ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE

Free Lance, Volume I, Issue 45, 11 May 1901, Page 3

ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE

LIEUTENANT HEATHER, of the Second Contingent, has volunteered for further service in South Africa. Such is the cable message which the Premier received this week -from the front. Mr. Heather was the sleekest of all our subalterns, and hailed from Auckland, where his father is a well-known merchant. The young fellow's easy ways and general "comfyness," as the girls say, were a constant worry to Major Cradock, who tried hard to lose his Heather before the contingent left the colony. But Heather would not take the hint, for, with all his fleshiness, he was keen on getting war experience. Still, Cradock succeeded in losing the lieutenant immediately on reaching the land of the Boer. • * * It happened that a draft of horses had to be sent a long journey to a relief force, and Lieutenant Heather was, much to his delight, given the command of the party. Cradock also was delighted, and told Heather not to be hard on the horses in his enthusiastic rush for the front. Heather took things easy, and moved around South Africa as calmly and leisurely as he did during the manoeuvres at Miramar. Apparently, the country agrees with him, tor he desires to linger longer over there. If he sticks, he will get his captaincy, without a doubt. • • • Mr. John Wright is the bandmaster of the Royal Marines, who are on duty on board the Ophir for the present Royal visit. He was born in Ireland, in 1854, and, before joining the army, about twenty years after, obtained his musical training at Oxford. His first bandmastership was over the Red Marines at Chatham in July, 1881. John Wright seems to be the right man in the right place. • • • The action of Mr. Justice Paul, of Queensland, in refusing, as a ratepayer, to hear Labour Leader Bradford's application to restrain the Brisbane Municipal Council from spending £4000 in decorations on the occasion of the Royal visit, may lead to trouble. The judge's position is untenable, seeing that it is by the law he is enabled to pay his rates, and by his refusal he shuts the door of justice. However, more will be heard of this, as Bradford is one of the most determined labour leaders in Australia, and, moreover, he has had a long logal training. • • • Messrs. Weiss* and Memmott, the expert bilhardistfs, who are now enjoying a, holiday trip through the colony, have been giving some exhibitions of the fascinating green baize game during their stay in this city. There is a great difference in the styles of the pair. Weiss, who holds the championship of Australia, is slower and more methodical, and thinks twice before playing a doubtful Bhot. This, it was, that made John Roberts so irritated when last the pair met, the Australian being, of course, in receipt of many points. But Weiss is very "constant," and there is something of a uniformity about his breaks. Memmott, on the other hand, is quick and jaunty, and when he gets going he scores faster, and with much crispness, his shots going into the pockets with a plunk. There is really not a great deal of difference between the two men, but in a long contest Weiss would be the operator to have a bad half-crown on.

