THE DEPARTED GUESTS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12539, 28 June 1901, Page 4

THE DEPARTED GUESTS.

The Duke of York has closed his visit to this colony fittingly by addressing a an'essage, through the Governor, to the people, telling them how happy he has been “in theiir beautiful land,” andl with what regrets he leaves it. It is by accident, we suppose, and not by design* that the message is more concerned' with the officials than with the people, but no one will deny that .from one end of the colony to the other the authorities laboured with untiring zeal to make the whole tour a triumphant success. To the Government especially ds due the very warmest praise. We have never before attempted to carry out a series of celebrations and ceremonies on so magnificent a scale, and the mere organisation of the tour was a task of unusual magnitude. The “ little bill ” is likely to prove a formidable document, for their Royal Highnesses were really the guests of the Government, and the cost of the tour, excepting the local celebrations, has to be borne by the country, bub we doubt if any item of unauthorised expenditure will be more cheerfully passed and approved by Parliament and people. The Government and its executive officer# deserve the highest praise for the manner in which the arrangements, were carried out, and we must not neglect to include the officers of the Railway, Police) and Public Works Departments in the commendation. Mr John Holmes, of course, has been singled l out for special praise, and in view of his services it is to be regretted that our Conservative contemporaries have not had the -grace to retract their unwarranted comments on his appointment. We have already referred to the success of the great Volunteer review in Hagley Park, and it must be gratifying in the extreme to the Minister of' Defence and to the whole Volunteer force of the colony to receive this expression, of the Duke’s approval. Of the whole tour the features which steem to have impressed' his Royal Highness most forcibly were the gathering of Tiatives at Ro torua andi the parade of i

Cadets at Christchurch. It is to be regretted that the Duke and Duchess could net make a longer stay in our midst, for it is surely desirable, apart from the question of mere enjoyment, that they should -sep as much of the people and of the country as possible. In their hasty tour from "Centre to centre they cannot have gained any clear idea of the character of the country and of the people, and we are just afraid that the newspaper Press, like the cities visited, assumed . a holiday tone and a gala dress for the occasion. We should ho sorry to believe that the, loyalty of a healthy young people was no more than sickly gush and unctuous Servility. The truth is that the people were curious rather than enthusiastic, and when curiosity was satisfied there were no opportunities cl expressing their genuine feelings. The Governor, whom we hold to be primarily responsible for the arrangements, seems to have misunderstood the significance and intention of the visit, and the result has been that nowhere was the Duke really able to move among the people, and in some oases, wo know, unpleasantness and coolness have been caused. But the visit has been valuable to us as a nation in widening our outlook and in emphasising the Imperial note in our lives. We cannot claim that the colony is less likely to secede from the Empire now than it was a fortnight ago, but we have at least made a new friend: among those who sit in the seats of the mighty.