FIRED FOR AND WON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 8072, 13 October 1887, Page 5

FIRED FOR AND WON.

THE FIRTH PRIZES.

PRESENTATION AT THE CITY HALL.

A BRILLIANT SCENE.

MR. FIRTH ON VOLUNTEERING.

A PATRIOTIC ORATION.

The presentation of the Martini-Henry Rifles given by Mr. J. C. Firth, for competition among the volunteers of Auckland, took place last evening at the City Hall.

TUB MARCH OUT.

The fourteen companies comprising the Auckland Garrison assembled at half-past seven at the Drill-shed, and forming into column marched down to the City Hall, headed by the Garrison and Naval Bands, the former of which played enlivening quicksteps during the march. The various corps were arranged in the procession in the following order : — Davonport, Waitemata, Onehunga, and Auckland Navalo, "A "and " 0 " Batteries of Artillery, Royal Engineers, Newton and Gordon Rifles, of No. 3 Battlion; Hobson, Queen's Own, and Victoria Rifles and City Guards, of No. 2 Battalion, and the Royal Irish Rifles (No. 3 Battalion).

A PACKICD HOUSE. On arriving at the, hall the men were dismissed, in order to allow them to take their seats with their friends during the i!or«tnony. Long before the doors were opened an eager crowd of tickot-holders were thronging the footpath, and. when adininsion was granted the building was speedily tilled to its utmost extent.

AN IMPOSING HPKCIACLK.

When at hat all had taken their places the scene from theatago was a moat striking one, the bright and varied uniforms of the volunteers contrasting well with the sombre colours worn by the civilians and the costumea of the large number of ladies present. The stage itself was decorated with graceful festoons of banting, the background being occupied by the British coat-of-arms, supported on each side by the Union Jack, while the wings of the proscenium wore adorned with stars of bayonots, tho 15 prize rifles being also prominently displayed. On the chairman's table were the two splendid challenge cups of the "CBattory and Gordon Rifles corps, and the champion belt of the " A" Battery,

ON THE PLATFORM. Among those present on the platform were the following Colonel Lyon, LieutenantColonels Dignau and Mahon, Majors Pirie, Anderson, Isaacs, and Payne, Captain Commandant Lelloy, Captains George, Geddis, White, Leger Eraon, Hulse, Lieutenants Elmes, Parker, and Leahy, Drs. Dawson, McMullen, and Moore, and Messrs. H. C. Baddeloy, K.M., G. Alckin, S. H. Matthews, Knox, Pooley, and others. When Colonel Lyon appeared he was saluted by the officers present, while Mr. Firth's entrance in company with the Mayor was the signal for loud applause from all parts of the building, and shortly after the proceedings were opened by the band playing '• Britannia, the Pride of the Ocean." ,

THE MAYOR'S REMARKS.

The Mayor said that the main purpose for which they had met that night was the presentation by Mr. Firth to the Volunteers of the rifles given by him as rewards for good shooting. The ceremony was to

most of those present a new and pleasing one. Hitherto the presentations to Volunteers had bßen made amongst Voluntsers alone { civilians did not as a rule sufficiently patronise such gatherings. (Cheers.) The example set by Mr. Firth would, the Speaker trusted, bo followed by other wealthy oitizens. The first duty of the Government should be to procure the best weapon for the Volunteer Forces. (Cheers.) And by other means encourage the volunteer movement, and endeavour to make it as self supporting as it should be. (Cheers.) Mr. Firth had shown that he had practical common sense, for he had armed twenty of the Volunteers with the bost rifles that money could buy. (Cheers.) He (the Mayor) trusted that this gathering was tho first of its kind—(cheers) and if the ladios in the future attended in go large numbers as they did this evening, success must be cortaiu in whatever the Volunteers and their friends should undertake. (Cueors.) He did not know who originated this idea of a public assembly, bat it was a good idea, and a very proper one, and a large gathering of such a character was very gratifying, and significant of the value placed upon the citizen soldiers of tho community. (Cheers.) The band having played a selection, Mr. J as. Knox sang, "Hearts of Oak" with splendid effect, the conclusion of the song being marked with loud and persistent demands for an encore, Mr. Knox bowing his acknowledgment?. ADDRESS BST Mil. FIRTH. Mr J. C. Firth, who was received with loud cheers, said : Mr. Chairman, and ladies and gentlemen,—lt is particularly to the city of Auckland that the honour belongs of having revived the volunteer movement in Her I Majesty's dominions. (Cheers.)

