GENERAL SIR HECTOR MACDONALD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11824, 29 November 1901, Page 2 (Supplement)

GENERAL SIR HECTOR MACDONALD.

VISIT TO AUCKLAND. General Sir Hector Macdonald arrived at the railway station from Rotorua at five o'clock on Nov. 8, and was accorded the heartiest of welcomes by the citizens of Auckland. The introductory ceremony over the General requested that he might be at once taken to inspect the veterans, who had been drawn up to the right of the platform, and although they numbered between 70 and 80 he missed not a man, each one being greeted with a cheery remark and a hearty handshake, while several reminiscences of deeds on the battlefield were recalled by the medals displayed, all of which seemed familiar to Sir- Hector.

At the City Council Chambers, where the Mayor of the city (Mr. Alfred Kidd) formally received and welcomed General Sir Hector Macdonald, a guard of honour of Wellesley-street public school cadets awaited the arrival of the soldier visitor. The Mayor, Dr. J. Logon Campbell, Lieu-tenant-Colonel Da vies, and Mr. D. B. McDonald made brief speeches, welcoming General Sir Hector Macdonald to Auckland.

General Sir Hector Macdonald, who, on rising was received with loud cheering, said :—" Your Worship, you have done me an exceeding great honour in welcoming me here with such flattering words, none of which I have deserved, and you ladies and gentlemen, in receiving them in such a nice manner. One would have thought that Mr. McDonald, in his concluding words, wished to dispose of some properly. (Laughter.) In coming here and being received by the veterans of Auckland—l might say the veterans of New Zealand—l have been highly honoured. I have been honoured by the applause of the people in coming up to be received by you here. But why'' Simply because I am a feeble representative of the British army. When you sent your young men to form part of the army of the Empire in South Africa, you sounded a note of Empire, and your young men were received, as Colonel Davies has said, as brothers-in-arms. There is only one tiling I need say in relation to your young men, and that is this: That, finding from the war in South Africa that the regular soldiers are not all-in-all, you will not stop short until such time as the whole manhood of the nation is trained to arms. Had this been the rase before your young men, and the young men of Australia and Canada and other colonies were sent out, they would have been found more useful than they wereuseful and resourceful as they were. Useful and resourceful they were, there is no question about that, but they wanted—and I am sure your colonel will bear me outthey wanted that drastic discipline from which alone good results will ensue. Sir, I thank you once more, and you ladies and gentlemen, for your kind welcome.

Three hearty cheers were then given for General Sir Hector Macdonald, and the gathering separated. Immediately after the public reception, the members of the City Council and Scotch Committee, with Dr. Campbell, Lieutenant-Colonel Davies, and a few others, met General Sir Hector Macdonald at the invitation of the Mayor in the Mayor's room. After the gentlemen present had been introduced to the distinguished visitor, the Mayor presented Sir Hector Macdonald with a beautiful tabletop of inlaid New Zealand woods. General Sir Hector Macdonald dined with the members of the Northern Club at night, Dr. J. Logan Campbell, president of the club, occupied the chair, and there were some 130 members present.

SCOTSMEN'S BANQUET. The Scotsmen of Auckland entertained General Sir Hector Macdonald at a banquet in the Star Hotel on the 9th of November. There was a large and representative gathering of Scots present and a most enthusiastic reeception was given to the distinguished guest. The toast of " His Majesty the King" was given from the chair in a patriotic little speech, Mr. McDonald noting that His Majesty had that day reached three score years. The toast was loyally pledged. The Chairman gave the toast of the evening, "General Sir Hector Macdonald," which was drunk with Highland honours, with ringing cheers, and the singing of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow." The Waihi pipers then played "Scotland For Ever,' and "The Cock o' the North."

