DOMINION DAY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 313, 28 September 1908, Page 7

DOMINION DAY.

I THE CELEBRATIONS IN WELLINGTON. " LIVING FLAG." SIR JOSEPH WARD AND DOWNING . STREET. ' ; . The morning of Saturday, September 26,., tho first anniversary of tho proclamation of New Zealand as-a Dominion,-dawned full of promise, -and with its favourable auspices rosa tho hopes of the juvenile population of Wellington, for whom tho occasion was to' be a day of days. Flustered mammas must hava, been up early that morning, for their impatient offspring would brook little delay; special cars had been requisitioned for their" convenience, and tho prospect of riding in. state to the scene of their gala, the Basin Reserve, had elevated their importance in the' public eye, in which they were to figure largely, for Dominion Day in Wellington was specially dedicated to them. There was, of course, a grand military review in the afternoon, and a groat demonstration is the evening, to say nothing of illuminations and other things; but of theso the youngsters took no-, account—until after dinner. Tho supreme festival, in their oycs K in their parents' eyes; and very probably in'tho largo eye of; the public, was the display in the Basin Reserve, and thither, from every local centre, toiled loaded cars, bedeckod ;with the finery of . nature, and " Specially reserved." A huge car buzzed by, bearing the legend." Karori," and tho town knew that the juvenile fiction ' of that .elevated suburb was beaming and fidgeting inside; another swung along— " Northland"; another, and yet another, from every quarter, along every line, con-' , verged upon tho Basin Reserve, where they were marshalled as per carofully-thought-out ...« System " was the, hall-mark of the entiro proceedings; every detail fitted, there was no confusion, no loss of time, no fraying of human temper; and'here it is • fitting to congratulate Captaiii T. W. M'Donald, A.A.G., of the Defence Department, who was entrusted with the carrying out of tho arrangements for the display, and tho Teachers' Committee of Management ap-' pointed to co-operate with him in the' work, on tho undoubted success of their efforts. Tho whole display from start to finish was a complots success,

THE DISPLAY. . Every point, of vantage available ,to the public at. tho Basin Reserve was occupied, and tho overflow -spread over the apportioned area on tho flat. In tho centre, in front of tho pavilion, were arranged the school children, with their teachers, while in front and on tho flanks were paraded the three battalions of school cadets. The whole sceno was instinct with animation and colour, and formed a striking picture. A dais was erected in front of the pavilion, and shortly before 11 o'clock tho Prime Minister (Sir Joseph Ward), accompanied by Lady Ward ana Mr. Cyril Ward, together with his Grace Archbishop Redwood, the Hon. Dr. Findlay (Attorney-General), and Mrs." Findlay; the Hon.' G: Fowlds (Minister for Education), the Very Rev. Father Keogh (rector of St. Patrick's College), ChaplainMajor W. .Shirer, his Worship tho Mayor (Hon. T. W. Hislop), Colonel Collins, V.D., and Mrs Collins, and Judge Palmer took their, seats. Punctually at_ 11 r o'clock his Excellency ,the Governor, attended by Captain GathornerHardy, A.D7C.7, arrived at the dais, and was rcoeiMl frith a royal salute, and; a vast fluttering of the little flags; which gave life' to the big one—the mucn-talked-of "living flag." As a representation of the national flag of New Zealand, it was hardly a success,', a fact which was accounted for by the preponderance of white in the dresses of the little'girls. _ The result was a parti-coloured demonstration, animated : and enthusiastic enough in all conscience, but not—not the New Zealand Flag. The representation, to bs entirely successful, necessitates not only a colour scheme for small flags, but also a colour scheme for the children's attire, and this idea has been carried out in other places with fine' spectacular effect. It was, however, neither expedient nor even necessary for tho purposo of this occasion that this essential should. bo insisted upon, with the result as aforesaid. 1 And this is said without in any way detracting.from the success and spontaneity of the "nag" as it actually appeared. The demonstration was hearty and tumultuous, arid was J repeated quently afterwards to' mark-the "applause'' which —in obedience 'to signals from Mr. Foster (of Mount Cook Boys' School), who, 'armod with two small flags, was. posted "'on,, the balcony of the pavilion—was _evokeds at various psychological moments during the, delivery, or the speeches. The children were, splendidly disciplined, and the precision whichmarked their demonstrations forms a remarkable testimony to tho value of tho system which was designed by the committee". -

