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landers who were sick or invalided in the various military hospitals. It will be remembered that the Boer delegates were in conference as to peace negotiations at this time, and at Pretoria the Premier had the honour of a long interview with His Excellency Lord Milner and with Lord Kitchener. The Ninth New Zealand Contingent were inspected at Vereeniging, where the main body of the peace delegates were located, and on arrival at Bloemfontein the following address was presented from the Town Council:— To the Eight Honourable Richard John Seddon, P.C., LL.D., Premier of the Colony of New Zealand. Sir, — On behalf of the citizens in Bloemfontein we beg to offer you and Mrs. Seddon a very hearty welcome to this city. We desire to express to you our acknowledgment of the distinguished services rendered by you to the great and world-wide Empire to which we now also have the honour to belong, and we feel assured that the great sacrifices made and the splendid services still being rendered by your fellow-colonists in New Zealand, as well as by those from other parts of His Majesty's dominions, will result in strengthening and drawing closer the bonds that unite us all as children of the Mother-country. We regret that your arrangements do not permit of your making sufficient stay to partake of the hospitality which we desired to tender you, but we take this opportunity of wishing you and Mrs. Seddon a pleasant voyage to the Old Country, and express the hope that your deliberations with the other Premiers of the Empire may result in great and lasting good. We remain, &c, W. Eeid, Mayor. W. Olds, H. J. Barlow, W. F. Hornby, W. Welbick, H. F. Gill, A. Witt, A. Curling, ' Councillors. W. D. Koller, Town Clerk. Town House, Bloemfontein, 22nd May, 1902. The Municipality of Beaconsfield, a suburb of Kimberley, also presented the following address : — The Citizens of Beaconsfield to the Eight Hon. E. J. Seddon, Prime Minister of the Colony of New Zealand. Town Hall, Beaconsfield, Victoria Day, 24th May, 1902. To the Eight Hon. R. J. Seddon, Prime Minister of the Colony of New Zealand. SirAs the Premier of that portion of the Empire which may be appropriately designated " the British Isles of the Southern Seas," it is with feelings of the utmost pleasure that we extend to you, on behalf of the inhabitants of Beaconsfield, a cordial welcome to the diamond-fields of South Africa on this the occasion of your first visit. We also desire to express to you our acknowledgment of the noble and patriotic manner in which your volunteers came to our aid in the troublous times we have recently encountered, and would more especially mention the members of the First Contingent who were included in the force that came to our relief. The priceless services of your colonists will never be forgotten, and will remain as one of the strongest links in the chain which now binds together more firmly the Home-country, its colonies, and dependencies. Wishing you further honour and distinction at the coronation of His Most Gracious Majesty, and a most enjoyable tour. We have, &c, John M. Pratley, Mayor. G. A. Blackbeard, \ J. Molyneaux, W. Austin Knight, E. Jones, I Members of the Municipal C. F. Cogle, t Council of Beaconsfield. C. Sohoum, Joseph Troup, Thomas Pratley, I J. Hopwood Thorp, Town Clerk. At Kimberley five addresses were presented to the Premier, as follows: — To the Eight Honourable Richard J. Seddon, Premier of the Colony of New Zealand. Sir, — We, the Mayor and Borough Councillors of Kimberley, for ourselves and on behalf of the citizens of Kimberley generally, beg to offer you a sincere and hearty welcome to this town. While we are mindful of your great work in New Zealand during the past ten years—a period of exceptional progress and development in every branch of State activity and commercial enterprise—we desire more particularly on this occasion to express our keen and heartfelt appreciation of the signal services which you have rendered in the wider field of Imperial statesmanship. We