FREEDOM OF BATH

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 62, 10 September 1921, Page 16

FREEDOM OF BATH

DOMINION PREMIERS HONOURED

HISTORIC CEREMONY AT THE PUMP ROOM

BRITAIN'S FINEST ROMAN RELIC.

(FROM OCR OWN CORBISPONBKNT.)

LONDON, 28th July.

"Bath can never be charged with bestowing the Freedom, of the City with an over-lavish hand. At the present time we have only one honorary Freeman, Lord Rosebery. We may have been conservative in the bestowal of this honour, but 'when we have an opportunity such as occurs to-day we grasp it with open hand." These were the words of the Mayor of Bath—the occasion the bestowal of the Freedom' of the City upon His Highness the Maharao of Cutch, Mr. Hughes, . and Mr. Massey. The ancient city spared no pains in making the visit of their distinguished guests a memorable one—if such receptions are rare it is evident that their rarity is made up for by their thoroughness when they do occur. The Maharao, accompanied by his staff and Indian attendants, the two Prime Ministers, Mrs. Hughes, Mrs. Massey, Miss Massey, a number of members of the British Empire League, and a. contingent of pressmen and photographers, left London last Saturday at nine. It was a fast run down to Somerset, and there was no need to look for the station sign on arrival at Bath, for the platform was gay with flags. A cavalcade of cars conveyed the guests from the station to the centre of the town, and all along the line of route the buildings were festooned with flags, and the people of Bath, who were apparently out to the last child, cheered with enthusiasm as the leading ' cars passed slowly by. And so they came to the centre of the town, where are'the group of buildings enclosing the warm springs where,, legend relates, eight hundred years before the Christian era, Bladud, a British Prince, after being cured of leprosy, built palaces and temple*, and founded his , capital—the first "City of the Hot Springs." ROMAN 6CCUPATION. But it was the Romans who made full use of these, the only thermal springs in England, and who, about 54 A.D., erected the magnificent baths aim! temples, and for four centuries made of their city called, Aquae Sulis, the raehionable spa that it was in those earlier times. There is ' someJiting very fascinating ■ about these remains of a former civilisation, and the visitors from overseas will perhaps remember more clearly the time spent beside the historic pool than the pleasant ceremony, and' feasting , which, marked the week-end spent at Bath. History' records that, after the Romans as rulers had retiredi from Britain, the baths were allowed to lapse into ruin, though they were x\&ed by the Bomanb-British inhabitants until the city was destroyed by the Saxons in 577. Then, iit seems, they remained buried until recent times. Houses were built over the site of the great Roman bath, and ty was only m 1882 that workmen, digging foundations for new buiMihgs, disclosed what had been hidden for fourteen hundred years. Carefully and slowly the excavations / have gone forwardi, am? there remains to-d&y the structure not greatly changed from what it was nearly 2000 years ago. None of the double columns which support the encircling balcony has been destroyed. Several statues remain intact. The original pavement which- skirts the pool is in a. good state of preservation.' jThe lead, lining of the bath is complete, ■ and the lead piping which conducted the water still serves it's original purpose. A great culvert, built by the Romans for carrying off the waste' water, has. also been discovered, and its masonry is still sound and' water-tight, and performs today the function it was- originally built for. Eighty-two feet in length and' forty feet wide, the great bath occupied- a hall 110 feet by 68 feet, and to-day it could very well be used by modern bathers, but it serves a. sentimental purpose bettor. The people of Bath, are proud of their relic of antiquity, and well they might be. Yet is is told that, according to plans ■ extant, there has been but one-eighth of the original Roman structure uncovered, and much more may yet be revealed. CONFERRING THE FREEDOM. In the Pump Room buildings, made famous by the distinguished company of the past century, the ceremony of last week, took place. The council chamber was too small to accommodate the numerous visitors, so the Concert Hall attached to the Pump Room was provisionally constituted a council chamber. To right and left of .the table occupied by the Mayor and the new Freemen were all the councillors arrayed—the massive fumi-. ture from the Guildhall being brought across for the occasion. Above the central table was the. city coat of arms, and the flags of Australia and New Zealand, and British flags. Ferns and paTms and choice blooms intermingled with foliage plants decorated the stage and the sides of the hall, and all the prominent citizens were present in the audience. Amongst these were the Marquis of Bath, Viscount Ullswater (ex-Speaker of the House of Commons), and the veteran litterateur (Mr. Frederick Harrison). • Mayor and councillors and the new Freemen were, preceded to the platform by what appeared to be at least the Lord High Executioner. This splendid personage, considerably over six feet in height, wearing a beaver hat, and what had the ■ appearance of a green Roman toga, carried over his shoulder a two-edged sword which none but a King Richard I. could wield., Wherever the Mayor ia his robes came to rest, behind him there seemed to be a stand wherein the handle of the sword was thrust, and the great naked blade towered above him as a grim symbol of authority. Behind the swordbearer came two funereal' figures with black gloveo, bearing each a- mace. A SYMBOLIC WELCOME. The speech of the Mayor covered a wide range of subjects. "It gives us infinite pleasure," ho said, "to welcome a representative of our great Indian Empire and also the Premiers of our selfgoverning dependencies, not only for the statesmanship they have displayed in these difficult years, but also as the representatives of the great nations beyond the seas. It symbolises the fact that though we are separated by thousands of miles we are yet of one stock, of one Empire, under one Sovereign, and with the same ideas and policies and hopes for the future." Then followed the record of what.the Dominions had done .in the war. "Mr. Lloyd George has recently reminded us," said the Mayor, "that the Dominion forces just turned the scale, and thus they did share in saving the world from the tyranny of Kaiserism and absolutism. If history has proved to be the cass that 'Nought can make us rue, If England to itself do rest but true,' may v/e not also say in these days of an Empire of which Shakespeare never dreamed, that if we are true to one another, it shall be well with un, it shall be well with the Empire, it shall be well witli the world." Imperial trade c.nd immigration within the Empire then formed is* o-bsUace

