GENERAL NOTES

Otago Witness, Issue 2467, 26 June 1901, Page 29

GENERAL NOTES

The Alexandra Rifles have decided not fo take part in the review at Christchurch, but; it is anticipated that about 50 members SsdlJ

be able to be present at the Dunedin reception. The Christchurch Press says:— "We see that some of the New Zealand journalists are falling into the same error aa did the •Melbourne reporters in describing the Duke of Cornwall's uniform as that of a colonel in the Guards. As a matter of fact^ it is "that of a colonel of the 7th Royal Fusiliers, and' the Duke himself requested the Melbourne papers to correct the error. There - is also a tendency on. the part of some New Zealand reporters to underestimate his Royal Haghness's stature. According to Captain WaUington, private secretary to the " Governor-General, Lord Hopetoun, his Royal - Highness's height is sft 6£in." Em Worship the Mayor of Dunedin has arranged, with the approval of his Excellency the Governor, thai on the occasion of the city address at the Octagon on the 26th inst., a bouquet shall be presented to - her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall and York by Mies Denniston, daughter , of the Mayor, .and granddaughter of the late Hon. W. H. Reynolds; and also that J on the arrival of the royal party at the ] railway station on the 25th a bouquet shall .be presented to her Royal Highness by Miss .Teta Chapman, daughter of Mr F. R. Chap- - man, chairman of the Royal Commissioners, I -" and" granddaughter of the late Mr Justice i - Cbanmair. "Tne engine and dynamo for supplying the electricity for illuminating the Town Hall Buildings are in position in the oorpora- ' tion yard. About 20Q0 lights will be U3ed, ' including those required for lighting up the ; Government and the Citizens' Aic'i. The - -windows, columns, tower, and all the proV xniiient features of the Corporation Buildings - wiHbe picked out in lights, but beyond this no particular design will be attempted. The - work is in the hands of Messrs rumbull and ' "Jones, electrical engineers. Of the albums of New Zealand views to be presented by the Government to their Royal Highnesses, 12 are being made in Dunedin. The photographs have been selected by the chief surveyor (Mr Barron) from Messrs Muir and Moodie's fine collec1 tion, and they convey a splendid^ idea of the unrivalled scenery in southern New Zealand. -The more famous of the West Coast Sounds, views of Lake Wakatipu, Te Anau, Manapouri, and glimpses of Alpine country are all represented, and the whole tends to - convey an excellent idea of the wealthy of scenic beauties with which this part of New ' Zealand is endowed. Naturally, a great deal . of care and judgment have been bestowed in designing a fitting album for these fine photographs, which are 18in long by lSJsin ••wide. The work has been entrusted to •Messrs Fergueson and Mitchell, who are to ibe highly complimented on the success which thas attended their efforts. The albums are aboiit 2ft long by 18in wide, and have been bound in full red mbroco leather, embellished .with representations of Maori carving. The design is simple, yet most effective The leaves of the album are nearly an eighth of ' an -inch in thickness, and have dark green " edges sprinkled with gold. Each of the 12 fcoolcs contain 24- .photographs. Some of the 1 albums are being made in Christ church and i •Wellington-. The presentation will be made in Wellington. A medal to commemorate the visit of the Btfke and Duchess of Cornwall and York is beiag prepared by- the Government for presentation to school children. T.he presentation is not to be confined to children attending public schools, but those attending j, any school may participate. Over 100 medals will be handed by jthe Duke of Cornwall and Yoik to tho&e who are entitled to receive them for services in South Africa. The presentations will be mad« at he Octagon on Wednesday afternoon, i The following telegiam has been sent by - Messrs J. A. Millar, J. F. Arnold, and A. R. Barclay. M.H.R.'s, to Sir J. G. Ward: — " We deeply regret that you, as a leader of the Democratic party, should have accepted a title." The " Engiish journalists, who are visiting the colony in connection with the royal tour, have accepted the invitation of the Dunedin branch of the Journalists.' Institute to luncheon at the Otago Club on Thursday next. The Journalists' Institute is arranging that the English journalists shall be the gueste of. private citizens in Dunedin. Windows on the line of , route of the royal procession are in great demand, and high prices are offered in many cases. One gentleman who has a room in the Octagon occupying a prominent position refused an offer of £20 for it. . . The royal vifit affects trade in various ways. It is said to be impossible to obtain ladies' long black kid gloves in Dunedin at the present time. The demand for them in view of the evening reception to their Royal Highnesses has cleared the shops. Labour in the painting and building trades is at a decided premium, and the tariff charge for the use of a cab on the evening of the reception is coolly announced as £3 An Auckland telegram states that the proposed Maori demonstration in Auckland has been abandoned. We understand that amongst other instructions sent to the manager of the Fernhzll Club re2ardi2}g details to be attended to during the sojourn ihere of their Royal Highnesses the Date and Duchess of Cornwall and York he was informed that in laying the dinner table finger-bowls must not be put on the labie for the use of any person other tliau ihe royal pair. This curious piece of court etiquette has an historical origiii which is interesting. The custom takes irs origin from the early Hanoverian times, v.hen Jacobites were numerous, and were to be found even at the King's table. When il.o beal*h of the King was drunk a Jacobicc, in dvi uking the toast, passed his glass over ]i'.^ llnger-bo«l s>o as to drink lo " ibe King over the water " That this was being done was di.-coveved by come of the court officials, and to put a stop to the practice fin^er-botvls were pbolished from the roya! table except those for the use of roral per s nna«>P9. i The birthday iirosrnt to Prince Edup.nl (son «f the Duke and Duche« of Cornwall and York), which the ladies of C'hristohureh havfi decided upon, is to take fie form of a gold and greenstone letter- 1 ! eigiir. Tho base of the weight is to be sin lon~ by 3in wide, and of 18-oaral polished gold, with halt-inch bevel on the ontor edge On the i top of tbt> "--lab o ; (told there v/ill be an ! Dblon<, - uieeo of polished n;reenstone, encircled by a so!' 1 . rot>e, and sui'rntHi".\ti;i?; this a barJoOi.io T.or's head, cut ovi of tolid greenstone. Rosmd th<=> neck of the clog ivfll be a 3->V e.vllar. 'nulled with dliinnivls As Sund.iv -is +he bircbday of the Duke's eldest son. it ha« been decided to present the same vo the Piinc 1 on that day, which action no cioubt vili foe highly appreciated by their Hiphnes-e; The (-rOTenrneat h.ivr made prp-.pnts of gold, nuggets and gieenstone to the Dvkr *nd Duehese. <

