WELLINGTON ECHOES.

Colonist, Volume LII, Issue 12738, 9 March 1910, Page 4 (Supplement)

WELLINGTON ECHOES.

(.From Our Own Correspondent.} February 28th, 1910. We have a new spelling' for "'week." It is "Jvitchener. 1 ' For tlie moment | there is no other way. Kitchener has 1 filled our eyes, pemieaied our I thoughts, got on our nerves, and pervaded our system. It is prooable that the impression we have given him is of a people given to forming crowds tiiat iequire regulation, and to cheering which " wants practice. The impression he leaves behind is remarkably good, but it not the same as that which wo Had from the writers and the pictures who have been dealing with him for the last ten or twelve years. The writers all, it is plain, go too far in the austere direction, dwelling too much on the. mechanical aspect his career is apt to invoke, and the pictures make him far more the stern idealist than the practical man he proclaims himself to be at the first view, and they have failed to grasp the reality of him. They are in fact just as much out in essentials as they are in the matter of colour. As to that, they give you the idea of a stern, dark-eyed man with a dark, s'niooth face, whereas he is of brick red colour, with light eyes of a colour difficult to name exactly., and all over tho face the prevailing characteristic is the roughness of exposure to sun and wind. As for the grim, stern expression, the usual wear of Jiis'facci was a genial pleased smile, and a very pleasant smile it was. But for that tJiere were, of course, obvious reasons. One realised in the flash of that smile how ho must have looked when, after the celebrated service at Gordon's tomb, the officers of the victorious army wiuch he had just led to Khartoum went up to him and shook hands. Moreover, if there was more geniality than in- the pictures, there is at least as much power, and in respect of the signs of the fighting quality there is considerably more. I'ou can understand the owner of the real face, making dispositions with the precision of machinery, but you can also fail to understand how any man could have said that the actual tactical work at the supreme moment is done by other people. It is not only tho faoe pf the man — that expression of it which the pictures have somewhat misced which contradicts that curious assumption, but there is the extraordinary energy he displays in watching and following the movements of troops in action, which proclaims the ' -activo commander who sees everything and does everything himself. Moreover, there is his marvellous eye for country, the eye that grasped the features of the Johnsonville country as well as the inhabitants who > have lived there from time immemorial. Tlie strong personality of tho man was seen in everything connected with his duty from first to last. He landed punctual to the minute> he went through the streets to his club briskly, tlie great meeting in the Town Hall was full of brightly jdressed folk and the customary speeches, but it did not last quite twenty-five minuies, and everything said that could bo thought of as necessary — it was a record of public meetings. The Marshal, by the way, said less than anybody else, saying it with briskness and clear voice evidently accustomed to say what its owner wanted as briefly and as directly as it is possible for words to carry meaning. The voice was sufliciont for the purpose, but not a pleasant voice, nor a striking, and language is certainly not one of the sciences he has cultivated with enthusiasm. But when it comes to tho written word, there is nobody who can show Kitchener the way, as was seen by the memorandum he read at the State banquet (the biggest speech of his lifo he called it) about the military forces of the Dominion and their value to the Empire. On that occasion ho evidently thought it wise not to trust to tho unaccustomed use of extempore words, and politic to place himself beyond the chance of mistaken reporting, and the result was a memorandum very clear, explicit and succinct, and very carefully read. It occupied some half column of tho newspapers next morning, and was eminently readable. For tho rest of tho functions there is no need to go into particulars very far. It is impossible <to add to the impressions produced by the newspaper accounts of the. rapid way in which the militarj' displays were dealt with by this master of war. But the review of the cadets— nearly 4000 strong— on Friday stands out with a prominence which cannot be denied. There the Marshal came out in a new character, expansive, broadly smiling, large hearted. He delighted in the' little sturdy chaps, sq brisk and so yell drilled, .-ad so full of pluck and spirit, with not a weakling among them. Lot those who are always talking of the degeneracy of the people of this Dominion and the difficulty of getting recruits for this and that, think what this implies! And nothing could exceed the grave respect, with which the Marshal treat<%'l this army of small warriors. • It , wanned the hearts of all present, and there were a good few in spite of the weathor, which was. atrocious, to see the tall figure halt opposite the* centre, of the lino of massed battalions, and •rive them the salute as gravely as if they were veteran •soldiery. Not a boy of the lot will- over forget that sight, nor the kindly interest with he marched round inspecting them, nor the consideration, with which he left' the saluting post to give a drier marching" ground, nor the thoughtful'ness with which he forced the march past to tho double, and directed the dismissal at the earliest possible moment, nor the enthusiastic way in which he spoke to their officers about them. AIJ the time the rain poured down ; the boj-s were soaking wet ; tha splash of their feet around the racecourse was incessant, and their good humour the most admirable thing one could wish to see in a day's march. How the masses of them brokei into column, how the columns went by at the double, trotting steadily, and straight for the most part too, as possible, and how onco past the Marshal they resumed the sturdy stride of the quick step that brought them to tho. doubling pomt — these things the crowd who had the good fortune to see will never forget. While going away this crowd expressed many misgivings about the effect of the wetting and exposure, but the boys proved as hardy as anyone, could wish the soldiers of the. future to be, and the thoughtfulness of the authorities in getting them into various halls and other places of shelter, with fresh, dry straw, and big fires and hot drink and food did the Test. Half a dozen in the hands of the doctors for a short time and the worst was over. On the whole this cadet display was one. of the. finest things any of us had ever seen, ( and wo all said we would not have missed it for anything. It stamped the cadet movement of. the Dominion as eminently the right thing, and a better thingthan it is anywhere elsev Sydney showed 1500 only.

The Marshal evidently thought so too. As for tho rest of tho forces, ho dtd not conceal on tho one- hand the admiration ho felt foi their physique, and their excellent spirit, or on the other his opinion that they have a great deal to learn before they can bo classed as soldiers, who ki ow their business. To which end he thinks it would bo an advantage if Tommy Atkins cov'.d be brought to stay aircng them for a 3'oar or two. Wo are not, of course, lik;ly to trouble the worthy Thomas,, but we shall manage ii get into shape somehow after the manner of the gradual evolution mentioned as due in the aforesaid memorandum read at the State banquet) Of tho. banquots what neied to say that in all respects but one they were as other banquets are, the exception being tho businesslike brevity of tha •speeches and "the paucity of their number. The presence of that practical ' figure repressed tho usual tendency of banqueteers to cover the whole world with the excursions of exuberant oratory, and what tho oratory was allowed to cover it did so with considerable promptness. After the first banquet came the last journey through these streets in the motor car, the last pressing crowd, the last smilct of the Marshal, and the very cheer of tho. crowd, which still showed the same lack of knowledge of the art of cheering. One hoot from the engine, and there was nothing but a rapidly disappearing wreath of smoke, and the vary last was tho rumble of a train out of sight in the tunnel not far off the Thorndon platform. It remains to be said that the disposition of all ranks of the soldiery was excellent, and the test of their endurance very heavy. But they were nore the worse, and after the business enjoyed themselves in hundreds in the town, getting back to camp uproariously between ten and midnight in various trains provided by the department, and crowded by the men beyond power of thought. The military carnival was not permitted to end without a Maori address in the ancient manner, which is the manner in which one soldier of fame speaks to another. Just a touch not to be forgotten." The Marshal rode during the operations in the Tawa Valley the horse which the late Mr Scddon used to ride. It made people say that the spirit of "Old Dick" had got among the men.