jof the Mayor's discourse. To each new Freeman he had a special word to say— to the Maharao, to Mr. Hughes, to Mr. Massey. TRIBUTE TO NEW ZEALAND, "If Australia reminds us of cricketers," he said, "surely your Dominion should recall to us the visit of another body of sportsnien, the New Zealand footballers, who stayed in Bath for a few days. We are accustomed to think of New Zealand as a small Dominion, but as a matter of fact, I believe it is somewhat larger than this island of Great Britain, and already with an external trade within measurable distance of that of the United Kingdom 100 years ago\ The New Zealanders showed the stuff they were made of, with their brothers j from Australia, during the recent war, and with such a tradition behind them and with their industry and enterprise what may not the next century, nay, even the next half-century, see in the future of that Dominion? On that1 point at all events we have no doubt whatever uncertainties the future raay have for us. '■ "It is difficult, sir, ia a few words to attempt to express all I should' like to say aibouit,- you pereonaDy and your greart services, not only to vote own Dominion, but also to the Empire during bho nine years you have occupied the .position of Prime Minister. We know that you have always been a fighter fighting for the progress and the future well-being of New Zealand, and that it v/as in no small measure due to your influence and the whole-hearted manner in which you. urged your people to throw the full weight of their patriotism and resources into the Allies' fight for worldfreedom, that you were able to calble to the Imperial Government in August, 1914, stating that all that New Zealand had would be at the disposal of the Empire's Government. We know only too1 well that that pledge was' no empty promise. We aro proud to-day ■ .to have" this opportunity of showing in isome slight measure our deep as<pre--ciation of what you and your people have done for us." THE CIVIC "TICKET." Then the* Town Clerk read: ithe inscription on each. "Burgess Ticket." "to the time of Jaimes Henry Cobner, Mayor, the (name follows) was this day <!uiy admitted to lie an Honorary Freeman of the City of Batli pursuant to a resolution adopted by the council of the said city on- the' 22nd day of July, 1921, under the provisions of the Honorary Freedom of Boroughs Act; 1885." But "ticket" is hardly the description for the elaJboraite parchment artistically emblazoned and engrossed, and rolled withhr a leather case, which bore the name of the recipient in: gold lettering with the city Coat of Arms at eeoh end. These in turn were presented^ to the new Freemen, who signed their names in the Bath Freemen's Admission Book. Each Freeman replied briefly. A MARITIME DOMINION. Mr. Massey thanked the Mayor and councillors of Bath for the honour they had done New Zealand. He came from a country, he said, without practically any historical associations to a city with a history going back a thousand years before the Christian era. They in New Zealand had only commenced to make history, and they had not been altogether unsuccessful during the past seven years. Speaking of New Zealand as the Britain of the South, Mr. Massey said the people were exactly the same stock as those of Great Britain—with the same ideals, the same sentiments. There was no more British country in the whole of the British Empire than New Zealand. Another similarity;—they had thermal springs. He was not like the man in the Bible who maintained that the waters of Damascus were better than the waters of the Jordan, nor would he say that the -waters of Rotorua were better than the waters of