THE PRINCE’S VISIT

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10559, 9 April 1920, Page 4

THE PRINCE’S VISIT

ARRIVAL IN WELLINGTON DECORATIVE PROPOSALS AND RECEPTION DETAILS. The Street Decorations Committee, recently appointed to supervise and control the decoration ot the city lor the Prince or Wales's arrival in Wellington, has been compelled to modiii cue pjans previously considered on account of the shortage or material and labour.

it lias been estimated that-., the cost of the erection of pylons and masts troth Lamuton station to Government House at, intervals of ten yards would ppxirosimate -xt-i-it), including the cosi or drapmgs, etc., and maxing allowance ior tne sale of the materials alter use. Resides this, it has been found that auincieui masts cannot be obtained, and even if available, their erection would require' a largo ..amount of labour, which at present is scarce.

Consequently, alternative schemes are being considered by tho committee, but nothing definite has yet been decided, and tile committee will meet this afternoon to discuss what is to be done. One proposal put forward is, that the number of masts and pyloni be reduced by two-thirds, so that the masts may he placed seventy-two Teel apart, ana decorated with shields and pennants instead of by drapings. Cuba street tradespeople are to be consulted by representatives of the committee to ascertain' to tvhai extent they will be willing to decorate that thoroughfare themselves. A sub-committee is also to confei with the .Under-Secretary’ for Internal Affairs, Air J. Hislop, and- the Public Works officers, with the object of securing their assistance in the decoration , -work.. The Government intends to decorate the Parliamentary Buildings, Government Buildings. Post Of lice, and railway stations, - several of which buildings will he illuminated, and it is understood the Public Tnu tee is considering the decoration ot the Publio Trust Office. Similar decorations may be effected to other departmental buildings. R.F.A. PREPARATIONS PARADES. TRAVELLING WARRANTS, ETC. ■ A series of suggestions* and recommendations is being sent out by the New Zealand Returned- Soldiers’ A»eociation to the various local branches in> regard to the ex-soldiers’ part, u> the reception, of the Prince of Wales; The - -association headquarters submits its recommendations, which are framed in accordance with, the plans of the military -and other authorities and Government departments, in an endeavour to secure uniformity in the arrangements, and as far as the returned men are concerned, to be adhered to throughout . the Dominion. * , The circular to be sent out states that according to arrangements made with General Defence, Headquarters in all parades inspected by the Prince, the returned soldiers'should be formed up in place of honour on the right of the line in order that His Highness may meet them- as he specially desires. Headquarters points out that it does not favour the idea of guards of honour composed of returned men. Tho association has arranged for the issue of free railway warrants available for one day to be supplied, to exsoldiers located at a distance from & centre of parade, ,in order to enable them to travel to the nearest concentration point. Any returned , man wishing to avail himself of this privilege must, apply to the nearest Defence office for an order for presentation to the staiionmaster. . • ■ It is also suggested t 6 local branches of tho association they should . arrange with the various institutions, such as the Salvation Army. Y.M.C.A., etc., To supply travelling : soldiers with meals or refreshments at fixed prices. A VEXING QUESTION LAMBTON Oil THORNDON? , The vexing question of the station alb which the Princa of Wales is _to arrive is still engaging the attention of tho committees: sot up to make preparations for His Highness’s reception. It will be remembered thatsome days ago the General Manager of Railways intimated that he could not seo his way towards allowing the Princess train to make Lambton its destinaition instead of Thorndon,, tho usual Main Trunk point of arrival. . It has been pointed out to the street decorations committee set up as a result of tho recont citizens’ meeting, held for the purpose of arrtfttging the prince’s arrival, that the General Manager of Railways is of" opinion that tho Prince’s train could not be safely taken through the Thorndon vard to ’’Lambton station. Mr J. -Hislop; Under-Secretary of, Internal Affairs, has pointed, cut that if tho Royal train wore permitted to be brought to the suburban station, all other traffic would be considerably interfered with. The General Manager, ho explained to the committee, was responsible for the safety of the Prince, and considered it /’ould not be safe to bring the Prince through to Lambton. . , Tb*i committee is still dissatisfied with tho reasons given out in explanation e* '*• ''■'•villy’s refusal, and oou.sid.’i'- ’ho occasion of the visit is sufficient to warrant a temporary suspension of railway traffic. One of the reasons for objection to His Highness’s arrival at Thorndon station is that it is situated in the dirtiest part of Wellington. . The street . decorations committee has decided to confer with tho Harbour Board and the City Council with the object'of making representations tq the Minister for Railways that the occasion Justifies tho Prince's landing at Lambton. , • CITIZENS’ BALL. A meeting of tho decoration subcommittee in connection with the citizens’ ball was held in the Mayoress’s room, Town Hall, on Wednesday afternoon, Mr lan Duncan -being In tho chair. A contract was let for tho work of decorating the ball room and other oorfeions.of itho Town Hall upon the best possible scale, and a committee was.-tot ui> to discuss the general scheme with the contractors. Mrs James Hannah has agreed to wive her assistance, and the d»sire of the committee is to make the decorations of a. unique character. _ and at the same time tasteful- in design. -", ■