THE VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND.

After thirty years of war, which was terminated in 1815 by tha Battle of Waterloo, the volunteer spirit decaycd in England—iu the United Kingdom. Forty years of peace entirely—as it appears to me—killed it, and it was only after the Crimean war that England learnt that the world still contained elements of disorder, elements of warfare which might result in possible disaster if England were not prepared to meet a foe. (Cheers.) Then once iuoro the volunteer movement arose in its strength, and to-day the volunteers are numbered in England by hundreds of thousands, and for a most important art—for the defence of Her Majesty's dominions. (Cheors.) HONOUR DUE TO AUCKLAND. Mr. Firth said he was not used to speaking in that hail, and he hoped that those who could not hear what he said would ask him to speak up. He then proceeded : As 1 have just said, it is to this city belongs the groat honour of having revived the volunteer movement, and to Dr. Campbell, the then Superintendent of the Province of Auokland, is due the honour of giving force to the re» vived movement, and sending home to England to arm the beginning of that force, which must be a force in all free countries if we are to retain our liberty. (Cheers.) Wo boast that wo have government for the people and by the people, but the people must know that it is they, and they alone, who must defend the freedom which they enjoy. TUE PROSFKCTS OF VOLUNTEERING. One cannot stand on this platform and behold without calling up memories of the past, such an assembly of stalwart young men—aye, and of grey beards, too, who have not forgotten their nncieut vigour, and are ready to draw their swords again iu defence of their country's liberty. (Cheers.) It allows to mo Chat the spirit of volunteering is not dead, but lives with a vitality that with a little encouragement will surpass that which actuated the movement in the past. Happily in this country there has been no occasion for long yoara to defend ourselves against internal commotion. Our former enemies, the Maoris, have learned to know that we mean them no harm, that they are at one with us, and that in sending their representatives to Parliament they are as much interested in the prosperity of the colony as wo are. SIGNS OF TIIE TIM US. And, therefore, it may be said : What is the use of continuing the volunteer movement ? Those who think in that manner are dearly shutting their eyes to thn signs of the times. Who can look abroad and be ignorant of the fact that millions of men are in arms on the Continent of Europe ? that Germany, Austria, and Italy are ranged on tho one side, and that Franco and Russia stand on guard on tho other who can doubt that the position is one of extreme danger, and that a small accident may let slip the dogs of war? Now, I think we ought to take tho present serious condition of general affairs in Europe into careful consideration, and to remember, before wo throw our arms away, before we sheathe our swords for good and aye, that the time may coma when it may bo necessary for us to draw them again.

"UK YE THEKfcFORE READY."

I need not tell you that it is not in tho panic which a war oreates that tho defences 01 a country can be made secure, that if you are to bo ready to defend your liberty you must prepare for that iu times of peace. I congratulate you, and the various Governments of the Australasian colonies, that if auy hostile Power sees fit to attempt to take the Australasian colonies, they will find more than one bulldog ready to show it its teeth—aye, and to do something more than bark. (Cheers.) Whatever may be said of the extravagance of the Australasian Governments in other directions, this may be justly said, that their expenditure on the defences of the various colonies they represent has not erred on the side of extravagance ; if anything, it has erred on the side of niggardliness. (Cheers.) The real defence in the last resort, however, must only be looked for from an armed people. (Cheers.) England will undoubtedly, in case of war, send us a few. ships to assist in the defence of the various colonies, but 1 think it will be very foolish of tho people of these free countries to depend upon that. Batteries are a necessity ; torpedoes will, I think, be found of infinite benefit; but, as I said before, the real and the only successful lino of defence in tho last resort, will be an armed people.

