THE EIGHTH CONTINGENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11951, 28 April 1902, Page 5

THE EIGHTH CONTINGENT.

VOYAGE FROM ALBANY TO DURBAN- . [FROM OtJB OWN COKBBSPONBBSJT.3 Durban, March 16. " After our exceed"pleasant stay in Albany the Surrey and Cornwall left together for South Africa. The Surrey gwa us on the -Cornwall about three mile* <»f a lead ,<{ but did not take long to make- it up. \W»"; have been, in sight of each other ever since.; We have a surprising amount of talent on board, and in consequence have had a number of very creditable concerts, each squad- ; ron taking its turn in organising them. Th»: Surrey is generally to be seen dead ahead in*the mornings, dropping back op out port> side about ten o'clock, when signalling is the order of the day, a goodly number of officers being able to use the flags. Signals are also exchanged at night by means of. an electric lamp. Lieutenant lvelsall ia in charge of the signalling department.. Everything has been working very smoothly on board. A weekly paper has been started on board called" G* Squadron Weekly Press," ;■ run by Quartermaster-Sergeant Mitchell, and is a very creditable production. Something more pretentious, to be' published when '"weget ashore, is being edited by Lieutenant** Hay, Mackenzie, and Smith. - Th« officers 5 have been killing time lately by playingquoits and revolver practice. An aquatic tournament took place a few days ago. Afid some exciting and close games, Colonel Cliaytor and Lieutenant O'Callaghan palled off"the final, Captain Prlngle and Lieutenant Street being the runners-op. ' ,l , We have had some riile practice lately, both at volley and .independent tiring, and on the whole 1 think the shooting was very creditable. A floating target is invariably used for shooting practice while on board ship. In this case we simply threw wooden cases overboard, and fired at them, and I think this a splendid way, as you -have, to judge..' both your time and opportunity, I which is excellent practice for the work we are intended to do. Several inter-squadron contests have taken place, in tugs-of-war and manual exercise. F and Q Squadrons gave a very clever display of manual exercise in a friendly contest which was arranged by Captains He&ton' Rhodes and Montgomerie. Captain Rhodes commands F Squadron (Canterbury), and is the wcll-kiio ,m and popular member for Ellesmere. G' Squadron is commanded by Captain Jribntgomerie,' who hails from Wanganui. The prize was given to F Squadron by Colonel Cliaytor, who was umpire. The battalion now boasts a nigger minstrel troupe. They gave their first performance on board on the lOt 'hist., surprising many by the talen* displayed. We arrived at Durban last; night. March 15, five weeks exactly since leaving Lyttelton. The Surrey came out from the inner harbour the next morning and dropped anchor in the roadstead. The; first battalion has gone onto Newcastle, » considerable distance inland. There are a large number of transports lying ■ here— i.vbout 20 in the roadstead, and there are' a goodly number of ships and steamers to be; seen at the wharf. We expect to go alongside to-morrow, probably going straight on to Newcastle. We all wish to get to the froiH of course, yet Ave have been so well tre&tted on the Cornwall that we will not leave without a pang of regret. Captain Bart it, R.N.R., and his officers last night were thanked and listed by Colonel Chaytor at the officers' mess for the Kind manner in which we have been treated. : We all wish Captain Barter, his officers, and ship every success.', ■ ...

"'\\ WAR MEDALS. (Received April/27, 5.16 p.m.) ; '•' \ Sydney, April 27. . r In the, presence of a large gathering of all arms the State Commandant conferred ; the decorations on< local officers won in the war. ——'»- ■■■' PROFESSOR WOOD AND THE WAR. J '<■■ Sydney, April 26. The cable referring to Professor . Wood's article in the . Winchester Guardian has caused'a large amount 1 of adverse criticism,"'; and some "of the newspapers have published severe stricture*!. Professor Wood, in a. letter to the press, says his article covered two or three columns', and the cable agent has condensed it into .four sentences, by se-! lecting a few phrases which, he considered V would be of most service to his employers,.: and give most pleasure rto his readers. In' his defence Professor Wood says the eh-; deavour of his letter was' to make a statement of what he seemed to tkinsK, on the whole, might be the public opinion of New South Wales, especially of Sydney, as ex-, pressed chiefly by politicians and news-; papers, on the war. His professorship did ' not debar him from political discussion. Heunderstood he had the right of freedom of! speech, and he would have be«n a craven ! . coward in defence of what he, believed right had he foreborne to speak for fear of inevitable abuse and misrepresentation. V

The State Premier considers that Professor Wood's statements are unguarded, and contain reflections on a large section? of the community absolutely without foundation, J and are a serious libel on a large section of r the community who have proved \ their.' loyalty and devotion to the Empire. ',