THE GOVERNOR THE NORTH.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 2854, 31 March 1871, Page 5

THE GOVERNOR THE NORTH.

; ( WAIKOUAITI. His Excellency Sir George Bo'wen,' accompanied by the, Hon. Mr Gisborne, ! the Hod. Mr Bell, His, Honour the Superintendent,1 arid Captain Pitt, reached iWaikouaiti about seven o'clock on Friday evening (the 24th), en route for • Christchurch, and stayed at the Golden Fieece Hotel. Owingj we believe, to the uncertainty; as to the hour at which His Excellency would arrive at Waikouaiti, combined with the absence of the Mayor in Dunedin, the Town Council did not, SB they, no doubt would, had' the opportunity been afforded .them, offer any expression of loyalty. . The early hour at iwhich His Excellency started the following morning—viz., eight o'clock—also precluded any of the residents from giving any demonstrations of loyalty to Her Majesty's representative. The Hon. Mr Giaborne remained at Waikouaiti, where he has been the guest of Dr Harding.—Herald.

VISIT TC.OAMARO. The subjoined account of His Excellency's visit to Oamaru is abridged from the Oamaru. Times :— On Saturday workmen were busy erecting a stage in front of the Court-house i and decorating il with evergreens, and - on the public buildings, hotels, &c., hunting was hoisted* The volunteers, '• too, were not idle, and at 4 p.m. a ser- : geant's guard mustered at the drill-shed , and marched to Awaiuoa, where sentries were posted. A. few minutes after, His Excellency arrived in a special four-horse coach provided by Messrs Chaplin and Co., and was received by the* guard with the usual salute. He was pleased to express ,to the officer in charge his gratification afc (the compliment;paid him byithevolun-: teers, and was, on alighting, welcomed to t ;Awamoa House by his host—the Hon. ,, 1 [Mathew Holmes: He was accompanied by k His Honour the Superintendent and Cap: 'tain Pitt^R.Av, ;4!.D:C. At 7 o'clock; the, i same evening a" number- of-'gehtietneh s holdinc official positions, members of the • Legislature and others, had the honour of dining with JSiaJkcellency. iOa. Sunday

