PITT MEMORIAL GATES.

OPENING CEREMONY. .

(From "The Colonist," May 3.) : Tho formal opening of the handsome ■ gates erected on the Bridge street side of the Queen's Gardens to tho memory of tho late Colonel PiU, V.1)., M.L.C., took place yostmlay afternoon in the presence of a large, attendance of the public, which included members of the City Council, the Board of College Governors, tho Pitt memorial committee, and leading citizens. The territorial forces were also represented, and the College cadets under Lieutenant Saxon, provided a guard of honour. Speeches were made by tho -Mayor ] (Mr Lock), Colonel Grace (senior officer in the Nelson military district), and Mr ! C. J. Harley (president of tho Nelson Law Society), after which a wreath was placed upon the gates by Dr. L. G. Boor, an old friend of the late' Colonel Pitt, and .they were formally declared open. : Apologies for absence were received from the Right Hon. W. F. Massey '(Prirao Minister) and the Hon..lt. Hea-t-on .Rhodes (Canterbury), lions. T. Kfelly (New Plymouth), C. Louisson (Canterbury), H. F. Wigram (Canterbury), C. H. Mills (Wellington), Major J. ' l£. Barltrop (Feilding), Messrs John Connolly (Blenheim), C. J. W. Griffiths (Blenheim), James Grace (Christchurch), E. N. G. Poulton (who was private secretary to the- late Colonel Pitt), and others. The gates, which are a handsome adornment to the Gardens, comprise four massive pillars of Aberdeen granite with ornamental iron Avork, and wei'o designed by Mr J. G. Littlejohn, ■ City Surveyor. Messrs Silvester and Co.", Christchurch, were the success!m contractors for the erection of the :<atcs, and the ironwork was carried out ny.Messrs Scott Bros., of Cbristchureh. The cost of the pillars, foundation, etc., was £334, and the gates, including the 'painting,-£l2O. '■ The inscriptions on the piliars are as follows: — "These gates were erected by the people in recognition-of tho public service and private work of Albert I'itt, °"The Hon. Albert Pitt, V.D., M L-C Attorney-Gentral. -Lieutenant- ■ Colonel' of tlie New Zealand Militia, member of the House of Representatives for the City of Nelson, 1879-18bl. Officer commanding Nelson Military district, 1877-1899." . \ sum of £560, including a grant of £300 from the Ward Government, was raised by public subscription, from all parts of the Dominion. Before Mr Cawthron generously undertook to provide the church steps, the Pitt Memorial Committee paid £10 for the first plans for these steps. Major Stiles, who acted as secretary of the committee did splendid work, and the success achieved was largely due to Ins energy. Speaking at the function yesterday, the Mayor said that the late Colonel Pitt was an honoured and respected citizen of Nelson tor 43 years, and interested himself in all matters connected with the welfare and advancement of the city. The deceased was loved and respected by the people,-and . had earned a name for his courtesy probity and conscientiousness. We took a leading interest in volunteering, and rendered good service to tins </istrict and the Dominion generally. Mr Lock then proceeded-to sketch the late Colonel Pitt's career. He was he said, in 1873, captain of the Artillery, and for eleven years commanded the Nelson district. He commanded I<JyU troops at Parihaka in 1881, and was in command of the New Zealand troops at the Queen's Jubilee in 1887. In recognition of his great ability and worth he received many' distinctions. Mr Lock then referred to the good services the late Colonel Pitt had rendered as a public man in his capacity-asa member of the Provincial Council, the Board of College Governors, as member for Nelson in/the House- of Representatives from 1879 to 1881, and^ae-a member of the Legislative Council from 1899 until the time of his death. The late Coldhel Pitt, he said, had ] also been Attorney->Goneral, and had neld the portfolio of Minister for Defence, and while Sir Joseph Ward was absent m England acted as Minister for Railways and Minister in charge or the Government Insurance Department. The extra work, said Mr Lock, brought on an illness to which deceased succumbed. To show the high esteem in which the late Colonel Pitt was held Mr Leek referred to the eulogiums .of the Press from one end'of the Dominion to the other, and quoted from the tributes paid to the deceased statesman by Sir Joseph Ward and Sir Robert Stout, the Chief Justice. In conclusion Mr Lock stated that the idea of the memorial originated with Mr Colin Campbell, and much good work in connection with carrying the proposal into effect had been done by Major Stiles, the secretary to the committee. , ~ , Colonel Grace, who was the next speaker, said it gave 'him great pleasure to pay his tribute to the memory of the late Colonel Pitt, whom he had known intimately. The speaker said ho had had the honour of commanding the battery which previously had beSn commanded by the late Colonel Pitt, and he- could testify to the spirit that was imbued in the corps by him, and which still existed when he too* command. The late Colonel Pitt began his military career in Tasmania, and when he came to Ne soil he took command of the Nelson \ ounteer Artillery cadets. Subsequently he commanded the Nelson Artillery company and in 1871 he • relinquishes that, and took command of tho "H" Battery, into which that artillery company was merged. Ho was promoted to the rank of major, and dvon command of tho .Kelson district. "Tho Parihaka campaign was the greatest work in a militar? sense that the late Colonel Pik performed. It had been caked a bloodless campaign, b«t.{,.il the. more honour to the deceased because it was bloodless If the conduct of the campaign had been in tho hands of a soldier who was not an expert there would probably have been a resuscitation of the horrible struggle that took place between the Maoris and the pake-has m the 's'x'-ics. Althondi the campaign was a bloodless one, it was so won that there had not bean trouble since. Colonel Pitt, who was chosen to i-onduct the campaign by the Hon. Mr Brycc, took ■Shhn to P:mhaka the \\aimea Rifles Stoke Rides-, City Rifles, Nelson N'lVals, and "H" Battery from this district, with volunteer companies Jrorr""her parts of New Zealand. Some Inniled at Opunake, and some at jSew Plymouth, and thoyfunctioned at a nlaee some mite, from Parihaka.. Colonel Pitt had also under Ins comJw* n W>o force of Armed Constabu™f TwUv!S*d on Paiihaka. and hh troops in i-m-h a way that j k n t.' Mrr-ii* Wkp up one morning tho &d they ,uuld not ™ye hz*A™ foot—that ahe pah was &^ loWfj Tli- Armed Constabulary /ere behi l" Mi-h tho rrtiilury in front, ami tin' n.OKonti^ilar.ks Colonel Pilt soi.l in a nies«on ßt r to a«k the Maoris vhat il.cn \w uomar to do, and an old Maon told "him (tho speaker) aiter-•:-df: that thc-\ could not nght, as they did not know- where to begin. They could see the cannons m iront oi the pah, and they surrendered. Colonel Pitt took their'arms?, and several prisoners, including Tohu and Te "VYhiti, uho were brought to Nelson and. held m durance vile at an inn a little way the

