[From The Manx Quarterly, #27]

WILLIAM J. CLUCAS JOUGHIN.

Died July 9th. 1921.

We have received word that Mr Clucas Joughin has died rather suddenly at Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on Saturday, July 9th. He had been in failing health for some time, and on the advice of his doctor had been granted two months’ leave of absence, but returned to duties before his leave had expired The extreme heat which prevailed in Calgary, as in other parts of the world, affected his heart, and he passed peacefully away. Mr Joughin was the eldest son of the late Mr J. Joughin, M.H.K. for Glenfaba sheading, and was born in Peel in 1854. He was educated at the Peel Wesleyan Day School, and showed very early a taste for literature. Communications from his pen can be found in all the Manx newspapers of from 20 to 30 years ago. He also was connected with the comic London paper called "Moonshine " (now defunct), then the property of his uncle, and edited "The Family Churchman," which is still running, and contributed many articles to " The Captain", "Boys’ Own Paper," etc. He had, too, a great turn for inventions, and patented several useful things, such as boxmaking. The famous "J J Biscuit" was also his invention, and became quite popular. It was purchased by Mr .T. P. Kermode, baker, of Castletown, who still makes it. Upon the death of his father, he succeeded to the grocery and bakery business in Michael-street, Peel, but shop-keeping was incompatible with his artistic tastes. He was a keen sportsman and fisherman, and loved the open air, and wrote many enthusiastic articles in praise of his beloved hobbies. He wrote at least one boys’ novel, " Gorry, Son of Orry, " which was published by Messrs Jarrold., and is now scarce. " The People of the caves, " is another story. It appeared in several of the boys’ papers ; but is unfortunately overweighted with geological lore. He also wrote some good verse—the stanzas dealing with the nuisance caused by the fog horn on Douglas Head led to a change of station, the mechanism being re-erected further round the head so that everybody in the town was not driven to distraction by the dread hollow moan.

During the last years of his life, he was a frequent visitor of the late Colonel George Moore at Great Meadow ; and of Mr W. Ralph Hall Caine, then living at Ard Beg on the Quarter Bridge Road, Douglas. There is a flattering reference to Mr Clucas Joughin in the latter’s drawing-room table book on the Isle of Man.

Two of his sons having settled in Canada, he emigrated in 1911. Settling in Calgary, he became chief accountant in the Government department of inland revenue, which position he held at the time of his death.

He married a Peel lady, who survives him. Four daughters and two sons also survive, the daughters being Mrs R. Bury, of British South Africa ; Mrs Mona Moughtin, of New Zealand ; Miss Daisy Joughin, and Miss Maude Joughin, with two sons, Douglas, who farms at Thorne[sic Throne], Alberta, and Orry, of the livestock and animal branch of the department of agriculture, all of whom live near Calgary. He also leaves one sister and one brother, who live at Thorne, Alberta. The only brother remaining in the Isle of Man is Mr J. J. Joughin, of Peel.

THOMAS STEPHEN CORLETT, M.H.K.

Died September 23rd, 1921,

The Island can ill afford to lose such a man as Mr Thomas Stephen Corlett, member of the House of Keys for Garff, who died with tragic suddenness at his residence, " Roslyn," Douglas, in the early hours of Friday monday, September 23nd. Mr Corlett had been actively engrossed in business during Thursday, and had spent a social evening at his house with friends, but shortly after retiring he was taken ill. Dr. Pantin was sent for, but the patient expired almost at once. Mr Corlett had been at the sale of Deemster Moore's effects at Ballaughton on Thursday, and was busily preparing to remove to the mansion called "The Groves," Union Mills, which he recently acquired for his new home; and he was almost as deeply immersed in private and public affairs as he has ever been in his life.

