THE IMPERIAL TROOPS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12422, 11 February 1901, Page 5

THE IMPERIAL TROOPS.

<■ , ,i;RECEPTION IN WELLINGTON. * v" ~* [Pes Pbess Assc-oiatiox.] '' WELLINGTON, Feb. 10. ;\ The Imperial troops arrived yestferfc* \ afternoon, and marched tinrougn ti>-* city J| ' ' • company with-over two thousand roitraeeeni , The weather was very fine, and th* trU<*M +1 were lined 'by thousands of -pftople, «, \ many of whom came in irVora iuc co\ir4rf,< -. districts. The visiting nioiciwd mas vest* / all horsed., and made a fine dispi»y» viie L3s ( Guards being particularly atteutnsd. Ai ■** various paints along the onanea to tf« ifesini . ~ Reserve a considerable aawun p of ehetticg. L . ;$ was heard as the Highland i~gjn<Sit«, : '' ;"- which everyone was anxioias t*> J**, made * ,a their appearaince. The rcgußr ma.rcW*£c|: ;■' the Imperial troops, who movoa -'Jtj. as . , even swing, was tiis aulbjcct of .general i&.\ •-,;' miration, 'being :n marked control «o tlft « step o'f some of the volunteer -Cprj*. X, v great crowd o'f people h'ad asseaibieu in ■&»' , Basin Reserve, and when ibe on the scene they were met witc ixnA " cl-eeis. The companies were drawn lip m square, and were addressed by the Mayor, 1 , - who welcomed t,be visitors to the city, aitdl - by Mr Seddon, -tlie latter making spflcuj i , reference to the deaoh o'f the Queen, ao« ; expressing 'the opinion that one result .of She . war & South Africa Would fca to pat.tW - army on u 'better footing than keretotorfc Mr Seddon SuTtner degr.soa.ted the P*** I** 1 ** ■ of making .comparisons Detween the lmpena* and the colonial forces, remarking thrt those who did so were enemies «f tne esimj tiy and the Empire. He remarkec 1 that St might be necessary to send away a Seven** . Contingent., but he did not oare how many. contingents were despatched. .1 he more men that were font, *« sconer wwild tney, all fee home again. Colonel Wynahaaa, at' tin* conclusion of the Prema«.& address,; . called upon his troops to give three ca«en for the people of New Zealand and tJae» Premier, which met with a hearty The procession then re-formed, and u» • „ Brita troops marched back t» the nic at the wharf. They 7«? ***" ,2. liberated on iurloligli till midnight, m* were entertained at dimier by th* «***»»[ the officers being made 1 welcomed the Wellington Club. To-day the men «"£"**«" the\roopshi.p until midday, allowed ashore again. To-morrow bWOTB half tTne visitors wiH leave -for W«gwn* Wi - train, the remainder going to Mai-ierwn-[From Oxjb Cobbesposdest.} : WELLINGTON, Feb. 10. ■ The military spectacle of yesterday wae tuHj, perb in the extreme. Wellington had never, seen 3500 men together before, and prodigiously enjoyed the sight, enriched a» it! was with the uniforms, whose btfanff records the croAvds did not forget to cheef all along the line. At the Basin reserve,, the spectacle was very fine, tha visiting troops occupying one aide, the local aoMifin on two others, and the crowd massed on the fourth, partly on the road, and partly on the, pavilion. In the green centre, detachments of the visitors performed various evolutions-; The Grenadiers gave us the bayonet exer-. cise, the Artillerv the sword exercise, the Lancers the lance exercise, and various corps contributed physical drill. These displays over, the troops closed in on the- staßa w front of the crowd, the advance of the Imperials in 'line across the field making every, • soldier and ex-soldier present exclaim withl wonder at the magnificence of the solid procession. Then the Pisemier addressed tfcem* and after that the troops Sled off. In the evening, the city entertained tie men at dinner, with beer, be it understood, afid the Wellington Club the officers at an "Afe Home." After dinner, the city presented the appearance of a garrison town, so full was it of uniforms. The visitors enjoyed themselves, and many of them were de- i monstrative. To-day the same appearance,j ■ without the demonstrativeness, was present-, ed. To-morrow the troops will go to Wan-; ganni and Masterton, and after the second! lot gets back, it will be entertained, by tne| Hutt and Petone people at lunch at- JTFab's' "~~ Garden. The local members {Messrs Wilj ford and Field), the Mayors (Mesrs Bunny! and Kirk), and a strong committee, are? working very hard in this matter. Tie beer, question has been solved! in- this case- «to» to the satisfaction of the visitore.

THEIR JOURNEY THROUGH NEW ZEALAND. , ; [Per Pbess Association.] j '• NAPIER, Feb. 9. j Very complete arrangements have been!; irvde for entertaining the Imperial t*oop«; next Thursday. The visitors are to be *n-: tertained at lunch in the Recreation; Ground. Special trains from tie country} will bring outeide Volunteer companies.; . The Mayor has proclaimed a full holiday-

As the troopship Britannic was Ifeavrnj ; , the wharf at Lyttdton on Frij dav nighft, a man. rushed tlmragU the crowd, roughly pushrmg amd« -• ; ttra people before him, in a stsuggle .- to reach the side of the vessel. H& had almost gained his goal when a bottle which! he was, seemingly, caxying beneath iai - \ coat, fell and smashed on thef • railway line beneath his feet. Th«j\ spectators laughed, and realised that an afcJ tempt to supply liquor to Tommy Atkins 1 - ■; in disregard of Lord Roberts's injunction; ' had been frustrated. A very large quantity of vegetables, aboud 4300 heads, bunches and packages, was put , on board the troopship Britannic while sh« was at Lytteiton. These varied frooi pars-; ley to cucumbers, and there were, in addi-j lion, over sixty cases, a truck load, of pota-' toes. Tho whole order was executed, ais' very short, notice, within thirteen working hours, by Mr W. Cook, greengrocer, of Lytteiton. 'One of the Imperial Cotttin|*nt •■ missed his passage* by the Britarw nic Saturday night through hawing ■„ made a mistake as •to the hour a* which she was to leave. On hearing " AulaLang Syne" being played, by the band he) - realised'his error, and made a dash for th* ■ wharf, only to find that the steamer was , ' beyond reach. Through, the good offices of friends he obtained a passage to Wellington; _, by the s.s. Moana, and &s the Union Steam-] . strip Company's boat got in some fifty; minutes earlier than th© troopship, he waa enabled to greet his comrades on their ws - rival. ___________»____ -» -