RECEPTION TO THE FLEET.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 273, 11 August 1908, Page 9

RECEPTION TO THE FLEET.

A GREAT DAY IN AUCKLAND.

THE . OFFICIAL WELCOME.

SPEECHES BY GOVERNOR, PREMIER AND ADMIRAL.

COMMON INTERES'

CD* TELEGRAPH. —SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) Auoklandi August 10. Crowds! crowds! crowds! Such is the first Hid last and intermediate impression of tho looker-on in Auckland to-day. Early in the morning they swarmed in from the suburbs and. the country,, and mado for the water front. Every bit of'standing room within cooecof tho Queen's Wharf was'soon occupied. Tho windows, the verandahs, the roofs,,'arid tho parapets of all the adjacent buildings were alive with eager faces. Standing on tho idais just beforo tho official proceedings began, 'one could sco tho s crowd extending far back along all . the streets that converge .upon the wharf. Volunteers had already stood for hours keeping the lines along the routo marked out for tho procession up Queon-Street and Wellesloy Street to tho Military Hall.

On tha Dais. Over tho canopy of foliage above tho dais fluttered the appropriate, if somewhat-hack-neyed; legend, "Blood 'is thicker than water." The smaller canopy under which the 1 Chairfnan . and members of tho . Harbour Board received Admiral Sperry and the other three Admirals of the fleet bore' the words, "Eai Ora," "Koutu," and - other Mauri greetings.' Tho-little group, headed by Admiral Sperry and the Hon. E. Mitchelson, moved towards, tho dais amidst a brilliant dbene. The gold braid on tho uniforms of a score qf-■American officers gleamed 'as Tennyson would havo had. it, "like a ■ fiold of charlock In the sudden sun between two showers." The way was kept open by volunteers on the ono side and a bluo coated pathetic'line of veterans from the Veterans' Homo on the other.

A Casket for tha Presldont.The Pr.emier was in excellent voice, but no human being even with tho aid lof a megaphone could have mado himself audible to,any b.ut a small fraction of tho multitude that desired to hear. Those on and near tho dais listened silently and'heard most of tho words, in spito of. the almost continuous accompaniment of cheering from the streets. His words rang , clearest when, having finished tho reading •of tho Government's address to President' Roosevelt, - ho 'handed to the Admiral the casket of "our own gold, our own 'silver,- our own wood, our own workmanship."

Tho Admiral's Speeches. Admiral Sperry is a good | speaker. One reels that on an occasion when , he could let himself go he might even bo an orator'; but a single look at his strong weather-beaten face would ,'convineo, anytjtudent of human naturo that the Admiral will never.let himself go except,-.'at.,the,prripor time .and place.. His speech; impressed those who were, able to hear it 'as bpi'ng, in the 'American phrase, "just so." The impression was confirmed by his next , two speeches, and again a little later at the civic reception..' On each-occa-sion lie had'something fresh and fit to say, •and he said it well In the first speech there was.his compliment to New. Zcalanders as a people small in numbers but great in achievements. In his second he mado an allusion to the Maoris in terms'of respect and in a tone that- carried not a shade of a suggestion of the "Yankee contempt for colour." Yet. he avoided-the other error of telling the white people of New Zealand what they so often', tell. eaqh other, namoly, tfyit the Maoris-aro in evory way their equals, This speech-came, just after the Hon.-Mahuta Te Kherowhoro and Mr. Kaihau, M.P., who iroro rich Maori mats, had mounted the dias it the special'request of Sir' Joseph Ward. Die speech in roply to the Harbour Board's welcome must have mado every Aucklander's heart glad with tha prido' of local patriotism. Tho Admiral's address at the' military hall n-as specially notable for the declaration that the interests'of the .British Empire and the United States in tho Pacific wore common interests, and that, their, two great navies mado for peace.

The Procession. Tho route of tho profession from the wharf up Queen Street to tho Military Hall in Wellesley Street was just- two long.• denselypacked crowds,"kept hack from' the middle of the roadway by the military lines, and thrown up liko spray upon verandah roofs, window sills, and housotops. It'was not the crowd si the wharf, that had moved up. It was a stationary crowd that had been Traiting there good-humouredly and patiently for hours. It had its populous branches in the side streets that slops down into the main thoroughfare; it extended to the very doors of the. hall, and when tho dignitaries who had formed tho procession alighted there five or six thousand people vere waiting inside. Evory unreserved seat in tho . great building was already occupied.

