A DAY IN DUBLIN.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18924, 12 February 1927, Page 11

A DAY IN DUBLIN.

MR COATES CARRIED SHOULDER HIGH. TEA WITH THE PRESIDENT. (rßOil OCR OWK CORHESrOSDEST.) LONDON. January 10. When Mr Cosgrave, President of the Irish Free State, was in Loudon, he was verv insistent that Mr Coates should visit Dublin. Trinity College was also anxious to confer on tUe Prime Minister an honorary degree. Arrangements had been made to proceed to France on Tuesday, December 7th, but Trinitv College term ended before Mr Coates proposed to return from France. Ireland, therefore, ad precedence, and the French tourjas postponed for ten days. On the luursdav evening, Mr and Mrs Coates and their party, which included Mr r "• Thomson and Lieut.-Cobnel h nc; M.array (Secretary of the British Empire League), set out for Liverpool. It was a pleasant and rapid journey to the northern port, and an equally pleasant journey across the Irish Channel in the good ship Lady Limerick. The vessels"' on the route from Liverpool to Dublin are built for the purpose of carrying cargo, cattle, ami passengers. They cover the journey in •» leisurely way', and Hie hours of departure (10 p.m.) and arrival (8 a.m. are more convenient than those ort tno direct route. The night was mild and the sea perfectly calm. It happened that the general manager of the snipping company w.-.s crossing tn Dunlin, too, and he made it his mission to see that tho New Zealand delegation had the best of everything. For half, an hour they remained on the captain s bridge, watching the forest of liguts which mapped out the erent city and its waterway. Mr Timothy Hcalv. K.C., GovernorGeneral of the Irish Free State had sent Mr Dovlc. his Household Controller, to meet the visitors, and the President was represented by Colonci O'Reillv. A few minutes later tne partv were at tho Vice-Regal Lodge, where thev were tho guests of tne Governor-General during their stay m Dublin. Miss Hcalv did tho honours of hostess. During tho morning. HIS Excellency the Governor walked for two hours with Mr Coates in the heautiful grounds of the Lodge. Mr Hcalv has a wonderful fund of remimsconrcs. and he talked very interestingly of Disraeli, of Gladstone, and of the earlier vears of Lord Onlfour. who was then Chict Secretary for Ireland.

A Students' Day. After lunch tho New Zealand party motored to Trinity College, where the Prime Minister was received by the Vice-chancellor (Lord Glcnavy), the Vice-Provost (Dr. L. C. Purser), tho Senior Mnater Non-Regent (Professor W. E. Thrift), and other members of the Senate. A procession was formed, and the members of the Senate, in their academical robes, moved into tho Public Examination Hall. Tho mace-bcarer preceded Mr and Mrs Coates, who were enthusiastically cheered. The great hall was so crowdpd that poople were standing in all tho passage-ways. In the front seats thero were 200 students, who were to be cappedy. At tho back were the undergraduates, whoso duty and pleasuro it was—as is tho custom of most undergraduates—to make the official proceeding entirely unintelligible to tho audience. Their cries, their interjections, and their songs were no more artistic than those" of other students of other universities on such occasions. " Drv up!" one heard when some official gabbled a long formula in Latin. Deep groans followed, whistles, and turkey cries. A Worthy Successor of Great Men. In tho midst of tho wild disturbance : was indicated that Mr Coates should arise anf". be honoured. There followed vociferous hurrahs, and cries of "What about the All Blacks!" Then a momentary poace at the back of the hall. On the official list the Prime Minister was designated: Honoris cansa, Doctor in Utroquo Jure.—Coates Praehonorabilis Josoph Gordon, Senatus Novae Zealandiae Princeps, Cruce' Militan decoratus. The Public Orator (Sir Robert Tate) came to, the front and spoke his lines in Latin. These proclaimed Mr Coates as the worthy successor of those great men, Eiehard Ss'ddon and Joseph Ward. . • • Mr Coates might livo divided from us by the wholo extent of the globe, but ho had proved himself to be one of our clocest friends. In him the University of Dublin gladly received a distinguished soldier; she rejoiced to add her highest honours to the Military Cross he already wore, and extended to him her warmest greeting." , Afterwards degrees were conferred upon the students, parties of six going up to the platform at one time. Much Latin was spoken, thero were many bows, more Latin, a running fire o f ban ' 'ter from the undergraduates, and at last the ceremony was over. A Sudden Elevation.

The Senate and the new Doctor of Law then filed down the central passage way. As they reached the main door those in the vicinity were amazed to see the New Zealand Prime Minister rise like a flash into the air. He had been lifted to tho shoulders of half a dozen stlwart students. A moment later he was being raced across the quadranglo to a flight of steps. Here he was set on his feet, and a speech was demanded. "Follow-students," said the new graduate, "after years of arduous study, I feci that I have received what was "due to me long ago. (Laughter and cheers.) The degree that has been conferred on me" to-day will be taken as a compliment by all the people of New Zealand, who will certainly learn of the splendid way in which you have received me."