VOLUNTEER TRAINING J-SSENTIAt, Therefore, I think, Mr. Mayor, ladies and gentlemen, that it is the boundeu duty of the people of these free lands to eee that their young men are trained to arms. It is not only that the position of affairs in Europe is of an extremely threatening character ; it is not only that thore are millions of men in arms there ; but I think a far worse feature is that a lawless spirit evidently influences more than one of the Great Powers of Europe. How often has Russia, for instance, broken a treaty ? and I regret that she has been followed in such a course by so gallant a nation as France. Iu these days treaties seem to be made but to be broken. TUB GERMANS IN SAMOA. Last of all, what is the spectacle that is oven now seen ? What is it but this Germany, one of the greatest nations on earth—(a voice : " Question ")— and with an armed fleet, threatens to make war upon a feeble, defenceless king, in the islands of Samoa —(cheers) —dethrones him, imprisons him, and then practically annexes his dominions. Well, now, I think it is daeply to be regretted that so great, so gallant a nation as tho German nation, whose blood commingles so largely with the blood of our ancient English race, should have so far forgotten its Teutonic honour as to have given us the latest instance of the old and the odious game of the wolf and the lamb. (Cheers,)

FOREIGN AGGRESSION IN THE PACIFIC. Owing to the pusillanimity or stolid carelessness of the Governments of the United Kingdom, groups of islands after islands in this Pacific Ocean have been, either through sheer carelessness or from motives of false economy, or from absolute cowardice, permitted to fall into the hands of tho French or the Germans. I say—ana I think thtt lam expressing the sentiments of the greater part of those colonies when 1 say that we do do not consent to the annexation of these islands by any foreign nation. (Cheers.) There are but four millions of us; but the . time is coming nor is it very far off —when we shall speak with a united voice, and say, "This i 3 our motto, 'Australasia for the Australasians.'" Trust in yourselves ; let us remember that our future is in our own hands, and that, come what may, a free people forgets its freedom and its rights, if it will permit any nation to enslave it. (Cheers.)

THE DECADENCE OF THE BRITISH RACE. Mr. Firth proceeded to speak of the lawless spirit abroad at the present day, and remarked that there was also another danger that was still more disquietening. He then said : I refer to this : that during the last forty years, no matter what Government may have been in power in the British dominions, whether Whig or Tory say that during the

last forty years, during which England has been governed by the middle olasses, a woful decadence has been noticed in the "valour which every Englishman should fuel— the spirit which actuates him when he proudly exclaims " I am an Englishman." How is it to-day ? The spirit belonging to the ancient nation is in its decadence. ("No.") The speaker remarked that he did not know the cause of this, but he contended that a similar state of things was abroad to that which ended in the great Roman Empire being brought to the dust. He knew not whether history was preparing to repeat the story. Mr. Firth spoke at some length with respect to the expenditure which England made in the war with Napoleon, and said that, though the mother country did not always treat the colonies properly, it was the duty of colonists to protect the honour of the nation.

WHAT THE YOUNG LADIES SHOULD SAT. Mr. Firth proceeded : The Mayor played a very proper and a very gallant part when he said that the success of the volunteering movement depended upon the support given by the ladies. I thought that the volunteer movement was not sufficiently encouraged by geutlemen who, it they cannot tight, can put their hands in their pockets and help to make the movement self-supporting. (Cheers.) We hear a good deal about the rights of women. One of the rights of women is this, to say to any of the young fellows who seek their favour—(laughter and cheers, and a voice : "Goon, old man") — whether ho be a bank clerk or whatever else he may be, "It is not only your duty to make me comfortable, but also to make me safe ; and the way to do that is to go and take up arms as a volunteer. (Cheers.) Don't you come to seek my hand until you have proved yourself to be a dead shot." (Laughter and oheers.) That is the right which belongs to every unmarried woman, and it is a right—whatever becomes of the other rights, voting righto, and all that nonsense—which she should exercise. (Cheers.)

