PUBLIC RECEPTION TO DION BOUCICAULT.

Te Aroha News, Volume III, Issue 130, 28 November 1885, Page 4

PUBLIC RECEPTION TO DION BOUCICAULT.

Mb Diov Boucioaujlt, the world renowned dramatist and actor, who comes to Auckon a brief professional visit; piloted by Messrs MacVlahon and Leitch, arrived on Nov. 23 by the s.s. Te Anau. A large crowd was on the wbarf to greet the distinguished Ptranger, and a carriage drawn by four spanking greys, supplied by Mr Johnson, was also in attendance. All these arrangements, however, were upset in consequence of an unavoidable delay in passing the steamor. Air Boucicault then drove to the Star Hotel where a parry of representative citizanp, heaied by his Worship the Mayor (Mr W.R Waddel) interviewed him thereab 11 o'clock. Among those present were Sir Fred. Whitaker, K.C.M.G., Hon. W. Swanson, M.LC., Rev. (\ M. Nelson, ft'ev. Father Walter Macdonald, Messrs W. J. Hurnt, M H H., F. J. VIOFB, MHR, E. MitcheUon, M.EJ.R, Josiah C. Firth, William Aitken, J H. Upton, <i raves Aickin Chairman Chamber of Commerce; L). J. McLeod .John Rose(Sargood and C >mpany), James C.iates, Wiliam Burton, and represents tives from the pi ess. After the gentlemen bad been introduced to Mr Boucicault by Mr LmCH, HL-* Worship the Mayor, addressing Mi Boucicault, said that on heating ot the expected arrival of so distinguished and far tamed a gentleman, it had been thought desirable that some of. the leading citizen* and repiesentative men of the place should bid him welcome to AuckUnd In thenimt ot the citizens he gave that welcome moi>i heartily, and hoped that Mr BoucicaultV Boj .urn would b« a pleasant one. Indeed, he might say on behalf of those present that though he was here tor the first time.yet he and the citizens were not strangers. _ AH H»u*t have heard and most seen and highlj appreciated the *• Colleen Ba«n," "Anah na Po^uo," and the " Shaughraun." Ht had hunatlf spent many enjoyable evening^ in seeing the perfomances of these play-, and knowing how high they stood in popular regard, he could imagine how eager the people would be to embrace the opportunity of eeeing them per formed under the author's supervision, and, he understood, also with his direct par ticipation in the peiformances He had also read with great interest Mr Bouci ciulfc'-* comment** and explanations as t< tha objects he had in wilting those piecep v.z , to place in a fair light before the world the pea.-an'ry of that part of the Uln Country of which he claimed to boa native -< c thought t he profession of dramatist am author enabltd this to be done far betrei than in any other way, especially fiora tb« exa'ted position Mr Boucicault held in that profes-ion. A 9 there were other geutlemei who desired to address a few words, he foit it unnecessary to pay more than to rtpea' he assurance of the great pleasuie that i gave those present, and the people of A uck land generally, to have Mr Boucicault ii their midst. Mr Graves Aickih (Chairman of tb« Chamber ot Commerce) said he believed i to ho the wish of those present that one o ( Auckland's oldest identities, MrJ. C Firth should now say a few woids. Mr J. C. Firth, addressing Mr Bouci raulr, said it whs always a pleasme for tht inhabitants of British colouies to welcv>m< gentlemen from their native country, be cause they felc that they were bound to get her by th 3 same literature, by the earn, lawn, and by the same hii-tory. It wa^ always a great advantage to receive then mes-engers, who brought to us intimatiom of the new life, and the grand ideas o> which, after all, the Old Country whs the centre, but which also, he hoped, animated tha bieists of every section of the English speaking race. We wei etherefore the mor« ready to welcome with the greatest 0 pleasure every dUtinjjutshed man who came to our shores, teeiing that he was a messengt-i from the dear old country a messengei from home Io meeting Mr Boucicaul', however, we recognised that he was far »bo\e theoidtuary me^tnger, and consequtnt'ya'l the more welcome.as a distinguished man ii hid hijihpiofes-ion - a profession that rightlj handled, btcame one of the great teaching powers of the civilit-ed world. More than «ll in welcoming him, we did so not onl> because he was a distinguished member ot his profession, but a^o because he was « patriot who among the plaudits of entranced audiences, amongst the acclama tions of an admiiing public, never forgot his cmntry. He (Vlr I i th) had had the pleasure of reading Mr coucicault's very admirable address delivtivd recentl} by him in the city of Wellington. That address had touched our hearts, and so fai a 9 he was personally concerned, had he 1 ever beard cf any of Mr Boucicault's plays, his heart would have gonn out to him when he read of him eaybg that he was but " as a minstrel b.»y, tiavelling from place to place siting the songs of his country." Bt thanked him also for the compliments which he had passed upon the English and Sc >ttish colonists, as for instance when he said the Engli-hmeu and Scotchmen of the colonies ha 1 given their Irish fellow-country men a chance. The man who invented ot app'ied a phrase containing' a great truth in a few words was a benefactor to hi* kind, and io those lew words to which he rtferred how much was contained. He was an Englishman himself and on behalf of his countrymen he said that although inittakes many and great had been matte by England with re gard to Ireland, yet the wider sympathy and better knowledge, a truer feeling, and a deeper love animated the Englishman of to day towards his irifh brethren thmhad ever, xisted before. He was proud to think that a distinguished man like Mr Bmicicault should come here, and co promptly recognise a" a feature of life in theirnewlands that as Engli*hmen we were desirous of giving our Irish fellow-countrymen a chance. He thanked him for the c mp'imenu that he had paid in putt ng tb a truth into a few terse word*. We were not, hewever, blind to the difficulties of the portion which his own and Mr Boucioault'n fellow countrymen at home were endeavouring to cope with. They had to allay the bitterntBo aiuing from past mistakes, and to reconcile the discordant elements which unhappily had existed for a long lime back, but it wassatiffaotory to see that there was a desire to face all these difficulties in the hope of consolidating a grand nation, stronger and nobler than the world had ever seen, because united in heart and soul. (Mr Boucicault : Hear ! Hear ') None of them could, afford to look down upon hi- Irish fellow-countrymen. Glancing over the roll of fame, they saw side by side everywhere the names of Englishmen, Scotchmen, and Irishmen. Today they had an Irishman aa Governor Gene Val, tomorrow a° Ambassador, and ptrhap-t the next as Prime Minister. In fact, from policeman to Governor, we found the ■■'''- , *>* ' '*

