ARRIVAL OF THE OWESTRY GRANGE.

Colonist, Volume XLVIII, Issue 11668, 2 July 1906, Page 1 (Supplement)

ARRIVAL OF THE OWESTRY GRANGE.

\ SAD AND SOLEMN LANDING. WELLINGTON IN MOURNING. Wellington, June IT. Mr Hall-Jones, Premier, has been informed that it has been proposed in many centres to hold memorial services at the hour decided on for the funeral. He considers that this would be a graceful and fitting tribute to the memory of the late Prime Minister. The city is in mourning, and flags are tlying at half-mast everywhere. Many of the shops and public buildings are draped in black, while otner signs of mourning are numerous. H.M.S. Encounter, which went out again at five o'clock to meet the Oswestry Grange, failed to find her, tbe stoamor arriving in the stream shortly after ten o'clock. Sue anchored there, and was joined by the Government steamer Tutanekai. winch took out the Acting-Premier and members of the Seddon family, it was half past eleven before the ships came up to tbe wharf, mid- j night striking' just, as the Oswestry i Grange tied up. Members of the Ministry and of Parliament went on I board to see the body, which lay in ' the saloon. The expression of the ; face was jjeaceful and very life-like. | Mrs Seddon and iamil}', who were I very much aJVected, went ashore shortly afterwards. More than an hour was occupied in the diflicultj j work of putting the body in an outer co flin and moving it to the i gangway. The whole thing weighed j nine hundredsveight. About half-past one twelve artilleryman went aboard to act as bearers, and the body was | carried down to the wharf. Mr HallJones preceding. All stood bareheaded, a croup of officers of the military staff and of H.M.S. Pioneer standing at tho salute. The coffin j was. covered with the New Zealand , Ensign, and the hearse with the; Union Jack. At the barriers of the wharf there was a crowd of one or two thousand people, who waited | four or five hours. They reverently j parted to let the hearse pass, and j followed silently to tbe Ministerial residence in Molesworth street. ! H.M.S. Encounter, which had! returned to port in response to \ a wireless message from H.M.S. i Pioneer, fired a salute of twenty i guns as tbe body left tbe whaif, the{ Post Office bell tolling at tho same time.