VISITING VOLUNTEERS.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 3955, 22 January 1900, Page 6

VISITING VOLUNTEERS.

Volunteers hailing from other districts, to whose presence the procession owed so much of its imposing appearance. were more numerous than even on the never-to-be-forgotten occasion of their first visit in October last. By official arrangement the Volunteers met the contingent in the neighbourhood of the Basin Reserve. As it afterwards proved, no better spot on the route could nave been chosen to effect the junction. The road descending from the barracks (Buckle street) and debouching on Courtenay place, commanded a bird’s-eye view of the situation, and greatly assisted the execution of the subsequent movements, which were carried out with almpst mechanical perfection. The fact that the contingent arrived at the trysting place half an hour before the scheduled time might well have led to confusion but for the admirable judgment shown by the military authorities in choosing the rendezvous —a surprise, such as the contingent might have slyly contemplated, being a. moral impossibility, owing to the physical advantages ot the position occupied by the escorting Volunteers. As it was decided a delay at this point might have led to. confusion, the word of command was spoken to march on, and the route was at once taken. This- turned out a little hard on a number of men—especially country ’Volunteers unacquainted with the city highways and byways According to the .official time-table they had ample time to reach the point denoted, in the orders for Ilia muster, but as the departure was hastened by half an hour, they only arrived to find, the position vacated. The.'a was a good deal of grumbling in consequence. Some hundred odd—some say .two hundred—detached men ,weie left to drift about in the crowded streets with little chance of seeing anything, although some of them had travelled such long distances to get:; a good look at the fortunate few selected to go to Table Bay. Another inconvenience arising from the arbitrary seizure of old Time by _ the forelock was, from a sergeant-major’s point oi view, unpardonable. , Absolutely no time was (riven to fill in the little ,’oits of blue paper so dear to. the non-com.:? heart, and known as the “parade-states.” As far as could be gathered, the East Coast Battalion, Major Chicken in command, with Acting - Major Stephenson and Acting-Adjutant Lieutenant Webb, which arrived, at seven o’clock on Saturday morning, numbered 250 men strong. This battalion comprised the Napier Guards, Captain Berry ; Napier Rifles, Lieutenant Russell; Waipawa Rifles, Captain Rathbone; Dannevirke Rifles, Captain Knight; Woodvillo Rifles, Lieutenant Hall. The Wanganui Battalion, under command of Lieut.-Col. Watt, with Captain Adjutant Neill, arrived at noon .y the Manawatu line, and numbered sme 320 men. It-was composed of' the following companies : —Marton Royals, Captain ■ Batten; : Taranaki Rifles, Captain Oakey; Palmerston Royals, Acting-Captain Mounsey; Wanganui Rifles, Captain Hughes-; Manchester Rifles. Captain Barltropj and Wanganui Guards, Captain Seager. As there was no time allowed "to take parade states of the southern Volunteers, only a. rougn calculation of their number could be made, and that showed there was something between 500 and 600 members present. . . / ■ The Tutanekai brought 307 Nelson and Marlborough men, under the command or Major Rogers.

The South Island contingent was made up of seme 250 members of the following companies:—The Highland Rifles (Dunedin), Dunedin Guards, Dunedin Engineers, IN'orth Dunedin- Rifles, Dunedin Navals, Dunedin Cycle Corps, Dunedin Bearer Company, South Canterbury Mounted Rifles, North Otago Rifles, the Dunedin Garrison'Band,-and Oamaru Garrison Band, and some members of the Christchurch companies. The greater part of'the country Volunteers returned to their respective homes on Saturday night.'