other side of tho cemetery. That, said ] Colonel Graco, was the end of the Maori ■ trouble. No doubt some were present who had served under Colonel Pitt, and they would remember the esteem in which lie was hold. Subsequently Colonel Pitt commanded the New Zealand contingent present at the celebration o;- the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. rk> whs sure that if Colonel .Pitt had lived ho would have been pleased to see the defence forces of New Zealand on a sound footing. In conclusion Colonel (inifo asked them to remember that w iicii t!u\y looked at the gatos_ that tho deceased was just .as true1 grit as the pillars.' ' .''■'■ ■Mr C J. Harley, president of the Nelson I/aw Society, testified to the worthiness of the late Albert Pitt, who he described as a good citizen, a good lawyer, a good soldier, and a good politician. Perhaps to most of those present lie was purely a name, but he had spent practically the whole of his life in Nelson —over forty years —and during that time he had made himself one of the most popular men who had ever livdd. There was no function that ho did not attend; bo was a man without .false pride, and there was no one he was not,pleased to meet. As a lawyer lie came into prominence at-the time of the Maungatapu murders in 1866, when Ihe wns engaged to defend one' of the | scoundrels. His ability -as a pleader-on tluit occasion gained him notoriety. Mr Harley then referred to the Parihaka ! campaign, and recalled the political struggles of the '.seventies and -eighties, in winch the deceased took a prominent part. The gates, he said, would serve as a lasting monument of as fine a citizen as Nelson ever.had. Mr Harley Save credit to Mr Colin Campbell* ! for initiating the movement to erect the memorial, and complimented Mr J. | G. Littlejohn on the design of the gates, j Dr. Boor, who accompanied the late Colonel Pitt to Parihaka, then placed a wreath upon the gates, and the J Mayor formally declared them open. j The ceremony then concluded. i