HOME FROM THE WAR.

Evening Star, Issue 11454, 23 January 1901, Page 4

HOME FROM THE WAR.

!THE STEAMER ORIENT ARRIVES 1 WITH NEW ZEALAND SOLDIERS OF! FIVE CONTINGENTS. | AND THEY RECEIVE A KINSMEN'S I WELCOME. i There was no word last night of the Orient,!! [Mwhich was due from Brisbane, having beenl preported ;is passing the Nuggets, but those! |;jwho had cliarge of the reception felt sure! gjthat such a fine- ship on a special j&woulcl not bo long delayed, even by the thicks j&and dirty weather, and the preparations forgl the troopers, according to thejf Ijinodified programme, were pushed forward! gjwith the utmost confidence, both at Dunediuffl Sand at Port Chalmers. | H The Port Committee had prepared a, shortls according to which the vessels! jt|was expected to arrive about 6 a.m., and§j g|the disembarkation was fixed for nine o'clock!! |jm order to give the men time to have break-1 |(fast on board, after which thev were to bclfi by the Patriotic Committee, t-heg |iMildura's men, the local volunteers, and the® public. A beautiful arch was erected! jjgat tho harbor end of George street, jindSj Mlayor De Mans, helped hv Mr F. W. Plattsi and Mr W. Hunter (treasurer).! jfthad carried out the local preparations! generally on a scale worthy of Port Chalmers. j| |) -'^ s ;l start, it was necessary to get theS in, and for the purpose of |?her draught (her length had already hccnjS) and also with the object of giPilot Macdonald on board the big ship, Cap-f| Wtain M'Callum, harbor-master, Vent away® gjwith the Plucky from the Port Chalmers! iftwharf at two o'clock, Dr De Lautour alsoi| agoing by the tug, being authorised by Colonel?* gjWebb to make a preliminary report'as to thej| condition of the 'invalids and thef§ jj&men generally, so as to have everything readyKJ j|for the despatch of the Northern Contingent!! ;y;by the Orient in the afternoon, and ;.;.to facilitate the. Medical Board's •nf the Southerners, which is fixed for to-ffi : morrow. S j The Plucky's trip unluckily proved to bcl ■ .n failure. Groping her way outside in thefe . rhick weather, she searched unsuccessfully® the Orient, being misled for a while byf :Hhe lights of the incoming Monowai ands| sighting the Wanaka and thenp •athe Corinna, .and the Plucky returned togs :;|Port, arriving at the George street pier* before seven o'clock. ' M I!;) l^ K sta g° tne fear expressed that.p gijtbe Orient having missed the morning's tide,E would be possible in the way of aja until the evening. §j j$ Shortly afterwards, however, the Tutane-p eS'kal arrived at Port from Dunedin, and thel§ §jHon. J. G. Ward announced that j&to his advices the Orient would reach thew about eleven o'clock, wherefore he pro-g! *lposed to meet her at the .'Heads with thegj m | ON THE TUTANEKAI. | ;-' The Government steamer Tutanekai was|jj by the Acting-Premier (the Hon.p G. Ward), who, with his customary?.!! invited the members of the Organ-pi Rising Committee and their wives, the Ladies'l and the. members of viand their ladies to accompany him down thcjfe lyf-liarhor to incut Uic. Orient." A start wasjsj from town shortly ;ifter six o'clock, M ;Ujthc original intention being that we'J {[jwere to meet the troopers at Port before (own was left it was gene-j| understood that the Tutanekai wouidjß --'get to Port before the Orient, rind this was,s ?|of course, what happened. On hoard lhe£ igstcamer were the lion. J. G. Ward (Aeting-jv Major Owen (chief staff office r,H Colonel Pole-Pcnton), jJjMayor of Dunedin (Mr R. Chisholm). SC. R. Smith. J. F. yi Yrasur. P. R. Nur-I J. H Hoskiim. X. H. 15.. 1!, T.s M.H.K., G. L. Denniston (mEin-l sobers of the Organising Committee), thej| iiHons. George M'Lean and Hugh GnurW &• Messrs J. V. Arnold.'A. R. H»Y-$ ;.ic]ay, A. Morrison. T. Parata, M.H.lt.s, |?Cohen, G. Fenwick, A. J. Burns, .MesdamefJ; feGordon Macdonald, P. C. Corliss, N. H «•' IJBell. Eva, Miss Patrick, and Miss Burtf; of the Ladies' Committee), aiidw? them being a number of the friend-*;:' fejand relatives of the returning trooper?. .-\£. Jiquick passage down the harbor was made,** Port Chalmers was reached shortly aftcr|; ||seyen o'clock. The visitors were ' enter-|; Ijjtaincd at breakfast, by tho Acting-Prcmier.