Bath. Their springs in the Dominion were somewhat wild at pre sent, but W doubt in 2000 years' time they would become as tame as those of Bath — (laughtei-)—arid he hoped that for many thousands of yeaTS millions of people would benefit from both. Set in the Pacific as they were, a thousand miles away from their next neighbour, Fiji, they too must be a maritime people. They had the salt in their blood. They had as their Governor one of the greatest sailors Britain had ever known. He made no invidious comparisons, for they had had other able Governors, but he could say they had never had a better than Lord Jellicoe. He trusted he would remain a long time with them as the representative of the Sovereign. " I say we cannot be anything else but a nation of sailors. \_ I have not the ■ slightest doubt that our ships will be carrying our produce to every port ; of the world, and taking back manufacture^ goods and other requirements to New Zealand, and we shall be able'to claim for that country that she is undoubtedly the Britain of the South." PASSING THE LOVING-CUP. On the conclusion of the new Freemen's replies to the honour conferred upon them, the loving-cups were hand-/ ed round. As there were some forty councillors besides the guests to partake of the unknown liquid in the great silver cups, and each had his formula to repeat, considerable amusement was caused to those who were -not privileged to learn what the cups contained. "Health, wealth, ) : and prosperity to the City of Bath," was spoken in turn by the consumers, and. those who profered the bowl responded "God Save the King," holding the silver lid, over the drinker's head the while. MR. FREDERICK HARRISON'S SPEECH. Preceded by the sword and maces, the Mayor, councillors, and guests formed.a procession to the Guildhall, where lunch was laid. The principal toast was given by Mr. Frederick Harrison, now in his ninetieth year. But there wasnothing to remind one in his speech that he had j long passed the allotted span of years. It was, he said, with special pride that they welcomed the Prime Ministers enrolled in the historic list of the statesmen and Prime Ministers, from the great Lord Chatham to Lord Rosebery, who was still with us. All who watched the incontestable events of this annus mirabilis; all who were not absorbed in cricket, polo, and the weather-chart— (laughter)—knew that this present year, this very month, he might say this week, was fraught with vast problems on which the peace of the kingdom, of the world, depended. • The occasion which had brought to that conference the Prime Ministers of so many Dominions was itself one of the most remarkable crises of our time. It meant an entirely new reoganisation of the Empire. We hardly now cared to talk of Empire; it was rather the consolidation of allied Commonwealths under the Crown. It was a great step; it portended soon to j come yet greater. Might he, as an old ! historian, say it reminded him of the vast evolution o{ the ancient world when Julius Caesar and Augustus and the earlier Emperors called in the peoples of all Western Europe to be full citizens of Rome, so that Italy wa3 no longer the exclusive Rome, but Gaul and Spain and Belgium and the Rhinelands, and Britain entered into full rights of citizenship, aye, and soon gave the world some of her most famous uoldiers ar»d statesmen. CHANGES OF 90 YEARS. i How vaat, how rapid, were the/steps of progreE3 in which their time was cast. When he (the speaker) was a grown man India was still governed b;? a company of merchants, with their own army and administration, It wun nubjoct to con- ; tinuiil wars. Now. it had ». comtitutional

