ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE

Free Lance, Volume I, Issue 46, 18 May 1901, Page 3

ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE

THE sight of "Joe" Warbnck on the block in Wellington stirs old memories. Just the same compact, well-built figure, just the same smiling countenance , perhaps, a little stiffer in the joints, but, to all intents and purposes, the same Joe Warbnck that played for Wellington against the Englishmen in that never-to-be-forgot-ten match of 1888. In his day — and it was a pretty long day by the same token — Joe Warbnck loomed large in New Zealand Rugby. He made his debut as an Auckland "rep." so far back as 1877, a generation when Rugby Unions were non-existent, and his last appearance in. representative football was also for his native province, in 1896. * * * Throughout the intermediate nineteen years his name was pretty constantly before the football-loving public. It was he who captained the Native Football Team that overran the colonies and established the reputation of Now Zealand in the Old Country. What a brilliant record it was those native Now Zealanders put up 1 Out of seventy-four matches played at Home, they won forty-nme, drew five, and lost twenty. In New Zealand and Australia they played twenty-five matches, winning twenty-two, and losing three. * * » Where are those native champions now ? Seven of them lie under the sod — "Barlow" Madigan, the dashing three-quarter, whom the Englishmen termed "the runaway horse" , Maynard, Anderson, Webster, Goldsmith, Karauna, and Reno, who was fatally injured some years ago in a railway accident at Otaki. The survnors are "all over the shop," so to speak. Alf. Warbnck is a tounst guide at Taupo , Arthur Warbnck is farming on the East Coast ; William Warbnck is the owner of swimming baths at Manly, Sydney , and Fred. Wai brick is at Brisbane. Geo. Wynyard, known as "Sherry," is following his trade as a carpenter in Sydney, brother 'Tabby" is in Auckland, and "Pye" Wynyard — who followed the "Nadvcs" Home, and joined them in England- is now in the Gear Meat Company's uoiks at Petone "Bully" Williams adorns the "Foorce" at Invercargill, Tom Ellison is a legal luminary in the Empire City, and Lee is a reader in the Government Printing Office, while Dick Taiaroa and Pat. Keogh still cling to Dunedin » • • "Da\ io" Gago has settled down at Blenheim, Dave Stewart races gee-gees at the Thames and the dapper McCausland, who was such a suie place-kick, sit* perched on a bank - stool somew here in Now South Wales. Ihimaira, the renowned "Smiler," may be found smiling still in Napier, or its vicinity, ''Billy" Elliott, once affectionately known as "Mother," fills a useful place in the railway workshops at Auckland, and W. Nehua is following a settler's life up in Ins native district of Whangarei. All these worthies have long since retired from the arena whore they made their reputation, but whenever Rugby comes their way there you'll find them, in the front row of ■spectators. Mr Joe Warbrick is now a thriving farmer at Matata, Bay of Plenty, and his present visit to Wellington is not to kick the leather, but to got up a forward movement in connection with certain public works in his district.

Trooper Hansen, of Inglewood (Taranaki), who went out to South Africa with our First Contingent, arrived back in Wellington last week via Sydney. Hansen is the New Zealander who won fame in London through being the colonial representative at the Queen's funeral whom Lord Roberts specially singled out for a short talk. At the time of the death of the Queen, Hansen w as up in Scotland, with his people, on the banks of the Clyde. To him came a message from the War Office asking him to come down to London as a colonial to take part in the funeral. As an extra inducement, he was offered a first-class passage by train to the city, and the authorities would pay all his expenses in London, and see that he was properly attended to. On arriving in the metropolis, he was met by a sergeant of the Guards, who had been told off to show the New Zealander the honours of the city, and for four days Hansen and the Guard were chums, going everywhere and seeing everything free of cost. The Taranaki trooper says it was simply magnificent to be a New Zealander in those days, and his uniform created a sensation even in Scotland. • • « At the Queen's funeral Hansen was given a place in the front rank of the colonial contingent, and he thought himself the only representative of the colony there. He did not know Captain Hutson, who, being a Second Contingenter, was a stranger to the men of the First. Trooper Hansen was down at Charing Cross railway station on the Tuesday following the funeral, and saw the departure of Kaiser William. As King Edward and the Emperor went by the spot where the New Zealander was standing, the latter stepped forward between two bobbies, and, waving his hat, eried — "Here's good luck from New Zealand, anyway!" and the King turned round, and, smilingly, bowed his acknowledgments. Trooper Hansen came out from Scotia some thirteen years ago, and, after a brief stay in the Wairarapa, he went on to the Inglewood district to follow a fanning life. • * * The combination of Australian statesmen forming the Barton Ministry, which is just now very much in the public eye, is a "solid Muldoon" in fatness, weighing no less than 102 stone of adipose tissue. Here are the individual weights of the Commonwealth team Forrest 17st, Lyne and Kingston l(>st each, Barton lost, Turner 14st, Drake and Deakin 12st each. • ♦ • Palmerston North has sent the Rev. A. C. Lawry to represent the district at the Wesleyan Conference, to be held at Brisbane this month. The reverend gentleman was, until a few weeks ago, in charge of the South Wellington circuit of his Church, and under his guidance some young men and maidens can sing "At Trinity Church we met our doom," for in that church he tied them fast in the nuptial knot. He was a man of energy, and as autocratic as a Wesleyan pastor can be. For two winters he ran regular "Pleasant Sunday Afternoons" for the people, and rang in every amateur who could sing or play, many people who could talk, and not a few who couldn't, and also drew upon the time and good nature of professional musicians * * * That is not a bad story which is going the rounds just now concerning Madame Amy Sherwin and the German pianist of her concert party. Finding that the name of the pianoforte makers was not given on the programme, he demanded an extra ten guineas before going on to play. Madame Sherwin sent to the box-office for the amount m the smallest coins possible, and emptied them on to a table in front of the excited pianist whose inability to count ten guineas in coppers and small silver coins made him glad to get on with his work, and leave the payment for a more auspicious moment.

