LIST OF NEW YEAR HONORS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2348, 2 January 1915, Page 8

LIST OF NEW YEAR HONORS

(Rec. January!, 5,5 p.m.) London, December 31. 'Among the New Zealand honours arc the following:— Knight Commander of Saint Michael and Saint George—Mr. R. Philp. exPremier of Queensland, and one of the foundprs of Bums, Philp and Co. Knight Companion—Mr. Frederick Ohapplo, Headmaster of Prince College, Adelaide; Mr. Eliot, ox-Under-Treasurer of Perth; and Mr. Hogbon,. InspectorGenoral of Schools, New Zealand. Knight Bachelor—Mr. Hennesy, of Melbourne; Dr. Herbert, Maitland, Sydney: and Mr. J. G. Wilson, President of the Hoard of Agriculture, New land.(Rec. January 7, 7.80 p.m.) London, December SI. ■ The honours list includes the following:— • ■• Knights of the Garter—Lord Derby and Lord Chesterfield. Marquisete—The Earl of Aberdeen. Earldom —Viscount St. Aldwyn. Privy Council—Mr. Arthur Henderaon, M.P. (Labour member for Barnard Castle Division, Durham), and Sir William MacGregor. Baronot—Mr. Hamar Greenwood, M.P. for Sunderland. Companion of the Bath—Captain John Gloesop, Commander of the H.M.A.S. Sydney. • (Rec. January 2, 0.5 a.m.) London, January 1. Mr. Henry Nowbolt, tfbe poet, and Mr. Frank. Dyson, the Astronomer Royal, have been knighted.

Sir William Macgregor was Governor of Queensland,from 1909 ' until last year. He is an M.Di of Aberdeen University, and in the practice of his profession 'he has held soveral important administrative posts at Home and in tho colonies. In the Pacific he was Chief Medical Officer at Fiji in 1875, and later Receiver-General and Administrator of tho 'Government, and ActingHigh Commissioner and Consul-General for the Western Pacific. Since then ho has held the offices of Administrator of British New Guinea, 1888; LieutenantGovernor, 1895; Governor of Lagos, 1899-1904; and Governor of Newfoundland. 1904-1909. He was created C.B. in 1897, K.C.M.G.1889. and G.C.M.G. 1907.

Mr. Arthur Henderson has been Labour member for Barnard Castle Division, Durham, in the H6use of Commons since 1903. A moulder by trade, he has held numerous official positions in his trade union. For some time he was a member of the Newcastle City Council, and the Darlington Borough Council, and he was Mayor of Darlington in 1903. He is a Magistrate for the County of Durham. In the House ho was chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party from 1908 to 1910, and he is at present secretary of the party.

HONOURS AND PROMOTIONS. (Rec. January 1, 10.20 p.m.) ■i ■ _ London, January 1. The Royal Victorian Order Grand Cross has been conferred on Admiral Prince Louis of BattenbuTg. Other honours include-"the following:— Companion of the Bath.—Captain Grant and Commander Barr, of the Carmania. N ' •'■ Distinguished Service Order Com-panions.—Squadron-Commander Briggs, Flight-Lieutenant Sippe, and FlightCommander Babington. Distinguished Service Medala have been awarded to all the orew of submarine BU for their exploits in the Dardanelles.

THE SILVER CROSS. 'A! NEW SERVICE HONOUR. His Majesty the King has established a Military Cross in silver as a recognition of officers' distinguished services.: Only captains and inferior officers, also warrant officers of the Imperial Indian and Colonial Forces are eligible. It ranks next to the Victoria Cross. The recipients include Lieutenant E. L. Conan and Lieutenant-Commander Coleman. ■■' •'..-... The engineer of H.M.A.S. Sydney has been promoted commander.

SIR JAMES WILSON, KT.

The honour conferred upon Sir James Glenny Wilson, is no doubt, intended as' a recognition of the untiring energy he has displayed in the interests of the farming industry in New Zealand, to which he. has rendered proba'Bly greater service than any other one man. Ever since the scheme to form tile Farmers' Union was set.afoot, the name of Mr. .T. G. Wilson, has been associated witli it, and he has for many years been Dominion President of the Union. For many years also he haß been an aoti™ worker for' agricultural and pastoral associations. He was ono of those who urged the holding of regular conferences of delegates and the setting up of a council, and since the conference has been held he has been on of those whosß advico has been most frequently sought and _most readily accepted by mombers. Ho it was who encouraged the Government to extend the. activities of the Agricultural Department, which already had experimental farms, to make its work in experimenting with soils and fertilisers more readily accessible to farmers, f Ho argued that few farmers could visit the experimental farms, and that even if they did tho experiments there being made might not be of value to them in their own fanning operations in another district. ■ Tho result of representations made, chiefly through Mr. Wilson, was the institution of the system now familiar of conducting experiments in'many farming districts in .what are known as "cross roads plots." For these experiments the Government supplies (seed and manures, and the work is done by the farmers themsolves. Tho scheme, has grown from small, beginnings until now there are some hundreds of plots in existence, and the usefulness of the scheme has been proved. Recognising the importance of the farming industry to New Zealand, Mr. Wilson always contended that the should do more than it did to train young people for farming pursuits, and he was therefore always a, consistent, advocate of agricultural education, not only at special agricultural colleges, but at ordinary primary and secondary schools. It is no doubt within tho knowledgo of everybody that a great deal more attenotion is now given to agriculture in onr schools than had been the rule previously. In 1914 Sir James Wilson was ma'lo tho first president of tho Board of Agriculture, a body with advisory powers only, set up to assist the Ministor in guiding the policy of the Agricultural Department, Mr. Wilson was ono of the founders of the New Zealand Farmers' Distributing Company, a co-oper-ativo organisation, of which -ho is now Chairman of Directors. Ho is also Chairman'of Directors of tho Foxton-Sandon Tramway, a light,local railway which has sorvod its district woll. Ho has taken an activo interest in local government, and ho is a member of tho Manawatu County Council and tho Palmerstou Hospital Board.

Sir James Wilson was born at Hawick in 1849, and educated at Bruce Castto, London University, and Edinburgh University. Ho decided to try his fortunes in the colonies, and landed in Victoria in 187(1. Four years later ho pme. to New. Zealand* and jwaajfioalfe

TWO NEW ZEALANDERS INCLUDED MR. J. G. WILSON & MR. HOGBEN

ever since he has been sheep-farming in tho Rangitikei district. He has had considerable experience as a Parliamentarian, having sat as a member of the House of Representatives for tho constituencies of Foxton (1882-1890), Palmerston North, (1890-1893), and Otaki (1893-1890). ■