THE "BALACLAVA" CONCERT.

Otago Witness, Issue 1900, 3 July 1890, Page 32

THE "BALACLAVA " CONCERT.

As might have been expected, considering the objects of the entertainment, there was a hrge attendance at the Garrison Hall on Friday evening on the occasion of the " Balaclava " concert in aid of the destitute survivors of the "Famous Six Hundred.'' The recent revelations as to the indigent circumstances of ra^ny of the heroes of the mag niiicent charge which was made at Balaclava by the Light Brigade h*ve thrilled people in the colonies with Indignation, and while action was taken in the first instance in Melbourne and subsequently in Ohristchurch, with the view of affording practical help to tfioae whose s>'rvlcß3 tho Bntish nation seemed to have forgotten, tho miittpr was recently taken up by tho Volunteers oftlieOtagodietrict. Someofthecompaniep subscribed from their own monov. but it was deemed acMeable, in order that the public might have an opportuniiy of evincing their sympathy with the movement, to hol<l n coiipcri- in aid of the fund for assisting tho destitute survivors and enabling them to spend the end of their days in some degree nf comfort. The programme for tho concert was arranged as far as possible wit.li ppfcial application to the occasion, and proved a very acceptable one to the audience.

Befora the foncliuiimj itmn of the , rogramme, Sergeant-major Bavin, as one of the survivors oF the celebrated Light Brigade, ascended the stage, where his appearance was tho signal for a loud and prolonged burst of oheerlng, accompanied by the waving of bats and handkeruuteft. He laid he desired on

behalf of his oomrades to return thanks to bo many of the people of Duuedin for their kindness In attending that evening. It was true that some of the 6urvivora were in bad oiroumatances, but it was not true that upon the facts of the eaae becoming known recently the sum of £24 was all that was subscribed in England at the Hut response, as the sum of £90 was collected on that occasion, and in Manchester four of the brigade were given £17 each as the result of a subscription that waß got up for them. He would like to say on behalf of the Light Brigade that they never considered they had done more than any other soldiers would have done if similarly situated. - (Oheera.) They never made any boast of what they did— they simply did what they were ordered. The men were taking it very quietly, sitting on the ground and smoking their pipes when they.got the order to charge and some of them did not cease smoking when they mounted their horses —ho did not for one.— (Laughter and applause ) Sergeant-major Bevin then proceeded to give some reminiscences of the war in the Crimea, where he landed ss one of the first boatload, and, in conclusion, said he would write by the first mail to the chairman of the Balaclava Commemoration Committee, telling him of the kindness of the people of Dunedin in helping their distreossd comrades.— (Cheers.) He also desired to thank the volunteer companies for the assistance they had given. He took that as an evidence of the existence of the freemasonry, which he believed would never die out, among soldiers of whntever description throughout the world.— (Loud cheers.)