In Memoriam.

j THE LATE ME W. B. BEAT. I In the late Mr W. B. Bray death has removed one of the few remaining pioneers of settlement in this part of the Colony. Mr Bray was not a " pilgrim," though he : came to Canterbury shortly after the j arrival of the "first four." Previoua to ! making his home here Mr Bray had had a long and varied experience as a civil engineer, and had acquired in the exercise of his profession a reputation for thoroughness and straightforwardness which he amply sustained , while among us. Though of a retiring nature, and not by any means given to sounding his own praises, hia j value as a practical man was recognised by I all who had occasion to meet him in his pro- ; fesßional capacity. His training had been of the best, and he had made good use of it. The contour survey for the Egyptian railway j was one work on which he was engaged, : and he was also employed by the celebrated Robert Stephenson in survey work in connection with Italian railways. On ! his arrival in Canterbury he considered his professional career finished, and settled down to farm some land at Avonhead. Like other settlers in the early days he had to maintain an uphill fight for a considerable time, but, also like other pioneers, he won in the end. His talents as an engineer caused his services to be sought after on several occasions by the Provincial authorities. He was engaged in the contour survey of the Heathcote Valley, in order to determine the point where the Moorhouse tunnel should enter the Port Hills. At a later date he was occupied in surveying the main roads in South Canterbury, notably in the vicinity of Timaru. He is, however, perhaps best remembered, on account of the warnings which he gave of the danger to Chriatchurch from a possible overflow of the Waimakariri, warnings which at the time- did not receive quite the attention they deserved, but which were amply verified one summer's night in 1868. Mr Bray was one of the oldest, if not the oldebt, members of the Institution of Civil Engineers, London, which he joined as an associate in 1836, becoming a member in 1845. Though he had been living in retirement for several years previous to his death, there are not a few who will mourn his loss, as a man and a friend, as , well aa a skilful engineer.