THE ROYAL VISIT TO AUCKLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11712, 23 July 1901, Page 6

THE ROYAL VISIT TO AUCKLAND.

HOW IT WAS DESCRIBED IN THE LONDON PAPERS. Br yesterday's mail we have London papers to June 14, containing notices of the arrival of ; the : Duke and Duchess of :;'' Cornwall at Auckland, and their visit to Rotorua. The cable messages are of considerable length, but some amusing mistakes are made in the details: — THE DAILY TELEGRAPH. Our London correspondent writes:—-"Had the Daily Telegraph taken the trouble to study New Zealand geography , its readers might not have learned that some recent convulsion of nature —possibly a volcanic tipheaval— shifted " the city of ■ Auckland bodily into the Bay of Islands. Certainly I had not heard of this occurrence, but as the Daily Telegraph, in a two-column article on New Zealand, explicitly states that Auckland 'is situated on the spacious Hauraki Gulf, in the Bay of Islands, in the extreme north of the North , Island,' either such an event must have taken place or else the Daily Telegraph must be densely ignorant. Yet worse is to come. This same seismio convulsion 6eems to have reduced the Northern capital to a small village. The Daily Telegraph's special correspondent with the Royal expedition describes Auckland as 'a bright and bustling townlet!' Surely this is ' the most unkindest cut of all.' Here are his precise words: —'During . this epoch-making journey I have witnessed many loyal welcomes and' scenes of enthusiasm, but nowhere have I seen anything heartier or more spontaneous than was the reception; accorded' to the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York on their first landing in New Zealand to-day. v Melbourne, perhaps, showed a greater display of pageantry, Colombo and \ Singapore contributed their Oriental splendour to grace the proceedings, but Auckland brought a loving outburst of popular affection and loyalty to the British Crown. .'_' The inhabitants appear ?to : lead simple, contented,' and happy lives in their bright and bustling townlet, situated on the side of a pretty harbour, whose natural beauty losee nothing in comparison with that of Sydney. The good people- of Auckland are passion- j ately fond of yachting, and a number of I small sailing boats are moored here. Indeed the proportion of yachtsmen to the population is extraordinary. All the decorations erected in the town in honour of the Royal visit simple yet effective. ; : The Government made an earnest appeal to the inhabitants of the islands to render the visit an historical ■ occasion, and, I naturally;, .the people, '-, even thus far, have responded with the utmost cordiality."' ■ I suppose he "means well"—evidently he has tried to bo pleasant—but as evidently he don t know." Even colonists may be excused for fancying that such a city as Auckland is something more than a " townlet " especially as such English 'towns as Well's with a population of 4500, Ely with 6100, and Lichfield with 7300 are deemed full-blown cities! The Daily Telegraph, in its issue of June 14, has an account of ■ the luncheon to-the veterans ; and the : visit to" Rotorua. We quote some detached passages from the report of the luncheon: — Afterwards several of the men were presented to the Duke, who chatted amiably with ; them, and displayed much interest in learning how the various medals were gained. - One veteran said:" "God,bless you, sir. I have shaken your hand, and I can die happy. I was one of the guard of honour of the Irish Rifles at the King's marriage." Several of the old soldiers, on seeing the Duke's kindly greeting to their comrades, endeavoured to. press forward over and round the table. Lord Ranfurly, turning to the Duke, said: " Sir,. here comes a Balaclava 1 hero under the table," and the Duke, turning round, shook hands.with the man. The function, all through, was quite delightful. It was touching to watch the eagerness and emotion of the veterans, many :of whom were in tears at the unaffected kindness of the Duke of Cornwall. The whole party was photographed, the Duke posing specially for the purpose, and then, on 'his departure, he was made the subject of a renewed outburst of enthusiasm.