General Sir Hector Macdonald, who was received with loud cheers, said: From end to end of this magnificently picturesque and weird country I have had ample evidence that the British soldier has a warm place in the hearts of the people(applause)—and again, to-night, on the eve of my departure from these shores, you have, in the abundance of your sympathy and the cordiality of your kindly and generous welcome, put the coping-stone on the solid and genuine admiration which is cherished in this land for the brave lads of your race, the soldiers of the Empire, your kith and kin from all parts of the world to whom you are doing so much honour through me, one of their feeblest representatives. Your appreciation of their many sterling qualities, of their endurance under adverse circumstances, of their unfailing kindness to the women and children of their foes, and above all, of their unstinted devotion to the duties required of them by their King and their country, will stimulate them to further exertions and sustain them in the hour of need. The many tokens exhibited showing the esteem in which the soldier is held in this country leads me to believe that there is a general and genuine awakening to the fact that soldiers such as I represent, but of your own manufacture, are urgent!}' needed here, and would be hailed as a blessing and a comfort and a source of strength to the land passed into your keeping bv your hardy and provident forefathers. (Applause.) I take it that you are fully determined to keep what you have(applause)—and that you intend doing so by the only sure means known and practised throughout the world jn this or any other time, namely, by the strength of your own good right hand(applause)by the skill of the people in the use of the several weapons of defence, by constantly practising on the rifle range to become deadly shots, by frequent drill and constant practise on the manoeuvre r round, by drastic discipline and implicit obedience to orders, so that should an enemy ever appear against you the rulers of the country need only press the button in order to place the defenders of your hearths and homes, the protectors of your women and children, the manhood of "the nation, each in his allotted place, drilled, trained, and disciplined, knowing exactly what to do, and determined to do it. (Applause.) Yours is a grand country, a proud possession, and your offspring have shownshoulder to shoulder with the best and bravest from the dear Old Country— shedding their blood together, and battling against the common enemy of the liberties of the people of their race—that they are ready and willing to submit themselves to such measures as wise and provident rulers will find convenient to adopt to show all the nations of the earth that New Zealand leaves nothing to chance, but by provident forethought is prepared at all points to defend her own against all comers. Pray God you will never see a hostile force on your shores! May the day never come when this beautiful country is overrun by a foe, your homes in flames, your women and children with anguish in their hearts and despair in their souls, fleeing to the mountains, homeless wanderers, weary and hungry, and hopeless, while their pet possessions, the treasures of childhood and youth, are trod under the foot by ruthless invaders! May this dav never come! .And come it will not, for in this country, within the space of a generation, is seen 'a united people—English, Irish, and Scotch — welded into a harmonious whole, and working together in the best of good fellowship, with one aim and one object in common— the continued happiness and prosperity of a- beloved land. (Applause.) To make sure of this nothing must be left to chance. The most careful preparation and scientific organisation for defence is immediately necessary, and if anything I say will in any way make the country alive to its needs and awaken it from its fancied security, I shall feel that in a small way I am making some return for the unstinted hospitality of a truly generous nation. And now," sir, I have to thank you for the honour you liavi done me in introducing my name out of the generosity of your heart in such a kindly and sympathetic manner. And,

gentlemen, the memory of this gathering will always remain with me a pleasant one. Your hearty applause will always remind me of many happy similar meetings in N.•*•»* Zealand from whose shores I shall carry with me the memory of the warm-hearted welcome of the children of the heather. (Applause.) ... ~ The remainder ot the evening was enlivened with music by the pipers trom Wnipu and Waibi, selections by Mr. McUougall's orchestra, songs, and recitation*,.

