People We Hear About

New Zealand Tablet, 19 September 1912, Page 41

People We Hear About

The Right Rev. Dr. Mostyn, Bishop of Menevia, can claim among his ancestry no few than four of the English Martyrs-the Veil. Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel, the Yen. William Howard, Viscount Stafford, and Blessed Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury. Mr. Henry Willis, the much-discussed Speaker of the N.S.W. Parliament, is a native of South Australia. Mr. Willis was born at Port Adelaide 52 years ago.. His childhood was spent at Port Adelaide, where his father was in business. He was educated at the local Grammar school, and was returned as a member of the City Council when quite a young man. About 25 years agohe went to New South Wales. 4 Sir John Harrington, who was badly cut and! bruised in a motor car accident recently in London,, was educated at Stonyhurst and, after serving on the l Indian Staff Corps, entered the Consular service. He was successively Vice-Consul and Consul at Galla, and was placed in charge of the British Mission to Abyssinia in 1898. He was knighted in 1910, and received the commandership of the Bath in 1902.

In the July issue of the Musical Times there is a most interesting article on William Vincent Wallace, composer of Montana ■, Luvline , etc., from the pert of Dr. W. H. Grattan Flood. This is the centenary year of Wallace’s birth, and a strong committee ■ has been formed in Waterford, on the initiative of Mr. Edmund Downey, to commemorate the event by an enduring memorial to the great Irish composer, who first saw the light in the Urbs Intacta in 1812. Among those who have already signified their intention of helping the Wallace Centenary are: Field Marshal Lord Roberts, Bishop Sheehan, Count de la Poer, Judge Martin J. Keogh, Sir Thomas H. Grattan Esmonde, M.P., Mr. Matthew Keating, M.P., and Sir James A. Power.

The president of Switzerland is so hedged about, by the Constitution that, except for official purposes and to facilitate the exchange of courtesies and of amicable understanding with foreign nations, he has no more standing than the other six members of the Council of which he forms a part. He is elected for one year, has no official residence, and his chief business is to sign the documents of the Bundesrath or Council of Seven. His salary is in our money equal to about ■£72o a year, and there is no provision for private expenses, such as travelling or entertaining. He is expected to live in the capital of the country during the year he holds office. His associate members in the Bundesrath get £6OO , a year, and they are elected for three years, their votes having the same force as that of the president. As a rule the president of Switzerland is before election a member of this council and is elected to the higher office without opposition.

A large and distinguished congregation assembled at the Sacred Heart Church, Wimbledon, on July 27 for the marriage of Mr. Francis Westby Perceval, eldest son of Sir Westby Perceval, K.S.G., K.C.M.G., late Agent-General for New Zealand, and of ‘ Southdown,’ Wimbledon, and Dorothy Anne Cecilia, second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Thornton, of ‘ Fairlawn,'’ Lansdowne road, Wimbledon. Father W. H. Kerr, S.J., officiated, assisted by Father Considine, S.J. (Rector of. Wimbledon), and Father F. J. Roe, of Caterham, who celebrated the Nuptial Mass. The bride’s train was carried by the Misses Clara and Anna Burns, and she was given away by her father, while Mr. Alan Perceval, brother of the bridegroom, acted as best man. The bridesmaids were Miss Lilian and Miss Agnes Thornton (sisters of the bride), Miss Ethel Berry, and Miss Freda Tasker. Master Antony Lloyd acted as page. During the Nuptial Mass, which was served by Masters George and John Thornton, brother and cousin respectively of the bride, the choir, under Father J. O’Driscoll, S.J., rendered a special selection of motets very beautifully. The newly married couple had the happiness of receiving the Papal blessing. ■