FAREWELLING THE EIGHTH.

Evening Star, Issue 11678, 10 February 1902, Page 2

FAREWELLING THE EIGHTH.

STRICTLY A MILITARY FUNCTION

[Special to the Star.]

CHRISTCHURCH. February 10. _ One farewell to a departing contingent is very much like another. They are all alike in essentials, and differ only in minor details and degree. Thus there were many •points about the proceedings on Saturday which coincided with previous functions of a similar kind. In one respect, however, Saturday’s demonstration differed from rs , predecessors—while they were arranged ( with an eye to the delectation of the public, it was strictly a military affair. When, for instance, the Third Contingent took their departure, the needs of the military authorities were subordinated to the wishes of the public. The contingent were the central figure of a huge popular demom-tia-tion, and they were no r allowed (o take ship until the people s appetite for enthusiasm had been satisfied. On Saturday the positions were reversed. The hand of the military was prominent evet-ywhere. and tiie public biul to take what thev wore, given in the way of a sptclacle. and be thankful.

It was proposed ‘hat the troops should march from camp through the main si nets of the city and entrain a( the Christchurch station, and lie local newspapers even went so far as to edvorate this i-r-a ; hut. the milifarv intervened. An tm-

;• mpat.hctic Minister decreed that th“ t.oojts should entrain ar Addington and proceed direct to Lyttelton, and direct to Lyttelton they went ; and perhaps ir was just as well that they did. The day was hot. and Ibe troopers would have b c en intolerably tired hv the long and dvDv m.wh from rheiv rump to the Christchurch station : also, they woo'd pvobab'v nnt have marched tlnongh crowded sheets, as the Third Contingent did ; mi, lastly, the men themselves arc just a little, tired of the fireworks business. From this ir most rot 1 e inferred that Fatnnlav's " f end-off" lacked enthusiasm. What there was of it was marked by plenty of hear 1 inf-s, o.dv. compared with previous “ send offs.” there was not a very great" deal of it. The weather was all that could be desired for a function of this kind. What world otherwise have been un oppressive'y ho! day was merclv a sensibly warm one, thanks to the soft norrherly breeze. At no (hue did rain three ten, and at no time did the sun shine. It was somewhere about midway between torrid hear and hiring cold', with a ten. cicncy, perhaps, towards the former. A stranger on entering Christchurch i it, Friday night would not have guessed that the routine of the city was shortly to he in. terrnpted Ir- an event of unusual importance; and early on Saturday there was nothing in the appearance of the streets io indicate that anything of more than passing interest was about to happen. pv ten o'clock, however, most of tin- flagpoles in the city carried bunting. Their attempts at decoration stopped a few minutes later. The Canterbury section of the Ninth Contingent created a mild sensation as they marched io the railway station on their way to Dunedin. Put the excitement was only momentary, and the spurs of the departing troopers had scarcely disappeared before the merchant was back at his desk and the shopkeeper at his counter. Under these circumstances the crowd at the show grounds was a fairly large one, and it was an appreciative one into the bargain. It cheered the troopers in a manner which was reminiscent of the early days of the war. It cheered the (dovernor after His Kxcellency had made what a schoolboy standing near me described as "a rattling good speech,” and it mustered up a very tidy cheer for the mayor. During the journey by train to Lyttelton people at every vantage point, along the line gave the men a parting cheer, but most of the enthusiasm was reserved for Lyttelton. It was there that the largest crowds had collected, and u was there that a real attempt had been made to give the contingent a popular ■'send-off.” The shipping was decorated, the principal streets were hung with flags, and when the battalion arrived they found also the Christchurch and Lyttelton volunteers drawn up to receive them. The troop train ran alongside the Cornwall, and in almost less time than it takes to write, these words the occupants had tumbled on to their compartments, deposited their kits on board, and were drawn up to listen to addresses from the Premier, the Commandant. the Hon. W. C. Walker, and the Mavor of Lyttelton. The principal feature of Mr Seddotrs speech was a telegram which the speaker road from Sir Frederick Stirgood, a former Defence Minister for Victoria, now on a visit to New Zealand. The telegram ran as follows:-—"] regret 1 ii;i: I cannot be with yon to join in a, hearty send-off to the Kightli Contingent, but, I trust that, a lasting peace, based upon the unconditional surrender of the enemv. may ere long be brought about. I wish ihe troops good luck and plenty of opportunities to distinguish themselves and to do credit to New Zealand. Let me congratulate Inc colony upon its promptitude in offering additional troops when the emergency arises. - ’ Mr Seddnn slid that Sir Frederick Kargood had struck the right note when he had urged that there should hr nothing less than unconditioid surrender. and it on tins

no'c (lint ihe Premier harped for rhe grearer part of his speech. He also mid os ihat rhe applications for the Ninth Contingent from the Wellington district nttrnhe red 2.622. Auckland 940. Canterbury 594. Otago 934, making n grand toml of s.lni') men who will he following up to help* in bringing the war in .South Africa to an end. Mr Scddon was followed hv the Mayor of Lyttelton and the Hon. W. C, Walker. Then (ieneraJ Bahmgton delivered ,m effective homily on discipline, and the men were matched on hoard, while a severe hut good humored tussle ensued between rhe police and the volunteers and the public, who attempted to rush the enclosure. The ■ crowd wck; kept back until the men were embarked, and at twenty minutes to six the Cornwall moved from the whtwf amid ringing cheers from the spectators. to which the men on the ship lustily replied. , Ten minutes later the troopship passed ! through the moles amid a deafening up- i ioar of steamers’ whistles and signal i lockets. The steamers Rotomahana, Mourn, and other vessels followed her down the harbor.