People and Their Doings.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19118, 10 July 1930, Page 8

People and Their Doings.

Sir Joseph 'Would Not Take His Porridge Alone : A Muddle In Financiers : Some Of Mr H. A. Youngs Magisterial Humour.

TWO CHRISTCHURCH reporters remember, years ago, shivering outside Warner’s Hotel until 1.30 a.m., in the dead of winter, in hail, sleet and rain while they waited for Sir Joseph Ward, in order to get an important statement from him on public finances. The dreary vigil was enlivened by an interchange of frank opinion on politicians, politics, and the unpleasant side of newspaper life. When Sir Joseph drew up in his car, his smiles, apologies, excuses and explanations quickly dispelled all ideas that he had been inconsiderate. No eminent politician in the world, probably, was more thoughtful of journalists than Sir Joseph Ward was. It must be confessed that in this respect he far outdistanced Mr Seddon, who worked his private secretaries to the limit and at times tried the patience of reporters. Before Sir Joseph was Prime Minister, he made a speech at Winton, a small village in Southland. On the following morning, the reporter who accompanied him on his tour went into a little room of the hotel where breakfast had been laid, and sat down in front of a dish of porridge. The officious publican took up the dish, carried it into the common dining-room, and told the reporter that he must have his breakfast there. Sir Joseph, coming down in a few minutes,- carried the dish back to the room set aside for him, and asked the reporter to sit down and have breakfast with him. He did this quietly and naturally, and with the charming grace of manner that stamped him as a perfect gentleman.

9 9 9 'J'HE latest story indicative of conservative confusion in certain quarters relates that, about the time of the Hatry prash at Home, and when the Government of New Zealand was introducing its land tax proposals, a teacher of a private and somewhat backward school examined her class on questions of general knowledge. She asked for the name of the man who, through dabbling in big finance, had caused more suffering to the poor than any other man in the world. The answer she wanted was “ Hatry.” But what she got from half the class was ” Sir Joseph Ward.”

® PROFESSOR OBERTH has been verybusy of late at Horst, a little bathing place on the Baltic, perfecting an exact model of the rocket in which he intends visiting the moon. This model rocket is to be shot up by the explosion of the gas it contains, and instruments concealed in it will . record the composition of the atmosphere through which it travels. An automatic parachute will bring the rocket down again when the motors are exhausted. The rocket-model is expected to reach a height of 100 kilometres and to bring back valuable secrets.

MAGISTERIAL HUMOUR is welcome in the Courts during the progress of some of the dull cases heard there, but a lot of it is either too heavy or much too obvious. Mr H. A. Young, S.M., however, who, by taking the civil cases, has to listen to hour after hour of dry legal arguments, has a dry humour that is too little heard. An expert was recently quoting from a text book of 1908. When asked by counsel if there was not anything more modern than that he replied that there certainly was a more recent book by Abraham. With a suspicion of a smile Mr Young asked “Are 3'ou sure it’s more modern?” “Oh, yes,” replied the witness, not seeing the joke.

9 9 9 PROMINENT COUNSEL was recently made to look rather foolish by Mr Young during the course of cross-examina-tion. This particular solicitor adopts rather a bullying attitude with witnesses on the other side, and he had thoroughly tied up the man in the box. “I don’t follow you, sir,” said the witness, “I’m sure you’re trying to muddle me.” Counsel replied that he thought the point in question was quite clear, and appealed to the Magistrate. ‘ It s quite clear. I’m sure your Worship follows me?” With a slight smile Mr Young said, “I’m hot admitting anything, anyway. Counsel sat down and the Court laughed.

9 9 'J’HREE HUNDRED BISHOPS and archbishops attended at St Paul’s Cathedral when the Archbishop of York, Dr Temple, inaugurated the seventh Lambeth Conference. The first Lambeth Conference, held in 1867, was attended by 76 bishops, and the number increased to 194 on the occasion of the fourth conference in 1897. The principal discussion at the conference in 1397 was on the Colenso case. John William Colenso, when Bishop of Natal, published a work on Biblical criticism which caused an excited controversy, and culminated in the work being condemned as heretical. The Bishop of Cape Town attempted to depose Dr Colenso, and although unsuccessful he publicly excommunicated him and appointed a bishop under a new title as Bishop of Maritssburg, thus ignoring the existence of the Bishop of Natal. Great public interest was shown in “the Colenso case” and it is interesting to note in comparing the first conference with the seventh that the Archbishop of York in his sermon at the opening of the present conference “deprecated the undue prominence that was being assigned to controversies within the Church.”

JITR F. G. TURNER, an old Christchurch boy. now of Perth, Western Australia, has recently made something like a record in rate of travel between Perth and Christchurch. Mr Turner received word that his father was seriously ill, and set out immediately for New Zealand. Leaving Perth by aeroplane at noon, he reached Coolgardie at a quarter to five that afternoon. All the next day was occupied in flying from there to Adelaide. Another two hops—one to Melbourne and the other to Sydney—and then he boarded the 6.5. Ulimaroa for Wellington, and came over to Christchurch in the ferry-boat. He made the journey in At the outbreak of war, Mr Turner was in business with his brother, Mr H. J. Turner, dentist, of this city. He went to the front, but with the coming of peace he went as a rubber planter to New Guinea. From there he moved to the Coolgardie goldfields and took up prospecting. On his last search for gold, Mr Turner was 200 miles away from civilisation, and alone. He was struck with sandy blight,' and got back just in time to save his sight. He says that he owes his life to his horse, which knew the way and carried him back. This experience compelled Mr Turner to give up the adventurous life, and he has now gone back to dentistry.

9 9 9 CIR JOHN FORTESCUE, who will be ® remembered by many New Zealanders as the Hon John Fortescue when he was on the staff of Sir William Jervois, has completed the thirteenth and final volume of his great work, “The History of the British Army.” The whole history goes back to Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt. This thirteenth volume opens with the Crimean War and the Persian War and Indian Mutiny. It further treats of the campaigns in China, Ambela and Abyssinia, the wars in New Zeijland, and concludes with a sketch of the New Araiy of 1914. After the Crimean War, the Victoria Cross was instituted, and Sir John recalls that the new decoration was not welcomed by the older officers. They remembered the time when Englishmen were content to do their duty without hope of outward adornment After thanking his brother, BrigadierGeneral Charles Fortescue, and others for their valuable assistance, Sir John ends his preface with this graceful tribute:— p “ And there is she, nearest of all to me, who in defiance of pain and sickness, has sought incessantly to win me the leisure for completion of my task, and by sheer courage and resolution has prevailed I had not the presumption when I began this history to inscribe it to anyone, illustnous or obscure. I could not have inscribed it to her? for she was then a child of whose existence I was for many years to remain unaware. But, now that it is done, I dedicate it with loving thankfulness to my wife.”