People and Their Doings.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 456, 18 May 1932, Page 6

People and Their Doings.

The Hon W. P. Reeves had Many Friends Among New Zealand Sportsmen : Inscription on a Loving Cup : Premier was Persecuted Because He Went to School in a Kilt.

THE HON W. P. REEVES will be remem

bered with respect and affection by many New Zealand sportsmen who met him in London, and he will ahvays be linked with the sporting records of the Dominion through the Loving Cup subscribed for by New’ Zealanders in Britain and presented to the 1924 All Blacks in recognition of their unbeaten record. The verse inscribed on the cup was w’ritten by Mr Reeves;— To the shining leaf and the jersey black, To the journey without defeat, lo the mighty heart of the striving pack, And the runners with flying feet. This loving cup drink, drink in turn While memories stir each breast, And lift it high to the Silver Fern , And the record which beat the best. ® W 35? jyj[R BEAD MASTERS, of Christchurch, who locked the pack throughout the tour, and who may be regarded as the personification of one line of the inscription, has grateful memories of Mr Reeves’s kindness. Mr Cecil Wray, who assisted Mr Reeves in the revision of the latest edition of “ The Long White Cloud,” and who added a sketch of recent events in New Zealand, presented Mr Masters with a copy as a Christmas present, recognising in him a fellow author, for Mr Masters was then preparing his very interesting book, w With the All Blacks in Great Britain,” which forms an invaluable pictorial and critical review of the tour. Mr Masters remarked this morning that Mr Reeves, who played for Canterbury against Otago in 1878, took the keenest possible interest in the tour, and w-rote a very fine poem, “ The Last of Twentyeight,” in commemoration of the final match against England at Twickenham. 9? W 3? M R „ •M. L. Page, who captained the last New Zealand Eleven, and who visited England with the team last year, said today that Mr Reeves’s speech at the M.C.C. dinner a year ago was the finest thing of its kind he had ever heard, sparkling with wit and good feeling and enshrining his famous epigram on “ grim, grimmer, Grimmett.” Lord Harris, who followed Mr Reeves, and who himself was recognised as one of the best after-dinner speakers in England, paid a tribute to the brilliance of Mr Reeves’s effort, which, he said, left him with very little to say. Unfortunately, at that time Mr Reeves was far from well and spoke with obvious difficulty.

ANECDOTE of Mr Reeves that was typical of his sense of aesthetic fitness is told in connection with his term of office as a director of the Bank of Australasia. The Auckland branch, which is next door to the “ Auckland Star ” office, and which cost a great deal of money, had in front of it, over a portico, a group, or rather the figures of a man and woman, supposed to typify industry or something of the sort. Pember Reeves had one look at it, and it disappeared almost in a night, unwept, unhonoured and unsung. sSi? there are two kinds of poli- _ ticians—those who get more out of politics than they give and those who give more than they expect to get. To the second class belongs Sir Stanley Argyle, whose rapid rise to prominence in Victorian State politics has placed him at the head of the State. A story is told that “ Wee Stanley ’’ as a boy used to attend school at Kyneton in all the glory of Highland costume, and the tartan of the Argvles. Though tormented by the other youngsters, he wore his kilts in spite of them because of the affection his parents had for them. The same dogged persistence has characterised his public life. It is evident in his tall, ’broad frame and in the purposeful stride which belies his years. Though relieved of the cares of office in the last couple of years, he has worked with unflagging energy at his political duties—far too hard from the viewpoint of his political opponents. Even they, however, admit that his experience and advice are of decided value in debate. His scientific training and his zest for hard work are to be tested in the Premier’s chair. Hi? A* announcement was made in the “ Star ” a few days ago that Lord Rothschild’s splendid collection of birdskins in his Zoological Museum at Tring, England has been acquired by the United States National Museum, and will be taken to New York. This has some personal interest to New Zealanders, as the collection includes many New" Zealand birds. In his aviary at Tring, Lord Rothschild had the largest flock of live kiwis ever kept in captivity. In March, 1913, he wrote to Mr J. Drummond, Christchurch, stating that he no longer had any live kiwis, but had 171 kiwi skins, 15 skeletons and 44 eggs. In addition to these, he had given twelve skins to other museums, and ten or twelve skeletons to the British Museum (Natural History), South Kensington. 4

most conspicuous single specimen in the kiwi section is a pure white skin from Martin’s Bay, South Westland, and a pure white kiwi chick. In Paris, Lord Rothschild bought a partial albino, with a dirty white plumage. Most of his live kiwis were sent to him from Wellington by Sir Walter Buller. Some were sent by.his collectors in New Zealand, H. H. Travers and J. Dannefaerd, who hunted kiwis in their haunts. , Lord Rothschild stated in his letter that, although his series was very complete, he wished to obtain good authentic eggs of the great spotted kiwi, Apteryx Haasti. This species inhabits sub-alpine districts in Nelson Provnce and on the West Coast. Its rare egg is about five inches long, and a delicate pale greenishwhite. jy£R CLIFFORD BALL, the talented carillon player of Bourneville, has been good enough to offer his services for a performance in Christchurch, using the bells of St Barnabas’ Church, Fendalton. Mr Ball will arrive in Christchurch on Sunday and will be the guest of Mr W. A. White, honorary secretary of the St Barnabas’ Carillon Guild. A programme is being prepared and will be published before Sunday. Mr Ball will go on to Dunedin on Monday morning. sj? CIXTY YEARS AGO (from the “Star” of May 17, 1872): Central Railway Station.—A proposal has been laid before the Provincial Government, the full particulars of which will be made public in a few days, for bringing the terminus of the Canterbury railways into the city. The “New Zealand Herald” (Auckland) publishes the following letter from a Cambridge correspondent. It is dated April 28: I returned from Taupo last night. The season is too far advanced to get to Tuhua by the way of Taupo; the road at the base of Tongariro being snowed up. The best way to get there during the winter is either by Taranaki or Mokau. When at Oruanui, I was informed by the natives that gold had been found at a certain place near the lake, and that two natives had gone to Napier for the purpose of arranging with the Government for opening the country for gold mining. After some little trouble. I succeeded in inducing them to take me to the place; and although I did not find gold there, 1 found sufficient indications of it to enable me to assert that its discovery is a mere question of time.