THE TIMES. ,The following is the account of the landing in the Times: — " Auckland Harbour looked as beautiful as Sydney itself this morning, when the Ophir, followed by her escort, moved up from her. anchorage and drew up at Queen-street Pier, ■ amid the; thunder of a Royal : salute. ; The central episode of the day was at two o'clock, when the Duke and Duchess and suite landed, being again welcomed by a Royal f salute, after having first been visited by the Governor, Lord Ranfurly, and the Ministers, who were waiting on the pier. At the end of the wharf, and bottom of Queen-street, on stands and in the road, was a crowd; which it would he difficult for people at Home to realise. There were New Zealanders of purely European blood, a hardy, hearty, robust race; there were also pure-blooded ;Maoris, some in native costume, some•' in European dress, the chiefs wearing the huia feather even in tall hats. ".'.■•■■, The road was' kept by mounted infantry and naval reserve, men, in whom the - Duke takes a keen in- * terest, and for whom greater opportunities; of training should be i found. Then on arches was the Maori word signifying welcome, and the streets were decorated with exquisite taste with palms. The formal proceedings v were marred somewhat by rain, but the enthusiasm of the people was simply splendid when Mr. Campbell, Mayor and father of Auckland, aged 84, ; presented an address to ; the Duke. Then the Duke of Cornwall, speaking in a clear : voice, ' which rang through the crowd, asked Lord Ran-; furly to read the proclamation annexing Cook Islands. In fact, nothing could surpass' the splendour of the reception so far as the Duke and Duchess were concerned, and cheers were given for the King and the . Duke - and Duchess of Cornwall with utmost cordiality." Then the procession passed, amid'tremendous cheers, to Government House; , but ; afterwards there was something approaching i a hostile demonstration against Mr. Seddon by the Maoris, ; who were angry because their; local king wanted the Maori welcome to be made here, and Mr. Seddon prefers that all the Maori proceedings should be concentrated at Rotorua. The demonstration does not matter, but it is a pity as being the only blot in a gloriously successful record." Referring to the review on the second day,-' the Times correspondent says: , i /'There was a review of cadets, New Zealand troops, marines, and bluejackets. The numbers were not very great, but the scene was striking; more striking still was the reception of the Duke by the crowd. The features of the review were the cadets, a new institution since the Boer war, and the reception given to the bluejackets, marines, and New Zealand naval volunteers. An unpleasant feature was the hooting of Mr. Seddon by the Maoris again, because .he prohibited a Maori demonstration here. v This, I am • convinced, was a mistake. Splendid also was the reception of Lord Ranfurly, of whom all classes speak with great respect and affection."

THE DAILY MAIL. ? In the account of the proceedings at Rotoi rua the Daily Mail : has the following " Later on a thousand native warriors, stripped to the waist and armed with ' ancient

weapons, danced before, their Royal :; Highnesses. ' So furious was their welcome,land so realistic their dancing,; during /which they rushed up close to the Royal carriage, gesticulating with spears and h axes; ; that the Duchess seemed at one moment to be seriously alarmed. There were altogether 5000 natives, every tribe boing represented. They were : picturesquely encamped in a tented town beside a beautiful lake. The famous boiling springs were close by, t and the full beauty and strangeness of the scene beggars description." THE STANDARD. The Standard's correspondent says:—-"For their Royal Highnesses the Maoris gave hearty cheers; but Mr. v. Seddon, the Premier, was for the moment in disfavour, with them. It seems that he refused to give leave to the Maori king to go out in his State canoe to meet the Duke and Duchess on their arrival in Auckland * harbour. The reason for this prohibition was that: it i was desired that the Maori festivities in honour of the occasion should be confined to Rotorua. The consequence was that ' King Dick' as the Maoris call Mr. Seddon, was hailed by a few hostile shouts' as ho moved behind the Royal procession." OTHER PAPERS. The weekly papers circulating amongst the masses, give Router's telegrams .in full. In narrating the landing,, it is said:"The Governor introduced the venerable Mayor, Dr. Campbell, the father of the city, who was Mayor 50 years ago." In the account of the review at Alexandra Park, the commander of our forces is called Colonel Renton. One correspondent describes the scene at Auckland as " an interesting and splendid ceremony," the only discordant note, apparently, being the resentment of the Maoris toward Mr. Seddon for not allowing the Duke's "Royal cousin," Mahuta, to receive the Royal party in 'his State canoe. One writer says: The entry of the Royal squadron into ; Auckland harbour would J make a pretty picture on canvas, but it*would need a skilful brush to portray the ItaKan bb,ie* ]

ness of the sky, the white ship moving gracefully at the head of her powerful escort through the rippling gray waters to the White city, towered with green hills." Another correspondent' gives his : first impression of Auckland as being that it is more like Norway;'than anything in the Mediterranean, while; it '< is conceded;','' that Auckland rivals Sydney in the matter of natural beauty." The " spontaneity and exuberance" of the public feeling iis specially; noted. ■ It will be observed.that in all the papers the hooting of the Premier is described as baring been done by the Maoris in resentment at the slight put upon Mahuta. The Maoris would never have dreamt of such a ; thing, and it is a pity that this impression should • have -been created -in England. It will make people think that they have still a hankering after a separate kingship.