government based on election, and designed for continued enlargement, of which His Highness the Maharaja was one of. the foremost leaders. In his youth the great Australian Commonwealth, like Canada, were called the "Colonies"—with populations hardly larger than Bristol.. He -Has older in fact than the great cities of Australia or New Zealand. He was a schoolboy when Melbourne and Sydney and Auckland were first built, jjind now they had seen all that those powerful nationalities had done in war and in peace. How glorious their deeds in arms! How much they could teach the Old Country—not merely in cricket—but in every form of industry and civilisation! If, in rthe lifetime of one man, progress so vast had been achieved, what might not the future have in store for them—and for.us! In conclusion, Mr. Harrison said he proposed as a toast a cordial grpeting to their new fellow citizens—to H.H. the Maharaja, enlightened ruler, who represented the 300 millions or India, to Mr. Hughes, the representative of Australia, whom they knew so well during the war as an unsurpassed orator in the English tongue, and Mr. Massey with his great experience of successful administration both in peace and war. (Loud applause.) The Maharajah of Cutch, in his reply, mentioned that he was the first Indian to be made a Freeman of the city. Mr. Hughes said he came from a far land whose very remoteness was its chief handicap and- danger. -Australrsia was the remotest outpost of Western civilisation. They looked towards the East, with its teeming millions jostling each other for lack of elbow room; and in i their land they had built up a civilisation ■ modelled on that^of the Homeland. Their religion, their ideals, tfieir opinions, their habits were those of this country, and there was no community in the Empire ' more British, with less alien blood in its veins, than the islands of Australia and New Zealand.. (Cheers.)" , PRINCIPLES OF CALVARY. Mr. Massey! referred to the task which is engaging the Dominion. Premiers in; London. He said they were doing their level best to make the bonds that united the Empire stronger than they ever were | before, and he believed that when they had finished the work of the Conference the Empire would be in a better'position | from that point of view than it was six months ago. He did not forget that there were forces at work trying to undermine the very foundations on which the Empire rested. It was the task of all loyal citizens to help to counteract those forces. He knew there were people, who disliked the word Empire, because it; reminded them ot the Imperialism of Germany, but personally he liked the word. The principles of the British Empire were the principles of Calvary, and not of Kaiserism. One of the problems the Conference had to deal with was to reconcile the conflicting interests of various parts of the Empire and to en-. able them to speak with one voice. He was not looking for war again, but,, human nature being what it was, he held. that we must make preparations to defend ourselves in case of attack. (Cheers.) He hoped with all his heart that the coming Washington Conference would be successful, but he hoped and believed that, whoever the British representatives at Washington might be, ■ they would speak with one voice and as one man. If they did that they would be listened to, and their opinions would bo respected. 1 EMPIRE DEFENCE. Dealing with the; question of Empire defence, Mr. Massey said that unless we were strong enough to protect the con^ nections between the various countries that made up the Empire, then the Empire was done. Supposing some Power —he was not thinking of any particular Power—took possession of any part of British territory, and the British Navy was so small or so weak as not to be able to retain or regain it, then the Empire rau»t, certainly go to pieces. He knew the financial difficulties caused by the strain of war, but we were running a risk at present that,we could not afford to run. An army could be made in a few months; but it took years to make a navy. Ws could not go on as we were doing at present. So far as the South Pacific was concerned, the matter was brought home to them very closely. Adequate naval defence was absolutely life or death to thorn. H« asserted that the present position was' unsafe, and ought not to b« tolerated