|; ttand the stewards of the Government steamer!; Sjdid all that was in their power, and sue-?* wonderfully in making everyone eom-t£ portable and attending to the w;;nts of Unusually numerous guests. () n Port Chal-P wmers being reached a halt was made, and thef| "itgenial mayor of the seaport borough (Mr D. m De Maus) and Mr j. Mill were taken onfj inboard. This done, the journey down to|? ;|the Heads was resumed, and at eight o'clock!; jgthc anchor was dropped to await the arrivals? f|of the troopship. gj I THE ORIENT ARRIVES. | m It was about 8.30 a.m. when word jTbrought off to the Tutanekai by the pilot!;' vf,boat that the Orient had been seen twe;ity-|1 jftfive miles south at 7.50 a.m., and at niue|i the party on the anchored vessel gotlj ..ytheir first glimpse of the transport as she|| Jaopened out to view from behind Taiaroa Headfii ||Meautime, word had been sent by i-Hto tho Port to despatch the Plucky mis possible, with Dr Hodges (health |l|and the little craft raced down the harbor)! «at her best pace, arriving shortly after Pilotf§ Macdonald had got on board the Orient, heSS || having gone off in the pilot-boat from theji ;| Heads, where the Plucky had left himf? '& earlier in the morning. K Jj Allowing a little time for the medicaid to do his work, the Tutanekai thenlt g steamed out and met the troopship, | her by the firing of nine socket signals.if aThe Orient shortly afterwards got under!! and at 10.30 crossed the bar, tliefjj accompanying her and the Tutane-jl Skai lying in her wake. While thus follow-p ping the guest-ship the Tutanekai's party met|v | in thc\c;ibin and drank to the health of theg «Hon. J. G. Ward, Captain Post, and theK f| Mayors of Dunedin and Port Chalmers.B g Captain Louden, the veteran signal-master,® Whad lis flagstaff crowded with bunting asH vesseLs passed in. About 10.45 thete | Orient anchored abreast of the pilot beach,! % and the Tutanekai drew up alongside. Itp I was then noticed that the big vessel was! | drawing a little oyer 23ft aft and 20ft full! b forward. P | As the visitors approached the OrientP % three cheers for " Our boys " were given onfl I the call of Mr Eraser, and the troopers! on the Orient's promenade decks lustily. The two vessels were! | fast together by eleven o'clock, and theS being rigged forward the Tutane-I ||kai's party crossed over to the pnot, however, before further cheers for the! fa returned soldiers had been given, on tho callß pof the Hon. J. G. Ward, backed up bv aK plusty cry of "Hneremai" from Mr T. Pa-1 ||rata, whose use of this word as a | nla y Dc taken as settling a disputed pointfe to the real meaning of the exclamation. U g The Plucky's party also reinforced the! | visitors, and there was a considerable ||on the roomy promenade, deck of the big|: |jship wlien the soldiers were drawn up inff! & double line on the starboard side. U I THE MUSTER ON THE ORIENT. 1 W Tho officers and men heing drawn up inrf' P parade order, and the roll being called, f| j| The Hon. J. G. Ward said he did not| Ifel propose to do other upon this occasion thanK H to heartily welconte them back to their ownKj Kiicountry. The ceremonies in connection wit-hit' their arrival would be carried out in Dun-i edin, and he desired, as a result of circum-R; stances which had transpired since thpy left Australia in connection with the" seri-|| ous illness of Her Majesty the Queen, tol? say—and he was sure it would be in accordfj M«anee with their wishes—that their reception|j m would be as quiet as possible, without anygS display. The citizens of Dun-i had taken a great deal of trouble tog provide an enthusiastic reception, but theK whole of that ceremony would not be. car-jl ried out, but what would be done would befl done as rjuretly as possible in order to showj| respect to the greatest Queen that had cverfl ruled the Empire to which they all He would say no more except that all were!) delighted to see them and to them, and to express the hope that thosejjft who were invalids had been restored during?* the voyage.—(Cheers.) K) The Mayor of.Dunedin then introduced)!

