CAPTAIN BARRY AT MILTON.

Bruce Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 1207, 28 May 1880, Page 3

CAPTAIN BARRY AT MILTON.

{To the Editor.) Sir, — I was surprised on reading your issue of the 18th instant, to find that you had not faithfully reported that popular lecturer, Captain William Jackson Barry. It is not often the people of Milton have the pleasure and privilege of listening to such eloquence as fell from the lips of the eminent Captain, when addressing an audience of eighty persons (more or less) at St. George's Hall on Saturday evening the 15th instant, and it would be a pity if those of the public who did not hcar'the lecture did not have the benefit, of it through the medium of the press. Therefore I ask the privilege of giving an amended report in your columns. I trust you will not deem it impertinence on my part to tell you how I think the lecture should have btsn reported ; it is thusly :— Captain William Jackson Ba?-ry made his appearance before a Milton audience on Saturday evening the 15th instant, to give, as he announced by advertisement, hi 3 lecture entitled, " Whzit I Maw in England." After keeping His Worship the Mayor (who had kindly promised to preside on the occasion) wa : ting about in the coid Hall for a pretty considerable length oi time, while he (the Captain wPvS walking iv avid out, looking eagerly for more colonises to C'>nie in au-.l listen to the wonderful experience uf a eulogist of 51 year's standing, the learned gentleman stepped on to the platform, and asked the audience to wait patiently for a quarter of an hour, for there was a lot of his friends " over the way," ie, at the Commercial Hotel, as he expected to come aud hear him. Those friends, apparently preferred to remain "over the way," for they did not put in an appearance at the Hall. After pausing for about five minutes, the lecturer commenced his oration, which was something after this style : — Ladies and gentlemen — I am sorry there is not more colonists present, for I want to tell them what I have done for them. I ho,ve done more for New Zealand than any other man ; there is not a Agent that as been sent over to England that as done what I've dune for this country. I went to London to get my book published :-- (here, here); I vent to Julius Yogel and he ses, " I can't engage you as Emigration Agent, Captain Barry." So I went on my own hook. I went on one hundred and twenty-one platforms, and I addressed thousands of people indoors aud out of doors. There was thousands of people on the look out to see who Captain Barry was. When I got to London, aud see the great distress an' poverty; the number of unemployed there was, it made me look round ! I went an' saw the Claimant in prison ; there \vas me an' Lord Rivers, an' Docter Kenealy, and a number of other noblemen went together. Lord River 3 said he would give place to Captain Barry, an' I interviewed the Claimant first. When the others come in an' see me an' the Claimant a-talkin' together familiar, they was supprised. I ses to him, "Do you know me ?" He ses, " 1 can't just call you to mind, but your face seems familiar." I ses, "Do you remember a man adrivin' a lot of cattle one day in Castlemaine ?" He ses, " I do, an' you are Captain William Jackson Barry !' I see, " I am, an' von arc Castro !" When I said that, I thought Lord Rivers and all the others would have shook the hand off me. Well, I jpt him off seven years transportation ; I relieved him, an' 1 hope when he gets into his estate he'll relieve mo — (here. here). No man ever g-t such a reception, as I got in England ; I was taken by the hand by Djoka and Lords ; I dined with Lord fhu-oiixjichl ; I rode in Itottun Cow with Lord Kivers. And what got me into such society V Why, it was bluff'! that's what done it, ladies an' goail:men. The lecturer gave some of his woudciiai e>pciiences in the colonies. He lir.d seen a own men hanging all at once ! lie had been shipwrecked ; there was a lady— the wife of the Captain of the ship in the party— an' if it hadn't a-bin' for his (Captain Barry's) presense of mind, that lady would have been killed, for, while they was on a Island, a man had took up a piece of wood to kill her. [Here the audience feelingly expressed their appreciation of tho Captain's bravery.] He had bin struck by a loomering ;he had sat down behind some Australian blacks, and when they had done a chuwriii' at a piece of meat, they chucked it over to their gina, and the gins chucked it over to him. He had wrote it all in his book. In that book (which was a credit to him) was optical dtinonsleration of what he had gone through. The lecturer spoke of tho progress of the colonies, and as an instance in point, asked the audience to look at Duneding, how it had grown. He considered the people of the colony were indebted to him for what he had done, an the Government ought to reimburse him. He had brought £SO,OOO worth of capital with him amongst gentlemen who had come out along with him. He would not keep them longer :— (a sigh of relief). If there had bin more present he might have said more. He might come again soon, to sell his book, and give a free lecture. Your contributor hopes that the public in general, and Captain Barry in particular, will appreciate the faithfulness of this report.— l am, &c, Sairy Ga-mp.