ship Canal; and th© Lord Mayor, in an after-dinner speech, told how the five million inhabitants of Manchester and its environs had, within forty-eight .hours, swallowed the whole cargo of food supplies "brought by a gieat ship up the.* canal. ""'My Lord/' .replied Mr Reeves, " as I listened to your words it became evident to me that in these parts they can swallow a great deal, but a feat which casts your powers of consumption into tho shade was performed some seventy or eighty years ago in New Zealand. A British merchant ship, laden with produce, cast anchor in one of the inlets of my country ? and within fortyeight horn's the industrious Natives had not only swallowed the cargo but the passengers and crew as well. Even in our hospitality the people of New Zealand were always original." Lieutenant A. A. Morris, R.N., elder son of Mr and Mrs F. W. Morris, of Pailtou House, Rugby, and Miss Muriel Anderson, daughter of Mr and Mrs John Anderson, of Christchureh, New Zealand, were married on Saturday at- St Margaret's, Westminster. Sir George Reid, who delighted the guests at the New Zealand dinner with a witty speech in his happiest vein, told- them he would not trouble them with antiemetic of any kind, "because," said he, "long ago 1 lost the .only figure I ever had." Mr W. P. Reeves capped the joke, neatly by remarking, "I am interested to know that figures are lost by addition as well as l}y subtraction." Dr J. M. Mason, late Chief Health Officer for New Zealand, is returning to the dominion by tlio lonic, which leaves to-day. He is accompanied, by Mrs. Master and Miss Mason, and intends to" settle iti New Zealand and practise medicine there. Messrs E. C. Howard and W. W. , Edwards, two newly appointed Government veterinary surgeons, leave to-day for New Zealand by ihe ionic. A third, Mr Riohard Finch, left a fortnight ago, via Suez, but will spend a fortnight in Australia on a visit to his brother, and will arive in New Zealand about the same time as Messrs Howard and Edwaids.

Canon Vascoc, of Gkristchurch, who came to England by the Rimutaka last month, spent a. month "with relatives in Cornwall before coming to London. He will remain m till Juno 28, and then goes to Canterbury for St Augustine's College Commemoration. July and August lie will probably spend oil the Norfolk coast, 'and he sails for New Zealand in September or early in October. As he has come for the" fiako of his health, Canon Pa.scoe is going to try the " rest cure,''' and will not undertake work of any kind.

" One feels inclined to forgive the vanity of the col-onial who consider New Zealand the most blessed, spot or.' earth."' says Mr Will Crooks in the "Daily Chronicle" of Su turd ay. '* Nature has been exceptionally kind to New Zealand, and a splendid future lies before the country if she makes good use of hor opportunities for development. If I ha a" to make a start in life over again this dominion of New Zealand, of all the places on the map, is the one where I should wish to carve out my future." Lady Stout, wife of the Lord Chief Justice of New- Zealand, sent the following message to last Saturday's '■' Votes for "Women,''., tlie weekly organ of the Women's Social and Political Union:—"The land I come from —New Zealand—is the youngest daughter of tho Empire--really just a tiny baby in long clothes. Yet, her little hands have caught hold tightly and lirmlv, as wo all know the tiniest baby hands can do, of the biggest and toughest problems of the day. Yet, it is not by one hand alone she holds, but by wedded hands of man and woman hound together by loyal comradeship and low, with equal rights and equal powers to work together for the upliftiug of humanity, and the redress of wrongs that, are a menace to the future happiness of their children, homes and country," Mr John Hall, of Christchuroh, and his son, arrived in London early in June, after a Yery interesting and pleasant trip to England by way of Sydney. Vancouver and Canada and the Tnited States. ftn route across Canada they made britd .at several of tin; pri»-

cipal towns, and at Niagara, and also spent a day or so in Chicago, Buffalo and Detroit. At New York they tarried a week before embarking for England by the Mauretania, which brought across the Atlantic no fewer than 1600 passengers. Aftof seeing as much of London as they can compass in the space of five or six w"ceks Mr Hall and his son intend touring a while in Sco-tland and Ireland, and later will indulge in a ten or twelve weeks' Continental round. On the way back to New Zealand, they propose to spend a little time in Egypt and to put iu a. fortnight in Ceylon. Mr and Mrs Edward Gates, of 'Ghristchurch, who also came Home by the Omrali, have been spending the early part of their holiday here in Yorkshire. Now, having seen a little of life in London, they are going to the West Country. Ireland and Scotland and tlie Continent are included in their itinerary of travel on this side of the waters, and a combination of business and pleasure will probably keep them in these latitudes for the next five or six'months.

Colonel C. S. Bailey, of Tim am, &r----rived in London a few days ago with his wife a-nd daughter, after a much enjoyed trip Home by the White Star Liner Runic. Their visit is on© of pleasure pure and simple, and after a spell in London they go. to 1 Ireland to spend a month with relatives, and thence on to Scotland, where Colonel Bailey's brothers are living. They will return to tho dominion by the White Star steamer Suevic, leaving Liverpool on September 22.