ALLEN, SIR JAMES ), New Zealand states man, was born in South Australia on Feb. 1o, 1855, his parents settling in New Zealand a year later. He was educated in England at Clifton and St. John's College, Cambridge, and afterwards studied at the Royal School of Mines, in London. Returning to New Zealand, he was, in 1887, elected a member of the house of representatives. He was minister of finance, defence and educa tion from 1912-15, and, in 1915, when a separate ministry of defence was formed, he took charge of it, retaining the post until 1920. It was largely due to his efforts that, in 1914, the New Zealand force was one of the most effective of the British Domin ion armies. In the absence of Mr. Massey in England during and after the World War, he acted as prime minister for two years. He was made a K.C.B. in 1917 and was high commissioner for New Zealand in London from 192o to 1926. His long, .practical experience as a Dominion administrator and his sympa thetic understanding of the needs of the empire rendered his presence in London especially valuable both to the Dominion and the empire. He is the author of New Zealand and Federation: The Financial Aspect (189o), a pamphlet issued by The Press, Christchurch, and New Zealand's Possessions in the South Seas (1903).