RECEPTION TO WAIPU SETTLERS. On November 9 General Sir Hector Macdonald gave an informal reception in Government House grounds to some 50 Scottish pioneer settlers of Waipu and their families, who came to Auckland specially to do honour to their illustrious countryman. Sir Hector was attended by Captain Hugh Boscaweu, A.D.O. to His Excellency the Governor, and on arrival at Government House was met at the gate by Mr. D. B. McDonald (chairman of the Scottish Reception Committee). 'lhe four pipers of the Waipu Caledonian Society were present in their picturesque kilts and tartans, and one of their number. Piper Campbell, handed to Sir Hector a letter of welcome from the society. The proceedings were brief, the General, who was in civilian attire, walking about amongst his visitors and exchanging handshakes and short conversations with each of them. There were two Maori representatives present in the persons of the Chiefs Batata Te Tuhi and Honana te Maioba, his cousin, of Mangere. Patara te Tuhi was at one time secretary to the Maori king, and fought for him in the Waikato war. Mr. Harry A. Keesing was introduced to the General, and in order that the latter might converse with the Maori chief, acted as interpreter. By his aid an interesting conversation ensued, Sir Hector opening the same by expressing his pleasure in meeting both men as of the Maori race. Patara expressed similar pleasure at meeting Sir Hector, and requested that he should address them as a great soldier, and from a soldier's point of view, also as a representative of the great army of His Majesty the King. Sir Hector replied that it would "give him great pleasure to possess their photographs : he was struck with their handsome and welltattooed faces. Honana gracefully brushed aside the compliment, and said they would prefer to hear Sir Hector's opinion, as a soldier, of their race. Thereupon Sir Hector expressed admiration for their people, because of their loyal and warlike feeling, which had prompted them to offer to help Great Britain in the Boer war. Patara said he appreciated such praise as an echo of the sentiments of the great British nation, in reference to the Maoris—comparatively a small handful of people—but for his part he admitted he would ha.ve welcomed the handsome pay they would have gained for their military services had they been accepted. Sir Hector, in accordance with the humorous turn given to the conversation by this remark, replied that the reason why the offer of the Maoris had not been accepted was that the British soldiers feared there would be no fight at all if the Boers heard that the Maoris were coming to Africa. Another reason was that the Maoris would have wanted to bring back some thousands of the Boers as prisoners, and make slaves of them, but the British had determined to take the Boers and turn them into as loyal subjects as the Maoris were.

The two chiefs were then photographed with the General, who, after thanking Mr. Keesing for acting as interpreter, withdrew to make acquaintance with the Waipu settlers. After the little ceremony was over the settlers, with Sir Hector in their midst, were photographed on the verandah of Government House. Three hearty cheers were then given for the General, and for all Highlanders, after which Sir Hector was surrounded by the company, and amidst great enthusiasm entered his carriage and drove oft' to the Domain.

REVIEWING THE CADETS. In the expectancy of seeing General Sir Hector Macdonald at the review of cadets, the Outer Domain, where the function was to take place, was early a scene of much liveliness. Hundreds of people wended their way thither, and by the time the General was due to arrive the slopes surrounding the natural arena chosen for the review were thickly populated. The cadets rolled up in full strength, and made a, fine picture of youthful militarism as each corps took up its position. The parade was in charge of Captain Grant, late district adjutant, and the total number on parade was 784. During the march past in coloumn, which ensued, Sir Hector watched the boys with the keenest interest. The next manoeuvre was a march past in quarter column, after which Captain Grant dismissed the cadets. The marching of the boys was on the whole very good, though one or two of the corps came in for special praise from " Fighting Mac," who was quick to see the best amongst them, and to pick them out. The Napier-street squad, as they marched past for the last time, drew from Sir Hector the expression, " Very good!" As the Grafton Road school cadets passed their soldierly bearing caught the General's eye, and he exclaimed, "Very good indeed, capital!" and to the North Shore Corps he paid the compliment of remarking, " Well done, boys!" Sir Hector was well'pleased with the cadets.

After the review Sir Hector was driven to EUerslie by the Mayor, and attended the Auckland. Racing Club's meeting. On Sunday the General visited Mount Eden, Costley Home, and Cornwall Park. General .Sir Hector Macdonald passed a busy day on Monday visiting a number of public institutions." He started on his round of visitation at nine o'clock in the morning, and it was about four in the afternoon when he returned to the Northern Club, having in the interval visited the Wellesley-street school, the hospital, the gaol, the Colonial Ammunition Factory, and the Maori Boys' School, at Parnell, besides paying a private visit to Bishop and Mrs. Cowie, at Bishopscourt. General Macdonald left at half-past five in the evening by the Zealandia, for Sydney.