to the soldiers Mrs Gordon MacdonaldJ chairwoman of the Ladies' Committee. In | so doing, he said that while the soldiers % had been fighting our battles in South Africa | the people of Dunedin had been thinking | about them, and the Patriotic Committee | had decided to make them a pleasant presen- 5 tation that could not have been carried out | but for the assistance of the ladies. A \ number of willing and patriotic ladies had J plied the needle and thread, and had sue- '\ ceeded in making a souvenir which every- jj one jn the troop would cherish. | iMrs Gordon Macdonald then presented! each of tho returning soldiers and nnrsesH with a purse made of khaki drill, lined with| red satin, and having the • word "Kapai "§ j(meaning "well done") embroidered ijj redg !*silk on the outside, the strings to the pursel being of the national colors—red, white, andj blue. The substantial lining to the purses was of gold, the Patriotic Committee pro-f viding a sovereign for each one. The purse| awas neatly got up, and it was a happy idea| |on the part of the ladies. One was'given| ito each one of the returning men and nurses,jj |irrespective of rank, and there was no doubtg athat the kindly gift was appreciated in the| Sspirit in which it was given. I I THE ORIENT AND HER PASSAGE.. 1 | The Orient is the first of the Orient Steam-1 |ship Company's vessels to come to New Zea-f gland. By the way, she is not tho Orients shusb now, her name boing sunk for the timel |bemg in favor of "No. 24," that being her| 3title in tho transport service, and plainly! ppainted in white on both bows and quar-| She is a vessel of about twenty yearsp |of age, very roomy even for her tonnage, R pwhich reaches tho respectable figure of 5,635. $ j|She has a plumb stem and an'elliptical stern,K jand is provided with any amount of prome-E ijnade space. Captain Kershaw, R.N.R., isl pr\ command, and it is his first visit to Nowg pealand. The chief officer is Mr E. J. Tay-p ijlor, R.N.R., the second Mr M. B. Sayer, thel Jthird Mr H. St. George Wise, and the fourth! aMr J. Burns. l*he engine room is under the'j of Mr Watt, with Mr Miller as| .Isecond. Mr E. Murdoch is the. purser, andfi |the medical officer is Dr Sie\eithon. | | Captain Kershaw reports leaving Brisbane! aat 3 fr.m. on the 17th with a southerly gale; | :[after that he had two days of thick weather,! flduring which it was impossible to take ob-S 3servations, and as a matter of fact he camel 3down on dead reckoning, meeting also withs ijvery bad weather in Foveaux; Strait last| —thick rain ar.d a south-east wind. HisS 5 landfall was Chaiky Island, and the gallant! acaptaiu acknowledges he was very glad to| Elpick up and recognise the point at'which he| shad aimed. » jj Tlie Orient leave;; this, afternoon for Wel-| plington, where Captain Kersliaw intends toS ytake into her bunkers a lot of Westport coal.l M THE RETURNED TROOPERS. | | The Orient brings altogether 163 soldiers,! jjconsisting of eight officers, two nursing sis-| |ters, three warrant officers, and 150 non-Sj |commissioned officers and men. The list of£ athose who came by the Harlech Castle top a Sydney under Lieutenant. Hughes, andff |thcnce per Orient, is as follows: | | FIRST CONTINGENT. " f I Sergeant Edwin Harrowell. & jj Sergeant Wm. Edward Mahood, Waikato.R; I Sergeant Frederick Gordon Price, Marl-| sborough. | jj Sergeant Benjamin Ellis, Dunedin. g | Sergeant. John Miller, Canterbury. | $ Corporal Hugh Trevor Foster, Christ-1 \ church. g \ Corporal Sidney Robt. Palmer, Taranaki. 