Mr. A. H. Chapman, a swarthy, w eather - beaten farmer, who has had somo thirty years' experience in Otago's back-country, left Wellington on Saturday last for London, via Australia. Mr. Chapman has left his farm at the back of Oamaru in order to push his invention for defrosting frozen meat. He is so satisfied that his invention is a good thing, that he is holding on to the biggest portion of interest in it himself, although not a few offers for shares neie made to him by Southern capitalists. But he was only letting one or two financiers in "on the ground floor." It is whispered that Mr. John Roberts, C.M.G., who leaves for Home a fortnight later than Mr. Chapman, will meet the latter in London, in order to help push the invention along. • • * The discovery made by Mr. Chapman should act as an encouragement to the pursuit of a hobby. Although devoted to his business as a farmer and pastorahst, Mr. Chapman pursued chemistry as a hobby, and had a strong leaning towards experimental science. Some two years ago, he started in upon the frozen meat question, and, taking up the defrosting problem, evolved a theory which after twelve months' experimenting resulted m the invention he is now exploiting. He has patented his process in all countries where it is likely to be of use, and declares that if his idea does not catch on in London he will start in the frozen meat line himself, set up shop, work his process out, and prove what a good thing it is. May luck attend him! • • ♦ Mr. Robert Hogg, who presided over the gathering of Socialists in Godber's ber's rooms last week, is a new-chum, who won a reputation in Avid Scotia before coming out to the colony eight months ago. To-day he is buried away back in the Shannon district, where he is trying to keep a little farm well tilled. A man still on the bright side of life, he has had an active career in the world of graft m his native land. The last five years of his fifteen years in the postal service were stormy, and the department strongly protested against his activity in socialistic and literary circles. • • • For Mr. Hogg was an active supporter of the propaganda of the ' 1.L.P." (Independent Labour PartyGreat Britain's great socialist body), and carried his activity into municipal life. For some years he sat as a Town Councillor in Musselburgh (a suburb of Edinburgh), a position he resigned on coming out to the colony. The I.L.P. had hopes of running him this year for a seat in the Edinburgh Council. It was this prominence in public affairs to which the Post Office officials objected, and the last straw of his offences was laid on when he took up the editorship of a Socialist paper. It was then suggested that he should take his pension and retire. He declined to accept the hint, and, when further pressure was brought to bear upon him, he mildly suggested that a test case for wrongful dismissal w ould be interesting. The result was that he went on m the service until his fifteen years had expired. » * * Mr. Hogg is quite a literary authority, and for years acted as reviewer for the "Weekly Scotsman." The books dealing with the homely language of the native were his special lino, and Burns was his model. He has no time for the "kailyard crew," whose dialect is unnatural. He was also a frequent contributor to the Glasgow "Weekly Herald," and had met the literary giants and the prominent British and Continental "discontents." Mr Ho£»g is> no mean poet himself, as ho evidenced in an original poem rocitod at last week's social. The poem was written in praise of country life in Shannon. The people of this district have already got Mr. Hogg into harness, having put him on the School Committee and on the Road Board.

Those competitive designs for the ducal reception cards fell into so provincial a line as to suggest that a guiding hand rather than accident placed them so. Just glance over the list. Four well-known designers had their cards accepted, and each of the quartette is in a different city. Young, who secured first konours, is the Auckland "Star's" designer, and no mean expert, either. §econd honours^ weie awarded to Fred. Sears, who happens to be located in Wellington just now, but he has had an experience embracing pencil work in nearly all the colonies. • • • Dunedin claims Hawkridge, who bears off a special £5 prize, and he is with the firm of Wilkie and Co. Mr. A. D. Willis employs the fourth artist, White, in his lithographic works, at Wanganui. It may be added that, as an apparent reward for the enterprise of their artists, the three firms which employ the Auckland, Wanganui, and Dunedin prize-takers ? have obtained the fat job of printing the designs. Fred. Sears happens to be employed in the Civil Service (Lands and Survey Department), and he does not get the supervision of his design in its reproduction. # ♦ • The Duke of Cornwall is a keen admirer of Rudyard Kipling, and derives infinite pleasure — as thousands of others do — from perusal of his works. It is not quite two years since the Duke was laid aside by illness, which, however, was not of a very serious character, and, on recovery, he humorously remarked that considering the number of inquiries made relative to his health, ''he might almost have been a Kipling." Thus did his Royal Highness satirise sycophancy, and the little item was published all over the world. Kipling, it will be remembered, suffered illness a short time previously, and, when hovering between life and death, the whole world seemed to be very much concerned about him. » k ♦ Arbitration Judge Cooper took an opportunity last week to declare that it was highly necessary that Conciliation Boards should be presided over by a law - yer, and that a lawyer should be set apart by the Government to prepare ( the papers in cases for the Board. Commenting upon these suggestions at the Wellington Board's meeting last week, Mr. Crewes said that from observations made by him laymen were doing better work on the Boards throughout the colony than lawyers had done. Then, as to a lawyer preparing papers, Mr. Crewes pointed out a glaring example per contra. In the building trades labourers' dispute the Clerk of Awards (a legal man) had actually sent on a paper to the Board in which, as Mr. Carmichael put it, it was stated (or not stated) that the Board would meet to hear the dispute on the "blank day of blanketty blank!" It was commonsense, not common law, that was need"Loco. Beattie"— the railwaymen's familiar term for Mr. A. L. Beattie, Locomotive Superintendent of the colony's railways hereabouts — had a great time in Melbourne the other day, whilst atending the conference of Australasian heads of branches. He came back by last week's boat, and his genial frontispiece has not yet lost the wreaths of smiles which grew upon it during aforesaid good time. "By George! he was heard to exclaim, the other day, when recalling his stay in Victoria and New South Wales, "the Australians are the heartiest lot of fellows I over struck, and they treated us New Zealanders in first-class, high-grade, broadguagc, saloon style. It is sixteen years ago since I was over there — but 1 sincerely hope it won't be that long before I'm there again!" And once more, he rubbed his glasses and beamed a pleasant-tnemory smile. No wonder the Australians treated him well, for A.L.B. is one of the best fellows in the bervice himself.

