THE NINTH CONTINGENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2505, 26 March 1902, Page 27

THE NINTH CONTINGENT.

DEPARTURE OF THE NORTHERN SECTION. I ~ | A GREAT DAY IN AUCKLAND. i . i ! ,AUCKLAND, March 13. The Premier gives the following changes in officers of the North Inland battalion": — Suttjeon-paptam Murray retires; LieuI tenant Woods, of the sixth, is promoted to captain of the ninth: auH Quartermasters'jEgeant Hawkibby is promoted to lieutenant j on the recommendation of the officer commanding. The Premier spy* that the camp is the beEC itnd the horsed tne finest he has seen. ' The ninth contingent war cry has been mterpve&ttl "Oh. the tribe be strong; be stout-bearlEd : always, always stand firm ! Stand firm! Charge!" i . March 19. j PRELIMINARY CEREMONmS. I Tc-day Auckland farewelled yet another force of colonial soldieia for service in South Africa, and the Fend-off accorded the departing troopE was as cordial and enthusiastic ' a-? that given to any previous contingent. The North Island battalion of the ninth contingent, numbering in all upwards of 600 officers and men, embarked this afternoon. The last and most hearty farewells were naturally reserved until the troops had cast off, but the preliminary good-byes this morn- i ing at the luncheon in the Choral Hall i and the gathering of trooper-* and their rela- | ti\e,, and friends in the Metropolitan g»ounds «vere all characterised by a warmth and fervour which the members of the contingent should remember for many a day. Everything combined to make tc-day 'a farewell demonistration a splendid success. The weather v\a-> beautifully fine, with a cool" southerly breeze tempering the heat of the sun. "laces of business in town were mostly ! closed thin afternoon, and the half-holiday was very generally observed. Holiday decoI rations were everywhere in the form of flags, every building possessing anything in the shape of a flagstaff hanging out its banners. iihe contingent, whose horses were all •tupped, left their tamp at Te Papapa this molding i-oon after 9 o'clock and embarked at the adjacent lailway etation on a special tiain. They were landed at Newmarket rail- | way • station *nd marched to the Domain Cricket ground, in order to b*» present at j the review of school cadets by the Premier. ! Captain O'Brien was in command of the I parade. Tho ameers of the contingent received their commis-sioiis this morning before leaving {.imp. THE CADET REVIEW. By half-pact 10 the western slope of the Domain ground yiat- thronged with men, women, and children. About 11 o'clock a long line of cadets marched into the ground. Altogether there were 669 cadets on parade, divided into two battalion? A few minutes later the Premier drove up, and the member<3 of the ninth contingent ariived shortly afterwards. The two cadet battalions, looking vc-y pmart in their (run uniforms, then advanced in line oppo^tc the saluting base, where the Premier took up his etand Mr Seddon then inspected the parade. On marching past the cadets were loudly cheered by the numbers of the ninth coutingcut. ' The contingent was then drawn up and inspected by the Premier, who was also loudly cheered by the men as he walked away. Tlip Ninth then proceeded to cause some amwement by giving its Native cry " Kamate, kia-ora, kia-ora," with great vehemence. The Premier congratulated the cadets cv their attention to drill, and he thought that their officers and they themselves deserved every credit for the way in which they had married past and gone through their evolutions. He eaid it wouUl always be a pleamre to thp Government to a3siet the cadet movement. It was tho duty of the Government to a-°ist the cadets by means of a small capitation and by providing rifles and facilities for ehootwig. THE LUNCHEON. The contingent, headed by its bras-s band, i then marched off *o tho Choral Hall. M^, Alfred Kidd (Mayor of Auckland) presides at the luncheon. ' Amongst tho-,e pre-ient were the Right flon. JJu P-teuuei* Major-general Bab- ,

ington, Mr Sam Smith, M-L.A. (New South Wales), Hons. T. Y. Duncan and J. M'Gowan, - and Messrs J. H. Witheford, M.H.R., and A. D. Willis, M.H.R. In honouring the toast "The King" all present sang " God save the King," being led by- the organ and orchestra. The toast of " Hl3 Excellency the Governor " was also proposed. Replying ". to the toast of ''The Army, Navy,- and Volunteers," Major-general Bablngton said they were happy in knowing that whatever work any classof the army had been called upon to do it had been done to the entire satisfaction of the officers. — (Applause.) He wished, however, to refer to the future rather than ths pa-t. In this war they had been meeting euomies engaged in a- class of fighting fo^ which the colonials were peculiarly fitted. In future they might nos meet such enemies,, but others of a totally different class, and it behoved them, therefore, to be ever ready if they wished to keep the sword of New Zealand bright and sharp, and that could only be done by organisation and discipline. All who had the true interests of the Empire at heart wouki not forget the people of New Zealand.