1 i Corporal Wm. Hcnn' Sheppard, Welling-| i-ton. E! ;j Lance- Wilson Cameron Morri-I *son. Taranaki. fe Private John Anderson Barty. I Private John Blair. | ;! Private Arthur Frederick Bat cantor. | ; J'rivate Walter Calloway, Auckland. fe ' Private John Nathaniel Cummins. |i > Private Roger Dawson. |£ 1 Private Charles Alfred Edwards, Wan-| !l ganui. | i. Private Percy Richard Hubbart, Auck-1 • land. e ' Private. Ernest Baxnett Lockett, Wan-!? 5 '4'ifui. | f Private Thomas Maunder. Auckland. 1 i Private George Herbert Mann, Patea. I I Private Robert John M'Donald, Waver-I ; -r- I i Private James Mitchell, Manaia. | •i Private John Mnnro, Feilding. | ? Private James Thomas M'Caulev, 'land. I p Private Malcolm M'Callum, Wellington. 1 ; Private (Charles Newman, Manawatu. | \ Private George Powell, Wanganui. K ;: Private Francis Richard Pope, Auckland.l ). Private William James Purkes, Palmer-I 1 ston North. | I Private William . Oliver Riddell, Wan-| I ganui. I c Private Harry Whipps Valentine, Tara-| ■<naki. | | Private James Walker, Taranaki. fc ; !| Private William Fletcher WaDis. Auck-| aland. I 3 Private Arthur James Withers, Palmer-I \ ston North. 1 i Private Archibald Butters. s i Private Patrick Crome, Makarewa, South-I [jland. 1 i Private Reynold Crump, Palmerstons : 3 North. w j. Private Harold Dickson, Christchurch. | f Private Mark Edwards, Canterbury. | { Private Percy Emerson, Napier. " f I Private Colin Flavell, Christchurch. w. I Private Daniel Fraser, Temuka. 1 | Private Alex. James Hastie, Allanton. 1 p Private Edward Arthur Harikins, Christ-! !< church. I I Private John Davis Hean, Christchurch. | I Private Edward Hodgen, Christchurch. p s Private Thornton Charles Holroyd. N i Private Claude Lockhart Jewell. g i Private John M'Cabe, Doyleston, Canter-1 jj bury. g Private Arthur M'Beth, Tuamarina, Marl-|j c borough. | \ Private' John M'Donald, Dunedin. E j Private Joseph Newbura, Auckland. P I Private James Walker Nairn, Wellington.! | Private Ambrose C. Pawson. | ; ; Private John Pepper, Papanui, Christ-S I church. 5 Private David Hannibal Waldie, Dunedin.fe j! Private James Thornton Wilson, Riccar-1 ■j ton, Christchurch. % i Private V/ilfred Wilson, Balclutha. | 'i Private Henry Fletcher Wright, Auck-1 gland. | | THIRD CONTINGENT. | a Private C. Wright. s i Private A. Paterson, Napier. | i Private M'Gregor. f, j The soldiers who came by the Orient \ the way from Africa, under Captain Smith, ij \ are thus classified : p \ PIHST CONTINGENT. ?.: i Lieutenant D. Chaytor. / i ; j Lieutenant G. R. Johnston. j i Captain L. N. D. Smith. \ \ Regimental-sergeant-major C. P. Rogers. »j S Sergeant-major W. T. Burr. •? Sc-rgeant-major S. H. Tuck. | Quartermaster-sergeant F. Rockstrow. | ]■ Sergeant W. A. Morgan. e : I Sergeant. W. Grant. , b | Corporal J. A. Home. f ' : i Corporal L. M'Donald. Is ij Corporal E. Freeth. t * Lance-corporal G. H. Gane. I g Lance-corporal J. Craig. S I Lance-corpor;d A. E. Hedges. \ I Trumpeter A. W. Bowie. s | Saddler F. A. Wood. f 'ii Private G. Arnold. i Private A. J. Bowie, | Private C. Blenkhorn. i| Private R. W. Crawley. | Jj Private J. W. Cleveley. . I i Private N. Curtain. p ii Private J. G. Cooke. n | Pri\-ate A. Douglas. 'i 3 Private H. Forsyth. ; Private W. Franklin. 5 I Private E. R. Galpin. \ I Private J. T. H. Gaudin. \ | Private J. L. Gestxo. \ \ Private G. Glasgow. ' \ ■X Private S. Joyce. * \ i Private G. K. Kells, j | Private. G. R. Miller. I I Private C, E. M'Lean. 1 I Private W. M'Pherson. I % Private E. W. Moore. | I Private J. W. Peebles. . \ S Private W. E. Smith. * P Private F. T. Shaw. I \ Private S. Tasker. I a Private A. A. C. Wiffin. \ 9 s Priviite C. Woodfinder. A % Private J. H. Whvte. I a Private A. H. Wilkie. | j SErOND CONTINGENT. [ : Sergeant-major H. Eastgate. | Farrier-sergeant F. M'Gregor [ g Sergeant R. H. KiddL |