Irishman everywhere shoulder to shoulder with hi* £n*»li-h and Scotch fellow-country-men, and distinguishing himself frequently — alwajs he might f^y. It was the saute here us at home. Without being desirou* of saying anything that might appear; unkind, he might be peruiitttd to remark ih»t the Irishman out of his countiy was a distinguished man, and what was bet'er still. - a bentfactor to his kind. Why ehouU he not distinyuifh him* -elf also in his native land ? He believed that ihe Irish people had bad many giievances to complain of, and that they had buffered grievuus wrong but everyone uiust recognise the grand feeling that was now abroad to redress tho*e grievances, and atone for those wrong*. Still, while the liifh people had many real grievances to complain of, they had also many fancied grievances as well. Ha hoped that the Irishmen world feel a q iured that English people were determined to redrees thoee that Were real and to remove those that were fancied. Me trusted that the Legislature of the mtnediate future wou d place Englishmen, Scotchmen, and Imhmen on a true level and biiug the three kingdoms >>houldt.r to shoulder in every respect. There was one matter that he ought not to forget, and it wus thi« : It seemed too that whatever might be the result of the coming legislation — and in it all of us took a de?p interest in the hope that it would make stronger and stronger, and weld more firmly, the links of union between the three ocuntiioe- yet, he repeated, it mutt not be forgotten that if England could not do without li eland, Ireland could noi.e the less dispense with England. It wan because of the noble qualities of englishmen that the genius, daring, and po*er of Ii eland had come co prominently to the fiont. He thould look upon it as one of the greatest misfortunes of the English • epeaking race if, in consequence of Mr PurneH's action, the chasm which now separated the two nations became widened. The hope .»f all of us was that Mr JtJouticault like the rrint-trel boy whom he had described hitmilf to be— like a missioner-a mes--engerfroualandtoland, should be the means .if and would take good care whatever happened to emphasise the eentiment thht no legisla'ion,notfepaiation feeling should re illowed to lead to the sundering of Ireland trom England, because separated from Hnf and, «he future of Irelaud wouid bo dak indeed. As one of the oldest inhabitant* ( f this city, he concluded by giving Mr Boucicdult a heaify welcome. Mr Boucicault in rtply, said that he need hardly tell the gentlemen present that that meeting had taken him entirely by surprise, itid that what fe\f words he might have to say were those that roee co the top of his heart. They were the effusions of his grateful feeling that to every portion of the colonits he had visited, and from the very firtt moment that he oet foot on Austialusian s< il,thtie *as beating in in a big Irish heart. Hetelt it tirston the shores of Sydney ; it had accompanied him right through to Melbourne and oack again to Sydney, and it had made its pretence matnfesc to him throughout ohe whole of these beautiful Wand-, And here at last, when he was about to take hid leave oi Australasia, he found it warmer and more bursiing forth than ever. Turning to Mr Firth, Mr Boucicault weiit on to say that he had been asked tomething with regaid to the relations between Ireland atid England. He v\ i-hed them, an one joining to them^raightfiom L eland. Great mtain, and tbeUnited States of America, which were to a very fr»eat extent incorp< • ated politically with England - because the two ejuntriee felt with one feeling, and b.at with one heait— to give them the ist-urvmce that the great bulk of lribhm»n m all tho-e countries— the men of wit, the men of brain, and the men of standing, had never had the smallest, the most remote leeire for sepiration from England. He rold them now, as au Irishman, that the Lit-h people wouid be what are vulgarly termed •D fools, if under any pretence they -hould withdraw from their potmen as partners in Great Bri am and Co., the firm, as dealers in civilization hat the world had ever seen. I<ish« men, he repeated, would be the greatest oots iv the" world if they sought to bt« :ome independent of the grandest firm the world had ever seen, They had not the remotest intention of such a thin; , There were a few blatant heroes, and they might exist in this country as elsewheie aho would take every opportunity making themselves very They were to be found in New York, Louis, Ireland, England, and out the colonies, and they knew of the vague and excr<*vagan l . calk of which these folks made use. It was put into print and descanted upon by tLo newspaper:-; it was because it was peculiar, and not because it was accompanied by any great weight. Thoy were merely tho Communists of their country ~Ex» cieraists in heart -but carryintr no brain v* ith them. They were listened to because freedom of speech existed everywhere iv the nfjlo-baxon world. They represented, however, nothing. As for himself, he came to Australia a perfect ttranger. He came tirat to the United States, the. eldest child of England, and thence he came on to visit Australasia, the youngest child. Me found here the same institutions as there ; they might be called by another name, but they were the same thing. He had found, too, in England precisely the same thing called by another name. As for royalty, there was no one respected it 'more than himself, Hince the greatest woman who had presided over the destines of the English 1 nation now sat upon the throne. He d« • dared that at the present moment If a pleb • dcite of the world -ie., of the thiukinr, reading and civil zed people of the who 0 world— were taken if they were to be asked for their opinion as to who was the greatest human being now exi-ting in the world, all aima would be pointed to Q-jeen Victoria, ;*he had a'eeied a great nation over the last forty years — pc» haps the moßt volcanic years in the whole of its history - aud had steered it w isely and well. All people acknowledged her greatness, and esteemed her. Even the Communists of France, the Internationalists of Germany, the Mhilists of Rursia, and the Fenians of his own country bowed to her and spoke of her with respect. They acknowledged her to be the great object of worship of the whole world. He went across to tha United States, and what did he tee there, or rather what did he not see? There were 55,000,0u0 of people in that large country, and he had never yet seen there a policeman or a soldier — never seen the practical means by which the peace of that country was maintained and sustained. He went through France, and he saw nothing else cropping out so much in every direction but the means of keeping down the people by vit-ible physical power; he had seen nothing of the kind in Australia or N,ew Zealand. He bad never seen a policeman here nor a soldier, 6 except one, or. two who were kept for show ,to parade on some special occasions., What did all this tn> an ? It meant free institutions -it meant t6 f gtverutrent. He wenu. to 1,-elmd, and ca w plenty \iot t h soldiers;:? there, because they had nob- self-government.

