THE COMMEMORATION OF THE QUEEN'S REIGN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10454, 28 May 1897, Page 6

THE COMMEMORATION OF THE QUEEN'S REIGN.

A LADY'S LETTER. TO THE EDITOR.

Sib,—l shall be obliged if you will give me space for a few words about the best memorial of Her Majesty's long reign. I think that though all the objects suggested »re good and necessary—so necessary that before another 50 years pass I believe Auckland will have them all—they are none of them relevant to the occasion, save only the statue of our Queen. Such a reign, and such a woman, can never be forgotten in history, nor by any ef her adult subjects living now, but there are children growing up, before whose arrival at manhood and womanhood there will be a new Sovereign, and the life aud character of Queen Victoria will be to some extent for* gotten, as the old people die off. ' Now if we have, in a very preminent place in our city, a statue representing faithfully the form and features of our loved Queen, there will be endless questions asked aud answered, aud her example will be held up for the admiration and imitation of the inquirers, aud future generations of our colonists will learn what they owe to her wisdom and goodness. Moses, commanded the Israelites to set up memorials, that in time to come the children might learn by question and answer the great lessons of their past. It is a minor consideration that our beautiful city will be enriched by the possession of such a statue. Then some saj; it is better to spend the money ou something for the poor and sick. So said Judas, and many others, when the grateful Mary wasted the costly box of ointment on the Master who had blessed her. But what did He say ? "The poor ye have always with you, and whensoever ve will ye may do them good, but Me ye have uot always." May not His words guide ua in this case!— I am, etc., A.E.D. May 26.

MR. EVERY MACLEAN'S SUGGESTION. TO THE EDITOR.

Sir,—At the suggestion of the Herald I take the liberty of recommending that a statue aud monument of grey Aberdeen granite should be erected, as most appropriate to commemorate Her Most Gracious Majesty's reian. The statue, of the Queen, with the crown on her head, should be of polished granite, heroic size, the monument at least 300 feet high, of rough granite-, the whole should be prepared in Scotland, if 600 or 800 tons or more. The polished granite shown at the entrance of the Bank of New South Wales, Queen-street, shows the beauty and appropriateness of the stone. My guinea as a subscription is ready, bpt I would much like to see Js subscriptions from all the children in the province, whioh, if collected, would more than pay for the monument, which would stand for ages. I was born iu the same year as Her Majesty. I well remember her accession. There were great rejoicings in England. I attended a champagne breakfast given in her honour in the Town Hall. The country towns were all ewarining with visitors.. No other event approachiug it, or so popular, has occurred since. The newspapers were full of it. The breath was no sooner out of the body of King William IV. than Lord Conyngliam, accompanied by the Archbishop of Canterbury, started through the night for the Princess Victoria's residence at Kensington. They arrived at five o'clock in the morning, June 20, 1837, and aroused the house, aud were shown into a room, and the Princess soon appeared in her dressingRown. Lord Conyngham saluted her as Her Majesty, and she immediately presented her hand for him to kiss. He dropped on his knees and saluted her as Queen. The Archbishop also knelt and saluted her. The Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne (who was afterwards such a iavourite with Her Majesty) and the members of the Council soon arrived, and her two uncles the Dukes of Sussex and Cambridge, when they also knelt aud showed their fealty, she arose from her chair and raised them up. But for the Salic Uw, her uncle the Duke of Cumberland would have been King of England. He was proclaimed King ot Hanover. After the four Georges and William IV. the people of the United Kingdom became tired of Hanover, hence the great popularity of the Queen. The couutry was wild with enthusiasm and loyalty.—l am, etc., ' Every Maclean. Bleak House, May-26,1897. __ A LITERARY SOUVENIR.

Sik,—ln unnuection with the approaching celebration of the " Record Reign," it is to bo feared tlrat Auckland will uot appear to advantage if a programme worthy of the city is not at once decided upon. In my opinion whit is required is the adoption of a scheme which would strike the imagination of the 'people, particularly that of the rising generation, whose ideas of the Empire it is to be feared arc of a nebuloun character. Iu order to appreciate the significance of the event, a knowledge of its bearings should be possessed j accordingly, would it not be as well that a brief sketch of the leading facts concerning the derivation and development of the Empire should be prepared, particular "tress being devoted to the Victorian em, and that an illustrated copy artistically got up be presented to each scholar iu the public schools. As the cost would not be great the Board of Education might fittingly do this. Iu addition each school committee, in conjunction with the residents in the several districts, might present each school with a Union Jack, to be used upon the auspicious occasion; and also provide refreshments and entertainment for the scholars, in which they could participate by joining in patriotic songs, etc. With such a souvenir, and celebration, the day would ever be remembered with pleasure by each scholar, whose love of country would be stimulated thereby. In regard to the general public a suitable expression of loyalty might be found in acquiring the piece of ground which now lies a dreary waste in front of the Municipal Buildings. Prettily laid out with crass, flowers, and a fountain, with a marble statute of Her Majesty in the centre, what is now an eyesore might well be termed the Victoria .Square, and become a thing ot beauty in which the whole population would Uke pleasure for ages to come. If, jn addition to this, the charms of the Domain could be enhanced by the artistic skill ot the landscape gardener, and a recreation ground be provided, then 1 think the commemoration would be a decided success. A military display, illuminations.etc, would be indulged in as a matter of course. The question may be asked, How about the Children's Hospital ? The answer is, We have benevolent institutions already, which are of questionable benefit, and even the proposed hospital, if carried out upon the lines suggested by some of its advocates, might, by weakening parental responsibility, intensify the very evil which it is intended to mitigate. The care of children is already provided for to' some extent, and a fund is now in existence which might be applied to making good auy real deficiencies now existing.-I am, etc., X. AUCKLAND'S APATHY. 10 THE EDITOR. Slß,—May I express my concurrence with Mr. Abbott with respect to the apathy which exists upon this subject? Id a letter to His Worship the Mayor, of Tuesday last, in which I declined the honour of further serving the" Commemoration" and "Celebration" Committees «<t lion, secretary, I felt obliged to say that " there is a want of unity, of sympathy, and enthusiasm on the part of the citizens, which I regret very much to see, and which, I think, must be fatal to anything really creditable to Auckland being accomplished."—l »m, etc., Albert J. Allom, Auckland, 27th May, 1897. / TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—Will you permit me, through the columns of your valuable paper, to say that as an Englishman I am surprised at the want of energy displayed by the public generally, when asked to celebrate suitably the Record Reign of our Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria. In my opinion, sir, the prominent citizens of our great city are failing in their duty in the present most noble object that of the Diamond Jubilee Celebration. I would therefore suggest that the children of Auckland be asked by our present Chairman of the Celebration Committee to meet and form themselves into committee on the subject, when I venture to say that, given their away, they would more creditably and more nobly respond to the great national cause than their apathetic fathers.—l am, etc., Schoolboy.