THE JUBILEE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2299, 24 March 1898, Page 34

THE JUBILEE.

The fltfc'eih anriversary of the Province of ! Otago w&p. celebrated yc-s'.erday with great and ! enthu--a3'ic demonstrations — exceeding in ex- , tent sad iirten&ity anything that coutd have ; been -anticipated, acd Otago was enfeie inJDun- j edin. No public rejoicing* we have hitherto had j to chronicle in this city can stand comparison with the manifestations of many kinds and in ■ali directions that prevailed throughout the city, and in no sense whatever was j ths spirit of p&roahialism displayed. It j waa Otago's ftte, though Dunedia was j the head and trout of the rejoicing. The ! dominant feeling was that honour should be ■ shown to whom hODonr is due, and in a spirit of i jubilant gratitude tho community lurned to the " old identities,' 1 and in every conceivable form J expressed heaxtfnl appreciation ox these who so j loog and bo brcve'y have bcrr.e, in the noble j work of nation-building, the burden and heat of the day. The weather was fib for fehe occasion, and in the condition of public sentiment on the subject [ higher praise could scarcely bo given. But ifi j was the bast specimen of'Otego weather — bright j -and braciug, a blue, cloudless sky, with an j atmosphere fresh aud cool without being cold. Very early in the morning the city and its inhabitants and its well - nigh as numerous visitors — "our country cousins" — put on holi- J day jal tire and wore it becomingly. The shipping ! was g»y with bunting, and flags were flying ; from every flagstaff in the city and suburbs. • The streets were filled from a vary early hour, j the cars were crowded, and all the thoroughfares were busy with pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Throngs of people were making their way shortly after the ordinary time £or breakfast to the churches in which the thanksgiving services were held, and othor throngs even more numerous were soon lining tbe streets and arranging to gee or take part iv the procession, which was no less remarkable for its dimensions j than for its novel spectacular effects, the com- i pleteness of the arrangements made for the dis- ! play-, and the precision with which tbe pro- ; gramme was carried out. The success of the ■ demonstrations admits of no doubt, and, txcepfe ; perhaps in the minda of chronic croakers, ' ■who were conspicuously absent, of very little j qualification. His Excellency the Goveiuo>- and ( tho Premier of tbe colony both explicitly expressed appreciation of the dernor.atra- , tion, and later in the day Lofd Raefurly, through their active and energetic secietary, again complimented the Demonstration Committee upon the result of ' their labours. The organisation by tha various - managing bodies proved uniformly satisfactory, and the co-operation of the public was so hearty end general that, beyond question, Otago'* ••red letter day" was in all respects duly and i fittingly observtd. I THE PROCESSION. I Tbe greatest apscfcacular display ever seen in < tfce strett3 of this city or in the eoioay was , made by the Jubilee precession. It comprised 1 practically all the public bodies, trade org»ni<?a- ! tion?, and friendly societies, with numerous bands of music, and notably two consisting entirely of pipers— one of which was the Invercargill Pipe Band. Sir Woodland was an efficient marshal, as from bis experience he should be, and in his picturesque regalia as a Forester looked well at the head of the procession. The arrangements that had been made concerning the formation were carried out without con- ' fusion and with punctuality ; in fact, nothing i occurred to mar the success more serious than the misplacement of one trade display that maintained its wrong position tbroujihouc Ihf line of rou'-e— a mistake, however, that vraa not very noticeable. The procession was most orderly from the Sr6t to thelaifcof the march through the streets. It was formed in good time in different streets by energetic mar&hala and their assistants, and shortly after half-pas*; 11 everything in connec- j tion with it was ready, and the word to march feeing given ths -whole body was puou «n the move. Jn Cumberland street, near the Triangle aud at tbe ovsrbridge, where the competitors for trade displays were stationed, the crowd was enormous; «,t the Octagon, from ihich point ot vantage the gubernatorial party viewed the procession, and where the old identities were congregated, the people assembled in an immense mass, but tho volunteers and police kept them from encroaching too far on the street ; and almost all the way along the line of route hundreds lined the streets, or' took up uoeitipns ab windows or on verandahs and ledges. ,The route was thus : Along Cumberland street to Frederick street, George street;, Princes street, and the Anderson's Bay road to the Caledonian ground. The procsfsi'-n, considered from all points, was an admirable one, i and it is not too much to state that nothing to equal it has ever before been seen in Dune din, if indeed in tbe colony. Its order, as near as could possibly be ascertained, waa as follows :—: — Marshal-in-chief (Mr W. Woodland). Assisiant-mar&h.il (Mr G. Morgan). Dunedin Oifcy Fire Brigade (CO). Dunedm Railway Fire Brigade (12). C-iversham Fue Brigade (10). Invercargili Pipe Banri (20). Dunedin Pipe Bawl (14). C4aelic Society (90). Fcrestcrs (100 adults and 30 Juveniles). M.U.I 0.0. F. (100). 1.0.0. F. (50). North-East Valley Band (27) Kaikorai Band, under Bandmaster Stratton (27). Ancient Order of Druids (2JO). Hibernian Society (80). Shipwrights (60). _ ! Engineers' Band, under Bandmaster Jackson (2o). Timaru Protestant Band (20). Orangemen (104). - Protestaot Alliance (70). TailtW Union (60). Maoris, under Mr T. Parata, M.H.R. j Old Identities (500). j Miners, &c, of Early Sixties (150). •. Naval Band (28). Citizens' Band, under Bandmaster A. Swan (o0). Reid and Gray's display. Dunedin Paiulers' display. W. Wright's display. Other bakers' vans. W. Goliar's display. Otago Paper Mills display. General carts. Butchers' Riders-out. General. A rough computation shows tfcat about 2600 persons took parb in the march. Tte proceasion, whirh occupied fully 50 minutes in passing CaigiU's monument, was not much { less than two miles in length. It was headed by the chief marshal (Mr W. Woodland) and the assistant marshal (Mr G. Morgan) of the Ancient Order of Foresters, both ot whom were mounted on horses and dressed in the Robin Hood v % owe. Then came the City Fire Brigade (uuder the command of CajpUin Mitchell) with their sear.

