CHINESE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1561, 3 October 1912, Page 4

CHINESE.

THEIR PICNIC AT AUCKLAND. AXD THEIR FATHERLAND. IBj Telegraph.—Spaolal CormDondent.l Auckland, October 2. Tho Chinese community of Auckland held a picnic, at Pine Island yesterday, to celebrate the anniversary of tlio first victory of their revolutionary confreres against the army of the ox-Jim peror. Prior to leaving the wharf they commented n cannonade of crackers, accompanied by the beating of drums and cymbals. At the stern of tho ferry boat Condor tlew merrily the Hag of the new Chinese Republic—n mixture of Oriental colours, representing the united modern, progressive China. The pigtail—once tho badge of fealty to tho Manchu powerwas unseen, and all were garbed in Western style. As the boat plied its way they gathered in groups tinkling their Chinese banjos. Then the st'.iry was told of how the Chin e;o Masonic Society was formed 208 years ago to wrest from the Maiichns liberty, equity, and tho right to develop tho wondrous" resources of China; how Sun Yfll Ken was exiled for his courage and his l«liefsi, how he interested the civilised world in the needs of brutalized China. Then the romance of the self-sacrifice and devotion of Chinamen at home and abroad were all rehearsed in tin unaffected way. Tho Chinese in Vancouver mortgaged their households and their goods, the Chinese of Australia sent ,£l7,t)l>*), and the Chinese of New Zealand ,£3OOO. These, they said, were examples of their co-operation and energies in the natural cause.

Lieutenant Pow, of the Revolutionar;army, who recently landed in Auckland recounted the story of the war. He i? a student,, and fought in the. Students Corps at a battle in llupvh, whore 700 of tho Royal army were killed and 300 of his own. Lieutenant.Pow has thren medals, a signed commission for his rank, and Is a graduate of Yin Tong College. He is now in tho employ of a well-known fruit merchant of Auckland.

The arrival of the party at Pine Island was signalised by tho boom of huge ex-plosive-like fireworks, while a great column of crackers (containing 10,000) on a string echoed like a volley. It was the battle over again, and then the fun l>cgan. Worldly Chinamen, hitherto placid and staid, wriggled over the paddock on bicycles which groaned beneath their weight. The olcler men smoked anfl chuckled and fiuilcd, while the younger banged their gongs, cymbals, tom-toms, Chinese fiddles, and banjos in the true Oriental way. It was Chinatown at home. With that innate hospitality and courtesy characteristic of In* race, they set out excellent refreshments on the grass, inviting the Europeans to eat first, and eat well. Sports were next held, after which the Rev. J. M. Simpson, of Knox Presbyterian Church, thanked the Chinese for their kind invitation and hospitality to the Europeans and wished China and Chinamen the happy future which both so well deserved. . Mr. Geo. Cham, tho Chinese missionary, in reply, said that China was an old country, yet a wonderful country. Its resources' and its people had been neglected, but the revolution had brought liberty and promise.- The term "whito devil' would be no longer heard, and foreign capital, literature, and culture would bo welcomed, for, if the East must progress, the East must copy and befriend tho West.