The Prince has taken a great interest in the Maoris during his tour in New Zealand, and at bis request Mr Fraser, M.H.R., of Napier, who is a recognised Maori scholar, supplied him with a considerable amount of information about the native customs and legends, and explained many of the phrases and salutations his Highness had heard used in the colony. The Duke was particularly interested in the legend of "Te Ika a Mani," a mythological fisherman, who angled New Zealand up from the ocean. One effect of the Prince's coaching was to be seen in the ending of his reply to the friendly societies, he using the Maori salutation " Kia-ora." The gold, silver, and greenstone trowel and mallet to be used by H.R.H. the Duke of Cornwall and York at the laying of the foundation stone of the Queen Victoria Memorial Statue on Thursday morning will be on view this evening at Mr Frank Hyams's premises in Princes street. In order to allow of their being seen, the shop windows will be lighted up until 9.30 this evening. It is a curious coincidence that the Victoria Cup— a solid gold statuette of her late Majesty the Queen, valued at 200sovs, to be racpd for on the 29th hist, at Hurst Park, London — was also carried out by Mr Frank Hyams at his London address, 167 New Bond street. Mr John Hislop, jeweller. Princes street, is now displaying in his window the gold and greenstone spoons manufactured by him for presentation to their Royal Highnesses the Duke aad Duchess of Cornwall and York by the women of Dunedin. The spoons have greenstone handles, with gold crown tops, the gold bowls being engraved in Maori design on the inside. The present, as a whole, handsomely mounted as it is in an oaken case (gold mounted) lined with white satin, will form a most attractive gift, and great credit is due to Mr John Hislop for Ins chastely beautiful and unique design. It may be mentioned that this is not the first time that the firm has had the honour of manufacturing New Zealand greenstone for the members of the Royal Family, having made a greenstone paper knife and scent bottle for her late Majesty Queen Victoria, two greenstone snuff boxes for the Duke of Edinburgh, and a double-ended greenstone and gold scent bottle for Princess Beatrice. One of the necessary consequences of the curtailment of the royal visit to Dunedin will b'j the abandonment of the proposal of the Dunedin branch of the Journalists' Institute to entertain the English journalists at luncheon on Thursday next. A good deal of telegraphic communiration between the president of the Journalists' Institute and Sir J. G. Ward took place on Saturday and yesterday, in the hope that some plan might be devised -whereby the \i«icing jonrnali c ts might be entertained iv the manner proposed and yet catch the cruiser escorts, by which they travel, at Lyttelton. The last shred of Lope disappeared last, night, however, when at a late hour a wire was received_ from Sir Joseph Ward stating^ that it was impossible to make any arrangement of the kind that was suggested. The royal train, it appears, Js timed to arrive at Lytteltou at 7.50 p.m. on Thursday, and -the royal party are taken out by the Government steamer straight on board the Ophir, which proceeds to sea as soon after as possible. The men-of-war with the pressmen on boa.d have to precede the Ophir to sea by an hour or two. The posal to take the English journalists on an excursion to the southern Sounds has, for the same reason, been abandoned. It i= estimated that 23,000 people came to Wellington by rail during the royal visit. It is to be hoped that Mr Seddon will not susr<-'i't the Governor of Fiji of having had any hand in, the composition of one of the songs which were chanted by the Natives at Roronia befme the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall last wesk. £ts allusions to New Zealand politics are not of a flattering character, and upon some points will not be ungrateful to Sir George O'Brien. It is ""taken up in alternative stages by the leaders and the lank and file. It recites (the Lytielton Times correspondent says): — The Leader- "The tai rawhiti murmurs; the tide of the eastern sea. " Au an an, eha. "The tide of the rising sun is mmbhng on the shore. " Au au au, eha. "Ah. ii i« the Duke, great *tiangei fiom beyond the =kr . " Ask ye and let it he answered, Who is the pillar (of the house)?" All: " The Governor is the prop. The Governor is the prop." The Leader: " We sink, we fall, -we die. " The Government will eat up all the money of my dwelling place, " The solid land drawn up by Maui." All • " The first of our troubles was m the Land Court ; "The second was the survey: " Then Te Whiti milled uselessly against the Government, " Waikato locked up their lands, '• The land buyers squeezed us and i ■ '• our boundaries. Alas! alas!" The Leader: "A ha ha." All- "What is the Government doing ' It is preparing to swallow up Xew Zealand. "Alas!" The Leader " A ha, lia " All " Haeremai ra tine Kmo " Haeremai ra hire Kibo. (Comr ye I>ad l.iw^. " See, they are assembled at Wellington m the dens of lions, "Gaping open foi us." '■ Au au au c ha."