His' Excellency, accompanied by the Prima Minister and Captain M'Donald, haying inspected tho, cadet battalions and the mass of youngsters which formed tho "living flag," addressed tho huge gathering. His Excellency had the misfortune to no combated by a vigorous northerly, which caught up his words and whisked them beyond the hearing of tho greater portion of .the crowd, his remarks, and those of-.the• Prime. Minister later on, being only audible to those in the immediate vicinity of tho 'dais. / ADDRESS BY LORD PLUNKET. ; His Excellencythe Governor, • who was accorded a very enthusiastic reception, said he was sure all would agree that in inviting the children of New Zealand to take a prominent part in connection with tho first anniversary of Dominion Day the authorities responsible were to be congratulated. It, was,- ho . thought, most important that tho Tising generation should early be" taught ■that the designation of w;as n6t' given by the Mother Country merely as a toy to bo plaved with, but as an acknowledgment that tliess islands were now entitled to take a placo in the rising nations of tho Empire and in tho belief that their peojila were prepared to accept tho responsibilities which that higher status necessarily implied. There wors in the history of every nation' certain milestones showing its progress. 11l • regard to New Zealand the children had been told of tho voyage of Captain Cook, tho .landing of the first courageous missionary, the famous Treaty of Waitangi, the foundation of the principal cities, and the conferment of self-government. Few, if any,--at .themoment probably appreciated the significance of those events at their true value, and so, if tho young people on that the first anniversary of Dominion Day found it conveyed' littlo to them, they should try to.realise that the'event might 1 nic.-ir 'much in the future. What there was before the people of Now Zealand no one < foresee, but ho hoped that fifty or 5i;.... years hence many of the children before him would liable to produce the medals 'presented \ them that day, and tell their children fi. they had taken part in planting one of i milestones in the country s progress. At the invitation of his Excellency, >: children at this juncture enthusiastic saluted the Union Jack. Continuing, Lord I'lunket said: "i' and cirls, that bit of bunting which have lionourod is yours and oursl ' .'Wv claim tho proud right to fly it wherever will. What does it mean? As, the r>. of St. George, combined afterwards with ■■ cross of St. .Andrew and' the cross of Patrick, it flew above the gallant little U vonge in tho face of overwhelming odds, above' tho Victory at Trafalgar, bringing peace to tho world and making it possible • for.New Zealand to begin its existence; on tho Plains of Abraham, where Wolfe gave up his life; over tho Residency of Lucknow, wnero a merb handful of Britishers were opposed by overwhelming numbers. In' our own . time it flew ovor Ladysmith and Mafelring. • It mado . the , Bcas. Aeo :£ot ail