! " Tfie North Island Battalion of the Ninth • Contingent '" \ras proposed by the Premier, who ssid he had two. announcements to ' .make. The first was that Captain ..O'Brien T/aa no longer Gaptain O'Brien, " but" Major ' O'Brien. Tnis jfcihouhceiaeiit -was 'greetetl - with much cheering. 'The second -aanotiHce- -' inent was that fmn "this day forth. Captainadjutant Reid wouldihfr't&'known as* Major . - Reid. Another announcement' he'lwbß to jnafec wajs that tke- Governor, "had received a cable from th« Secretary of Staifce as follows: — "His Majesty's Government hope that the colonies will be. represented at the Coronation by local forces as at ' the Dia- ! TOond Jubilee in 1897. The men may be - I selected by the Minister of the colony, and 1 his Majesty's Government will be prepared 1 to receive any number not exceeding 150 : iof all arms. Quarters will be provided for ' officers and quarters and rations for non- | commissioned officars and men. The men | will be provided' for for about a month from the time of landing ; travelling expenses and passage to bp borne by the colony. Horses can be provided for the whole number. Officer* must not exceed four, and there must be no supernumeraries nor unattached ! officers I. shall be glad to hear the probable nnnibei and other details at your ' earliest convenience." The Premier then said they would like to know the -latest news from the front. He had received a cable from Colonel Porter, dated Heilbron, March 14, to the effect that they had just arrived 1 from the trek and drive. Not much opposition had bean met with, but a slight engagement had taken place There were no casualties. The men had been much gratified by the appreciation of their services, and all ranks desired to reciprocate the good wishes. The wero-all progressing weR. Tho Colonel wa3 proceeding to arrange regarding the continent's recruiting the regisient by 100 • draft and absent details. The strength in | the field was too low, hut all were well. The I Premier continued that by the Surrey and | Cornwall 100 -men had gone forward to fill . the vacancies. Commenting on the" official • report from Colonel Porter, the Premie^ eaid ' this would jshow the men what they had'-to face. From 'the Governor- he had just j-*-eoived another important cable, received.by him from, the Secretary c-f State. The texr of thia cable was:— "Most cordially appre---ciate tho splendid spirit of patriotism shown in tho offer of another contingent, follow* ing as it does on so many previous proofs of the loyalty and affection of the Goverrment and people of New Zealand. The Cab'net meets on Tuesday next, when an official repljs will be sent." He hoped that they would accept the offer of the tenth contingent jo assist th« ninth to close the war and brinjr peace to tha Empire and credit to the colony. For themselves, they had, in what had been don<-» by previous contingents, a glorious example SF-t them. The behaviour of former co:.tingents had been splendid, and had brought them into favour with the officers who manded' them". He would say to them. "Go, lads, and do likewise."— (Applause.) Majorgeneral Bafbington. had said it was a. pleaeure to command New Zealanders in- tho field, and Lord Kitchener had aho spoken in. highly complimentary terms of New Zealanders. Mr Seddon urged upon every man to act in the field so as to continue to earn such respect, and also the gratitude of those who sent them forth. He urged upon the men the necessity of obeying the orders of their officers, for they must have discipline. He could say without flattery that he never saw finer men than those of the ninth contingent. With good men, good horses, and good officers, if they did not return with honour ajid glory he should be surprised indeed.— (Applause.) Major O'Brien, in responding, said the jninth would, do its utmost, to do its duty and to emulate the noble example of former contingents sent to South Africa by New Zealand. THE FAREWELL. After other toaßts had been honoured the' troopers were marched to the Metropolitan ground, where they were allowed some time to meet their friends and say good-bye prior to going on board the Devon. The contingent then marched through the city to the troopship, the streets being lined with great crowds, and windows, verandahs, and every point of vantage were fully occupied. It was a splendid sight, and the scene in the harbour as the Devon steamed away was something never to be forgotten. A fleet of coastal steamers pscorted the Devcn down tho harbour, and a fleet of whitewinged yachts made the final demonstration a wonderfully picturesque scene. DISORDERLY VOLUNTEERS. DISGRACE TO THE UNIFORM. AUCKLAND, March 21. Mr Hutchison, S.M., dismissed the charge against several men of behaving in a violentmanner in a railway carriage. He said that the evidence proved that a number of volunteers had been guilty of drunken and 1 disorderly conduct. He believed that during the camp at Te Papapa it was the invariable practice of volunteers in possession of a train to smoke in a non-smoking carriage and conduct themselves in a manner which was a disgrace to the Railway Department. Several troopers ought to have been proceeded against, ?<i well a" the present defendants, who had tried to quell the d'Sturbance. NEW ZEALAND'S WAR CONTRACTS* THE NINTH CONTINGENT BOOTF. March 21. As frequent complaints had been, made r-*^ parding the quality of the bcots supplied tt\ the members of the Ninth " Contingent j Messrs J. A. Millar and J. F. Arnold.; M.H.R.'s, placed tli3msefVes in comj munication with the Premier in regard- 1(* th« matter. Tho following telearam wsul -

despatched to the Premier: — "Dunedin, March 19, 1902. R. J. Seddon, Auckland.— !The boots which were supplied for th 2 Ninth Contingent were a disgrace to the 3olony. "We do not blame the manufacturer in Chrietchurch, as the boots were equal to the sample provided by the Defence Department. To our certain knowledge several member* of the contingent purchased boots to. replace the inferior articles' issued to them. Can Defence Department, when calling for tenders for Tenth, not provide a better sample? We trust bona tide. Dunedin manufacturers will receive a fair sharp of contingent work. Beware of dummies. Have forwarded a list of boot manufacturer, in Dunedin capable of executing orders.— (Signed) J. A. Millab, J. F. Absolo." To this tEe Premier replied :— " To^ meet contingencies mentioned by you I have given instructions to Under-secretary Defence to get samples of boot 3 from each of the manu faetunng firms without quoting . prices. We will select from these the boot we require, and then each person must tender according to sample. We will not take any cample sent with tenders, but they must tender according to our sample. — R. J. Seddon." Messrs Millar and Arnold have also forwarded telegrams to the Premier regarding wuidiery and clothing for the Tenth Contingent! and the Premier has replied that a fair distribution of the work \v»ll be made between the four eliie-f centres.