The deceased gentleman was 59 years old, and was the elder son of the late Mr Thomas Corlett, miller, of Laxey, who also represented Garff in the House of Keys, for thirteen years. The business built up by the father was developed by his two sons, the subject of this memoir and his brother Mr R, T. Corlett, C.P., to a degree almost unparalleled in the Isle of Man. During the war the large and handsome mills at Laxey -destroyed by fire, alas a few months ago-were the sole source of the Island's flour supply, and the business also includes large warehouses in Douglas, Ramsey, and Castletown, the mill at the Nunnery, Douglas, and a factory at Ramsey from which is produced cattle cakes and similar feedingstuffs. Some years ago the Messrs Corlett, with their sons, joined hands with Mr T. B. Cowley, corn and timber merchant, of Ramsey, and the concern is now a private limited company. Mr Corlett was passionately devoted to the welfare of his native village of Laxey and down to the last moment of his life, almost, he was engaged in endeavours to restore the prosperity which has been lost by the unhappy failure of the world-famous leadmines. At the last General Election, although he had resided out of the constituency for seven years, he was selected to represent the sheading in the House of Keys. He had previously submitted himself for election in 1908. His sound business acumen and his readiness for well-conceived enterprise were soon turned to good account. He was appointed to serve on the Highway Board, and interpreted his duties under that head in the most progressive spirit.

Mr Corlett was an ardent Wesleyan, and has on several occasions held the office of circuit steward. He was one of the senior local preachers on the Douglas " plan," and has represented the Isle of Man District at Conference.

Mr Corlett leaves a widow, a daughter of Mr Robert Williamson, of Laxey-a lady whose qualities of heart and head have earned for her general admiration-two sons, and two daughters.

ELOQUENT TRIBUTES BY THE REV A. T. BURBRIDGE AND THE REV. CANON QUINE.

The funeral of Mr Thomas Stephen Corlett, H.K., which took place on Monday, was the occasion of a singularly impressive and widespread testimony to the influence of a singularly straight-forward, sane, steady yet intensely alert, servant of the, community, in business and politics and religion. A distance of seven miles separated the deceased gentleman's home and the burying-ground to which the last remains were conveyed, but a very large number of people made the journey, and the whole population of Laxey, the village in whose life the deceased gentleman and his family, have played so active a part, seemed to have crowded round the graveside when the last solemn ceremony was performed of committing the body to the dust. Mr Corlett was a prominent Wesleyan, and the coffin was first borne from his residence, " Roslyn," Alexander-drive, Douglas, to the Rose Mount Wesleyan Church, where the first part of the burial service was gone through. The assemblage included the Government Secretary, as representing the Governor, the greater number of the Legislative Council and the House of Keys, the secretary of the High-way Board, of which body Mr Corlett was a most useful member, and the Sumner-General, representatives of the Wesleyan denomination, of various local bodies, of the flour-selling and baking trade, with whom Mr Corlett was brought into a particularly close and constant association, of the farming community, and indeed of all classes and interests. The coffin was borne by four employees of the fli m of T'homao Corlett and Sons and T. B. Cowley,. Ltd-namely, Messrs W. Craine, D. Christian, S. Christian, and T. Corkhill (formerly of the Rhyne farm). Arrived at the church, the lessons were read, by the Revs. F. John and G. O. Greory, and an address was given by the Rev. A. T. Burbridge, chaitrman of the Isle of Man Wesleyan District. The Revs. W. J. Hannam (Castletown) and U. C. Palmer (Ramsey) were also present during the proceedings. As the coffin entered the church, the well-known sacred melody, " O Rest in the Lord " (Mendelssohn), was played by the organist, Mr Clement A. Moore, who later rendered- " Blest are the Departed " (Spohr). The hymns sung were " For all the Saints " and " Now the labourer's task is o'err."

The Rev. A. T. Burbridge's address was as follows:-

We are met together in this service as Christian men and women. This is no Pagan funeral. We cannot but sorrow, but we sorrow not as those without hope. We think of the bravo words we, have just heard, "Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory?" We recall the early Christian saying so often repciated, "Death, the 'Gate of Life! Death, the Gate of Life!" We hear the same strain of triumph in the words of modern poets:

There is no death! What seems so is transition,
This vale of mortal breath
Is but the suburb of a land Elysian
Whose portal we call death.