H Corporal J. J. O'Dwyar. || ffl Private F. G. Armstrong. ft I Private R. H. Aldsworth. - I a Private J. A. Congdon. | 1 Private C. Chapman. I I Private W. F. Dunne. | I Private A. R. Fear. | | Private J. D. Hawkes. , 1 | Private W. 'A. Leslie. s - f$ I Private F. G. Lambert. Bj I Private J. F. Smithsou. j$ | Private J. L. Stevens. & | Private E. Spencer. II M Private E. B. Signal. §| |j Private R. H. Trotter. § 1 TIirRD CONTINGENT. S §| Sergeant-major H. Neave. ag i Private W. J. Ellison. | | Corporal W. Page. | 1 Private A. C. Cone. | I Private J. J. Cooper. 1 | Private W. H. Cooke. • | I Private S. Johnstone. 1 t Private G. Johnstone. 1 | Private E. Krogh. | gj Private J. J. Hurray. 1 | Private A. T. Wellwood. | I Private J. Wright. 1 | Private J. Williams. ' £ g FOURTH CONTINGENT. Ej | Sergeant-ma.jor C. E. Browne. | m Corporal J. 0. Colledgo. | | Shoeing-smith M. Ncwsome. 1 f| Bugler C. B. Welsby. , I y Private E. W. Baxter. ' K | Private W. T. Sullivan. I | Private B. Thomson. | sjj Private W. H. Vinsen. 1 f FIFTH CONTINGENT. S Private A. Eraithwaite. | E Private W. Hume. | U Private W. E. Linkhorn. | I Private T. Murdoch. | §j Private €. W. Powell. | | Private J. W. Quinn. I | Private A. J. Witheford. | |j In addition to the above the Orient brings | fJtJNurso Peter direct. Nurse Teape (who came® by the Harlech Castle), and Dr Thos. Burns! L , (who reached Sydney by the Sophocles). 1 ® Private Boucher was left behind at Bris-i Ijbaiie. and Privates Cameron, Taylor, andl gjWarncr were left behind at Sydney. j§ 3 There were on the Orient, also, two mem-1 |jbei-s of the New South Wales Army Service!! wCorps, who came to help on the vessel, and! ifflwill return at once. §5 jsj Four indulgence passengers by the Orient! Sjnro men who have been serving in Africafft Sand are on furlough. BJ § THE GREETINGS. | || The Hon. J. G. Ward, who hod pcharge of the whole proceedings, arrangedl g|with Captain Kershaw and Caotain Post! pjfor the vessels to lie alongside of "each otherSS gjlong enough to give the returned troopers affi pjehance of conversing with their relatives}! |>iind friends, and the opportunity was gladly® p|taken advantage of, the scene being one of§j rejoicing. It was pleasing to learnffi |£jihiit the men have pn the whole returned inH health, the voyage having set upg plmany who had not been well and helped tolj ||bring about the recovery of some who wentra gjaboaftl as invalids. All but three of thej| are returned as on duty, and these® m three are not seriously ill. k 'M The. men seemed thoroughly pleased withK Sjtheir reception, and they would be suro toS amongst many acts of thought-p yful consideration, the instructions given byl! rathe Hon._ J. G. Ward to officers in charge]! #jof telegraph stations to frank and forwards ||free of charge messages that returned!? L| troopers may desire to telegraph to theirffi S&fricnds. 11 m .THE NURSES. | j|j Nursing Sister Teape joined the First Newis fcpZealand Contingent at Cape Town, and wus|J with the New Zcalanders through-fs all their campaigning. j|| || Nursing Sister Peter went from LytteltonS guilder orders from the Imperial Government.® SSho was attached to the'No, 1 Stationary® IjField Hospital, and followed General Bul-|| filer's column up to Ladysmith. p I JOY GIVES WAY TO MOURNING. | || At 11.50 a.m., whilst the rejoicings on<ft ;|the connected vessels were in full swing, it|| Wwas noticed that the Taiaroa Head Hwas suddenly denuded of flags, and that the« jKjUnion Jack alone appeared afterwards, its fljbcing at half-mast. Everybody guessed the|| ifcause : the death of the Queen —and this wasjf* signalled to the Tutanekai by meansf! ||of flags worked by the Permanent Artillery!?; pjijfrom the Heads. At