THE RETURNED TROOPERS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXXV, Issue 171, 30 July 1901, Page 4

THE RETURNED TROOPERS.

(From Our Correspondents.) ' WELCOME AT DOVEDALE. A very enjoyable evening was spent on Friday evening la3t, when " the friends and many outsiders met to give a welcome home to the local members of the Fifth contingent, Troopers B. Burnett and N. Snook. Though somewhat late in the day, the reception was no less hearty— in fact it gathered strength by keeping, as it was in every way a euecess. The reception, which took the form of a concert and dance, waa^ held in the Publio Hall, which was tastefully decorated for the ccc-tsion with flags, mottoes, greenery etc., the Management Committee evident* ly sparing no trouble to bring the function to a successful | ssue. lhe provi. sions, which as usual were abundant, were gratuitously supplied by the inhabitants, and the very handsome way in which they gave is to be taken as a token of good fellowship as weU as loyalty to our counrty. I have been especiaUy requested by tho Committee to express their thanks to all those who helped in any way, especially those coming from a distance^ — Messrs Hursthouse, MoMahon, Eilis, and Tunnicliffe, Misses HewetscQ and idccormick, all of whom journeyed many miles to assist. In spite of the commodious dimensions of the buildipg, long before the appointed time of commencing tbe room was packed. Punctually at 7.30 Mr Hursthouse took the chair and opened proceedings with a short address, in which he referred to the troopers aft only Mr Hursthpuse can. There was a long and varied programme, consisting of songs, pianoforte solos, recitationsj etc; but the items of the evening of course were the speeches made by the troopers themselves. Trooper Burnett gave an interesting account of the doings of his particular detachment of the New Zealanders. He also showed a number of curios gathered in South Africa, con--1 sisting of pieces of shell, pom-pom, and Mauser hoUels, etc., all of which appeared to be very interesting to tbe audience, and it certainly gave ub a chance to see ■ for ourselves what the respective sclj diers opjXteed to each other are playing with, aergt. ctevens, from Wakefield, I also gave a very instructive speech, telling of the doings of the Second Contingent, of which he was a member. He told us of many fights, forced marches, tight corners, etc; but he carefully passed over the prominent part he took in one particular engagement. But Mr Hursthouse did not let the Dovedale people I forget the fact (if indeed they were likely to do so), referring to Sergt Stevens' action as the action of a hero, vf coarse we had the usual element of disturbance, but fortunately on this occasion it waa very slight. Yet certainly it is deplorable that, young men attending such . gatherings (especially as it was free jto all) cannot comport themselves in a more becoming manner. After the concert, which lasted two hours and a half, tbe room was cleared for dancing, which was kept going till almost daylight, Mssrs F. Win and J. Gorrie acting as M.'s C. 5