BURNS ANNIVERSARY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 23, 27 January 1914, Page 5

BURNS ANNIVERSARY.

A STRATFORD GATHERING GREAT SPEECH BY MEMBER FOR TIMARU. ENTHUSIASTIC PROCEEDINGS. INTERESTS G SPEECHES.

j The Scots of Stratford and district, and in fact, to a degree, of Taranaki were much in evidence at the Town Hall last night on the occasion of the third annual Burns supper under the auspices of the Stratford branch of the Taranaki Provincial Scottish Society. The hall was hung round with the flags of all nations. The Society's banner was hung over the rail of the dress circle and below it was a portrait of Burns encircled with tartan. The tables were also decorated with tartan and with real Scotch thistles. The chairman (Mr G. Sangster, president) had on his right Mr J. Craigie, M.P., and on his left the chief (Mr \V. McL. Kennedy), and the Mayor (Mr W. P. Kirkwood).

The Society's pipers—Messrs J. Wade, A. Sangster, G. Sangster, D. Ferguson, A. Mather and J. Me.V. Adams—were much in evidence during

the evening and gave the gathering it proper Caledonian color.

Mr T. W. Smith was excellent in his rendition of the "Address to a Haggis," and the particular pudding addressed was a good dish.

The vocal section of the musical department was well catered for. The iHawera quartette was not complete, only two members putting in an appearance, but these two contributed a good number of items. Mr W. H. Hawkins gava a quotation from Hales, descriptive of a hard fight by Gordon Highlanders in South Africa and had to respond to an encore. Mr F. H. Wilkie was much in demand and had to give a good number of items. 31 r Douglas was also encored for his item. Mr Vincent's imitations of various instruments were very much appreciated, and he also was encored. Mr J. Wade contributed sqme highly-approciated Highland dances. Mr J. H. Thompson played the accompaniments in Jus usual finished style. The dinner s,et out by Mrs Brooking was tasty and well served.

"The Imperial Forces of the Crown."

"Let Britain still to Britain true Among ourselves united. For never but by Britisu hands, Maun British wrangs be righted." --Burns. Dr. Paget spoke in a fine Imperial spirit in proposing this toast. He said ho felt, as an Englishman, that he was considerably honored in being asked to

propose the toast in view of the great number of Scotsmen present. The Scots had been more prominent in the Army than in the Navy. To the Army they had been a tower of strength. The question of defence was at present very prominent all over 'the Empire. The Empire must be strong to combat more aggressive nations; and to have a strong Empire it was necessary that the Army and Navy must be supported by exery citizen of the Empire, in whatever part of the world they might live. That support must not only be money support. Money would not win battles by land or sea, and it was of our manhood that we must give to the nation when the need arises. The lit—[tie country of New Zealand had set an excellent example to the rest of the Empire by inaugurating universal military training. As an Englishman fr« regretted that England had not adopted the system. England was conservative, though frequently beneficently conservative; and as time went on he felt sure that the claims of the universal system would be recognised and tbe system established. That great soldier Lord Roberts was strongly supporting the system and no doubt he would live long neougb to see it carried into effect. The forces in New Zealand were being organised, and there could be Little doubt that in a short space of time New Zealand would be able to put a very line force in the field. How better than by organising a good fighting force could the country show its love for the Empire and for the King ? The Navy was also receiving a good deal of attention from statesmen. New Zealand [could not form a separate navy to cooperate with the Australian or Imperial [navies, but by her gift of a Dreadinought New Zealand had clearly shown her desire to support that braiwh of the Imperial forces. The Territorial system was not aggressive, and those who opposed the system and called themselves anti-militarists were very foolish. There was nothing more likely to preserve international peace than strong forces in the hands of Great Britain. Let the New Zealand forces weaken and there were many nations who would be glad to annex Xew Zealand. It could never be said that New Zealand failed to place at the disposal of the Empire the whole of the manhood of the country.