once the whole sceneß jMchanged, the steamers' flags coming downs? gjand the tone of the proceedings sobering® sjdown to genuine sadness. M pf It was of course decided to all that part of the slwhich had a gay character, and at 12.30, thep ||troopers having quietly transferred from thej| the Tutanekai quietly slid away fromp fA the big ship and began her journey to town. j| | THE TRIP UP. I || There was no stoppage at the Port, where© §|a large crowd had assembled on the wharves,g ffibut the steamers s,%luted with their gland cheers'were given by the |; Arriving at the Rattray street wharf a littlep a,before 2 p.m., the crews of the Canterburyl! gi and the Auckland cheered, the | dipped her ensign, and an "immense con-|| j$ course of citizens greeted the soldiers, notp ft. with the applause and the boisterous >| that would have been fitting in ordinary!? gl times, but with a quiet and restrained man-|| & tier tliat testified very truly to the minglinggi pof sorrow that they all felt. % |j I WATTING LN DUNEDIN. I | The streets of Dunedin this morning pre-|| I sented an appearance hardly in keeping withK S the occasion for which the holiday had beenffi fc proclaimed. Tme, there were large crowds]! |i of people, who swarmed dark and thick—k sj for the threatening clouds forbade any gayg |i dresses save in the case of a few jp ones—in the Triangle, on the railway*] |j bridge, in Dowling street, on the cliff atgg '4 the back of the First Church, and along|| || Princes street from the Pos-t Office to theP \ Octagon. But there was no gaiety orp cheerfulness among the swarming thousands.!? % The shadow of an impending calamity hungßj % over all, and the people, though glad to|| K welcome baek their men froni Africa, showedp by their bearing that they recognised the|j| i incongruity of an excessive outburst of highp gj spirits iit such a crisis. It was therefore afe S particularly dull and depressed crowd that® Ej gathered to witness the home-coming. Norfs jg was the prevalent feeling dispersed wheup £ the rumors came thick and fast that therep i| were delays at the Heads, or at Port •| mers, or in the getting of the men trans-f| % ferred from one ship to the other. The wholep % thinrj seemed to go wrong, and people Le-K ■?; came fidgety and vexed, and wondered whygi they wei-e there and what they should do.fg $ Volunteers and cadets, men in khaki andj| |f! tartan, wandered aimlessly around, and eachp !| seemed to be inquiring of his neighbor usjfc \k to the order of events. No one was, how-gj %i ever, in a position to give the informations! "m until an " extra " appeared stating that itg: f] would be two o'clock in all probability be-!| fore the troops could be looked for. ButK j|i the disappointment of the waiters was soonj| U swallowed up in a- greater. Suddenly its? S was noticed that a few flags were flying atip l| half-mast, then another and another fnl-g Sg lowed, then there came the deep, solemnp § booming of the bell from the Town Hallg a tower, and a little later the same soundp $ tolled from St. Joseph's Cathedral, and ladspt i were seen hurrying in and out among thefe | people distributing small handbills or post-s p ing them up in conspicuous places. Eagerp s knots of people gathered around them. Menp 1 and women pushed and struggled and tip-j| S: toed. And soon the words ran from hpp fjr to lip : " The Queen is dead!" And a sad-fe ness fell upon the City. Mournfully thep % people stood apart to discuss the melan-|| 5 choly expected but unhoped for tidings.fe 6 '' The Queen was dead." Nothing more.K fy and yet bow much they meant, Immedi-ts ately the people seemed to break up, thep Si various displays were packed away, and thes jfl crowds wandered down to the wharf to awaitg $ the arrival of the Tutanekai in a silence thatS a was almost painful- || | THE VOLUNTEERS. 