So sings one Christian poet, and another thus

Death opens unknown doors. It is most grand to die.

The Christian faith and the Christian hope are ours. We talk about the dead, and then we hear one saying, " There are no dead." The body is laid aside, as one lays aside a worn-out garment; but the self, the soul, lives on. One of Charles Wesley's hymns begins with the brave words

Rejoice for a brother deceased,
Our loss is his infinite gain;
A soul out of prison released,
And freed from its bodily chain;
With songs let us follow his flight,
And mount with hisp spirit abve,
Escaped to the mansions of light,
And lodged is the Eden of love.

That should be the spirit of this service. We have lost one whom we all of us loved. The word " loved " is the right word to use. Our sense of loss is very keen; we cannot but grieve, and grieve sorely. There is an ache in our hearts, and tears in our eyes. And yet, is there not also a call to thanksgiving, even whilst we mourn? "In everything give thanks." D.a we not bless God that ever we knew and esteemed and loved Thomas Stephen Corlett? We think of his kindliness, his courtesy, his rectitude, h :s Christian character, and we praise God for him. We know something of his work and influence as a member of the Legislature of this Island; in the House of Keys he showed himself a true Christian states-man, sane in judgment, diligent in service, and with a true patriot's love for the Foople of his Island home. Some of you know him as a master and employer, and you loved and honoured him as such; you knew him in the husiness world, you knew his integrity, you knew how he worked there for the public weal. All of us know the interest he took is this church and circuit, in our causes at Laxey and at Lonan, and how he was ready to help other churches beside his own, being " the friend of all, the enemy of none." Ho 'vas a member of our District Synod; for nearly three years he-had been one of our Circuit stewards; it was the second time he had served the church in that office; he was one of the most acceptable of our local preachers, and was a trustee of several of our chapels. I saw him just an hour or two before "God's finger touched him and he slept," with a request that he would accompany me to Laxey, and take the chair at a meeting there. He consented with the greatest readiness, and began at once to look forward to, it, make plans for the expedition. That was very characteristic of him. Of what he was in the family, as a husband, and a father, I carlnc, venture to speak. His memory there will be a sacred heritage. Our sympathies go forth towards those in that bereaved home circle, and our prayers will be offered on their behalf. May God comfort them as He alone can do. And now we think of our friend, and think of him with thanksgiving, as one where friendship will be very precious unto us, as one who " did justly, and loved mercy, and walked humbly with his God."

Father, in Thy gracious keeping,
Leave we now Thy servant sleeping.

The cortege then proceeded to Lonan Churchyard, where the duties of bearers were performed by Messrs Robert Quine, J. W. Walton, J. J. Cannell, and J. F. Killip, Members of the Sons of Mona Tent or Rechabites, of which the deceased gentleman was a member. A hymn, "Give me the wings of faith," was given out by the Vicar of the parish, the Rev. Canon Quine, who also delivered a short address; and the service was again conducted by the Rev. A. T. Burbridge.