Mr Hine, in responding, referred to the past history of the Empire. There was the Battle of Trafalgar, the Battie of the Nile, and the fight with the Armada, and later, the South African war, where so many citizens went to do battle for the Empire. Then there was India (so memorably associated with the names of Havelock and. Outram), the Crimea, and Soudan (to mention, only, Kitchener and Fighting Mac). —Applause. The term, "Imperial Forces of the Empire," appealed to the speaker far more than the Army land Navy. And in this connection, ho said, New Zealand tried to do her duty in bringing into concrete form universal training. New Zealanders were not a fighting people, but a peaceful and pleasure-loving community and who

thought of themselves: yet-, perhaps, that was why they considered they should be ready if called upon. The stress of life was a matter to be considered ; it was easy to "go slow"; therefore they should train the youug people, the boys, to ''rough it" as much as possible. (Applause). The Empire was, perhaps, at the zenith of its power; they hoped not, but at any rate, the Empire was the foremost in all the countries in the world. They ail knew what caused the fail of other Empires, and they should endeavour to avoid the same faults—those arising from the leading of an easy life, and they should be determined to do their best for the Empire. Mr Hine admitted he was not a Scotsman, and, perhaps, because of that, he and Dr. Paget had been put up to speak to the toast because it was said a Scotchman could not talk. (Laughter). But apart from joking, he said the Imperial Eorecs o fthe Crown appealed to him, apart from a jingoi>tic view. They should all be ready, and the speaker pointed to the burgher and the Britisher bearing arms shoulder to shoulder and being willing to fight for the Union jack. (Applause). They should be good and loyal citizens whether in the land of their adoption or of their birth. They should do their best for cue advancement of universal training, which was not instituted for offence, but for defence. Objectors there were, but it seemed to him <the speaker) that these were more militant even than the advocates of the system, when it was considered to what lengths they would go to avoid undergoing

training. He hoped these would yet be led to use their energy in the right direction. Of course, the conscientious objector was provided for. All should be ready to defend their women, their wives, mothers, daughters and sisters, and, of course, their homes. (Applause). "Caledonia." Hail, Caledonia! name for ever dear. —Burns.

Mr J). Maxwell (Toko), in proposing the toast of "Caledonia," said he would not speak of the geography of Caledonia or its history, but of some reminiscences of its inhabitants and of some of its institutions. Perhaps they had heard the story in which the Scotchman told the Englishman he was brought up on whisky and the shorter Catechism. He got the latter hrst and the whisky later in life, but he facetiously explained that had he got the whisky hrst he would not have wanted the shorter Catechism to make him the man he was! Continuing in humorous strain, Mr Maxwell told another story of Sandy and two robbers, who, after a terrible hard light, secured a battered and crooked "saxpence." Said one robber to another on the road home: "Sandy fought so damned hard for his sixpence that, believe me, had iie bad a shilling instead he would have killed both of vis."—(Loud laughter and applause). In more serious vein, Mr Maxwell referred to the songs of Caledonia. When, he said, they compared these with some of the present day songs, they stood very much in the Scotchman's favor. Their purity, moral tone, and sentiment were very fine, indeed. In regard to the tunes, they were not sucn that when the words were taken away, only skeletons remained. Scotch songs were full of patriotism, friendship and moral sentiment. Caledonia was, indeed, proud of her music. Of the pipes, some people said they sounded best when far away, while it was wickedly remarked by others that the further away they wero the better. (Laughter). Though comparisons were odious, he asked, what music had led warriors on to deeds of heroism like the music of the pipes? Had, he asked, any of his x.oarers knows of the tinkle of the

piano encouraging anyone on m warr A woman could play a piano and an effeminate man could piay the liute, but it took a "man" to play the pipes! (Applause). Then the Ksrk of Caledonia always spoke for freedom and liberty. Scotchmen were fierce haters, deep thinkers, hard drinkers, and loyal lovers, ana were tne soul of courage, probity, honor and truth. —(Applause). Mr McAllister responded. He said that as he looked round the tables and saw the number of veteran Scotsmen present he was afraid that a mistake had been made in choosing him to respond to the toast, his recollections of the Old Land being of the haziest. The Caledonia he knew best was that depicted bythe weilders of the pen—the land they all loved because it had been brought home to them by Scott, Maclaren, and the man to do honor to whose, memory they had gathered that night. They had depicted the scenery of the land, described the homes of the land and shown the characters of true Scotsmen. These writers had made them love the country and all associated with it. They were all proud to have come from Scotland, and they were proud that their forbears had been Scots. MiMaxwell had proved that the Scot was the salt of the earth—so what further was it necessary for him to say? Scots people everywhere had always a soft place for the Old Land, whether they had come from the Old Laud themselves or whether they were merely descended from Scots people. There seemed to be a magic in the Scots tongue, and he sincerely hoped that the tongue would never die out. Young New Zealanders were acquiring a twang of their own. It was refreshing to hear the old Scots tongue, and one of the inducements to come to gatherings such as that night's was to hear the Scots tongue.

