THE NEW ZEALAND CONTINGENT.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 10481, 20 October 1899, Page 5

THE NEW ZEALAND CONTINGENT.

SATURDAY'S DEMONSTRATION,

(PRESS ASSOCrATIOW TKWSOBAM.) WELLINGTON, October TV The foliow_og _f the Union. ste_mers *£_ cajry excursionists a_d a**ommny the Waiwera to the Heads en Saturday;—Mokcia, Te Anau, Ta__pu»*. Corinna, Hemid, Brunoer, Oanapere.^o~d «•»• piri. In oddit£on to these, <_1 the .coastal steamers which happen to be aa harbour will join in. . , ' The meapbers of the Le_isla,t_re <_d represer.ita_.ve victtoni will bo cm board «ie Capte-u J. Hughes, of Napier, who jotaed tihe Corrtinge-t aa a private, has been made lance-oorpcTAl. ' .._„ The officers of the Conkngont axe bern* entertained at dinner by the cwnm_nd«nt of tie forces. . In expectation of tihe dose of the on Saturday, the departure of the Te -Anau, which is to take the me_Jer*tc Lytteltoa, has been postponed until now o'clock at night, This *viU give the sou&err m-xbers an opportunity of tabu pwj ■tf Who farowell dcroonitration to the gent, and the Te Anau w__ also jom m fleet of steamers which is to eooompany th« Waiwera to the Heads. . . I_, _ The Governor inspected 116 of the Cont__g__t this altem-on. The muster was, a most ered-tsi-e one. The reason the ren___der of the Cont_ngent were not m epeoted was because all the men have nol yet received their full equipment, . A tremendous crowd » expected «n mm vicinity of the wharves on Saturday, and extra precautions are to he taken to guard against accident. Mr J. Macpherson, - chief engineer of th*

•<—■——■——-—__—_™_■_■—■■—■«■—■— — "™ — «"""» troopship Waiwera, was entertained by the Marine Engineers this afternoon. The shipping and mercantile interests were tepresented. Mr Seddon, and a number of members of tbe Legislature, were also present. Mr Macpherson was presented with the badge of a life honorary associate of the Society of Marine Engineers of New Zealand. The money which is to be collected from the people who go on board the steamers that will accompany the Waiwera to the heads, will probably form the nucleus of a fund for the relief of any of tbe members of tbe Contingent who may be wounded, or the relatives of any who may be killed. Railway excursions from all parts of the country will be run to Wellington on Saturday. Although there has been some complaint about the quality of the saddlery furnished to the Contingent, tbe officers state the saddles are strongly made, and servicahle, and considering the difficulties under which they have been made, the work has been well done. The following Maori war cry has been composed for the Contingent by Trooper W. Callaway, one of the members of tbe Contingent:— "Kia kasha, niu Tirini; Wha whai, maiea, mo to kuini to kainga, ake, ake, ake." Being translated, this means, •'Be strong, New Zealand ; fight bravely for your Queen, for your country, ever, ever, ewer." All in camp are busy ecquirr-tg Maori fhrases. The news of the reported defeat of the Boers with slaughter was sent to the camp by the Premier this morning. The men were paraded and given the information by the sergeants. Ringing cheers were given lor the British and groans for the Boers. The Defence Department 'has taken 100 carbines belonging to the Wellington and Pfctonc Navals, and issued them to the Contingent. The flag which a number of citizens have decided to present to the tontrngent will be the New Zealand ensign. It has been made in blue silk, and is four and a-half feet long and three feet wide, with the •tars of the Southern Cross worked in white «—_ The staff, which is of polished honeysuckle, bears the following inscription on • silver plate:—"Presented by the citisens of Wellington to New Zealand Contingent on their leaving for Transvaal, October, 1899." The flag will probably be unfurled on board the Waiwera just before she leaves the wharf. Messrs Bing, Harris and Co. have pretented tbe Contingent with ten thousand cigarettes. His Worship the Mayor of Christchurch left last night by the Te Anau for Wellington, to be present at the farewell to the Contingent. The Mayor of Lyttetton and Mrs Radcliffe also left by the Te Anau for Wellington. At the weekly parade of the Boys High Bchool Cadets yesterday, Captain Pemberton addressed the corps, congratulating them on being represented in the New Zealand Contingent by three old comrades—Messrs Jas. Wilson, C. M. Lewin, and L. Symes. Hearty Cheers were given for "Old Boys" m the Contingent. The Corps sent them a joint telegram to tho camp at Karori, wishing (hem God-speed and a safe return.