1 The volunteer companies on parade anda p their strength were as follow : —Otago Hus4| gfsars (under"Captain Morri:;), 48; Dunedinfl g|Navals (Lieutenant-commander Strong), 81 ;fe !3 Battery Chalmer), 56; Engineersrl Captain Barclay), 87; City Guards (Cap-E •ain Crawford); East Taieri Rifles (Captains* 3arncross). 33; North Dunedin Rifles (Lieu-& enant Johnson), 59; Highland Rifles (Cap-g ain Stonehiim), 53; Dunedin City Rifiesfj Lieutenant M'Ara), 45; Dunedin RiflesK Captain Burt). 45; Wakari Rifles (Captain! Armstrong), 44. 'lTie Bruce, Ciuthag Counted, and Caversham Rifle Corns wereH

Iso represented. The Dunedin Garrison I and, Bandmaster George (23), and the Citi-1 ms' Band were also in attendance, whiles e various City cadet oorps, ■under Captain | urray, mu3tered strongly, the latter's band | sing also present. The district officers | attendance were Lieutenant-colonel f, r ebb, • Captains Haig, White, Sergeant-1 ajors Towler, Taylor, and Buchanan, and ft le Battalion staff was composed of Lieu- U nanfc-cojonel Smith, Major Myers, Captainjj| id Adjutant Hislop, Lieutenant M'lndoe,f| tfgenat-major M'Callum, and Quarter-f| aster-sergeant Moncrieif. ° fh THE MARCH TO THE HALL. §j Slowly the Tutanekai steamed into thes irbor. Her course was watched by lhe|? Sthousands who had lined the Victoria wharfs Rand the cross wharf away down to the land-P ling stage. Every pile of timber, every post§| and point of vantage had been taken pos-|| session of, and from these the people looked!! eagerly for the first glimpse of the yellowig funnel. fe| It came at last, and then the crowds begangt to wonder at which wharf the men would|| land. Those stationed at the cross wharfp watched diplomatically, and soon noticedjgj that she was steering her course for thesj tongue wharf. Then a rush of many thou-jf| sands set in, and the thoroughfares weregf alive with rushing colors and moving forms.p The Hussars, in their white helmets, the roadway, and kept the crowd back amid|| some good-humored chaff from the young® men against whom they occasionally pressed,©! whilst every now and again a half shrieks indicated that some girl had either had herl* gjdress bespattered with mud or else beenfj S forced to take refuge in that anything butfj | ornamental bog the authorities keep—fromji p motives of affection—in good condition nearp | the flower plot. « I There is a movement at the far end, I patter of feet, a prance of horses, a forwards I march of the Hussars, and then a thmf| I streak of yellow, a few lines of men in|| | motion, a faint cheer, and then the jreturningjl I troopers como full into view of the vastly p audience. It is an interesting scene. Thefi | flutter of the many flags at half-mast, theij II swaying heave of humanity around the basing I the Town Hall tower and church spires, thesS I wide stretch of villas, and the hills loomingfs p up against tho white cloud-flecked sky in|! | the background. if I There is not much enthusiasm, and we are|| I glad of it. Apart; even from the monrnfulji | news of the early part of the day, there isf! I not much tocause joy—save the joy of hav-fg p ing them back again—in those worn and|| | drawn faces. It cameras a su-priso to many. |§ |We had hardly expected it. We forgot that |l they were invalids. And if they looked sad | and weak, and a few were-limping now, what § must they havo been like when they left * Africa? ' . I "Poor dearsl" said a grey-haired old lady | in black at our side; "no one knows, no one | knows." | We glanced down at her, and the dear soul | was patting her