CONCLUSION. I have to thank you for giving me bo patient a hearing. As I have pointed out, there is our duty; beyond all voting, and construction of railways and roads, and making anil mending of boats, and working in any direction whatever, we must be in a position to defend ourselves and the country that we live in against all comers—(cheers) —and we can only do that if we have arms in our hands and learn how to use them. Mr. Firth resumed his seat amid loud and prolonged cheering. THE PRESENTATIONS. The Mayor then announced that Colonel Lyon would present the several winners of the prizes to Mr. Firth, and Major Pirie calling out the names of the fifteen successful competitors, who filed upon the stage, Mr. Firth, with appropriate and witty remarks in each case, handed the prize rifles to each of the following competitors :—

Lieut. M. J. Moore ... Auckland Navals Bugler Ifimille Lo Griffon ... Auokland Navals Ist P.O. Arthur Graham ... Ponsonby Navals Ist P.O. John Nolson ... Onehunga Navals Ist P.O. George Martin ...Waitemata Navals Gunner Alfred Payne ... "A" Battery Gunner Ernest C. Bjsle ... "0" Battery Sapper Daniel Allen ... Auckland Engineers Sergt. Theo. Fairs ... Victoria Rifles Col.-Sergt. Wm. Stirling ... City Guards R. Vol. Wm. Quinlan Hobson Rifles Vol. Patk. McCarthy ... Onehuuga Rifles Vol. F. V. Kelly...Queen's Own ll.(byproxy) Vol. Joseph Nutt ... Newton Rifles Vol. Stephen Taylor ... Gordon Rifles VOTE OF THANKS. Colonel I.yon proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Firth, who, he said, had never lost sight of the volunteers. Whenever he (Colonel Lyon) asked Mr. Firth for a subscription in the course of the volunteering movement, that gentleman had generously responded. The speaker referred to the services rendered by Mr. Firth when an effort was made to remove the Mount Eden Rifle Range, and in conclusion called for three cheers for Mr. Firth, which were given with enthusiasm, the audience standing, whilst a cheer was also accorded to Mrs. Firth. At the call of Captain ulso three cheers were given for Colonel Lyon.

Mr. Fikth briefly acknowledged the vote of thanks.

F ! )KTHKIt PRESENTATIONS.

Colonel Lyon then presented a long service medal to Colour-Sergeant J. C. Soall, who, on asceuding the platform, was received with loud cheers. Colonel Lyon referred in eulogistic terms to the valuable services rendered by Colour-Sergeant Soall during his long term as a volunteer, and as he could not pin the medal upon his breast he requested the Mayoress, Mis. Devore, to perform tho task. That lady graciously acceded, and amidst most enthusiastio cheering, pinned the medal in its place, Band: "Auld Lang Syne.'* Volunteer Dean, of the City Guards, sung "I'm a Soldier," and on being encored rendered "All that Glitters is not Gold," the accompaniment being played by Major Pirie.

The Mayor announced that the Artillery Company belt, which Gunner Webster had won at daylight that morning, would be presented to him ; but as he was absent at Ofcahuha, the trophy was handed over to the Captain Commanding, with a request that he would present it to Gunner Webster. The cup won by Sergeant Hodgkinson was pre* seated to that officer, and on behalf of Captain White tho Mayor presented to Lieutenant J. 8. Fairs the Gordon Cup won by him.

Captain Commandant Leßoy, who was received with cheers, proposed a vote of thanks to the Mayor. He said that the volunteers of to-day were not independent, as were tho volunteers of thirty years ago, and they placed too much reliance upon the support of the Government, He hoped the employers of labour would foster the volunteer movement, and then it would not be said to a man " Well, if you choose to go to your volunteer renew, or your volunteer parade, I will find somebody else to do your work."

Major Dignan seconded the motion, which was carried with acclamation.

Three cheers were then given for the Mayor, and a cheer for Mrs. Devore. The proceedings terminated with the singing of the National Anthem,