PERSONAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 295, 22 May 1915, Page 4

PERSONAL.

A Sydney cable message reports the death of Mr. Ebenczer Viekcry, managing director of Messrs. Vickery And Sons.

'Dr. Home, of New Plymouth, who is with The New Zealanders at the Dardanelles, has been promoted from Sur-geon-Captain to Surgeon-Major. A London cable message says Lieutenant Sayle, who served with the Sixth New Zealand Mounteds in the. South African War, was killed at Ypres. Mr. R. W. Fisher, who lias been appointed inspector of roads and bridges for the Taranaki County Council, arrived in New Plymouth yesterday morning.

Mr. E. J. Ellerm, of New Plymouth, has received advice that his son, Corporal Erie B. Ellerm, who was wounded in the foot at the Dardanelles, is now convalescent.

Mr. .T. E. Young, of Puniwhakau, ha 3 volunteered for the front. He was formerly a member of the Stratford County Council, and was a prominent footballer.

A private cablegram lias been received in Sydney of the death from wounds of Viscount Wendover, only son of the Marquis of Lincolnshire, who as Earl Carrington was formerly Governor of New South Wales.

Mr. J. J}irch-.Tnhnston, chief grader at the Moturoa Freezing Works, leaves by tilt: mail train on Monday morning for Hamilton, where lie is to judge the dairy produce section at the Waikato Winter Show. He will be accompanied by Mrs. Birch-Johnston.

Tlie list of wounded New Zealandcrs received last night contains the name of Sergeant Sydney M. Okev. son of Mr. H. Okey, M.P. Sergeant Okey was a member of the New Plymouth staff of Messrs. Archibald, Clark and Sons, and he left with the First Expeditionary Force.

Private William Heaver, who has been killed in action in the Dardanelles, was well known in Eltham, being employed at the Eltham dairy factory for some time. Prior to enlisting, Private Heaver had been a resident of Wanganui, where he had been in Iwsiness. He was a member of the New Zealand Field Ambulance Corps. , i Private David Brown, who leaves New Zealand shortly with the Sixth Reinforcements as orderly to Major Fletcher, left New Plymouth by the- mid-day train yesterday on his return to Trentliam camp. Private It. P. Quilliam, also of the Fifth Reinforcements, will leave New Plymouth by the mail train this morning, and Privates Tom Kirkby and Dawson WeUstor leave on Monday.'The Fifth Reinforcements will anil from New Zealand in a few -weeks.

Tile Havvera Borough Council purposes presenting an illuminated address to the ex-Mayor. Mr. H. K. AVhittington, in recognition of his long .and faithful service to the borough. The address is to be forwarded to all the ex-mayors and councillors, where It Is possible to get them for their signatures,

There is probably no ol'ier m.;n in Now Zealand win f.Vul.j \v>(li as much business day by day as the Prim; Minister is handling every day now. His regular oilice hours arj "rom !i a in. io ti p.m., and very ..tten l:o dues several hours' work at h;s hnse in tlv evenings. Mr. Massey has kept the Imperial Meat Supply Branch under his own, supervision. All the iirrnmjements for procuring insulated s'.ipF. and matters of this sort arc dea't with by him personally, though the allocation of space to different ports is now none by (lie Shipping Committee speeuiliy appointed by the Board of Trade, on "wiiie'ii committee Mr Triggs is the Government representative. Mr Massey has all the usual departmental work 'to deal with, 1 lie lias to find time for meetings of Cabinet, consultations with other Ministers, interviews with members of the public, and every day he has to attend to a huge volume of correspondence. Kvery day 120 to 150 letters and upwards of 1000 telegrams come to his office, and every day he has to peruse at least 100 Departmental files. Most of these letters can be speedily disposed of, but there are among the letters and telegrams a very much larger number than usual of important State communications passing between the Imperial Government and the New Zealand Government, through His Excellency the Governor. All these communications, as well as a very large number of important communications with the High Commissioner in London on war matters, have to go through the Prime Minister's hands.

The Kev. William Kirk, of Petoue, whose death is just reported, was one of the pioneer missionaries in New Zealand. He had only been confined to his bed for two davs. Born at Fcrry-on-Trent, the lute Mr Kirk was a Methodist local preacher in London for a while and was ordained to the ministry in '184(1. That same vear lie arrived in New Zealand in the ship .John Wesley, being one of eight missionaries sent out by the Church Missionary Society. First he was stationed at Hokianga, and after that at Ohincmutii. When on the Canterbury plains in ISM he saw the first church erected in High Street. Cliristehureh. Among his other charges were Waikouaili, Kai Iwi (where he was in charge of a native industrial school), Mungonui, Nelson, Wellington, New Plymouth, Auckland and Kiehmon.l. While in Wellington he was concerned in the building of a Weslevan church in Manners street and afterwards of a new church in Taranaki street. In IKBS he retired from active ministerial work and since that time lived in the Ilutt Valley. He was predeceased some six years ago bv his wife, who was the eldest daughter of the late licv. ,lolm llobbs, the iir*l Weslevan missionary who ever came to New Zealand, arriving in 1823. Thev were married in IS4S, and Mr Kirk's first duty afterwards was to found the first mission on the Wanganui river. The deceased is survived by two sons (Mr .1. 11. Kirk, merchant, of Cliristehureh, and Mr H. C. Kirk, solicitor, of Wellington) and three daughters (Mrsi Oarlick, wife of the Kev. S. J. (iar-1 lick; Mrs. Fred. Overton, of Taihapc; I and Miss E. C. Kirk, of Petone).