BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1788, 28 June 1913, Page 6

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

SIR WILLIAM RUSSELL. Sir William Russell was born, at Sandhurst, Berkshire, England, in 1838, and first visited New Zealand in tho forties, with his father, who belonged to thosSth Regiment. Returning to England in 1818 he was educated at tho Itoyal Military College, Sandhurst. After leaving coliego, he entered the 58th Regiment as an ensign, and : came out to tno colony in 1857 by the ship Chapman with troops, returning to tho Old Country again in 1858. Ho camo back to New Zealand in 1861, landing at Auckland, and until 1862 "served as' a captain jn the 14th Regiment. In. 1861 Captain Russell was stationed at Wellington, but ho sold his commission the next year, and settled in. Hawke's Bay as a sheep-farmer. He entered political life in 1870 as a member

of tho Hawkc's Bay Provincial Council, in which he'sat until tho abolition of tho Provincial Governments in 1876. Captain Russell was returned as tho first member of tho House of Representatives for Napier and tho country districts of Hawke's Bay, and was re-elected again at the next general election. On going to the poll again in 1881, however, he was defeated, but after a rest of throe years was again successful. From that time Sir William liussell was returned to Parliament, until he was defeated in 1905 by Mr. A. Dillon. As a Minister ho joined the Atkinson Government of ISS4, taking the portfolio of PostmasterGeneral, but after fourteen days tho Ministry was defeated. In October, 1889, he again occupied office as a Minister of the Crown, becoming Colonial '-Secretary and Minister for Dcfcnce arid Justice, remaining in office until the Ballance Government look the reins in IS9I. Subsequently Sir Win.-Russell became Leader of tho Opposition. Ho was succeeded in that office by the present Prime Minister (the Hon: W. F. Massey). Sir Win. Russell's knighthood was conferred in 1902. Ho is respected by all parlies in tho political world for his manly straightforwardness. A keen lover of sport, Sir Wm. Russell lias owned a number of racehorses at various times, and he has filled tho office of president of tho Now Zealand Jockey Cluli. MR. JOHN DUTHIt. Mr. John Duthie was born in Kintore, Aberdeen, and was educated at the Aberdeen Grammar School. Ho was apprenticed to the ironmongery trade in his native city, and nfter serving his apprenticeship travelled in Scotland and Ireland for several years, representing a Sheffield house. He came out to New Zealand in November, 18011, by tho ship Helvellyn, and landed in Auckland, whore ho was'engaged as a traveller by Messrs. Cniickshnnk, Smart, and Co., ironmongers. About 1866 Sir. Duthio removed to New Plymouth, where lie started in business on his own account. About two years later he extended operations to Wiingamii, where he opened a branch, and carried on a growing business for many years. hi 1879 he canio to Wellington", and slur toil tho large business (now Alevsrs. John Duthie and Co., Ltd.), one of 1 he largest ironmongery warehoufwi in tile Dominion. Mr, Duthio retained nu interest m tho

Wnnganui business until 1887 or 1888, when ho disposed of it to liis partner, Mr. Ja«. Timin. Mr. Duthio lias always boon willing to givo liis time and his business capacity for the benefit of tho public. While a resident of Wo,nganui ho was chairman of tho Ilarlrour Board and sinco coming to Wellington ho has held the position of chairman of tho Harbour Board and president of tho Chamber of Commerce. lie was also president of the Culf;ionian Society for eome years and has held various other public and

semi-public offices, ilr. Duthie lias taken a keen interest in municipal matters and was illayor of Wellington .in 1889 and 1890. He entered Parliament in 1890 when ho was elected to represent Wellington City, being less than 50 votes behind ill'. Geo. Fisher, who, on that occasion, was returned at the head of tho poll. Three 1 years later' Mr. Duthie was reelected by a majority of nearly one thousand votes over-Mr. T. K. Macllonald. who headed a long list of 'unsuccessful candidates, the other winning candidates being Sir Robert Stout and Mr. JI. D. Bell, who occupied first and second places respectively. Mr. Duthie was a leading light on the Opposition side of tho House for several years and there were few who did not have tho utmost faith in his integrity and sound financial and general ability. Some surprise was manifest in November, 1905, when Mr. Duthio was rejected by the electors in favour of Mr. C. H. Izard. Mr. Duthie was one of those interested in founding The Dominion.. i MR. C. A. C, HARDY. Mr. C. A. C. Hardy was Chief Whip to the Reform party in its days in Opposition until lie was unseated at tho last general election. In that official capacity he was universally esteemed. His kindly and spontaneous good nature was infectious even in tho most wearisome houra.of a long sitting, and he has many friends amongst men of all parties. Mr. Hardy was born at Cooleyhill, Coanty Armagh, Ireland, on September 23, 1643.

