IRISH SOLDIERS IN THE TRANSVAAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2403, 22 March 1900, Page 33

IRISH SOLDIERS IN THE TRANSVAAL.

At the Garrison Hall on Friday night a crowded audience assembled to attend the St. Patrick's Eve concert. There was a great display of the Irish colours, mingled with patriotic emblems, and the proceedings were marked with an extensely patriotic fervour. A number of -the men of the contingent were present, and their appearance as they entered the hall was the signal for an outburst of weloome, the audience expressing its feeling 3 with cheers and applause, whether the visitor in khaki happened to put in an appearance in the middle of a musical number or not. Amongst those present were the Very Rev. Father Murphy and Roman Catholic clergy, his Worship the Mayor, and the Hon. J. G' Ward and Mrs Ward.

AB an interval in the proceedings, The Rev. Father Murphy ascended the platform. After thanking the performers who assisted at the entertainment, he stated that none could remain unmoved at the sight r>f our valiant men who were leaving their native shores to defend the interests of the Empire of whioh they were all so proud. — (Cheers.) It was with feelings of reluctance that they witnessed their departure, and 'hat they were compelled to say to them ' Goodbye " ; but, knowing that the Empire required their services, God forbid that they should detain them. — (Cheers.) Let them go by all means, and may God strengthen their arms and bring them safely home again. They had heard the voice of the Empire calling them, they had heard the voice of her Gracious Majesty who ruled and beneficently governed our great Empire, and in the words of sacred Scriptures they had replied, " Speak. Lord, for Thy servant heareth," and had thus gone forth. Again he said, may God prosper them and bring them safely back crowned with honour. — (Cheers.) And he had not the slightest doubt that honour would be bestowed upon them 'if they won it, for English fairness and the latest act of our good and noble and virtuous 'Queen assured us snat honour would be given where honour was due. — (Cheers.) She had announced that she was about to do honour to her Irish soldiers who so heroically laid down their lives in tier service in the battlefields of South Africa. By personally visiting Ireland she was going to do honour to Irish soldiers and to the Irish race, and at the close of her long ana beneficent reign she was going to show to the vorld that her love for her Irish children was

as intense as the love she bore towards all her other myriad subjects. — (Cheers.) The effect of her Royal visit would be lasting and widespread, and it would go to prove that Irishmen were as loyal to their Queen and country as any other subjects of the Empire. — (Cheers.' Further, they would display to the world, even more strikingly than they had in the past, that they did their part in the building up and in the defending of the great British Empire. — (Prolonged cheering.) The Irishmen of New Zealand would be wanting in their fidelity and devotedness to their Queen and country, if they let this occasion pass without giving expression to their gratitude, and accordingly he invited the Irishmen of Dunedin to meet on the following day

in the Agricultural Hall at 12.30 to take steps to send a cablegram to her Majesty in acknowledgment of the honour she proposed to bestow upon the Irish nation.— (Enthusiastic cheers.) As the reverend speaker resumed his seat three cheers were vigorously given for the Queen. His Worship the Mayor, who was also accorded an exceedingly fervid welcome, said that they would not be astonished, nor yet '

disappointed, to learn that he was not an Irishman. — (Laughter.) Unfortunately, so far ag mankind was concerned, they had nothing to do towards deciding their nationality. They were introduced into this mundane sphere without being previously requested to state their wishes as to whether they preferred being an Englishman, an Irishman, er a Scotchman. — (Renewed laughter.) However, he gave nothing for the man who did not love his native country — (applause), — no matter what his nationality was. He believed he was no less proud at being a Scotchman than they were at being Irishmen. — (Loud applause.) Nothing delighted him more, nevertheless, than to see the way Irishmen expressed their pride and their affection for. the land which

gave them birth. Nothing delighted him more than to have an opportunity of expressing his intense feelings of admiration for the brave sons of Ireland who had bled and died for the old flag in far away South Africa. — (Enthusiastic oheering.) His heart almost bled when he read how they had stood shoulder to shoulder, and with unflinching, unyielding courage and fortitude had dyed the African soil with their life's blood for the honour of the flag and of the green isle which gave