Three hearty cheers were then given, and once more Mr Coates was borne aloft on the shoulders of the students. This time they carried him into the street, a procession of other students following. He was taken n hundred yards along the road, and so to the front door of the Provost's house. "Speech! Speech!" the men cried again, and the Prime Minister replied in Maori: "Tena kouto me nga Tangata katoa me nga Tangata o tcne iwi maheno ana kouto tarn korero haerenia ki nieu terene haeremai ke Ao-Tca-Boa," which, as everyone in New Zealand will certainly know, is a warm invitation to the Dominion.

The President. After leaving the college the New Zealand party visited the Government buildings, where they were received by the President. Mr Cosgrave, Professor o'Sullivan (Minister for Education), and Mr D. O'Hegarty (Secretary of the Executive Council). 'Government Buildings arc now located in a building erected for a college of science, and the Dahl itself meets in a comfortable and compact chamber which was built for a lecture room. The visitors were conducted to the assembly chamber —the Dahl not being in session—where they tested the comfort of the members' and Speaker's chairs. They then went on to the assemblv room of the Senate. This is now located in the ballroom of what was once the town house of the Duke of Leinster. . From here the New Zealand visitors motored out to the private house of President Cosgrave. Beechpark. Templeozen. It lies about six miles form the centre oi the city and on the lowest

elopes of Dublin Mountains. It was a pleasant, homely visit, and Mr Cosgrave. a rigorous man of obvious ability, in the early forties, spoko of some of the difficulties that the Free State Government had to face. After tea with tho family, Mr Coates and his party motored back to town. * Trinity College Fellows.

In the evening the visitors were again tuu guests ui iriiuty College. Iho entertainment took the lorm of a dinner given in tlie liall by the members of tue (Senate and tlie bcuior Iteilows. Tlio V ice-Uiaueelior (Lord Glcuavy; presided, and the Governor-General was also one ot the guests. One of the hosts was Professor J. lironte Gatenby, M.A., Ph.D. (Dublin), D.Phii. (Oxford), D.Sc. (London;, a Hew- Zeulandej- who has been at Trinity College as Professor of Zoology for tlie pust live yearc; Alter the dinner an adjournment was made to the Fellows' Common llooni where the toasts were honoured. The dinner was a hearty atfaii, and the subsequent proceedings were still heartier. Dr. Purser, the Vice Provost, proposed the toast of "The College, coupling it with the name of Mr Coates. He said he thought the College was exceedingly fortunate in adding to its list of graduates such a distinguished person as the Prime Minicter of New Zealand, the Vice Provost then went on to speak cf the Prime Ministers military career, of his achievements us a Minister of the Crown, and latterly as Prime Minister. He now had the full confidence of his fallows citizens, ho said. The Dominion was truly to be congratulated on having a man with such common sense, courage, and personality. . „ . After thanking Ins "colleagues for the vcrv kindlv welcome ho and his party had received, Mr Coates went on to speak of the Dominion where lie said they had endeavouircd so far as it was practicable to turn the great assets of tho country to the advantage of the people and of those who would follow after. The Dominion was populated entirelv with British people, and they had a very strong affection for the Mother Country. It was an affection engendered by gratitude for tho protection received from the Home Country in the past. Now they desired in some way to repay tho debt they owed to the people overseas. The New Zealand policy was a very simple one. They valued their independence, they valued their position and their freedom, and their right to self-government. At tho same time they were so closely knit up with the people on this side of the world that they were ready to conform with anything that Great Brittain, in its wisdom, might consider vital and necessary for the general welfare. New Zealand would be wrth the Mother Countrv in its hour of need or its hour of peril. New Zealand had its own difficulties, but they tried to understand the difficulties of other parts of the Empire, and they were anxious to put nothing in the way of the Empire as a whole. Mr Coates went on to speak of the Imperial Conference and ihc spirit of tolerance that had been shown there the knowledge that had been gained of the other man's t'oint of view. This led him to describe some of the more imoortant policies of the Now Zealand <torernm»nt. to refer to the migration system and the possibilities of success of the settlers. He also spoke of the attractions of tlie country from the l>oint of view nf the visitor and cstend<vl a hearty invitation to his hearirs to go out and see New Zealand for themselves.

On the followitir mornintr the New Zealand party left for Belfast. The value and interest of this visit to Dublin was not so much in the public functions, hut in the opportunities it : gave

of private conversations with people of different shades of opinion. It must be remembered that Trinito College is a Protestant institution with a wonderful prestige. Both the College and the Government did their utmost to make the visitors comfortable and to giro them all the information possible, and the Governor-General, who is supposed to be beyond party, w«s the most charming of hosts.