morning the Governor and suite attended morning service at Sfc. Paul's (Presbyterian) Church, and in the evening at St; Luke's, the Rev. A. B. Todd and Algernon Gifford respectively officiating. B"6th churches were crowded on the occasion; On Monday morning the town was astir early, bunting was displayed as profusely as means at hand would allow, and everybody seemed bent on making holiday, the business establishments being closed, and some of them having their doorways and porticoes decorated with evergreens ; while we noticed at the Swan Hotel and Messrs Sumpter and Lemon's offices " Welcome to Oamaru," and the like mottoes, displayed. At Messrs Shrimski and Moss's establishment a transparency bearing a design representing the chief resources of the district—a sheaf of corn, a block of stone, a sheep, and a ship, and surmounted by the words, " Welcome, Sir George Bowen," was displayed, tastefully framed with evergreens and garlands. The Oamaru Hotel was also very prettily decorated with evergreens and flowers. At about 9.30 a.m. a number of civilians, mounted, and some on foot (there being among the former several fair equestrienneSj and among the latter a number of members of the A.0.F., wearing, the ribbands of their Order), His Worship, the Mayor, the members of the Municipal Council, and^ of the .Reception Committee, in vehicles, assembled opposite the Courthouse, and shortly before 10 a. m. formed in procession, being marshalled by the Hon. H. J. Miller, Drs Wait and Flejming, and proceeded to Awamoa House. Here < they witnessed the planning of four trees, viz;, a. Wdlirigtonia, Giganieai, a G. Lawsoniana, a G. Microcarpa, and a P. insujnis. These were respectively named after Her Majesty, Lady Bowen, His Excellency the Governor, and the Corporaition of Oamaru. After the visitors had' strolled about the grounds, a procession was formed, the carriage containing His ■ Excellency leading, entering Oamaru, by iSevern street. On the arrival of the cortege' at the junction of Severn and Itchen streets, the first gun ;of a salute was fired on the Esplanade by Captain Sewell, the last: gun giving; forth its note of welcome just as Hia Excellency's carriage arrived at the Courthouse. Here the Volunteers, under command of Cap-' tain Steward, were formed up In opfcn :order and presented arms as ETis Excellency passed ■ between. the ranks/ the: band playing the National AnthemAscending the dais; His Excellency was welcomed by His Worship the Mayor,; : the members of the Municipal Council, jthe Reception Committee, the members of the A.O.F: (in their regalia), flanking the steps. A la*ge concourse of people, including ;a good many ladies, was assembled in front of the building. His Worship the Mayor then stepped forward, and read an address of. welcome. : His Excellency, in the course of his jreply, said—"l conclude ■ here my present tour through a large ■ portion of the Province of Otago—from Invercargill to punedin, and from Dunediri to Oamaru. jNext summer I hope to return and visit Jthe lakes and gqMnelds,, and the riijh pastoral- arid agricultural country'of the interior. I. shall always remember, with pride arid : gratitude, tlie constant respect, pourtesy, and hospitality with which I have been, everywhere received by all classes of the community;. •; ! '*The official tours of <a colonial Governor enable'him to reportinan authoritative form to the Imperials Government jthe resources and progress'of the country over which he presides, arid thus to draw attention at home to the capabilities of $he several; districts', and to the field which they afford for emigration and for the in-/ vestment of capital* On the 23rd- of this moath, I addressed the Secretary o State. .(the ; Earl of Kimberley) in a public; 'despatch; stating that that day'was; the 23rd anniversary of the foundation of Qtago; for it was on the 23rd of' March;' 1848, that the Httle band of Scotch 'emigrants 'first landed and pitched their tents on tlie site of the now" ;flo^rishing.city pf punedin, then wholly; 'uninhabited and covered jswitb a dense forest. ,1 added that; the official.statistics show that now, in 1871, the popu-i lation of, this province approaches nearly |to 70,000; that the annual public feve^ nue, lordiriary and territorial; actually; raised therein from all' sources, /ex:ceeds L 520.000; that thetrade, including exports, and imports, is more than three millions sterling in value >; that the num-; ,ber of acres already fencedsis,above one 'million ; .that the number-of horsea* exiceeds 20,000—0f h6rned:cattlej 110,000-^ land ; iof sheep four, millions.! I further > pointad out that the progress achieved in' jthe- pthejf: elements of: material prosperity jiß equally remarkable', .while the Provincial Council has made: noble provision; for ■ hospitals and benevolent asylums, as also for primary, ' secondary, ; and industrial schools, and for the new University wnich is tp; be: opened;.atl Dunedin in ;next June. ' . ■ . .".I wish,to" draw general attention to these; ,facts; >. and figuresj; for their signifi-; cance appears, to ,ba; overlooked in many quarters. .They proye that the single iProvince of Otago, after an existence of; only twenty-three years, •■ far exceeds in revenue,, in -and -in importance' generallyj the entire \soldnies of, .Tas-" jmapia,i.of, Jamaiqa, and our other West Jndian Islands, of Guiana, iKova' Scotia>. iNiew Brunswick, and the large majority of the other dependencies of the British. Crown.; , •. , . ; ! The reply, which was listened to with ja;reat attention,, having, been concluded, His, Worship the Mayor called for three cheers for ;his Excellency,. which were heartily given. His Excellency then entered the Courthouse,!where a.number of gentlemen had the honour of being presented., Immediately after the levee, Hjs. Excellency, escorted jby the Mayors an,d Council, and Reception Committeej prooeeded;to the corner of the Government Reserve -between- Thames and Severn streets, where a "site had been' prepared for the planting of the comme-; moration tree. Here the volunteers, who proceeded-to the spot at the double, ex-, tended three paces from the centre, and kept the ground. His Excellency, being handed a spade by Mrs. Udall,-planted a Wdtingtonea Giganfya; ;and named it the Victoria. He then called for three cheers for Oamaru,, which were heartily given, and were followed iby three for the Queen, three for Lady Bowen, and three,fforr r the Mayor. After the ceremony , His Excellency; proceeded through <, ..the to wn, and', inspected :the principal, buildings, a number of ladiea waving |heir handkerchief from the windows as he. passed. Stopping opposite fte new Bank of Otago,; he expressed a wish to inspect the building,) and was shown over it by Mr Forrester, to whom he communicafßdihis satisfaction with the general arrangements.,. At one p.m. His Excellency^was entertained afe!a luncheon in the Masqaic, Hall,, at * which1 about'6o ladies andi^gentlemen were present; TW haU. wa» tastefully decoratedrwith flags , andevergreens and garlands, of flowers, an 4. tae table, which was elegantly laid ,°?%FaßAloadei :i with..an abundance, of good things. His Excellency, on leaving the building, was greeted with three. cheers, and left in -a and .pair for itho Waitaki..«a

route for Timaru. He was escorted as fae as the town boundary by Hia Worship the Mayor, the Council, and the Recep* tion Committee, and a number of civilians^ mounted or in two or four-hnrse conveyances. On arriving here, Hia Worship took leave of His Excellency, addressing him in an appropriate speech, to -which; His Excellency replied, expressing his great pleasure at the manner in whichi he had been received, and charging Hia Worship with a special message to the, officers and men of the Oamani Riff a Rangers, indicating his high appreciation; of the soldierly and courteous manner in. which they had discharged their duties* While on this subject, it is only fair to: say that on several occasions dnring hia stay His Excellency took the opportunity to compliment the corps upon their well-set-up appearance and steadiness unclec arms.