Tha Civic Welcome. After the Governor had assured tho visitors 3f the sincerity of the welcome given them by tho people of " the long white cloud," the Mayor read the citizens' address, and dehrercd a speech which was rather' long, but had no other fault, unless his.littlo hint to tho. Government to re-establish tho 'Frisco mail service could be. regarded as such. Of course, the enthusiasm ivas tremendous. Admiral Sperry's reply has.been noticed above, but it had 0110 other happy touch, an acknowledgment of tho greetings of the cities and boroughs throughout tho Dominion as shown by the numerous banners beneath whioh ho had passed on the way to tho hall. "he Afiornocn and Evening. , Thers. jrm another crowd ready for tho function in Albert Park, whero tho English and American oaks were nlanted on a sits overlooking the sixteen whito and buff battleships in tho harbour, whoso names were bestow ed upon them. The military review in the Domain, great attraction as it was, left plenty of people in the streots' to fratorniso with the American and British tars, who wero .iwfct.ro in great numbers. In the ovening tho illir.wnations in the streets, the fireworks on the ivhnrf, aud tho big Ministerial banquet ma-i. a fitting oloso to Auckland's.great reel letter day. Of the banquet it must suffice to s:V that with its blaze of gold braid and epmiU-ttcs, its. splashes of Scarlet uniforms, its distinguished company on the dais with tho Governor, tho Frimo Minister and tho Admirals in their uniforms, and its 750 guests,' it, perhaps, excelled anything of tho kind over soon before in this country. Admiral Sporry himself has said that the Fleet has received here a more enthusiastic we'eomo than 'at any' port where it has yot touched. Certainly the Government and Auckland are not doiiiD' t'vs thine: !•» Saaivca.

»TS IN THE PACIFIC.

THE OFFICIAL LANDING. ADDRESSES PRESENTED. REPLIES BY THE ADMIRAL, (uv Tr.LEOKirn—rßEss association.) Aucklf.nd, August 10. The streets' and wharves were densely crowdod this morning, and roofs, balconies,, and windows were all packed with, spectators, on the occasion of the official landing of Admiral 'Sperry and his officers. Queen Street and tne Queen's Wharf worn lined with volunteers, arid a line of veterans hom the Home was drawn up o,n tho wharf. Tho Hon. E. Mitchelson, chairman of tho Harbour Board, and several members of tho same body, met the Admiral at the landing stago, under a beautifully-decorated canopy, and conducted them to a dais, where they wore awaited by the . Premier and members ,of. the Ministry, the Speaker of the Houso of Representatives, Mr. Massey, Leader of the Opposition, tho principal military commanders of' tho Dominion, Lady Ward, and several other ladies.

Address to President Roosevelt. When Admiral Sperry and the four other Admirals had -mounted the dais, the Premier read an address to President Roosevelt, and presented it- in a handsome casket. ThV address eulogised Mr. Roosevelt as one who had represented tho best traditions of common blood and civilisation, and was sincerely honoured by ail New Zealandcrs. " This casket," said Sir Joseph Ward, in handing it to the Admiral; " consists of ourown gold, our own silver, our own wood, our own workmanship." • Admiral Sperry, in reply, saidNo greeting could appeal more strongly to President Roosevelt than this from a people small in number but great in achievement." The beautiful present typified everything that was good in the national life. At this point Mahuta and Kaihau mounted the dais at the request of tho Premier, and an address to Admiral Sperry was read by Sir Joseph Ward, the crowd, which" filled ail the avenues commanded by the dais, cheering frequently.

Tho Maori Raco. The address.alluded to the solid friendship of America andthe British Empire, and-mado special allusion to the share of the Maori raco in the national life of Now Zealand. ■ Concluding, Sir Joseph Ward presented to Admiral Sperry a handsome trophy, of Now Zealand workmanship. Admiral Sperry, in reply, said tho reception given tho officers and men of tho fleet was an earnest of tho reality of the ties of blood and friendship, and moant' more to them than people could understand. The ships woro the body of the Fleet, tho officers and men its soul'. He realised that tho splendid race of Maoris had established a tradition for loyalty and faithfulness. (Applause.) 'On the call of tho Premier, three cheers were then givon for Admiral Sperry and his officers.

Harbour-Board's- Presentations . Mr. Harbour' Board,, then read' an "address of' welcome, and presented a silver caskot ,to Admiral Sperry. .Tho Admiral, in" expressing 'thanks; spoko of the magnificent' safety'of Auckland Har•bour. There was no such harbour, in the Pacific except that of Sydney, and . perhaps Manila. It was an ideal harbour, and possessed ovorything and every facility a naval commander could desire. . , The band played bars .from the American and British National Anthems, " Yankee Doodlo," and other airs, as the official party left the wharf, and passed through the densely-crowded streets on its way to the civil reception. The visitors wero cheered along the route.

Tho weather wa3 fine, though the sky was cloudy.. ...