v-bich was decorateJ with flags and evergreens. The gear consisted of hook and ladder, carriage and telescope ladder, a four-wheel hoss reel, manual engine, another hook and ladder, and a carriage and hose reel. The Dunedia Railway Brigade followed with a hose reel, and then came ihe C&versbim Brigade with another reel. The Pipe Bai<d ot Invercargili (under the command oi Pipe-major Cameron) followed the brigades. Tlieu came ihe Danedin Pipe Baud, under the command of Pipe-major M Kechnie. Tbe caern'-'.ers of the Gaelic Society, wearing tartan ribbous, came next. Then followed a largo body of Foresters, headed by the Court Pride of Dunedin, six members of which carried a Urge banner. The Star of the South Court; (laveroargill) and Court 8.-ace (Milton) also carried large banners. Then came an express van, drawn by four horses, covered with evergreens to represent a fre3h grove, in which were lo bo seen a number of ycucg girls and two or three sheep. A oue-horae lorry decorated with evergreens came next, and this was followed by another vehicle drawn by mo horses and also decked wish evfrgra^L's. The tableau was a sick chamber. Tha «s.:k member was in bed, attended by a nurse, aud the wi odwards ''or sick viaicors) had c&iled with his allowance from the funds of tha <'ourt and were staying to sympathise with him in bis illness. Above was the quotafcioD, " I was s.ck, and ye visited ma," Thw tableau-was supplied by the Juvenile Foresters. The third scene was a forest opening, in wh'cb, was a ehepbeidtcs and her lamb appeared. Six juveniles on p.ffiizu came next, attired as Robin Hood and his merry men. Several banners were carried, one of them coming- from Milton, and another from Invercargili. The sisters in character costume attracted much attention, of which the shepherdesses and lamb 3 came in for a share. Then came the raombsrs" of the M U.LO O F. They were headed by a white banner, on which there was an inscription seating that this was the Jubilee- year of tie order in the Obago district. It stlso showed that ths order commenced in this district sviUi 16 members and funds amounting to £16. Now the membership was 24-55, and tbe funds amounted to £75,730. Ths order was represented in the procession by members from all the lodges in the district, aud there were also a number of visitors from all parts of the colony. An ambulance corps walked in the procession, and there was aleo a large lorry drawn by four horses on which a tableau illustrating " Faith, Hope, aud Charity" was displayed. The Feciiou of the precession that; formed iv Crawford street was headers by the K^ikorai Bras.s Baud (under Bandmaster Stratton), and was followed by the Ancient Order of Druids, w^icb displayed three tableaux representing "Youth," *' Manhood," and " Old Age." Tiie first consisted of a number of young Druicis dressed in skins, &c, and armed with bawa and arrows and spears. They irate under tbe control of au aged Druid, and were receiving instruction from him. The second lorry contained a representation of Curactacus, the Btitish ring, going io war to defend his country from the attack of tho Ro.mans. This tableau w<is very realistic, and great attention had been paid to details. The skin dresses and wild-looking hsad gear, curious shields and strange waapoas rendered the evergreen-surrounded warriors very p;cturesque. The clubs shown were k'tidly lent from the collection of Mr A. Tiaorason, and added greatly to the completeness. A inoun^e«S warrior preceded this 100-y, aud his sturdy sppearanca was much admired. The last tableau presented to view the elders cf ths order. The laurel wreath of merit was being presented to the aspirant to the Royal Arch chapter, and under oae of the ivy-clad stones of Stooeheuge tbe novitiate received his diploma.. Tae Hibernian Society roistered in good uumbera, ar%d in their front was a hMid^ome new banner, which wks quita a work oi art executed in au admirable manner. The Duuediu Etigiaeei'3' Band (under Bandmaster Jackson) brought up the rear of this section of the proceesion.