PERSONAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 October 1915, Page 4

PERSONAL.

Private .Tames Hughes, son of Mr. D. Hughes, of Kapuni, and brother of Mr. )■>. J. Hughes, of New Plymouth, is lying dangerously ill in a Home hospital.

Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Baily, of New Ply. mouth have received messages of sympathy in the loss of their son, Ronald, from the King and Queen, his Excellency She Governor, the. Prime Minister, the -Minister of Defence and Sir Joseph Ward.

Mr. T. X. Brodrick, Commissioner of Crown Lauds for Wellington, presided for the last time in that capacity at yesterday's meeting of the District Land Board. He was congratulated by members on his appointment to the Under-Secretaryship of Lands. The staff of the Lands Office also assembled, and bade a formal farewell to their retiring chief, and presented him with a piece of plate.—Press Association.

Mr. Robert Lansing, the new American Secretary of State, is 51 years of age, and is a. lawyer of international reputation. He lias been retained by his own and other Governments on international eases, including the fur-seal arbitration. the Alaskan boundary case, and the Atlantic fisheries case. It is recorded that Mr. Lansing has had a longer and broader experience in international arbitration than any living lawyer; he is also a painter, a draughtsman of exceptional ability, a writer of verse, a patient and skilful angier, a good golfer, and a keen follower of baseball. Before he was appointed to his present position Mr. Lansing was consulted by President Wilson and Mr. Bryan (then Secretary of State), when neither of them could disentangle the knots in international law that Count BernstorfT tied up. By the death of Captain Frederick Denhame. Gibson, which occurred on Saturday, Canterbury has lost another of the pioneers, for it is sixty-seven years since he first came to the dominion! He was the youngest son of Mr. Edward fiibscn, of Hull, Yorkshire, He was bom in 1831, and was educated at Worcestershire, On leaving school he went to sea, and first visited New Zealand in 184S in his father's ship, the Berham-f-ore. He afterwards was an officer in the service of the Pacific Company, and the West India Royal Mail Company, and made several voyage? in the Great Western, one of the first steamers to cross the Atlantic. Tlis first command was to bring'the steamer Claude Hamilton to New Zealand for the Intercolonial Royal Mail Company, for whom, in 18(13,'lie also brought out the steamer Auckland. In ISM he was appointed port officer for Canterbury and WcsUand by the Provincial Government in which capacity lie opened the ports cil Tiiuaru, Kaiapoi, Hokitika. and was for many years harbormaster of Lyttelton. wlie're'lie raided (or twenty vears.

"He was a brililant. efficient, painstaking o'licer, »|ways ready fur duty," said Colonel T. \Y, Porter, in eonvevsation with a Post, reporter, referring to the death of Captain R. \V. Wilkinson, of Wellington, who died in London lust week as the result of wounds received at. the Dardanelles. Captain Wilkinson was stall' o/licer to Colonel Porter when the latter was in command of the 7th Xew Zealand Continyen! in South Allien, and the Colonel relates an interesting incident showing his pluck "and tenacity. It, was in the Orangs Free State, and. in a successful attempt to capture some of De Wet's gulls, (icr;e hand-to-hand l'i«hlinc- 'ook place. Captain Wilkinson tackled fearlessly ,bj«, powerful Boer gunner, and, locked together, they rolled down a hillside. The Boer attempted to use his revolver, but Captain Wilkinson, who had only a sjambok (rawhide whip), mastered the enemy, and effected his capture. "It was indeed a meritorious action," said Colonel .Porter, "and as such I characterised it in ...v report of the encounter.