THE VETERANS' HOME.

Otago Witness, Issue 2522, 16 July 1902, Page 32

THE VETERANS' HOME.

LORD RAXFURLY NAILS HI.S COLOURS TO THE MAST. (Fitou Our Own Coiir.EsroxDh.vi ) j WKLLIXGTOX, July 9. Lord Ranfmly addressed a crowded meet- : ing in the Exchange Hall this owning, when he made a Stirling speech on the subject of his proposed national memonal to thu-e who have fallen in the war m Soutli Afnra. Apologies for a')s«Mirv' wore i"ad fioni Sir Robert Stout (wlm is ill), Mr Justice Cooper, and several others. ll is K\c( lleney, «lio*i; speech was punctuated with round-- of applause, outlined hi-* s( lioinp, as aheady reported. He approved of each district ere< t- ! ing its own memorial in memory of its own fallen, but he thought the colony as a whole should ha\ c a inoinori ti that would Ja^t for all time to commemorate the part its I sons had taken in the war. We were, he j said, too apt to neglect our old soldiers who 1 had fought and bled for the Kmpir». On several occasions he had had to ask tho senior naval officer on the station to send men ashore to repair the graves of the neglected old c oldiers and sailor-:. The mfccriptions on the headstone} of tlio graves of some of tlro^e who bad fallen in the Maori wars were, he found, -almost obliterated, while in several case* there were nameless graves. He did not desire to see this colony putting up only small memorials, that someyears lieuce might by forgotten or passed by. He wanted them to ha\e something more lasting. — (Applause.) He might tell them that he had nailed his colours to the mast, and that he meant to build that home. — (Cheers.) He could easily gut sufficient to build a homo on a small scale, but what he wanted to see was a national memorial that would be a credit to the colony, and show to our children's (hiidreu what New Zealanders were like in 1901 — (Cheering.) During the course of his spee< h Lord Ranfurly mentioned that he had wntten to her Royal Highness Princess Christian asking for the «uppoit of the Soldier 3 and Sailors' Help Society, and within a fewhours oi the amuU of his letter in. Lual&ud

he had received a reply by cable stating that her Koyal Highness entirely approved of the project, and would place the matter before her committee as soon as possible. At the conclusion of tho meeting a numerous and influential committee was appointed to further the project. The utmost enthusiasm prevailed.

We have received from the pro\isional committee a circular which has been i*st-pd setting out the arguments in favour of tho home, and which we have already published, and soliciting subscriptions. The preliminary committee arc . — His Excellency the Governor (chairman), Sir ,T. G. Ward. - Captain -Sir W. Russell, and Major-general Babington.