The Man from Timaru

In introducing Mr Craigie, Mr

Sangster said he had been for many years Mayor of Timaru—in fact he had made Timaru. He was not only n student of Burns, but at his own expense had erected in Timaru a monument to Burns. Tn a stonew.ill speech in the House, Mr Crnigie always became interesting—interesting enough, even, to keep Mr Hiue avrake.

Mr Craigie had kindly consented to come all the way from Timaru to propose the chief toast of the evwung. "The Immortal Memory." "A rugged Saxon brother, one of the strongest, noblest men—a Scottish Thor, a true peasant, thunder-god."—-Carlyle. .

On rising, .Mr Craigie was cordially applauded. He expressed thanks for his reception by those present and also for the chairman's flattering speech. He had not quite come all the way from Timaru. On his way up he had made a speech on Burns in the Wellington Town Hall. He felt it a great honor to have been invited all the way up from Timaru to speak to his countrymen in Stratford, and also to the English, Irish and other admirers of Burns. In the time at his disposal it would be impossible to deal fittingly with the life and work of Burns. Perhaps it would be impossible within any limits to do so. To do Burns full jus:iee it would require a genius nowise inferior to his own. He was sure there were Scotsmen present who, like himself, were indignant at the ignorant and erroneous opinions sometimes expressed regarding Burns. One such opinion was that he was hadly educated—it was said that he wrote

in the Scots language because he was too badly educated to write English. In refutation of this he would like to traverse the education of Burns, but that would not he possible. However, there was in existence an impression of Burns as he appeared at the age of twenty. This impression showed that whenever Burns was working in the fields he always had a book with him. He had no schooling as such—he was self-educated. At the age of twenty he was just as able to compose in English as ninety per cent, of the gentlemen of his time. In Burns' time there were literary jgriants, who considered his verse very fine, and they considered more wonderful his command of English: but more even than these they admired his speech. It was said that Burns would have been great in any walk lof life—that he was greater even than jliis works showed him to he. W. E. Henley had endeavored to belittle the genius of Burns and had stated that when Burns tried to write in English in prose, or verse his work »vas stilted and it appeared to him as a foreign language** He (the speaker) could flatly contradict such a conj tention. He would not say. as some did, that Burns would live when Henley was forgotten : Henley would live out his time; but he would say that Burns had written verse in pure English which would live so long as there were British hearts to feel and British irticulation to express. In the Doric he expressed every emotion that could touch the human heart. In his hands the language became the •uos'l expressive in world, and through his genius it would live for Emerson said it was the only

example of a language brought to the front by the genius of one man. A

neat feature of Burns' verse was that it was never obscure, and surely one of the highest objects of any writer should be to write clearly. He knew of no writer who wrote so

clearly as Burns. Carlyle said (and his cninion should be respected) that if Burns could have pone to a University and had had the leisure neces-

sary to a literary career he would have revolutionised the whole of the literature of xhe nation. But, asked :he speaker, would he have written "Th Twa Dougs" or "The Cotter's Saturday Xight" any better?

lould he have written them at all? Personally, he thought that if Burns had been horn in the higher walks of life they would not have been there that night honoring him. Byron was of opinion that in those circumstances Burns would have written as much verse as he did but less poetry. Books and learning did not .uid could not make Burns, and nojody was better aware of the fact than Burns himself—he knew that

ie got his gift from the Almighty, ind that learning could never make it better. Nature and circumstances