Ho arrived at Dunedin on July 4. 1863, and, since then has been engaged in commercial pursuits. Ho ma a member of the Dunedin Volunteer Naval Brigade from 1863 until 1865, of tho Dunedin Artillery from 1866 to 1868, and of tho Gre.ymouth Rifles from IS7O to 1874. Mr. Hardy lived for ten -years in Westtandand has since spent 34 years in Eakaia, where he still resides. For many years ho has been chairman of the local school committee, and for about fourteen years has represented his district on the North Canterbury Board of Education. He was elected to the House of Representatives'as member for Selwyn in 1899, and represented the same constituency continuously for twelve years. As a public man, Mr. Hardy has taken a keen interest in industrial schools, and ho is an alert champion of such institutions as Burnham and Te Oranga. MR. W. G. NICHOLLS. Mr. William hroy Nicholls was born at Coromandel, in the Auckland provincial district, on December 26, 1853. His father, the late Mr. Wm.' Nicholls, came from Falmouth, Cornwall,-England, and arrived in New Zealand as a passenger by the ship Aurora. The Aurora landed her passengers at Petonc beach early in 1810. From Wellington Mr. Nicholls senior went qprth to Tauranga (Bay *of Plenty), where ho settled for a few years as a -former, and met and married Hiro To Wffakaawa, eldest sister of Te Moananui, chief of tho Ngaitcrangi tribe. Mr. 'W. G. Nicholls is thus descended, on his mother's side, from an ancient Maori tribe, whose members trace back their

descent to To Rangihouhiri, who lived in the Bay of Plenty district about ten genGotion's ngo. Mr. Nicholls was educated at the Rev. Mr. Ashwell's school at Taupiri, Waikato. Ho has followed the occupation of farmer and Land Purchase Agent sinco 1872. 111 ISM he obtained his license as a Native interpreter, and ho has been connected with Native Land Court work during the Inst forty years. When the Ohiiiemuri County was separately constituted in ISSS, Mr, Nicholls was ono of those returned at the first election to represent the I'neroa riding on tho County Council. Mr. Nicholls continued his membership for nine years, and for five years was countv chairman. Having now retired from active business, Mr. jSiclinlls divides hiq residenco betwosn I'acroa and Coromandel, .

MR. WILLIAM EARNSHAW. Mr. William Earnshaw was a wellknown figure in New Zealand politics twenty yours ago. JJo was born in Manchester in 18,W, and ho was trained as to engineer and millwright at the Albion Mills, subsequently acquiring experience m several leading engineering- works in Britain. Ho worked afterwards in American shops, from the shipyards of Boston and tho cotton mills of Lawrcnce to tho foundries of San Francisco and British Columbia. When still a young man ho camo to Australia, where ho was emplov'n- °'V Yarra bank and at Ballarat. His first employment in Now Zealand was in tho Addington Railway Workshops, where ho was chairman- of tho workshops movement to secure redress after tho famous ten per cent, reduction to Civil Servants. Next ho moved to Dunedin, where ho was for many veara foreman for Messrs. Anderson and "Morrison. At tho tinio of tho Maritime strike and tho labour upheaval of 1800 ho contested the Peninsula seat againdt tho lato [ion. W. J. M. ■ Larnach, and ho was the first and only Independent labour candidate returned in that election. His battlo cry then was "Measures, not men," and ho gave a loyal support to tho prudent financial and 'policy proposals of the Ballanco Ministry. Ho took an activo part in advocating legislation for tho benefit of tho workers, and as president of tho* Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants ho was activo in getting r-cdross for railway 111011 of their grievances. When Mr. Ballance diod, and tho Seddon Ministry camo into power, Mr. Earnshaw donounccd tho Budget of 1893, and voted against .tho Government on their first Budget, and in every subsequent no-con-fidence motion submitted to tho House ho went into tho Opposition lobby with tho party of which Mr. Massey was then a junior member. In 1893, tho Peninsula seat having been abolished, ho contested Dunedin City, which at tiiat time was not subdivided, and which therefore returned threo members. He was strenuously opposed, but was returned. At the next election, in 189G, Mr. J. A. Millnr left the Chalmers seat and contested Dunedin City, and in consequence Mr. Earnshaw's name was struck off the. Labour ticket. He was defeated, but so

also were tho other two Labour men, tho only ono to be returned 'being Mr. J. A. Millar.- Mr. Earnshaw at onco returned to tho ranks of daily wage-earners. Some five years ago he paid a long visit to tho Old Country, and there :ho ovaikd himself of the opportunity of studying tho ■Labour conditions. Since his retirement from politics, he has been employed with Messrs. Stovenson and Cook, of Port Chalmers, and for the last threo years in th® mechanics' shop of the Wellington Harbour Board, first as a turnfcr, and later aa workshops clerk. When in Parliament ho was the only member who ever introduced a measure for tho State control of tho liquor traffic; ho was tho first to carry a resolution to tho effect that the State should supply school-books frco to children.; and he many times denounced the system of co-operativo labour for public works construction as being a system giving tho poorest results to tho State, and paying the lowest wages to the workers. H©. enters th© Council, ho himself says, to foster what ho conceives to bte the best interests of Labour.