PERSONAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 66, 20 March 1915, Page 5

PERSONAL.

Dr. H. Donald Robertson (lalo of Stratford) is gazetted lieutenant R.A.M.C. Mr Hubbart, at present of the Blackball Coal Mines, Westland, lias been chosen out of 41 applications as electrical engineer to the Borough of Inglewood, vice Mr H. Scott, resigned. The Rev. Mr Blackburn of Kilbirnio, has accepted a call to All Saints Church, Palmerston North, vice the Rev. Mr Rosher who was resigned to go to England. Mr Blackburn v\ .11 probably take up his new charge about May. Dr. D. M. Y. Somerville (St. Andrew’s), Professor of Mathematics at Victoria College, and Dr. E. Marsden (Manchester), Professor of Physics at the same institution, arrived from the Old Country via Auckland yesterday afternoon. Mr Primrose McConnell, who has been manager at the Government instructional farm at Ruakura, has resigned from his position to become manager of the Dilworth estate at Papatoetoe. The Dilworth estate is to be farmed in order to instruct the boys in scientific agriculture, and Mr McConnell has high qualifications fu* the post. The death occurred yesterday of Lieutenant-Colonel James Pirie, Y.D., in his 81st year. He was formerly Major and Adjutant of the Ist Regiment of Royal Guernsey Militia. After his arrival in New Zealand in 1879 the late officer was actively connected with volunteer and defence matters, holding at one time the appointment of Instructor in Musketry and Tnspectof Ammunition. Colonel Pirie was also for some years a member of the Officers’ Examination Board, and retired from active military work only a few yeax-s ago.

The Right Rev. the Bishop of 'Wellington has written to the Vestry of St. Mary’s, Hawera, that the Board of Nominations has, appointed the Rev. Claud Herbert Grant Cowen, Bachelor of Arts of Christ College, Cambridge, to the cure of the Hawera parochial district. The Bishop adds that, p.iur to coming to New Zealand, Mr Cowen was curate of St. Paul’s, Cambridge, and for the past three years has been Vicar of Hunterville, in wU-ch d:strict he has done splendid work. Miss D. L. Allen, daughter, of the Minister for Defence, the Hon. J. Allen, who has been on a 12-months’ visit to England studying kindergarten methods at the Froebel Institute at West Kensington, returned by the steamer Rotorua, which arrived at Auckland on Tuesday. She was met on arrival by her father. Mr J. Read, of the Internal Affairs Department, is in receipt of advice that his daughter (Mrs W. C. M. Johnson, nee'Miss Constance Head, formerly of Wellington, and lady editor of the “N.Z. Times” under the uoih de plume of “Zealandia”), widow of Lieut. W. C. M. Johnson, 11. N., the navigator of the ill-fated auxiliary cruiser Viknor, has received the following telegram from the King and Queen: —“Buckingham Palace. Mrs W. C. M. Johnson, Lish avenue, Whitley Bay. The King and Queen deeply regret the loss you and the Navy have sustained by the reported death of your husband in the service of his country. Their Majesties truly sympathise with you in your sad bereavement.—Private Secretary.” Lieutenant-Colonel Richardson died in camp last night (state a Creymouth Press Association telegram to-day.) He Was a son of the late Hon. E. Richardson. A later telegram states that deceased was taken ill suddenly yesterday and died during the night from cerebral hemorrhage. Ho had not been in the best of health since the ICowhal camp last year. The camp was to break up to-day, the Canterbury section having left yesterday morning. The hotly was brought to town this morning and will be taken overland to Christchurch to-morrow. The news of the death caused a painful shock in camp, the late Lieutenant-Colonel being an exceedingly popular officer with the men.