Mr. James L. Kinsella, who died on Sunday last, at the residence of his son-in-law, Mr. W. Berry, Khandallah, was one of the oldest journalists in the colony. He was a ripe scholar, a fluent and versatile writer, and from his youth upwards a diligent reader of books. As a consequence, his fund of general knowledge was extensive, and he was at all times an interesting conversationalist. Mr. Kinsella was born in Ireland, and, as a boy, he attended the same school to which the celebrated dramatist Dion Boucicault was sent, by a couple of maiden aunts. • ♦ ♦ Mr. Kinsella left his native land to accept an appointment in an English public school, as classical master, and from pedagogy he made his way to the London press as a reporter. He was an expert writer of Gurney's system of shorthand. In the early sixties he oame out to Auckland, joined the "New Zealand Herald," and for over twentyfive years was its chief reporter. To his share fell the Supreme Court reporting, and the writing of the dramatic and musical critiques, and his work in both departments was marked by perspicuity, grace, and sound judgment. For the last ten or twelve years, Mr. Kinsella has acted as Wellington correspondent of the "Herald" during the recess, and in session time he has laboured assiduously as a Parliamentary Committee reporter. He led an active, useful life, and has died in harness, at the advanced age of seventy-six. His illness was but brief. On Tuesday last week he was suffering from a cold ; a day or two later it developed into pneumonia, and on Sunday he passed quietly away, deeply regretted and highly esteemed by a wide circle of friends. • • • Overheard at Saturday's reception of the South African contingenters . "You see that group of Timaru chaps over there 9 There's Hall-Jones ; I knew him as a jobbing carpenter in Timaru, and now he's Minister of Public Works, and also rules our navy. Next to him is Major Crawshaw, who was an assistant master in the Timaru public school before he enlisted , and next to him is little Captain Jack Hughes, who got a D.S.O. for the New Zealand Hill affair. Jack went to that same school which Crawshaw was teaching in. We only want Colonel Jowsey here to give Timaru further honour, for Jowsey was secretary of the hospital there, and he got leave of absence to go to the front. Timaru'.s all right, eh?" • * • Mr. A. W. Kitfeon, who was the life and boul of the Wellington Shorthand Writers' Association — a band of young and enthusiastic disciples of the winged art — as he previously was the life and soul of the Auckland Association, has lost no time in getting to work in a similar direction down in Dunedin. We learn of the formation of an association down there, with Mr. Kitson as first president. And, as he frequently did up here, so he did at the first meeting in Dunedin. After the business routine was completed, Mr. Kiteon "gave an hour's address for the purpose of speed practice." • • • Sydney Hall — of London, not the dental expert o£ Wellington — is the official artist for the Ducal tour, and he is travelling on the Ophir as a member of the Duke's staff, instead of with the correspondents on an escorting warship. He is identified with the London "Graphic," but, although some of his work may appear in that weekly, the Duke has, a lien over all the sketches and pictuies he does on tour. Mr. Hall is no youngster, and is quite a veteran m Royal trips. He did the Indian tour with the Prince of Wales, and later on went with the Marquis of Lome and Princess Louise on their Canadian North-west expedition what time the Princess and the Marquis ruled the Region of Snow.