IKE DECORATIONS CONFERENCE TO SECURE HARMONY. A conference, convened by Mr J. Hi) ■op, Under-Secretary for Internal Ai fan's, and consisting of the' engineers for the Public Works, Railwaysjw and Post and Telegraph Departments,' a representative of the Public Trust Department. and the sub-comrbitteo appointed on Wednesday night by the Street Decorations Committee, was held ot Government Buildings yesterday; and, after going very fully into the question, of what the Government is going to do with respect to the decorating and illuminating of tb© State buildings in Wellington, arrangements were arrived at to secure that all the Government decorations and illuminations will be in harmony with what is being done by the Street Decorations Committee. A THOUSAND POLES OFFERED. Yesterday the decorative committee responsible for" the street _ _ decorations in connection with the visit of the Prince of Wales waited upon the builders jn the city’with the object of ascertaining the number of poles they were prepared to donate. A ready response was met, and in the aggregate upwards of 1000 poles for the streets Were promised! ACCOMMODATION GOVERNMENT COPING WITH DIFFICULTY. AN INQUIRY”BUREAU. Ever since the date of the Prince of Wales’s visit was known, stated Mr JHislop, Under-Secretary for Internal Affairs to a “Times” reporter yesterday, the. department has been organising in view of the possibility of difficulty being experienced by visitors in obtaining accommodation at the various centres to be visited by His Royal Highness; the Government has decided to set up an inquiry bureau at the four principal centres, and the larger towni\ to be included in his itinerary. It is considered that the post offices at the places concerned will be most central and suitable for the purpose. At tho inquiry counter in the public portion of the G.'P.O. an officer will be available to assist visitors to obtain suitable accommodation. An appeal will shortly bs made to proprietors of hotels, private hotels, boardinghouses, and other persons who have suitable accommodation available to supply the inquiry bureau, General Post Office, with particulars of such accommodation,- including tariff. The Government hopes that with these facilities a large number of visitors can be provided for. In addition to the ordinary visitors, there is ©very probability of there being a largo'number of returned soldiers and a considerable number of sailors on shore leave at tho ports where H.M.S, Renown will berth; and, as far as. Wellington is concerned, the Y.M.C.A. and-.the Salvatipn Army have already kindly agreed to provide extra accommodation for several hundreds. The same organisations are also endeavouring to make similar arrangements at Auckland, New Plymouth, Wanganui, Napier, Palmerston North, Nelson, Reef ton, Greymouth,- Hokitika, Christchurch, Dunedin and .Invercargill. ’ ORGANISATIONS; ACTIVE. It is. understood that Captain Green, of the'Salvation’ Army, and Mr Edmonds! military ■ secretary to the National Council of the y.M.C.A., aro leaving Wellington for Auckland today'for the purposo of seeing what can be done by their respective organisations there to secure extra •oocmmodation, particularly for the returned soldiers and sailors of the Renown. Before returning to Wellington they will also visit Rotorua and probably Wanganui and Napier with tho same object in view. Similar arrangements are to bf mad© for the South Island. BRING YOUR BLANKETS. ‘ It is stated that in view of the short* age of blankets at tho present time, it would bo very advisable for those who are visiting other centres to see the Royal visitor, whether they have secured accommodation or not, to bring ■ warn! rug with them. NEWTOWN’S EFFORTS. A CHILDREN’S WELCOME. . “With regard to the decorations i* connection with the Prince’s visit, _ 1 think we, in Newtown, should give His Royal Highness an appropriate welcome,' provided the City Council would be prepared to allot a portion of their £2OOO to expend in the district,” said Mr J. Castle, hon secretary of the Wellington South Progressive Society to a “Times” reporter yesterday. “I have sounded the business people in ’the district,” Mr Castle continued,- “and they are willing to subsidise the fund. Apart from the street decorations, -wc in Newtown, are anxious to make a good display, and 1 have suggested-that as the Prince is being driven out to Newtown Park, the’school children should form up in single file on each side of the main street, and then proceed before the Royal visitor to Newtown Park, wherf thev could form a living Union Jac) or Prince of Wales feathers.”