The organised members of the humblest section of workers in the Wellington building trade, who comprise the Building Trades Labourers' Union, must have felt proud of their champion before the Conciliation Board this week. It has never previously happened in this city that a body of workers has had a City Councillor for its advocate. Councillor Dave McLaren, who secured a seat in the Council at the recent elections, is secretary of this union, and also of the Wharf Labourers' Union. • * # He is of the quiet, conciliatory order of advocates. He was considered far too quiet by the wharf labourers when they brought their first case before the Board, and, with that lack of thought which frequently comes to labour in the mass, the majority of the union thought its secretary was far too. friendly with U.S.S. Kennedy, N.Z.S.S. Burns and Co., and at the second hearing the wordy, aggressive Young superseded quiet "Mao." The latter is a bootmaker by trade, but an affection of the eye drove him away from the bench and awl some six or eight years ago. • ♦ • Mias Violet Mount, who received a flattering benefit from the concertlovers or Wellington on Friday last, is a Victorian girl, and won some notice in marvellous Melbourne in the days when things were humming. Her father, in those days, held a large interest in an important industry, and Violet was given the best musical education obtainable, besides having the help of a gifted mother. But, the bursting of the Boom hit the paternal Mount pretty hard, and, eventually, he came to New Zealand to test the colony's mineral wealth. • • • He thought Wellington would prove a fine field for glassworks, and experiments with local sand proved fairly satisfactory. But, he got no financial support. A word from Auckland, however, put him on to a sandbank rich in all the necessaries for the glass industry, a company was floated, and Mr. Mount went off to America to get up-to-date machinery. He has carried out his preliminaries, and now his family follow him to settle in the Queen City of the North. Miss Mount has frequently rendered ready help in musical matters, and Wellington's loss will prove Auckland's gain. • • • ' Mr. Charles Lewis, M.H.R. f or Christchurcli, the member who meanders about with a kodak, looking for snapshots, gets a rather uncomplimentary portrait from the Inangah.ua "Times." Thusly . — "Anyone forming his opinion of Mr. Lewis from the splutterings of servile writers would imagine great things of him, but if he saw Mr. Lewis he would be wofully disappointed. Mr. Lewis is a gentleman who happens to be rich, on account of being the son of lus father, and a cynical superciliousness is his dominant characteristic. In the House he is chiefly remarkable for funnyisms of the lesser sort, and for little- else. As illustrating his idiosyncracies, we may mention that when a.sked some time ago about the Premier's proposal to send a contingent to the opening of the Federal Parliament, Mr. Lewis sneeringly replied that 'we should send a thousand beggars on horseback.' This may be an evidence of university training, but sensible people will vote it caddish. Yet such are the tin-gods that a slavish press would have us fall down and worship." « • • There arc some people who have strong scruples, not only against war, but against men being even drilled in the use of firearms, and they often have to suffer for their opinions. Mr. J. W. Smith, of Trwell, Canterbury is one of these, and his case has provoked a good deal of comment. Mr. Smith is a schoolmaster, and when he was asked, a considerable time ago, to teach his boys drill he demurred, and. continued grounding them in gymnastic exercises.