"umbined to make Burns the poet of his country. He was a true patriot —a groat patriot—his ambition was to do something for his eounry. Another ignorant and erroneous opinion was that Burns was a sinner above the average sinner. The speaker did not hold Burns up as a saint—lie had many faults; but his open, manly sincerity and his indeDendence of character outweighed bv far any faults or failings he had. "We are told," said Mr Craigie, ''that failings began in the Garden of Eden, but they did not terminate with Burns on the banks of Ayr." Burns had a great many gifts which placed him in temptations to which duller intellects would bo immune. There was one sin, however, of which he was never guilty—hyprocrisy. He hid nothing. In his works he dealt with his faults—no mortal man had ever laid more open to the light of day his faults. In the time of Bruns it was a custom of people in all walks of life to drink on all occasions. Burns p°rhaps sat long over the wine, but he was no worse than the notable Englishmen Pitt and Eox, who probably drank more in a week than Burns did in a month. Burns drank in good company—clergymen, University professors and literary men. It was a privilege to hear him speak, and he loved the company of his fellows. He was not a hard drinker or a solitary drinker—it was always for the sake of company that he sat long over the wine. When Burns drew the £4OO for his first edition, he sent half of the sum to keep a roof over his family's head. As an exciseman he received a salary of £BO per annum, but when ho died ho owed ho-

Imdy anything. One of the best features of Burns was his independence—iu the presence ol noblemen lie stood unabashed. He was fundamentally religions. He had a hearty c mtempt for the forms and religious hyprocisy of his time, but his private letters showed that he' was highly religious. If Burns had not been deeply religious he could never have Written "The Cotter's Saturday Night." Before such lines could be written they must be felt, and nobody who could feel in that manner could be irreligious. Mr Craigie concluded this section of his remarks with the remark of Bolingbroke about Marlborough: "I have no doubt that Marlborough had many faults, but Marlborough was such a great man that I have forgotten them." The same, said Mr Craigie, might well be done with Burns. Though the union with England was.in existence fifty years before Burns' time Scotland still had its separate language and distinct customs. There was no love lost between English and Scots. Even Bwwell, who came from the COiintry of Wallace and Bruce, when lie went to London, apologised for being a Scotsman. In Burns' time there were literary Scotsmen who were Scotsmen only by habitation. They adopted the French form, and the worst fault they recognised was to be guilty of a Scotticism. There was a call for a great Scotsman, and he was found not in the seats of learning but in the field. Burns belonged to the people. He sympathised with them and interpreted them to themselves Ui their own language. But for Burns' writings the Scots nation would probably not be to-day the most patriotic nation in the world. And there was disaster before the people who were not patriotic and who had no time to honor their great men. Burns was a great educator of the heart—his sympathies were universal. Who could be cruel to "dumb animals after reading his "Twa Dougs," "Address to a Mouse" or "Address to Auld Mailie." Burns had shown that a true poet need not go far afield for inspiration. He dealt with men and women of his own time, and iiis genius had immortalised them. There was ample evidence,- also, that Burns had greately elevated Scottish public taste in respect of verse. It was said that if a man left one good song behind him he deserved well ot his country: if a man left a hundred fine songs was he- not as great a benefactor as any martyr? Mr Craigie concluded with a brilliant demonstration of Burns as the poet of Nature. "The Land We Live In." From' dissension, envy, hate, And corruption guard our State, Make our country good and great, Cod defend New Zealand.—Bracken.