Judge Backhouse and his secretary (Mr. Bonnithorne), the Commission sent by New South Wales to study the working of our Conciliation and Arbitration Act, took their departure for home last Saturday. Both gentlemen, with their clean-shaven faces, could be picked out as "limbs of the law" wherever they went, for they had the typical legal face, though they left Maonland with such ruddiness of countenance as bespoke the j oiliest of living instead of the asceticism of legal chambers. Those New South Welshmen will be animated advertisements for our colony for a long time to come, for they were made free of the pleasure-grounds of our North, South, and West Coasts, and they took their fill of the advantages offered. Not all their time was spent in industrial inquiry pursuits, though, on Friday last, the judge did penance by sitting for half a day listening to the hotel employees' dispute before our Conciliation Board. Messrs. Fisher, Collins, and Field were on their best behaviour, too! * * • Prince Alexander of Teck (the Duchess's brother) who is on the Duke of York's staff, went to South Africa with the Inniskilling Dragoons, and was afterwards attached to General Mahon as A.D.C., taking part in the relief of Mafeking. Lord Crichton, another gentleman who comes to the colony with the Duke, went through the Ladysmith siege as A.D.C. to General Brocklehurst. He is eldest son of the Earl of Erne. The third member of the Royal staff, the Duke of Roxburghe, of "the Blues," was mentioned in despatches for gallant conduct during the cavalry operations at Colesberg, where our New Zealand First Contingent did good work. He i& the most eligible lord now in the marriage market, but Wellington mamas need not make too sure of him as a son-in-law, because an American heiress has the prior claim, and the dollars, too. All the three officers above-named, whom we shall see here in a month's time, were presented with the South African war medals by the King just before the Ophir left Home. And they are all young — and bachelors. * • • Andrew Carnegie, the American millionaire, who has given six millions to charity, commenced life as a "bobbin boy" in a cotton factory at five shillings a week! * • • "Archy Medes" Meredith, M.H.R. for Ashley, had a stroke of bad luok the other day, when his residence at Stoke, near Cust (Chnstchurch) was utterly destroyed by fire. The loss included nearly the whole of Mr. Meredith's library, which had taken a lifetime to gather, only about 100 volumes being saved. The house paid the penalty for being set upon a hill, for the wind blew strong from the north-west, and fanned the flames, which progressed despite the energetic efforts of the member, his daughter, and his sons. * • • The Natal Government has just acknowledged, in a very generous, way, the valuable services rendered by the late Gunner Harford, of Nelson. After the outbreak of war he went to Natal, joined the local volunteers, and took part m the operations which resulted in the relief of Ladysmith, being one of the party who succeeded in silencing "Long Tom." Harford died some time afterwards. Mrs. Harford, his mother, who resides in Nelson, has just received a grant of £7o from the Natal Government, as well as five months' back pay, and an intimation that she has been listed for a gratuity of £35 a year. This voluntary recognition of the deceased's services is most commendable. There are some New Zealand widows who have lost sons in the war, and yet, up to date, they have received no intimation from our paternal Government of any intention to grant them either annuities or other allowances.

Mr. J. Paul, of New Plymouth, and Mr. "Tom" Balhnger, of: Wellington, managed to convince the Melbourne bow lers all right that New Zealand cannot be taught anything new in the good old art of bias. Although the Maoriland \ etcrans w ere just passing by in the stoamei Omrah, on their way Home, they resolved 1o take some Melbourne scalps ere they passed on. They musteied then men, and played a friendly game against a coupe of rinks of Victorians Of the game, the "Leader" lemarks --'The two rinks opposed to New Zealand on the M.C.C. rinks could not hold a candle to the Maorilanders. Balhnger quite nonplussed Boyle. On one occasion, when the latter wa.s lying two shots, Balhnger drove them both out very cleanly, and eventually scored seven in the end, following it up with a five Boyle was all at sea when opposed to Ballinger Paul met a good player in Havward. but the latter got poor support from his men, and Paul's team, paying together like clock-work, gave Hayward a busy time. He made a stubborn fight, but Paul won o.imlv, scoring 25 to 12 " * * » Mi. G W Swan, in retiring the other day from the Napier mayoral chair aftei an occupancy extending over sixteen years., made a speech in w Inch lie claimed special veneration for that particular chair. He said it was "the same old chair that had been used from tho Stuart regime downwards, and his feelings towards it could not be better expressed than in the lines of the old song— 'I love it, I love it, and who shall dare To chide me for loving that old armchair 5 " « ♦ • Of couise, it is quite appropriate that a Swan should close its career in the traditional swan-like method of uplifting its voice in song — but what about that Napier mayoral chair? "Used from the Stuart regime downwards," eh ' Surely, Mr. Swan does not mean to imply that Napier, by some occult or nefarious means lias managed to "bag" the coronation chair — with its "Stone of Destiny" — that tho Stuarts used to occupy 9 If so, the Duke had better make a special trip to Napier to look into the matter. Otherwise if the coronation chair and the "Stone of Destiny" are really at Napier, and are allowed Lo remain there, the tradition points to the seat of Empire being shifted to Napier, and a dynasty of Hawke's Bay wool-kmes taking possession of the throne. Their badge, of course, would be the Golden Fleece. * • • Mr. Harold Thomson, son of the late Inspector Thomson, has many friends in Wellington, where his father was Police Inspector some nine or ten years ago. They will be interested to learn that Mr Thomson has recently resigned his clerkship in tho Auckland Magistrate's Court, in order to start in practice at Inglewood as a solicitor. It will not have faded from the public mind that Harold Thomson was the young man who so pluckilv effected the capture of the New Plymouth highwayman in 1894. * * * Nelson possesses a very old resident in Mr. "Ben" Chrisp, who has lived in that sweet little spot for fifty-nine years, and what he does not know about its history is hardly worth learning. Mr. Chrisp celebrated his 93rd birthday last week, when lie was the recipient of many hearty congratulations. He was a lad of eleven when he landed in New Zealand from the Old Country, and he is consequently a colonist of eighty-two years' standing. Mr. Chrisp, for a living, followed the blubbery w hale on various parts of the coast-line i long years agone, and is laden right up to the gunwa'e with reminiscences of those interesting times. It will gratify the temperance' folk to know that the old gentleman has been a total abstainer for fifty-eight years, and that he claims to have established the first Band of Hope in the colony.

