MR JAMES KIVELL of the New Plymouth Telegraph Office, has received the trophy he won in the telegraphic competition held some months back. The trophy is a massive, but unique, gold medal, on the front of which surrounds the name of the winner, and on the back are the words "Postal and Telegraph Department," and for what the medal was presented. It is suspended from a piece of red, white, and blue ribbon, to which are affixed two gold clasps. On the top one are engraved the telegraph wires, and on the lower one is the telegraph key. It is through the skilful use of this instrument that Mr Kivell has become so widely known, but the medal is awarded to him for being the most proficient all-round operator; and we must congratulate Mr Kivell on being the winner of such a worthy prize. It is one that any officer should feel proud to own, and more especially as it carries to the winner the reputation of being the most proficient officer in the New Zealand Poet and Telegraph service. The medal was presented to Mr Kivell, on Monday evening, by Mr Holdsworth, Chief Postmaster, who complimented him on his meritorious performance, which had not only won for him a prize of great value, but a position in the service which any officer would be proud to occupy, and which all would, no doubt, try to attain on some future occasion. The medal was accompanied by a complimentary letter from the Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department, which after dwelling on Mr Kivell's skill and ability, indicated that a further prize of a standard work on electricity would be given.
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THE military funeral that was accorded the late Bandsman Kivell, of the Taranaki Volunteers, on Wednesday was numerously attended. The cortege was a very long one, while the number of people who joined the streets as the procession moved along was also great. The Volunteers, under Major Ellis, Brigade Surgeon O'Carroll, and Lieuts. Okey and Cock, and the Rifles Band, under Mr. Garry, assembled on the reclaimed land, and then marched up to the deceased's late home. The coffin, which was draped with the Union Jack, and surrounded with deceased's helmet, as well as wreaths of flowers, was carried to the hearse by a party of volunteers, and then the procession formed as follows:- The firing party of 12, under and exclusive of Sergt,-Major Castles, Sergt. Jackson, and Corporal Morton, and the Band preceded the hearse, while deceased's relatives, the rest of the Volunteers, the members of the Ancient Order of Foresters, of which he was a member, and a great number of friends formed the cortege behind. The "Dead March in Saul" was played down to the Cemetery, and after the Ven. Archdeacon Govett had read the burial service and Mr. A. King P.M. and C.R. of the Ancient Order of Foresters, the special ritual for the dead, the firing party fired three volleys over the grave. The Band then played the funeral dirge, "Dolore." This closed the ceremony, and the mourners and vast concourse of people who had assembled to witness the ceremony dispersed, the Band on the way back playing the marches "Daring" and "Wild West."
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