Martin, James , Commission Agent, Lumsden. Mr Martin, who is Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages for the Lumsden district, is secretary of the Loyal Lumsden Lodge, Manchester Unity, Independent Order of Oddfellows, and secretary of the Lumsden Hack Racing Club. He also holds the local agencies for the Royal Exchange of London Insurance Office (fire), the Australian Widows' Fund Life Assurance, and for the “Southland Times” Mr Martin was born in 1845 at Hendon, London, and became a pupil - teacher in a Government school. He was afterwards in the service of the Great Western Railway for some years before coming to New Zealand in 1872. After a short period spent in the employment of Messrs Cowper and Wilson, of Invercargill, Mr Martin entered the New Zealand railway service, and was, successively, shipping clerk, goods agent at Invercargill, and stationmaster at Lumsdon. Mr Martin left the railway many years ago, and has since resided at Lumsden, where he carries on business as an accountant and commission agent. He was secretary and treasurer of the local school committee for about fourteen years, and has always taken an active interest in every movement connected with the progress of the district. Mr Martin was married, in 1864, to a daughter of the late Mr John Parrell, maltster, Brentford, England, and has a family of four sons and four daughters. One of the sons was for a time Acting-Quartermaster-Sergeant in the Seventh Contingent, and took part in the Bothasberg engagement.