As the ladies of Wellington may want to meet them, it is just as well that they should know something beforehand about the ladies composing the Duchess of Cornwall's suite. Lady Mary Lygon, as the sister of Lord Beauchamp, the bashful youth w ho tried to govern New South Wales, is well know n over on the other side. She is one the oldest friends of the Duchess, and has been with her as lady-in-waiting since she had a household. Lady Mary owns to thirty-two, and is remarkable for her decided "No" to would-be husbands. With such a chaperon no wonder Beauchamp is a shy boy. The elderly dowager of the royal party is Lady Katharine Grey Coke — (for goodness' sake don't pronounce it Coke, it is Cook) — a daughter of the second Earl of Win ton, and, in 1861, she married a son of the TCarl of Leicester. She w r as lady-in-waiting to the Duchess of Teck, and has know n Princess May from her babyhood. Another notable lady of the party is the wife of the Duke's equerry, the Hon. Derek Keppe-l, whose elder brother is the Earl of Albemarlo Mrs. Derek Keppel was a daughter of Lord Suffield chief of the Prince of Wales' staff on his Indian tour, and one of her sisters is Lady Carrmgton, whoso yawnsome husband distinguished himself when Governor of New South AWes by pushing a railway waggon.

Mrs. Carlotta Sadler, the wife of Alfred Sadler, otherwise Walter Baker, who has played the stage hero for Bland Holt these many years, seems determined to keep Walter and herself well under the public eye. The maintenance case provided plenty of good "copy" for the papers, but thelater Court proceedings over her assault upon Miss Francos Ross, leading lady in Bland Holt's Company, furnish still more lively reading. Miss Blanche Wilson, who described herself as the constant companion of Miss Ross, stated that they w ere leaving the stage door of the Melbourne Theatre Royal on the night of April 20, when Mrs. Sadler, who was m a short dress, with a large hat, and her hair hanging down her back, threw a can of filth over them. She then struck Miss Jtoss several blows over the fa<>o with the butt end of a lady's, riding whip. They took the whip from hoi , and she got away. Complainant. «ho had been previously assaulted and threatened bv defendant, had her eyes blackened, and had since been pursuing her professional work under great difficulties Once> defendant broke the windows of complainant's house in East Melbourne. • • • Miss Ross herself gave similar evidence, and, under cross-examination, she said she had always looked upon Mr. Sadler, otherwise known as Mr.

Walter Baker, as a friend. He had always treated her with the greatest chivalry and respect. She had not said she had only to look at a man to separate him from his wife. Alfred Edward Sadler, professionally known as Walter Baker, said he was not on friendly relations with his wife. He characterised any charge of impropriety with Miss Ross as outrageous. He had often assured his wife of this. She oame to his hotel, and boasted of the assault. Defendant, who occupied a seat in the Court, here called out, "Oh, you lie!" and burst into tears. * ♦ » Mr. Sadler also said his wife had been suspicious of every leading lady, and had made it "a hell on earth to him." Defendant's solicitor: "Have you not made it a hell on earth for her?" Witness "No ; she has £9 12s a week, and has cost me thousands." Finally. Mrs. Sadler, who admitted having thrown a mixture of Nubian blacking and beer over Miss Ross, was fined £5, and ordered to find sureties to keep the peace for a year.