AT THE BASIN RESERVE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 932, 27 September 1910, Page 6

AT THE BASIN RESERVE.

MILITARY DISPLAY A FIASCO

CROWD TAXES POSSESSION

i While the speeches were in" progress,' tho troops, it . had, : ,previouslyan : . nounced; were to, take up .their, position in; the: Ba^n!. Reserve;.' and the; public ;with,'/vari'oris !military,, displays till .the civic functipn/:was,'over' ana his Ex-, cellericy -was; free! to " inspect them.-- Theirs was to; be the l grand' finale,/'.as .it. :were;', But--mari proposes,: eto! When the. troops proceeded to enter : the:;.'Basin/Reserve, ;it; was' a,t ;orice, eviderit' that/trcuble was- in store, and- all for want -of a little ; fore- ; ''thought." i-.The!'great .'rays of. a;'-search-' 'light which 1 had, been installed at' :Alex- ; andra,; Barracks/. by,' Lieutenants Brpvfn' and - Ems/ arid a. party of 'N.C ; O. s' and men of No. 3 Company, G.A.V., .under the : supervision:of• Captain J.; E. Duigan, Chief'!'. Instructor '! of.; .Engineers, ■; shone, down upon a-black dense mass of humane: • ity.. ' No, clear: space;, had /: been, reserved .for' the ! trobps, so : there- was nothing :fpr: it -but to' make .one..And,, they/./did, though it: took: them: till : 9.20 '_p.m.,- and cost the multitude the loss ;of ■ the. pro-: mised displays, . to. accomplish the;-.feat;; They were first! drawn 'up on. the eastern side/of the'reserve, in lmes;of:companies in quarter. . column, and /.-.0n,,, the. wcrd of command' moved;. pff across ths grass, drivingthe multitude, whichtook! the. whole! thing; as joke,- bfr; ■'fore' them. Then . they, halted a .short distance'from the grand stand, , and the rUle .biitts"had : ,no; sooner/hit, the :sward than the-; mass- of. civilians swarmed' 'in: amongst" them, /'making confiisibn wprse, confounded.' : There' were, some temper? lost among the seething multitude, and: . some of ".the comments ' passed/ .by the sorely-tried / officers ' were beyond; espres-; sion. When Ilis Excellency arrived', a few minutes- after 9 o'clock, tho- Welling-! 'tori! Rifle .Battalion, ;by/ dint/of. persistent f'inove-on's,'' had m anaged to clear ,a ; small; space, and. into,this were ppured cempariy, 'after coinpany,; the .swelling/'mass of scar'let /slowly , pressing back the . populiice.Order' was gradually evolved out of chaos, and, with -only'a minute -or.';so'.to spare,, the ranks deployed into line's of com-' panies in quarter 'column, the .;. brigade bugler' sounded, his;and the/:troops stood to the present, as His-Excellency: ' descended the - from ,the: pfficial dais. - "Where's the band ?"o .'asked . somebody. ■No band; 'rip National' Anthem.., ■ .; !"Cari't- find band; anywhere,": replied; a; despairing, voice..,; .' ■ .- • " "Ifs lost—do: without it," I .\came. the. .voice of philosoohy. • Just'ithen'the'band /trotted! hurriedly into, view, the prelimin-, ary strains of "God Save the King'f floated into the' air, arid! the inspection: began. It was brief,.'lasting about ten minutes only, and the troops were then dismissed. There 'w'tf e no' "displays. " The ambitious finale was a fiasco. ' . ■" ;