handkerchief, half uncon- j sciously, to her eyes. |j There was no music. Everything was I qu.iet and sedate beyond a passing call, or I shout, ox shake of the hands. It was not- a 1 running comment of hearty chaff and badi- | | nage that has to break out every now and I I again with a yell to relieve itself. | I Tramp, tramp, tramp, as they had done | | many a time in Africa. This is how they | I went along. What had they done it for? | | Just tie love of the Flag, of the Empire, of | I the Queen who! has passed away, and per- | 1 haps a littlo bit of adventure. They had.not j| I given much, but they had offered their all; g I and that is more than many of us can say. Sj H Nor is the rewaxd great, beyond the satis- (p I faction that comes from duty done. But ij | what matter? *" j| H What if the best of our be M |An empty sleeve, a stiff-set knee, e SA crutch for the rest of life—who cares E S So long as the One Flag floats and dares? p |So long as the One Race dares and grows? g I Death—what is death but God's own rose? D | Let but the bugles of England play K I Over the hills and far away 1 B « And so- they went on across the huge iron jj| | bridgo and into the Agricultural Hall, where, |i ■| as they entered, and as though the people b meant to atone for their long pent-up emo- p % tions, a long and continuous round of cheer-» 1 ing was maintained for many minutes. S I THE LUNCHEON. I I Several hundreds attended tho Agricul-g ft tural Hall, which was crowded in every & t quarter. The troopers were accommodated g fi downstairs, whero they dined. Mr R. Chis- fe | holm (mayor) presided, being supported byrfj | the Hon. J. GL Ward on the right and Cap- | fctain Smith on tho left. Colonel Webb, § | Major Owen (chief staff officer), and the Hon. | j* G. M'Lean were also seated at the head 1 [js table. The decorations of the hall, carried Eg |- out by Mr J. P. Kirby, were admired on all js I sides, while the table decorations, the workß I of Misses Glendining, Burt, Mackerras, andp I Scoullar, were also worthy of special men-K |tion. 1 S Before commencing, church'grace was saidls | by the Rev. L Jolly, and the following blcs-gjj g sing was pronounced by the Rev.. Cnrzon-B jli> Siggers: —" May the services you have ren-H n dered to your Queen and country be a|| | memorial before tho Lord for the bestowalf! |on you of His best gifts. May the soul of|| jEJ our beloved Queen rest in peace, and may well I as faithfully serve our King as these noble|| I soldiers have served our beloved Queen. Mayfl fe the blessiDg of God. Almighty, the Father,!! I the Son, and the Holy Ghost be npon you|f Sj and remain with you and yours, now and'foril | evermore. Amen." , || p Luncheon having been partaken of, thejl g Acting-Premier, in the course of a shortp | speech, welcomed tho men, and referred inl| I appreciatory terms to Colonel Robin andj| | Captain Hughes. He expressed the deep|| P sense of sorrow that the colonists felt at thep | great loss sustained by the nation in thep jjj death of the Queen, to whose virtues he paidfjij $ a high tribute. Referring to the k that had been rendered by the New | Contingents, he said he "had no doubt thatfe | those services would be again as readilyis I rendered for their King and country as they|| p had been for their revered Queen in thep | past. He asked all present to silenr.ly|| <£ stand as a tribute of respect to the- ie-P | turned soldiers. raj | The emblem " God save the Queen." which|§ | had been placed on the proscenium wasK | covered with crape. H § The northern portion of the Contingently | went by special train to Port Chalmers aiP 4 four o'clock, and were to be taken to thegl | Orient by the Tutanekai. M I =—= I