DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES AND SPEECH BY MRS. STAFFORD.

Marlborough Press, Volume IX, Issue 594, 3 June 1868, Page 3

DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES AND SPEECH BY MRS. STAFFORD.

[From the Independent of May 7th.] The very interesting ceremony of distributing the prizes to the successful competitors took place in front of the houses of Parliament at noon on Wednesday. The weather was fine, and some 300 or 400 people, including a number of ladies, assembled to witness the ceremony. The various companies of volunteers, including the Cadet corps, were paraded on the reclaimed land a short time before the hour appointed for the presentation, and were then marched up, by Captain M’Barnet, to the Houses of Parliament, where they were drawn up in three sides of a square, the successful competitors, all of whom were in uniform, standing in a line in the vacant •pace within, and in front of a table upon which were ranged the prizes. The cash prizes were in , elegant blue purses, embroidered with gold lace. At the appointed hour, Mrs Stafford, accompanied by the Hons. Col. Haultain and Major Richardson, approached the table/ aDd addressing the volunteers, read the following speech, in a low tone of voice, inaudible within a few feet of where she was standing : Volunteers :—lt is with very great pleasure that I avail , myself, once more, of the opportunity which is afforded me of delivering to the •uccessful competitors the prizes which the Government of the colony halve been enabled to •et apart for the encouragement of marksmen in the use of the rifle. As the bowmen of our native land were well known among their foes some centuries - since by the strength of their arm, the surprising accuracy of their aim, and the dauntless character of their courage, so, I feel assured, that in all time to come the riflemen of Great Britain, and of her colonies, will be equally well known when there shall be a call upon their loyalty and patriotism to rally round the Throne and their country; and that then the crack of their rifles will be as sure an earnest of victory as were the clouds of arrows which were showered forth from out the ranks of the Sturdy yeoman of old. It was with no little pleasure that I have learned that there is a decided improvement both in the firing for the competitive representation in the provinces, and in the firing for the colonial prizes which has just been concluded. I hope the time is not far distant when we shall have to welcome home some marksman of our own who will bear with him from a colonial or international contest •ome badge of victory which will tell that the sons of New Zealand are emulous of distinction far beyond the narrow limits of their own shores. I recognise with great gratification one particular in which this occasion differs from the two which have preceded it. I see in your ranks the first fruits of the future defenders of New Zealand. Our Cadet companies have taken their place as a recognised part of the volunteer system, and it will doubtless not be long, from what I hear, before some youthful aspirant will become noted among the marksmen of the day, and make those who are now competing, look well to their laurels. Volunteers, if I may be allowed to speak in behalf of the women of New Zealand, I will tell you that it is with a peculiar pride that the mothers and daughters of our adopted country see those dearest to them hastening to join your ranks, and by regularity of attendance and unremitting attention, calling into exercise those combined qualities which characterise the British soldier, and have added lustre to those glorious deeds of arms which have been exhibited by him on many a well-fought field. You know too well the sad cause which has prevented your receiving at the hands of his Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh those prizes which I am now about to distribute. We mourn his absence as the absence of one who, on his. return to our native land, could have told to his widowed mother, our gracious and well-beloved Queen, that the youngest of the dependencies of the British Crown cherished, as a sacred possession, as true a devotion and as deep-rooted a loyalty as any portion of her Majesty’s dominions. We mourn his absence, but .we grieve still, more that there could be found a British subject who could have done such a dastard’s deed. Yet Still our grief is somewhat allayed when we hear from every quarter the fervent outpourings of loyalty to the Queen, and we see the rapid expansion of the volunteer movement, indicating by no uncertain sign,. that come what may, New Zealand shall be known among the truest and most devoted of the subjects of the British Crown. When Mrs Stafford had concluded, Sergeant Taylor (2nd Otago Volunteers) was called to the table, and Mrs Stafford addressed him as follows: —Sergeant Taylor: I congratulate you on the victory you have won, and through you the volunteers of Otago, who have on three successive occasions carried away with honor the champion’s belt. The belt (which it may be observed has now seven clasps, bearing the names of its various winners inscribed on them) was buckled over the shoulders of the gallant sergeant, and Mrs Stafford then fastened the gold medal given with the belt upon his breast, and handed him a purse containing £75. Sergeant Taylor was likewise presented with the other prizes won during the

match, viz :—Second prize in the third set—a purse of £lO ; first prize in fourth set—a medal and purse of £ls ; second prize in the fifth set — a Green’s patent breech-loading cavalry carbine. Sergeant Christie (East Taien) was next called to the table, and Mrs Stafford said :—The late contest shows that you have not forgotten the art which gained for you the distinction of being the first winner of the champion’s belt, and that he who competes with you in future must keep close to his work if he hopes to beat you. He was then presented with the second prize in the first set—the silver medal presented by thelCouncil of the National Rifle Association, and a purse of £SO. The remaining prizes were then distributed as follows : Lieut. Wales (Dunedin City Guard) third prize, first set—a medal and purse of £3O ; second prize, fourth set—a purse of £lO. Capt M’Farlain (Dunedin Artillery) fourth prize, first set—a medal and purse of £2O. Sergeant Brass (No 6 Christchurch) first prize, second set—a medal and purse of £ls. Gunner Chisholm (Dunedin Artillery) second prize, second set—a purse of £lO. Lieul-Stevens (Dunedin Naval Brigade) first prize, fourth set—a Green’s patent breech-load-ing Hay pattern rifle. In presenting the first of the Cadet prizes—a medal and purse of £lO to John Tait, of the Blenheim Cadets, Mrs Stafford said—Cadet Tait: I have a peculiar pleasrue in handing to you the .first colonial prize which has been awarded to any members of a Cadet corps. I know you will prize it, and that its possession will stimulate you to increased exertion, so that it may be your happy lot some day to compete successfully for the Champion Belt. The second prize of a purse of £5 was presented to Corporal Bowater of the Wellington Cadet Corps. The Hon. Colonel Haultain then called for three cheers for the Queen, three for-the successful competitors, three for Mrs Stafford, and three for the Governor, all of which were heartily given. The volunteers were then marched off, and the assemblage dispersed.