PATRIOTIC MEETING AT ST. BATHANS.

Otago Witness, 25 January 1900, Page 38

PATRIOTIC MEETING AT ST. BATHANS.

January 22.— A large and enthusiastic meeting took placs at St. Bathans on the evening of the 19th mat. Tho St. Bathans Brass Band was in attendance, and in front of Nolan's Hall played soma stirring patriotic airs. On entering the hall it became evident that tho ladies were in sympathy with the movement, for their handiwork was to be seen on the background of the -stage, it being nicely draped with white and pmk muslin, across which was emblazoned the la&t immortal signal -of England's greatest naval commander, " England expects that eveiy man this day will do his duty." In front of the drapery theie hung a locally-made Union Jack, with a. deep sea blue border, above which hung a bust of her Majesty Queen Victoria. The ball was packed, a great number of ladies being present. Mr Wm. Burnett, J.P., of Hawkdun station, presided, and proceedings were commenced by the audience singing the National Anthem in such s, strain as was never before heard in St. Bathans. At the finish of the anthem, the chanman came to the front of the stage and moved the following motion :—" That this meeting are anxious in caring for the home that ' Tommy's left behind him,' and that in order to do so effectively a strong committee be elected to canvass the district to enable the people to contribute their quota towards making the New Zealand subscription list memorable in the minds of the sons and daughters of the British Empire." Mr F. J. C. Ward seconded the motion. Speaking to the motion, the Chairman said tha object of the meeting was well known to ■them all. Every little place in the colony had done something towards augmenting the patriotic fund. How people could 'say that the war was a capitalistic one m the face of what had taken place since the declaration of war was what he (the speaker) could not understand. He would ask the meeting was it reasonable to say that the waT was a war of capitalists f Let them for a moment consider. They well knew that British capitalists had millions of money sunk in the Transvaal, from which large dividends were periodically paid to them. These capitalists, the speaker said, were shrewd meai — men who well knew that war in the South African Republic meant the destruction of their property and the stoppage of their dividends. This argument in itself was to him sufficient to convince the most biassed that the war wae not one of capitalists. The war wa3 one that could be justified by the words of a great prophet: " Relieve the oppressed, help the orphan, and plead for the widow." The British nation was relieving the oppressed, and we, the sons and daughters of the British Empire, were endeavouring to help the orphan and widows. No, it was 2io war of. the British capitalists: indeed, if it could be said that the war was brought about by capitahsts,>then he would have no hesitation in saying that the capitalists who were responsible for the war were the capitalists of- the Transvaal, headed by that now notorious capitalist, Paul Kruger, and his henchman, Steyn. — (Loud and prolonged applause.) The meeting, however, was not to considei whetheT Britain ' was if ever the British nation was justified in going to war, it was abundantly demonstrated m the war that was now raging. Tins meeting, however, was not to consider whether Britain was justified in going to war, but for the purpose of considering i^ie best method of giving relief to the bereaved ones' that the soldiers and volunteers had- left behind in order to obey their country's call. Brave men were at the present time risking their lives in Africa, defending the honour of the freedom-loving British Empire (Prclonged applause.) Hence it was foiMhis meeting to say— and say unhesitatingly and in no ungrudging way — that the homes of the bereaved would be cared for. — Applause.) Mr Burnett spoke for 25 minutes, his address being one of passionate eloquence, and towards the close the speaker was visibly moved. He resumed his seat amidst loud and long applause. Mr Ward said' he regretted that St. Bathans was so late in the field in this" grand and patriotic movement. Now they had made a start, however, he felt confident the result would redound to their credit. He rested assured that the meeting would carry the motion, without a dissenting voice. The Chairman