PERSONAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVI, Issue 21, 29 May 1913, Page 5

PERSONAL.

The King and Queen have returned to London from Germany.

Lord John Avebury is ill and is lying in a critical condition, states a London cablegram.

The Duchess of Connaught is pro-

grossing satisfactorily, and is being ,carried about the garden daily.—London cablegram.

The Kaiser, it is reported, w ill visit England at midsummer states a Berlin cablegram). King George and Queen Mary have left for home.

Mr Thomas Cawthron,. of Nelson, who gave £12,000 for the solar observatory recently, celebrated his eightieth birthday on Monday.

Mr Edward Hordern, head of the old firm of Edward Hordern and Sons, Sydney, is dead, states a cablegram today.

Mr Harrison Allen (Sydney) has been appointed adjudicator in the elocutionary section of the Dunedin Competitions Society’s annual eisteddfod, to be held in Dunedin in August.

Kahurere, better known as “Dick,” who possessed a Dominion reputation as a basso in the Maori choir, died at Rotorua yesterday from hemorrhage of the throat. He was 29 yearscf age.—P.A.

The Rev. O. M. Stent, newly-in-ducted vicar of Opunake parish, was accorded a public reception at the Town Hall, Opunake, on Monday night. There was a large representative gathering, not only of parishioners of St. Barnabas Church, Opunake. but also of members of other denominations.

The death occurred at Auckland last night of Mr E. tf. R. Ford, president of the New Zealand Ship Own ers’ Federation, and a member of the Takapuna Jockey Club. The late Mr Ford was born at the Bay of Islands 61 years ago, and was connected with many shipping ventures, and was the founder of the Ford shipping line He recently relinquished that business ,and'' carried on business as a shipping agent. He is survived by a wife an dthree sons, and one daughter.

The oldest voter at the urban and parish council elections throughout England last month was, undoubtedly, Mr John Durrant, who celebrated Ids' 103rd birthday in January, and on ; Monday, 7th April, exercised his electoral right at Weybridgo. H( accepted a lift by motor car to poll ing booth, but he marked his paper without resorting to the aid of glasses. Mr Durrant, who joined the navy eighty-nine years ago, wore a National R’eservist’s badge in- his but tonhole. :

' The death of Lord Avebury, at the age of 79, is announced from London. The Rt.'Hon. Sir John Lubbock war created first Baron Avebury in 1900 He was head of the banking firm of Robarts, Lubbock and Co., and was born in London on April 30, 1834. He was educated at Eton and was return ed to Parliament for the constituency of Maidstone from 1870 to 1880. Hi was twice married, first in 1856 ti Ellon, eldest daughter of the Rev. Peter Hordern, of Chorlton-cufn Hardy, and five years after her deatl in 1879 to Alice, daughter of Baror Stanley, of Alderley. Of the many important public positions lie bar held, one of the chief was that b chairman •of the committee which selected the designs of the present coinage. He occupied many othe’ prominent positions, and his activity in public life w'as extremely great. Hi also wrote several books principally on natural history. He is succeeds by his son, the Hon. John Lubbock

The death of Mr S. Forsyth, o Vihama, one of the oldest and bes known settlers in the ’district, too place yesterday morning. Mr For , ; ytb was born in Aberdeenshire ii 1839, and came out to New Zealam when a young man. He was fo some years farming in Canterbury but was one of the earliest of the Can tehbvu’y settlers to be attracted t Taranaki, and he took up land at Pi hama, where he has resided continu ously for the past twenty-five year or more. For a considerable time h took great interest in local govern ment matters and was a member o the old Waimate Road Board and ,p' the Hawera County Council whei it included the whole of Western Wai nate, and he was a prominent figur in the discussion of burning question: in those days. Latterly Mr Forsyt! bad, owing to declining health, retir ed from this particular activity, bu practically to the last he was a working member of the Farmers’ Union and contributed interesting paper from time to tune. He was president of the Taranaki Provincial Exe eutive for some time and continued a member of the executive. He leave: a grown-up family of five* sons and three daughters.