THE CORONATION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1146, 6 June 1911, Page 6

THE CORONATION.

HIS MAJESTY'S 100,000 CHILD GUESTS. CORONATION HUSH TO THE HOMELAND. The arrangements for the Coronation fete which tho Kins'is giving to 100,000 London school children at the Crystal Palace on June 30 were settled at a meeting of tho organising committee held at Buckingham Palace on Monday, April It was announced that, with the facilities given by the railway companies, all the children will be conveyed to the I'alaco without a change ot trains. The children to be invited will be taken in e(;ual proportions from all tho London County Council elementary schools, the number of boys and girls being equal. To ensure absolute iairness in the selection of children, as all over twelve cannot bo invited, the guests will be chosen by lot. Blanks and winning numbers, equal to the total number of tne children over twelve, will be i>laced in a hat. The qualified children will then draw from the hat, the teachers recording their names and addresses of those who are successful. It is estimated that about three of every four of the qualified children will be able to attend the fete. The army of children'will be organised in divisions, regiments, mid sections. There will be five divisions, the Red, Light Blue, Yellow, White, and Green. Each division will then be split into regiments, which wil! lie known a? the A, B, C, etc., Regiment of tho Red, Blue, Yellow, etc., Division. Each regiment, also, will be divided up into sections, each section representing about thirty children, and there will bo a teacher in charge of each section.

Each child will have its number in the regiment, and will have a badge, the colour of its division, showing the distinctive letter of its regiment and its individual number in the regiment; while the sectional leader will have some form of badge marking the division and regiment to which he or she belongs, also denoting the distinctive numbers of the children under his or her particular charge. On arriving at the Palace, the children—one division at a time—will witness a scene from the Pageant of London, perhaps the most impressive one of all, for in it will be grouped (he representatives of Greater Britain over tho seas. After the children, of each division have witnessed the scene they will leave the pageant ground for refreshment, when tho mug, which the King is giving to each child, will be presented. After each division has had refreshment, the children will be permitted to go to'the many entertainments which the Festival of Empire and the Crystal Palace this year atl'ords. These include the highly interesting and instructive trip on th'o All-Red Koute, water-chutes, toboggans, coasters, mountain railways, ■etc., etc., all of which will bo open, l'rco to the children on this day. It is calculated that the children will be able to spend a. full five hours of uuimterrupted pleasure at the Palace, and the time-table is so arranged that the last division will leavo at quite a reasonable hour. The King, it is expected, -\yill spend at least an hour among his little guests. His Majesty will motor round tho grounds, stopping at various points to watch tho children in their enjoyment. Coronation Scats, A remarkable demand for seats for the Coronation procession has set in. One of the finest positions on tho short route is, of course, at Westminster Hospital, right opposite tho Abbey, where a stand is being built, tho funds obtained, going to benefit tho hospital. The prices of seats range from fiva guineas lo twenty guineas, and the secretary stated on April 27 that already .£II,OOO worth had been disposed of, many to those who were present in a similar stand at the last Coronation. .. The charge includes breakfast and luncheon'. , , ".'." . '. 'Elsewhere on the Coronation procession routo good prices are being obtained. Jlany applications are coming from the over-sou Dominions and the United Stales by cablegram, and it looks as if there will bo keen competition for places. Tho steadiness of tho demand is surprising dealers, in sents, as it was anticipated that for at least a fortnight or three weeks tho call would be only moderate. More than half the accommodation, as in the eass of the Westminster Hospital, had already been taken up by tho end of April. ■ • Crowded Steamers, Each steamer coming from tho United States, from Canada, from South Africa, Ironi Australia, and from India is crowded with people bent on witnessing what they may of tho Coronation ceremonies. "From America we expect each boat to 1)0 full at the height of the season," said a representative of one of the leading companies, "but what is unusual this year is that the steamers are all booked up weeks before that time. I do not say that passengers are sleeping in the bathrooms or that the purser has given up his cabin, but Iho fact is that from now until the Monday in Coronation week lliere is not a place available in any ship crossing tho Atlantic or any lino from any port on (ho coast of'either North or South America. "To be in Europe in tho Coronation month has been an object with thousands of people .since last August. Tho wise ones booked their places six and even eight months ago. They knew that if they could not uso the tickets themsslves it was a sound .speculation. They can always sell them." The Durbar. A largo number of people are going from England to India for the Durbar in December. The visit, of the King and Queen to Delhi and the brilliant spectacles which arc being arranged both in lhat city and Calcutta are attracting hundreds of well-known people. One of the visitors' camps closo to Ihe Ridgo at Delhi will bo practically filled , by members of the British Legislature. Peers and M.P.'s are going over in scores. ' They will travel in the Maloja, sister ship lo tho Medina, of the P. and O. Line, which is to be commissioned by the Admiralty to convey their Majesties. The Maloja is the largest vessel yet completed for the P. and O. Company. At the time of year when their Majesties are leaving England—November—all the ordinary boats are crowded normally. The company are therefore putting on the Maloja ■to meet the increased demand for Ihe occasion. The charges will not bo enhanced, ranging from 75 guineas to 120 guineas for the return voyage. Only first-class passengers will be carried, and though her ordinary berthing amounts to over 6(V>, the Maloja,will be limited to about, -100 for tins special Inp. She will arrive in Bombay before the Km; and Queen, and will return m time for the meeting of Parliament next year. \ very enthusiastic meeting of the British 'colony in Paris was held under the auspices of tho British Chamber of Commerce, lo arrange for he fete which ,\ to bo held in honour of is Coronation. The fete will take place in the Masic City, mid at (he precise moment when the King U crowned Ihe whole colony will join in I'incin" the National Anthem. " >r oron io'<; Coronation present to King George will consist of a casket of Ontario brd's-eve maple wood, embellished with .liver from Cobalt and gold from Porcunino It will be conveyed to London by Mr Gcarv the Mayor of Toronto. The desi»n accepted for (he. decoration o f the streets along the lines of rmile lo 1,0 taken by the Royal procession hrough ■l,nVitv of London on Juno 23 and 29 has for its chief fealure the display of labbiirnum and wistaria.