But th*y tfere going to have it, and directly it was obtained the soldier* wou'd disappear and the peace of the land would be at) eafily maintained as it Wa« here. **ive Irishmen at home that chance of self-government, and hid word for it that they wiu'd bHow that they would not disappoint the best hopes of their friend*. 1 hey would prove to the world that they were not: the dwolute, idl-, lawless race which unfortunately they had- got the discredit of being. Perhaps* he was wandering into subjects better fit for a political dsjuseion ih*n a social meeting. (Cr.es <f f * No, no."} Where gentlemen were kind enough to come forward holding out to him in welcome their hands with their hearts in them. He came, as he had f>a'd elsewhere, like a minstrel boy playing for their amusement and ringing the songa of hi* native country, and as a very great poet had *aid, *' Let any man who please." mnko the laws of a country, but let, me t-ing its song* and I will do more good." He wan proud to be a min 6 trel in thati sense, and En>ud to be a me-sentrer in bearing with im mest-agea of love and sympathy from one to other of the races which formed the grandest empire that the world had ever peen. As Daniel Webster had 8«H, the Nationals of Kngland formed a ring around the h-ibit of th- world, and so, too it was true of his own country that he had found its brogue wherever the English language was epoken. He had never been to any Ensrli-h-speaking pUce where the brogue had not made itself bearrl, and where Iri-hmen were not, mixed up with Englishmen for all were really the same. When the time came if it everdi I come, and God forbid that it should, that great Britain -the little mother at Home— would be callei upon to hold her own against the world, he felt sure tSat the English speakine fuce? won'd rise as one man. and 'he 5.i 000,000 in the United Spates, wirh the 45 000,000 under the British flag would De found fighting for th»t. o'd land, which was the temple of civilization and of the xvhole woriH. Mr Bouciciult concluded by expres»ing the hope tint the performance of hia plays during hia present vi^it would enable the people of Auckland to enjoy a few pleasant evenings at the Theatre.