then put the motion, which was carried by -acclamation. Mr Francis then rendered " Our Flag," in capital style, •accompanied by Mr Morgan, Mr W. H. Brown following with " Soldiers of the Queen," the audience heartily joining in the crtorus, Mrs Brown presiding at the piano. Mr Ballard then sang a' comic song, " Close to it," after which » The Chairman called on Mr S. Boreham, of ■Waimate, to move the second resolution. Mr Boieham was greeted with loud applause. He moved • " That in the opinion of this meeting of residents- of St. Bathans and neighbourhood the time has arrived when the Government of the colony should take steps to arm the volunteers with all the most up-to-date implements of modern warfare." 'Mr R. Renwick, an ex-volunteer, seconded tho motion. Mr Boreham said he had long waited for an occasion like the. piesent to amye — an occasion that afforded the people of Great Britain and every self-governing British colony j an opportunity or &aying, '" We, the people j of the vast British Emphc, wish our Governments to u.idersUud that we accept as a duty the responsibility of looking after mid caring for the homes and loved ones our soldiers have left behind them." Seeing that the people had .so practically demonstrated that fact to tho Government, he thought it wise that the Lejuslntxue should m future provide out of the geneial iunds sufiinent to enable the wives of our defenders io keep the wolt from the door, .should the bread- \ winner lose his life in fighting for his conn- \ Lry's honoui. — (Applause.) He did not wjsli ' to detiact one iracliou horn the people's magnanimous and gencio- • sity, a-s manifested at the present timo ihiongh- ' out the British Knipiie. The fault in the j present case did not anse wiih the people I failing to ieco%ii; = o their to the i-oldiois.' ] el.it/ivei and tlio joMhr himself— not at (ill, bi'l to the fact th.il Ihnii-ojcls v onM as=ist ,v\cie opr-oiHwjty afloir'ed to c^o so. '1 h, ; could only be accomplished by the Government acknowledging th°t Hie c^ie ol Ih.liome that the soldi >r lrft behind him was the nation's care. Sneaking of th? com^e oi the war. and what lod up to it, Mr Boiehsim baid that those who ran a->\ ,iy with the idea ' that the war was b.oucrht about by JJiitish capitalists were, to his mind, ie\v and far between. lie -would ask them to loo 1 ;; up the accounts published ie South Ahican affairs &ince 1881, and he wa& sine w<—e those people

take the trouble to do so, they would agree with him that a systematic organisation had been growing since that time, having for its object the lowering of the British flag in South Africa. Events taking place since the declaration of war clearly pointed to this. Weie J they, he would ask, to stand idly by and per- | nut this tieasonable organisation to exist withou'o an effoit to establish our rule in South Africa"'' — (No! ]No! from the body of the hall.) He should think not. He (the speaker) was pleased that his remarks were endorsed by the meeting. Mr Boreham stated tha£ he was born in {he colony of Tasmania, of Irish parents. This did not deter him from upholding the action of the Butish Government in their South African policy. Had he no opinions of his""own, the opinions of nnny leading* Irishmen and high dignitaries in the Roman Catholic Church on the war v> oukl cause him to reflect before condemning Butain for the war. Surely stich men as Cardinal Vaughan, Bishop Grimes, and many others of a like notability should know something of the' ! ciues that had led up to the present war, •and these men had by then- actions and uttciancs virtually said that if ever Britain was justified m going to war, she was justified in going to war with the South African .Republic. Mr Boieham then referred to the way j foieign nations treated their subjects, claiming for Britain a widei and more liberal treatment of her subjects than any other nation. Hence they, as subjects of siich an Empire, were justified in fighting to protect that freedom, and, if need be, in shedding iheir last diop of British blood m defence of that glorious, flag that had braved a thousand years* the battle and the breeze. — (Aupplause.) It was well known that the volunteers were not armed with the latest improved small arms. The rifles at present were obsolete, and, at the best, were not effective at 700 yds. In the face of events taking place in South