them birth. Who was the man, who had any spirit of patriotism or loyalty in his soul, who was not thrilled at the contemplation of that glorious spectacle. — (Cheers.) When he saw that her Gracious Majesty the Queen wished to mark her deep sense of appreciation of the noble efforts and overwhelming gallantry of her Irish troops — (renewed cheering), — he decided that he would do what little lay in his power to follow her Royal example. He resolved that not only would he wear the shamrock on St. Patrick's Day, but that he would see that from the topmost portion of the Town Hall the green flag of Ireland would float forth on the breeze. — (Enthusiastic cheers.) And he knew that every citizen of Dunedin, be he English, Irish, or Scotch would

be glad ■to see that tribute to the bravery of Irish soldiers in the Empire's cause. — (Cheers.) • The Hon. J. G. Ward, who succeeded his Worship the Mayor on the platform, was received with cheers, which were sustained for • what seemed quite a length of time. He stated that* it was an unexpected pleasure for him to- have the privilege of addressing that audience on .that memorable occasion. He rejoiced in the opportunity because he

wanted to pay a tribute t® the bravery of those noble men who had done so much during the last few weeks for the glory ot old Ireland. — (Cheers.) Like his friend the mayor (Mr Chisholm) , he cared little if a man were an Englishman, a Scotchman, or an Irishman, a Canadian, an Australian, or a New Zealander, he possessed little of that sense of patriotism if his heart were not thrilled and his pulse quickened when he heard of the magnificent acts of bravery of those Irishmen who not only shed lustre on their own name, but on every man, woman, j and child within the domain of the British Empire. — (Prolonged cheers.) What had tha world' seen? Lord Roberts, or "Bobs," as he was affectionately termed in those fami-

liar lines of Kipling, so ably recited by Mr Young that evening — a man who had spent 40 years in the defence of the Empire, •whose time on the battlefield was supposed to have been ended, — had gone forth at the word of his Queen, when things looked gloomiest, and backed up by that grand man (although he was in Ladysmith), General White — (enthusiastic cheering), — supported by Generals French, Kelly-Kenny, Clery— (cheers) — men all from Ireland, with his magic wand had

carried victory before him everywhere. The Irishmen in the Transvaal had shown the world that where England, Ireland, and Sootland were united all others must stand aside. — (Cheers.) We in New Zealand were sending our men to the Transvaal. — (A Voice: " Unfortunately.") He was sure that the man who interjected that remark was not an Irishman nor a New Zealander. — (Loud applause and cries of " Put him out," accompanied by a movement on the part of some to carry out the latter injunction.) He (Mr Ward) prayed that they should not put the person out, and proceeded to say that they were sending their stalwart men from New Zealand, and they, too, would achieve feats which would reflect honour on their native

land. What had they done already? The son of a highly-respected Irishman of our city had already laid down his life, fighting to defend the Empire, and the people of New Zealand had acknowledged that he possessed all those attributes and characteristics which made the name of the British soldier the envy of all countries. — (Cheers.) And the men they were now sending would acquit themselves with equal honour under the leadership and guidance of such men as KellyKenny, Clery, French, and Hector Maodonaid — (cheers), — whose valiant men marched to the inspiriting music of the war-like pipes. With such men at their head the young New Zealanders hurried forth, and they would bring back with them a record of which they would all be proud. He was delighted to hear from the Rev. Father Murphy that the Irishmen of Dunedin proposed to express their sense of appreciation of the honour her Majesty proposed to confer on the Irish nation and of her intention to markedly express her feelings of admiration at the part played by the Irish troops in a war which, although involving a great loss of life and the expenditure of a great amount of money, tended to the strengthening of the Empire and to the unity of all its parts both at Home and in the colonies. — (Cheers.)