any longer than could possibly be helped. The industrial outlook was improving, but if this country was going to get back its industrial supremacy, it must take off its coat and work. Other countries were working. Our late enemies were working. So were France and Belgium. Japan was work- ( ing and America was wprking, and if the British people did not work they were going to be left behind TOUR OF THE BATHS. After the luncheon' the visitors w»re conducted over the baths. They all took the waters in the Pump Room, and passed on through the up-to-date arid modern buildings, where every variety of cure is practised. A very healthy patient in the shape of a good-looking boy, pressed into service for the occasion, occupied each bath, and the various processes were demonstrated and explained. As there are some seventy treatments there was much to see, and it took an hour or so'before the ancient Roman pool was reached. Here Mr. Massey was at the service of many camera men, and his visit to this relic of an ancient civilisation -has been recorded in several of the illustrated papers of the day. Tea was served. beside the pool, and then the party were taken in motor-cars to places of interest within easy reach of Bath. In the evening the festivities were con. tinued in the City Botanical Gardens, when the band of the Plymouth Division of the Royal Marines gave an excellent programme of music. In honour of the visit of the new Freemen the grounds were prettily illuminated with lanterns and the flower beds were decorated with hundreds of little fairy lamps. Before the conclusion of the programme coloured flares were lighted, in the upper portions of the grounds, and these added to the picturesque scene. SERVICE AT THE ABBEY. On the Sunday morning the Maharao of Cutch and Mr. Masßey were received by the Mayor at the Guildhall, and accompanied the Corporation and civic officials to the Abbey, the procession being preceded by sword and maces. In flle course of his sermon, the Archdeacon of Bath (the Rev. L. J. Fish) referred to an Empire builder, whose name, he said, had not been mentioned in the ceremony of the day previous. There dwelt, and died in Bath on 31st August, 1814, one I whom many, regarded as the true father and founder of Australia. He lay buried beneath the floor \of his, old parish church of Bathampton. He referred to Admiral Phillip. He it was, and not Captain Cook, who really discovered that incomparable natural harbour, which he named Sydney after his chief, Lord Sydney. He it was who brought to Australia its first settlers, and to Australia also those1 first 40 sheep, which were the 1 lineal ancestors of the 50 million sheep which to-day helped to feed and clothe the Motherland. He it was who amid tremendous difficulties and in face of persistent negleot by the Home authorities wrote to Lord Sydney 133 years ago: "This country will prove the most valuable acquisition Great Britain ever made" —words of prescience and vision which had been more than justified by events. Would that he were with them to-day to boo the Promieys of that mighty Commonwealth which he «w

afar off worshipping in that Abbey that day. '■,■■■'■ v ' ' iMOTOR TOUR. After the service, the Freemen and menibens of the Reception Committee were the guests of the Mayor at luncheon at tne Grand Pump Room Hotel. A motor tour, to Cheddar and Wells woe then undertaken, in private motorcars, which were placed at the disposal of the party by various citizens. The country in Jfche vicintty te very attractive, the winding- valley of the Avon, . and the numerous aide valtoys and combes, providing some fine scenery. From QhedidaT, a village famous for its cheese, the parity vdsdted Cough's Stalactite Caves, which are an, attraction to many thousands of people in the West of England. Here, in 1909, a, human 'skeleton was found which is estimated to d^ite hadk 40,000 year®. An hour was spenit in the oaves-, ■ which are elaborately lighted wiiith electricty. The trip through , the Cheddar Gorge wa« particularly impressive. Afterwards the party •went through Wells Cathedral, and tea was provided in the town. 1 When th« new Freemen lerflt for London on Monday morning » large number off the people of Bath were present to see them off. It ■wae an entirely unceremonious farewell, but full of enthusiasm and friendlineau.