Africa, he thought the time had dome when the people of New Zealand should lose no time in signifying their willingness to bear the extra • taxation that would be incurred in order to properly arm the defenders of our colony. Mr Boreham held the meeting spellbound for 35 minutes, and resumed his seat amidst tremendous apulau«° Mr Eenwick, as an ex-volunteer, endorsed the remarks made by Mr Boreham in legaid to the weapons at present issued to the volunteers. He had no hesitation in saying that it was a gra.ve mistake to expect 'even a Britisher, armed with such a weapon, to hold hia own, say, against a South Sea Islander armed with a modern rifle. He hoped the motion would be carried without dissent. The motion being put to the meeting, it was carried without dissent. Miss N. Watcrston then sang "Rtile Britannia," Miss A. Waterston accompanying on the piano, the chorus being takep up by the audience, making the hall ring again. "Britannia, the pride of the ocean," was rendered by Mr A. Armour, of Blackstone Hill station, the last Terse of the song being altered to suit the occasion, as follows: — The dimes, boys ; the dimes, boys, bring hither, And fill up the hat to the brim; May the name of General "White ne'ei^ wither, Nor the star of his glory grow dim! May the colonies from old England ne'ei sever, But all to their relationship prove true, The stubborn Boer must be thrashed now or never, < And thrashed by the Red and the Blue — And thrashed by the Red and the Blue, The stubborn Boer rmist be thrashed now or never, And thrashed by the Red and the Blue, A repetition of the last verse was given, and finished amidst thundering applause. The Red I and the Blue means the red coat and blue I 'jacket. The hat was passed round for "his credit's sake," the collection resulting in the splendid total of £2S 9s, including a cheque for £5 4s fiom Blackstone station, one of £5 5s from Mr C. G-. Dalgety, a subscription list front J. Eagle £>L 15s, J. Thurlow (cheque) £1 Is. The following committee was then elected to canvass the district and otherwise manage the fund. — Mr W. Burnett, president^ Mr W. H. Bro-wn (Bank of New Zealand), treasurer; Mr F.~Ward." secretary; and members, Messrs Fiancis, Pyle, Armour, Nicholson, J. Eagle, P. Eagle, and Dr Stenhouse. It, was resolved, on the motion 'of Mr J. Eagle, that all monies collected by the committee be forwarded to the general patriotic fund in Dunedin, to be published as the St. Bathans donation. Mr , P. Eagle then saug "The march of the Cameron . men,' xJr Stenhouse following with "Let me j like a soldier "fall." 1 Mr Pyle then stepped on to the platform, and in a stirring address appealed to the audience to use every effort to secure contributions 1 to the patriotic fluid, concluding by reciting j "The Absent-minded Beggar." At this stas^> ' of the proceedings Mr Pyle' moved a vote of 1 thanks to Mr Boreham for his presence there 1 that evening. He had no hesitation in saying ( that Mr Boreham's presence in St. Bathans had added to the splendid and snthusiastic success of the meeting. The chairman endorsed the remarks of the last speaker. ' Mr Boreham briefly acknowledged the vote. A vote of thanks was passed to the ladies, who had so skilfully decorated tho hall; and to all who had taken part in helping to make the meeting so successful, Mr G-. Francis deserving special thanks for the way he worked in getting such a monster meeting together. Mr J. Eagle, in reply to various speakers, said that St. Bathans had made a start some time back in collecting money for the fund. He produced a list with several pounds on it to support his statement. The speaker had the conviction that the movement had been started on a wrong basis, and he urged upon Mr Burnett and others the necessity of inaugurating the movement from a public meeting, and the enthusiastic meeting just held upheld his conviction. He spoke for some time 111 the patriotic strain, concluding by saying that now the movement had been formally set a-gomg, he felt I sure St. Bathans, although among the last in j making a start, would not be smallest in the j collections when the numbers we^it tra. A vote of thanks to the chair was" carried by acclarzunafcioii, and the whole audience again joined m singing "God save tho Queen, ' Mrs Jiiown leading at the piano. Thus terminated one of the nioit enthusiastic meetings ever held in .St. Eathans.