• Chief Kennedy made a stirring speech, his remarks being interrupted by,,,rounds,, of,, applause. , The, tables had been turned on him, he said; as at such-a gathering of Scots -they had always been lead to speak of Scotland and things-. Scottis h; and the praises of the "land of brown heath and shaggy wood" were always uppermost in one's mind, and he felt that the toast would have been better in Che hands of a native born New Zealaiider. , Previous speakers had dwelt with pride on the faefi that they were Caledonians and the sons of Caledonians. Scotsmen were dogmatic, assertive, and conceited, so they had been told, and it was only by associating with others (their English visitors especially) that they combated those enormities and reduced them to their proper proportions. He was reading the other day from some extracts (the speaker went on to say) where English statesmen, speaking in Scotland, before getting to the real business part of the speech proved in well-rounded phrases that if not exactly full-blooded Scots, they at least were something nearly approaching them. Now a Scotsman, making a speech in England would never attempt to prove that lie was an Englishman. He invariably would commence by stating he was born in Druintochty and anyone born anywhere else suffered a very severe handicap. Born"in the black north of Ireland —the home of the fighting Flsterile, the land of McQuilliam, McDonald and O'Neill, of a race purely Scottish—the spirit of unrest took early possession of the speaker, and the desire to breathe" and to expand and his feet tinned to the land of the Maori. For 34 years New Zealand had been bis adopted country. He loved her people, and* where he had lived so long, he hoped to die. "Here," said Mr Kennedy, "we have not the old historic memories and traditions, but in many respects we are ail the better for that. A new volume has been given us to be inscribed on by successive generations for good or ill. What are we going to write on its pages? The first chapters had been written by a Cook, a Marsden, a Grey, an Atkinson and a Seddon. Lofty were the ideals of those men who made the early history—men, many of whom in their youth had trod the stern road of* adversity, goaded on by gnim necessity, heartsick with injustice and the selfishness and the greed of men in the Old Land. Many of these men should have been the father of her people, but tyranny forced the cream of her sons to migrate and find a home in the unknown southern seas and other lands. In this, the farthest outpost of the Empire, the early pioneers found a genial climate, a liberal soil, a land where all would have an equal chance, and where they could worship as their conscience dictated, and where'the fear of spending 'old age'in the workhouse is unknown. And this is New Zealand.

To-day, the wonderlands of New Zealand were attracting pleasure travellers from all parts of the world. The diversity of the sights and scenes which we have, are not often foundin any part of the world. "There is the weird and strange thermal distinct where stupendous geysers, boiling lakes, craters, hot springs, and volcanic activities—at whose dread power man stands paralysed. And, again, here is some of the earth's most beautiful scenery—beautiful lakes, majestic sounds, and hords, rugged mountains, immense glaciers, mid tile bush. What shall I say of the hush, with its tall pines, beautiful ferns and flora and its solitude. Our Bracken describes;

"Oh Hush.lands calm and holy I leilrn with spirit lowly Hotv poor is human pride. When from your leafy portals 1 con)e with broader mind and mingle with my kind."

And the Maori—the finest type of savage in the world, and who tells us he is ; descended from a line of ancestors with Taniwha, which lived in the whirlpools and caves of Toligariro. It is 90 generations since then, and the old .Maori as he counts off the time before the advent of the white man exclaims with passionate earnestness: "Oh, why did he ever come to disturb us in our happy country. Why did not our sacred Taniwha warn us." But, alas,'too late. Maori and pakelia' now sat together in the Parliaments and formed laws which will be most acceptable to both peoples. ' Some of the most advanced and humane laws are to be found in the New Zealand Statute ~ Book, and the Mother Country looks on, wondering where we are going to tread next. She need not fear, and perhaps we" are like wayward children and like to go our own gate, but the heart of ;,e\v Zealand beats true to the Mother Country', and should danger from any quarter threaten, the loyalty that was shown by our men in South Africa will be found in our land today. He did not have time to tell of the many blessings and advantages we enjoyed in our new land—her trade and commerce, minerals, beef, mutton and['-climate; all these things bring responsibilities, and as Scotsmen they should seek the practical" lessons from the exploits, and sacrifices of their own countrymen and emulate the best of their lives by our lives in the future. What our aims and ideals arc will be reproduced in who come after us. He saw a very real danger threatening, and that is we are lacking in the spirit of thrift that characterised our Spartan forefathers in that "Cold North Land." Where were the great nations of Greece and Rome. Sunk in oblivion, because of their love of; pleasure. "Men shall not live by bread alone" is as true to-day as when it was uttered by the greatest of men 21100 years ago. And so we have our splendid educational system, a body of teachers to prepare our boys and girls to be independent, sell-reliant,

and industrious. A comfortable but not very noble ideal of existence. Sir Walter Scott' has described in the fcist lines of a sons:

"Vacant heart and hand and size Easy live and quiet die."

They all would agree with the speaker that such an existence was impossible for those whose ears were open to the calls that appeal with ever-growing'urgency to take a share in the burden of life, and so make New 1 Zealand the first star of the earth and first gem of the sea. Maoriland, our Maoriland Queen of the Southern Sea; Thy fertile fields and sea-girt strand Ake, a toast to thee.