Canon Quine, who spoke under much emotion, said:-

We have performed the last act of Christian love and affection, and I pray God that this experience may strengthen our faith in the Life of the Resurrection. At all moments in our lives we may be said to stand at the meeting-point of two eternities, the past and the future; but it is more especially such a moment when we stand, as so often I have stood, and as many of you have stood, beside the unclosed grave of a lost friend. On the page of the future, nothing has yet been written; it is wholly a blank. But on the page of the past, although there are blots and stains and erasures, there are also ten thousand things of human loveliness and goodness, tenderness and truth. Now, the spirit of the Church., consistent with dignity and good feeling, imposes a certain reserve upon the tributes that are paid to lest friends, especially at a time when we are in the presence ofthat great Equaliser of us all, where the distinctions of station and wealth and worldly honour are discarded. Yet I do not Wink it is unfitting that some expression should be given of a sentiment held by all present. Of our late brother, as an individual personality, many things could be sane, but it is as a member of a family whine has for three generations occupied a most honourable and most conspicuous position in this parish, that he is particularly in our thoughts. There has been a fine, splendid family tradition, and that tradition has been honourably sustained by, our dear brother whom we are now leaving in his last resting-place. On occasions of this sort, there must always creep in the personal note, and I may be allowed to say that it is eighty years or thereabouts since Thomas Corlett the older became, in the days of his boyhood, a personal friend of my honoured father. It was a friendship such as is peculiarly possible, perhaps, in this Island. It continued for all their long life, over sixty, years, and through many years of common service in the Legislature. Broth men had singularly independent and singularly pure natures, and a singular geniality of disposition. Thus, if I may so express it, I inherited, and I have always regarded it as an inheritance, the friendship of the son of my father's oldest and closest friend. It needed no invitation on my part or on his to bring Thomas Corlett the younger and myself into lrølati,ons of friendship and confidence, of geniality and loyalty. I am only saying what each of you might wish to say for himself. But now, on this spot, let us turn our thoughts to the future. There is another generation now, and it was one, of the greatest happinesses of my life, during the period of the war, that one of my boys was serving King and country, in the Salonika army, side by side with the two sons of my dear friend, Thomas Corlett. "From generation; to generation," says the Psalmist, and it is inevitable, as we get further on in life, that we should feel the profound and prophetic significance of this phrase. I trust that under the Divine guidance, the tradition of the grandfather and the father may be sustained and maintained by those of the present generation. It is in these splendid sequences of good' and honourable family traditions that the best life of a nation consists; and I pray God that in our Island there may never be wanting a succession of persons to serve God, whether in Church or in State, or in the other imperium, the world of business. And I conclude by appealing to you, especially to you dear young friends of mine who are here, always to realise that death has no terror compared to the strain of falsehood and dishonour.

The mourners were Messrs Sydney W. Corlett and Hubert S. Corlett (sons), Misses Pearl Corlett and Ruby Corlett (daughters), Miss Emily Corlett (sister), Messrs Robert. T. Corlett (brother), Robt. Williamson (father-in-law), R. Williamson, Jas. Williamson, and David Williamson (brothers-in law), T. and G. Corlett (nephews), Messrs M. Williamson and R Corlett; Mr and Mrs Caesar Quayle (cousins), Mr and Mrs Walter Cormode (cousins), Messrs T. B. Cowley and W. P. Cowley (partners), Messrs R. J. Brew and B. Sugden.

WILLIAM KING.

Died September 19th. 1921.

An honourable and efficient public servant, and a courteous, genial man, passed away on Sept. 19th, in the parson of Mr William King, inspector of police for the Ramsey division. Inspector King had been seriously ill for some time, and the end was not altogether unexpected. The deceased gentleman was born in 1865, at Castletown, and lived in that town until 1886, when he joined the " Force" at Douglas. He was promoted sergeant in 1900, and after twelve years' experience on the beat and in the station, he was sent to Ramsey in 1912, to succeed Mr J. T. Quilliam, who had just become superintendent and deputy chief constable. Having served for 35 years, Inspector King was entitled to retirement, but his decision to avail himself of this right was come to somewhat hurriedly, on his realising the state of his health. Quite recently he sent in his resignation, which would have taken effect on the 30th September. During his stay in Ramsey, Inspector King made him-self of public service in a variety of ways outside the strict scope of his official duties. For instance, he recently undertook the re-construction of the Ramsey Fire Brigade, and it is recognised that he has already brought that body lo a high standard of efficiency. He was secretary of the Boot and Shoe Fund, and a member of the Life boat Committee. The latter cause, indeed, had enlisted his sympathy throughout his life, for while a youth in Castletown he was a member of the lifeboat crew.

Inspector King is survived by a widow and two children - Mr J. W. King, inspector under the Old Age Pensions and Health Insurance Board, and Miss Hilda King. The funeral took place on Wednesday, at the Borough Cemetery, Douglas, and was pre-ceded by a service in the Ramsey Wesleyan Church.