There was some correspondence between himself and the Education Board on the subject, but the matter dropped, only to conic up again later on. Even then, nothing was dono by the Board, but tlio case was again mentioned the other day, when a letter was read from Mr Smith stating that lie had conscientious scruples against imparting military drill to his pupils, and ho was not in ,mv way willing to follow the Board's instructions in the matter. This settled the Boaid, and Mr. Smith has been called upon to resign. Mrs Helena Morris (wife of Mr. R. B. Morris, of the Postal Department), who died on Friday night, at her reside.ice, Takuera Terrace, was a woman of great natural talents. Her mind was acute, and her perceptions were a cry bright and keen. She shone in conversation, and her gay and buoyant spmts, pleasant social qualities, and \eisatile gifts made her a great favourite in a wide circle of friends. On the aitistic side her talent found expression chiefly in music. She made her debut, as a vocalist some twelve years ago in Auckland when, as Miss Helena Buckley, she took the soprano solos in the Auckland Choral Society's performance of Rossini's "Moses m Egypt " On that occasion she won much praise for her execution It was the pianoforte, however, to which she paid special attention, and it was as a pianiste that she excelled. Shortly after their maniage, Mr. and Mrs. Morris came to Wellington to live, and, in the earlier portion of their residence heie, which has extended over nine years, the public had occasional opportunity of noting what a brilliant perfoimer Mrs Morris was. For the greater part of the time her health was precarious, and at last the malady developed which has cut short her bright and promising life She was fitted to win distinction in more walks of life than one. As a writer, she might have made her mark, for she wrote with great force and fluency, and her style Avas luminous with happy humour, besides being full of originality. Her musical talent has been transmitted to her little daughter, Irene Morris, who, as a child of nine years, has given the public proof of her exceptional skill as a viohniste. Mr. Morris and his little daughter in their affliction have the deep sympathy of numerous friends throughout New Zealand. Mr. Malcolm Ross, from Wellington, and Mr. W. H. Tnggs, from Christchurch, are over at Melbourne ' doing" the Commonwealth celebrations. They are acting for a syndicate of newspapers, and, as Malcolm has taken his trusty camera with him, he is likely to put in quite a record time this week in the snap-shooting line. He will be worth talking too when, he gets back. • • • Dr. Lemon, whose death, at Otaki, was recorded this week, has left many monuments of his term of office in Wellington, in the shape of the "Lemon trees,'' by which name the big telephone posts became known. These same "trees" raised the ire of many citizens at the time of their erection, and, it a Scenery Preservation Society had been in existence in those days, the unsightly poles might not have been planted. Bur Dr. Lemon was not the man to take notice of anybody's opinion once he had mapped out his own course. He was as blunt in his manner as the butt ot one of his "trees." Brusque and blunt as he was, he admired the independent man who would stand up to his face and gave back as good as he was given. But he could not suffer the suave, fair-spoken individual. A self-made man, himself, risen from the carpenter's bench to the electrician's laboratory, he was ever ready to attach to himself the keenest electricians available. And it was his sagacity in this direction which enabled him to keep the New Zealand Telegraph Department up to date. Mr. Arthur H. Adams, who is about to try the New Zealand public with a, series of illustrated lectures on the China war, invited a party of friends to the Trocadero, on Monday afternoon, and treated them to "a little chat on China." It was a kind of preliminary exercise for the lecturer, and a sort of special matinee performance for the invited guests. It sufficed to show that Mr. Adams has a story to tell, and knows how to tell it, too. There was on exhibition a quantity of loot taken in China, which the lecturer will use along with his collection of lime-light views to lllustiate his lectures. The collection embraces a Boxer uniform, some handsome silken robes worn by Chinese officials of rank, porcelain, and some spears and other lethal weapons, .unongst them a decapitation knife. Mr. Adams rather startled some of the ladies who attended his "seance" bv informing them that the clothes they were just then examining were articles w hich he had stripped from the corpse of a Boxer The charming better-half of a well-known pressman at that moment was holding un for inspection one of the articles in question, and she dropped it inbtautly, witli a shivery "Ugh!"