Mr .1. B. Richards, responding, said he could accept the compliments made by Mr Kennedy without reservation. The land we lived in was the finest on this planet—on any planet—in any solar system. Such was his faith in the country. The older lands had good guides for the future in their traditions. New Zealand had as yet no traditions, but for the time they had been in existence they had done well. We could look hack wifli pride on the pioneers who had' laid the foundations of the country—who left their beloved native land to make a home in a strange land. As' against traditions, however, there weve ideals. They might not realise their ideals but should strive to approximate to them as nearly as possible. The ideals of some might not rise above material wealth, but there, should fie no lack of material wealth if only a national character was developed. He believed with Ruskin that their ideal should be to populate the land with healthy bright-eyed children. Our Cuesls and Visitors. I'Vien'ship mak's us a' mair happy, Prien'ship gies us a' delight I'Vien'ship consecrates the drappie, I'Vieii'ship brings us here to-night. Mr A. I<\ Grant said Mi- Craigie deserved the thanks of all for coining i»to Stratford. He 'the speaker) had listened to many addresses on Burns,

but could not remember one more able or interesting than Mr Craigie.'s,

The Mayor, responding, said the Scottish Society had become very strong in Stratford, due, no doubt, to the line initiatory work done by Mr Alex Henderson, the first secretary. In all communities there was no more successful society than the Scottish Society. This might be liecause of the clannishness of the Scots, but he was more inclined to believe that their success followed on their warm-heartedness. Stratford had been named after Shakespeare's town, but by present appearances there would be a statue of Burns before there was a statue of Shakespeare.

The Ladies.

What signifies- the life o' man An 'twere ua lor the lassies, 0— —Bums.

Mr E. S. Rutheri'urd, in proposing what he ; termed "the happiest toast" ot the evening, regretted the absence of the ladies. The toast was a fitting one. The lassies o' Scotland were blithe, bonny, and charming, and whose charms were so well extolled by the immortal poet whom they had met to honor. As an instance, the speaker referred to the claims oi Mary, Queen of Scots. His reference to the late Lord Strathcoua was received with applause. The patience and self denial of the women of Scotland went a long way to build up for Scotsmen the honor attached to their names in every avenue of industry and commerce the world o'er. All remembered with gratitude the pioneer work of both men and women who had come out to these parts and made New Zealand what it was to-day. (Applause.)

Mr S. Mftealister briefly, responded to the toast.

The Chairman.

Mr Ted Jackson, in proposing the toast,, congratulated, the Society and the district on having such a sterling iinan at the head of' affairs as Mr Sangster. He was an excellent family man—(applause)—of whom the stalwart sons present »„Mr Adam and Mr Glen) as well as the other bers of the family ''might well be ,proud as a father. Mr Sangster, in his reply, in thanking all for the hearty response to the toast, expressed his pleasure at the success of the evening as a whole. ,He -specially thanked the gentlemen from Hawera who had contributed v.oeai items during the evening not forgetting all the others-who were included iirthe social programme. Mr Sangster referred to the style flf celebration. which the Society Had favored since its inception on the occasion of the great .■anniversary, and hinted at-the-possibility of a future change in the nature of a popular social evening .where the womenfolk would be present—in his own words where, in fact, Walker" would be absent. (Laughter and ap plause.) ~' . (

On being appealed to, Mr Craigie remarked upon the ''old fashioned'' way of celebrating Bums, as the\ were doing that evening, and mentioned the new wa'y (in his opinion the best way) wherein Hums' songs and poems and speeches held sway among a popular 1 gathering of ,b.ot!i sexes.' 'lt struck him as .somewhat odd that during the whole evening only' one of Burns'' songs had beer given. : 'He w-oukl like to see in tin' future, as they had in Timaru (his home) and in Wellington, a general gathering where all might be present, and where' they could educate the people in the beauty of' their great patriot's writings. The Press. "A ciiiel among ye taking notes An faith he'll prent it.'—'Burns.'. 'r'tie toast of the press was proposed by Mr «JV Rutherford and duly honored. "Auld Lang Syne." ' The gathering broke up with the singing of *:Auhl Jiang Syne," those present making a circle right round the lloor of the .Hall.