honest ships;.it has always pointed to the only certain p . asylum for the slave; and it • has [ always been -the hope of - the unjustly . y. oppressed; You do right, therefore, in pay- ; - ing'it'_honour when you celebrated New Zealand's special; day. I'am'proud to remember that -this country was proclaimed a Dominion during my term of • officei, and to have the privilege to have-this'opportunity of addressing such, a large assemblage of those'who 1 will soon have to work out New Zealand's ,destiny.(Loud applause.) On. the : call of the Right Hon. the Premier, three lusty cheers were at this stage given.for the Governor.. DISTRIBUTION OF MEDALS. His. Excellency, then handed to tho head teachers;.of. various, public and private . schools the magnqlium. medals struck in commemoration of .'the Colony's elevation to the dignity.'of' a ■ Dominion,: for presentation to the.: school'- children. The distribution'of ■ the,medals, was facilitated by tho admirable By stem, of arrangement of the scholars; each ■ school- .was , grouped, their teachers wero stationed closo by, and in a; comparatively brief -span , the "medals ..were all distributed, brief-.period.-the medals were all distributed, and'illustrated in our issue of Saturday. ■ Amid loud cheering Sir Joseph Ward then presented to.'Lord'Plunket replicas of the Bcdal -ih gold; and.,aluminium. , THE PRIME MINISTER'S REMARKS. Sir Joseph Ward was very cordially received upon-rising to address the . large as- • semblage. He said ho did not know whether it was indicative of what was expected from him that morning that'the band should ; have played i "We Wori|t Go Home Until Morning" just immediately before." he rose to : - speak. (Laughter.) ; He desired to say, however, "that if. ;a. programme, much more lengthy- than that arranged had to be gone >-i v through'he, was certain it would be received ■ with'great, satisfaction, by tho large assemb-' lago present. To him it' was a matter of •! supreme satisfaction to find",that,"-at comparatively short notice, and not upon a holi-. day proclaimed by ..statute, the organisation was'so "good—that some 4000 school children r and 1300 school "cadets had assembled'on the occasion to help to do honour to their country, to commemorate'.the creation of the Dominion, and to mark the first anniversary of that; day. He'would Ukej before proceeding ■ further-to'., thank tho 'Mayors of the' cities, - and -towns throughout New Zealand, and; tho school teachers and officers, and others . associated with them, for the trouble they had taken and for the excellent results of ;. that trouble, which showed that the organisa-tion-was remarkably good. - He wanted to say that if there was one thing more than another ; ;which; they ; should utilise on .an occasion such as this it was for the purpose of impressing particularly on . the younger generation tho great value of pride in jtheir '■ . enormous advantage of hiving instilled into the young mrads.of .the Domin-. ion; the necessity of sincere and devoted patriotism to this- portion of the great Empire to which they belonged; He believed ' that-a , ceremony such as that which thoy were performing calculated as much as' : anything one knew of to impress on the' . 1 minds ;of the young .people : that they belonged to ;that great; Empire referred to by his Excellency in his very thoughtful speech in a manner that struck home to them the fact that-'it was .the greatest source of joy and sat-. ...... isfaction ;to know that the flag flying on their right-was the emblem of the strength; pride,, and glory of the country, .the historical refer- . ences by his Excellency to which;had touched •• them so deeply. Lord Plunket's remarks also " 1 . impressed on all the realisation of what was every day coming more and more ■ before them • , . —the importance; of the outlying -possessions . of the British Dominions. There were some • people who did not attach much value to a name. A.name'in itself was a secondary matter,; but the fact of ;New Zealand's growth ' -and development among.the oversea dominions, had, warranted; it being elevated, so to . ; speak/in the v scale of nations, by the desig- ; ' : natiohPtif "Dqmini6ii" ; beingi cohferred'Cupori' 3 it. ;He believed'tKat as years went on what. ■■■■■'. ~ his Excellency rhad that-.day stated would gradually develop in this , country. Nobody " knew what was : the future before .the people . of New Zealand, but all khew that they wero the possessors of.one.of the happiest por-i tions of the British. Dominions, and their , desire -was to impress on those who wero to follow them that they had,tried-to mould, .and make better the tnist in .their hands.,He also wanted to say that if; the communications ,which he.'had-',received from people throughout New Zealand, the-.Old Country, and . Australia were any indication of the - , goodwill..felt towards -the Dominion, then,'iri that respect the people of New. Zealand must , r feel . happy indeed. . The many, 'coinmunica- 1 tions 'that .had reached him pointed *to the fact that people abroad were ..proud to see that this , Dominion . was progressing, -and realised that , the raising of New Zealand to a Dominion meant more to its people than tho mere naine itself implied. It was his hope that before long Dominion Day would bo . proclaimed, a statutory throughout New Zealand, and' that the volunteers npon; that day, from end. to end of tho.country would be able to take part in a daylight • parade valuable .to them and valuable to the country—the fixing of .'a certain day for certain-work connected with volunteering; . ■ Tho awkwardness of the day at present was duo to tho fact that it;was a Saturday. He know it must have occasioned some incorive-