' Mr. Harry Price, the popular host of the Albert Hotel, will soon be a missing number in these parts. For some time past the health of Mrs. Price has boon precarious, and, with a view to trying the efficacy of a course of treatment at Rotorua, Mr. Price has sold out his interest in the Albert Hotel, and is about to leave with his wife for the Wonderland of the North. It is now twentvnine years since Harry Price, a fresh and jolly Norfolk dumpling, first smiled upon Wellington. He came as a sailor on board the good ship Helen Denny, Captain Peters, and Harry and Wellington took so kindly to each other at first sight that the young sailor took French leave of salt junk and a life on the rolling wave, and struck out for the country. He fetched up at Carterton, and tasted the delights of farming for a while. # * * Just about then there was a gold-diggers' rush to the Upper Thames, and Harry Price caught the fever with the rest. After seven months' searching for nuggets without finding; any, he concluded his fortune did not lie in that direction, and so he hied back to Wellington, and entered into business as a carrier. The venture throve apace. After five or six years graft, the navigator of this business was able to sell out at a good profit, and buy into the Star and Garter Hotel, at the top of Cuba-street. He remained there from 1883 till 1887, attending to the w^ints of a thirsty population, and m 1887 ho sold out, and took a trip to the Old Country, to have a look at the Yarmouth bloaters once again before he died. He came back, bought into the Star and Garter once again, and stayed on there gathering up the shekels until By that time, ho concluded there was nothing more for him to learn in the Boniface line, and so he looked round for fresh fields to conquer. Photography took his fancy, and he bought the business of Messrs. Conolly and Hermann, on Lambton Quay, and ran it successfully for about two yearb. At the end of that time he sold out to Mr. Kinsey, and took over the old Central Hotel, which he entirely re-modelled, and brought right up-to-date, putting in new bars, and generally brightening

up the place. Once more the fit for change came over him, and he quitted the hotel to take over the produce and agency business of Messrs. Cunningham and Badham, which, in conjunction with a Mr. Francis, he ran for about eighteen months. Next, he bought the freehold of the Trocadero, sold out after eight months, took a four-months' holiday, bought a ten-years' lease of the Panama Hotel and sold it, and then bought into the new Central Hotel at Masterton, and ran it for six months. * * * Finall v, he took over the Albert Hotel, made it a really firstclass establishment, and has been there ever since. Mr. Price s genial face will be missed from the bowling green and from his popular hostelry, but his friends sincerely hope oughly restore Mrs. Price. In the meantime, the Albert Hotel is that a sojourn at Rotorua will thornot likely to suffer eclipse or decline from the standard to which it has been raised. Mr. W. G. Pearse, who entered into possession on Monday last, comes with an excellent reputation from Australia. He was, for many years, proprietor of the leading hotel at Uympie Queensland and was lately lessee of the refreshment rooms on the Queensland railways. * * * There will be one man over in Melbourne this week who is greatly relieved to know that King Dick has stayed in New Zealand. That is Mr. Alec Fraser the genial manager for Australia of the New Zealand Press Association During the Commonwealth celebrations Alec was nearly run off his feet keeping a watchful eye on Richard s movements for the special behoof of the inquisitive Maonland press. When news went across the Tasman Sea that Mr Seddon was contemplating another royal progress over to Melbourne this time accompanied by two other Ministers the staff of the Press Association must have draw n the blinds down to conceal their grief. One Premier was bad enough, but one Premier and two other Ministers as well was surely more than even Fraserian flesh and blood could stand. However, the fates were kind this time— King Richard stayed at home.