PERSONAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 29, 10 January 1916, Page 8

PERSONAL.

Mr Gerald Grace, a very old colonist, died at Auckland on Tuesday last.

The death is reported from Wanganui, oi' Mr James Bruce, of Glencairn Station, Turakina.

Surgeon-Major G. Home, of New Plymouth, who was recently invalided to England from the Dardanelles, underwent an operation for appendicitis on December 15, and also had a toe amputated. He is making a satisfactory recovery.

The Federal Executive accepts Sir G. H. Reid's resignation forthwith, thereby overcoming the difficulty of his retention of a salaried office a ? High Commissioner for Australia standing in the way of his candidature for the House of Commons.

The Rev. J. L. Robinson. 8.A.. of Columba Church, Oamaru, and third son of Mr R. H. Robinson, arrived by mail train on Saturday evening. Mr Robinson was accompanied by Mrs Robinson and child, and will enjoy a three week's holiday, after a strenuous rear in the southern town.

Mr E. K. Mulgan, chief inspector of schools for the Auckland Education Board, arrived in Auckland on Friday. He went to England in March last on a year's leave of absence, and whilst .in Britain represented the Education Board at a conference of the Imperial Union of Teachers, in July last.

Mrs W. Denham, of Brooklyn (Wellington), has received a cablegram from the Admiralty, London, dated December HOMi, 1915, informing her of the death of her eldest son, Arthur, by drowning three days previously. Deceased was a leading seaman on FF.M.S. Goshawk (on active service). The Admiralty promise Mrs Denman full particulars later by letter.

M. Maurice Barres, writing in the Echo de Paris on the reported death of Mr Rudy aid Kipling's only son. says:—"For years the great writer of Old England has been read, followed, and admired by us. More than anyone else lie has made us understand the spiritual energy of his- country. Yesterday he visited and eulogised our soldiers; to-day his dearest blood is mingled with the blood of our defenders. Our admiration increases our friendship. The illustrious national poet of i England received the deepest .sympathy of France."

Von Moltke, the famous German general, who won for his nation the great wars of 1866 and 1870, was a very poor man in his early days, and a curious tale is told that in these early times he once undertook to translate into German the whole of Gibbon's .'.'Decline and Fall of the ; Roman Empire" for £BO. When he had finished seven, out of the nine volumes the publisher with whom he had made his contract failed, and he got nothing for his pains. As a military commander he was an absolute tyrant, and decided all things for 'himself. "First weigh, then dare," Was his favorite motto for a generalissimo, and he certainly acted up to his text. He never allowed himself to I be worried, and always made a point of playing his evening rubber of whist ■ before retiring to bed even during the most strenuous periods of a campaign. It is no surprise to learn from his .biographers that he was a man with an icy heart, phlegmatic, and silent by .nature.

"On that hard-worn summit, too," writes the New Zealand war correspondent, referring to Chunuk Bair, "died the breezy, lion-hearted Malone, l colonel of the Wellington Battalion, which in this attack and in the face of exceptionally heavy losses had fought so magnificently. From first to last he had proved himself capable and brave. At Aiuzacj on the 26th April the day following the landing, when'Brigadier Walker, D.S.O. (since wounded) proceeded to the assistance of Lieut.-Col. Brand, who was in command of various detachments of Australians, the Wellington Regiment was sent forward to -support them. Malone pushed forward vigorously in support of the Australians) and at a critical moment reoragnised the firing line. By his initiative he made good jbhe position that the New Zealand Brigade, was holding when Brigadier Walker' was relieved by Col. Johnston. He worked strenuously at the trenches, reorganised his defences, saw to the feeding of his regiment, and generally showed that he was possessed of high qualities, of resource and leadership. In the attack on Chunuk Bair his ' resolute leadership was an inspiration to his men. He was ever in the van, scorning all danger. Early in the day a rifle that he carried" was pierced by a Turkish bullet. This interested him, and he said he would keep it as a memento of the fight. Whenever he moved forward or along the trench he picked up the battered rifle again and carried it with him. Finally he was shot through the head by a bullet from a shrapnel shell that burst over the trench. He sank back into the arms of one of his officers and died painlessly on the highest point on the Peninsula attained by our arms. '

Concerning the death of Mr Charles Leech, at Awakino, on Friday night, when ho was found dead on the roadside, it appears that he must, have been thrown (if! the dray on which he .was riding, and, a. wheel passing over his chest, was killed instantaneously. The interment took place at Inglewood this afternoon. The late Mr Leech was a well-known man in Taranaki, having farmed for years in the Inglevvood district, where lie was also in business. A few years ago he removed to Awakino, where ho acquired large farming interests. He always took a prominent part in local politics, having been a member of the Moa Road Board, and also president of the 'Farmers' Union. At the time of his death he was chairman of the AwaIkino County Council. On two occasions he stood for Parliament against Mr W, T. Jennings, and on the first occasion he was only beaten for the

Egmont seat by a very narrow margin. ' Mr Leech, who was 49 years of age, was married twice, and leaves a widow and one daughter.

Mr W. F. Buckland, who died at Cambridge at .the age of 73 years, will be best remembered by those who ha\-e followed the progress of politics in New Zealand, and especially in the "early days" of the Liberal regime, as the author of "The -Washers and manglers BiH"-~one of the cleverest Parliamentary measures which has ever appeared. Seeking to kill the "Seven Devils of Socialism" by ridijcule, a Bill was introduced under the title' of "The Washers and Manglers Bill," which proposed to make • the then Minister of Labor (the Hon. W. P. Reeves) responsible for the smallest actions oi the women who carried out those humble occupations, and, incidentally, made the Minister figure in an almost contemptible light. The Bill had only been circulated a few hours when it was withdrawn by order of Mr Speaker, and only a few copies are yet to be found in political museums. There is another incident in which Mr Buckland (who was loud of voice) figured that is remembered. The lato Mr Eugene O'Conor, then member | for Buller, had a thin piping voice, and Mr Buckland contemptuously referred to him on one occasion as "The Buller Lion." "If I'm the Buller lion, your'e the Manakau calf," retorted Mr O'Conor, and the incident closed in laughter. _^_______