iiienco to.many people. To,those who had subordinated their. convenience to help to. make 1 the day_'memorable he returned his sincere ... thanks; ' In conclusion,; Sir Joseph said he; hoped that . future anniversaries ■ would bo marked by the same amount'of enthusiasm,': that those present_'might hear from the lips of the representative of the, King .inspiring words'sucn as had fallen from tho Governor that day, and that the people of New Zealand might become even more deeply attached to the flag of Old England, as their 'destiny; and that of the people of tho Mother Country was in the same direction, and was j one -which they,should doitheir best to concrete and'forward in every possible way. : (Loud applause.)' ' , '. J • \ ;• ; On ithe. call of the Attorney-General, Dr.Findlay, K.C., "three-cheers were heartily given -for the Prime Minister. " ■ During the-ceremony two colour-sergeants of the cadets," each-bearing a' handsome/bouquet; stepped - smartly forward to 'the dais, saluted) - and - presented them,- one for. her Excellency Lady Plunketj who was unable to be . present, and the other to Lady Ward—an attractive little .ceremonial capped by cheers and'a great fluttering of flags. ; Commenting afterwards upon ' the success of the function/-the Primo.Alinister paid a high tribute of praise to the members of the Committee .of-;- Management—Miss Helyer (headmistress of Mount Cook Girls' School), Captain . T. W. MDonald, A.A.G., and . Messrs. H. -A. Parkinson,'J. C. Webb, William Foster (headmasters of the Normal, and Mount Cook Boys' Schools reand :Majors F. A. Hempleman and A. M'Kenzie ■ (commanding Nos. 1 and 2 Cadet-Battalions respectively)—for their systematic and. energetic efforts in connection . therewith; .: ■ .' ;

SCHOOL HOLIDAY TO-DAY. % As special mark of appreciation to the teachers and children for their co-operation in- tho carrying out of the. celebrations, the Prime Minister has arranged with the chairman of. the Education Board (Mr.. Robert Lee) for a school holiday, to-day, a graceful acknowledgment which will meet with tho appreciation of all concerned. In addition to tho public school cadet battalions, the _ St. Patrick's College Cadets, under Captain Devoy, were on parade, and were pasted in the front line flank, near the Cambridgo Terrace entrance to the Basin Reserve. Altogether there were upwards of 1250 cadets on parade. The.following are the details of tho parade state:— No. 1 Battalion (Major Hempleman), 433, all ranks—Mount Cook. (Captain F. A. Wilson), 71; Te Aro'No. 1 (Captain Blake); .55; Terrace (Captain Erskine), 65; Normal School (Captain Edie), 54; Brooklyn (Captain Look), 48; Mitch ell town and Wadestown (Captain Dairroch), 48; Karori and Northlands (Captain Monagban), 40 ; Te Aro No. 2 (Captain Henderson), 52., No. 2 Battalion (Major M'Kenzie), '421,' oil'' . Quay No.' 1 (Captain Thwaites), 56; Newtown No. 1 (Captain F. P.' Wilson), ,63: South Wellington No. 1 (Captain Glover),' 56; Kilbirnie (Captain Robertson), 51; Newtown No.'2. (Captain Ward),; 60; South Wellington' No. 2 (Capton' Feltham), 52; Island Bay (Captain Brown), 45; Roseneatb- (Captain Taylor), 25 y • : ■■ •• •. ■ '

, No. 3 Battalion (Major Burlinson). 343, all ;ranks.—Weraroa (Captain Eggelton), 55; Levin (Captain Burns),' 70; Lower Hutt (Captain Ballachey), 56; Petono No. 1 (Captain Lynskoy),. 56; l'etono No. 2 (Captain Bedginfield), 43; . Jonlisonville (Captain Bothune), 33; Weraroa Band and Pipers, 27. Staff-officers •in addition to majors com-manding.—Brigade-Major H. A. Parkinson, Adjutant-Captain Wilson (No. 1. Battalion); Q.M.-Captain Lowe and Adjutant-Captain Worboys (No. 2 Battalion); Q.M. Captain Bennett (No. 3 Battalion). After the conclusion of tho proceedings, tho cadet battalions were marched up for lunch to., the Garrison Hall, where, on the floor, "system" was again in evidence, the presiding genius in this instance being Hon.Captain J. O'Sulliyan, of the Dofence Stores Department. The floor of the drill hall was marked off in squares, in. each of, which stood a big pot of steaming tea, a tray containing ten packages of lunch, and ten mugs. ; The boys filed in, wheeled along the marked lines, and at tho .word of command each group of, ten _squatted down in a circlo with the eatables in the centre, and waited, with bulging eyes, and.,watering mouths, for the next word of command, which, in effect, was "Fall to;", Tho "boys enjoyed themselves hugely, and made a. hearty meaj, making an excellent preparation for the next phase of tho day's celebrations, the military, review | at Newtown'Park.