THE WILLOCHRA'S MEN

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2684, 2 February 1916, Page 6

THE WILLOCHRA'S MEN

A HEARTY WELCOME

SCENE AT THE TOWN HALL

- By tho Mararoa, which arrived from liytiolton soon alter ■ noon yesterday; arrived 102 soldiers, who wero brought back from Egypt, sick, wounded, and convalescent, by tho troopship Willoclira, now at Port Chalmers. They came to "Wellington in charge of Captain Bolton (formerly of the Post OfDco staff, Wellington), who reported all well to Brigadier-General Robin at the wharf on arrival. There were no cot cases. Most of the men appeared to be well and hearty, but. there was a sprinkling of those who were frail aud wasted with fever-and liysentery, and a few showed 'outward and visible signs of wounds. 'The men as a whole were in admirable ' spirits—laughing, joking, and farewelling one another at the wharf in tho jolliest manner. As tho Mararoa showed her bow round the corner of the shed to warp into No. 2 berth, the next-of-kin assemblage on the wharf gave threo clieors, which wero taken up by those outsido the barricade, but those waiting on the wharf wero in too emotional a condition to'; make tho demonstration a very hearty one, most of those in attendance being tho mothers, : wives, and sisters of tlio returned soldiers; Among those' in attendance afc'tho' wharf were Briga-dier-Gencral Robin, Colonel Pilkington (Adjutant-General), Major. Corrigau (Area Officer), Major Roberts (Embarka- : tion Officer), Captain Skclly (A.A.G.), who attended to the disposition of tho returned men. .

Tlie Auckland men were at once muatered on the' wharf, their kit bags stacked, and they wore sent away in motor-cars to catch the 1.10 -p.m. train for/the north. The Piilmerston North men wero also -sent on by the same train. The rest of the men wero invited to attend the welcome home at the Town Hall, and were driven there by members of tlie'Motor Corps, each of whom did several trips between tho steamer .and the hall.

The Wellington Men. Besides Major Matthew Holme®, Lieutenant L. W. Tonilin, and Sisters Hooker and Jcssop, the returned men •by the Willochra included the following Wellington.men:—J. A. Anderson, V. ~\V: Brown, S.' Andrews, J. Cameron, 13. Cakebread, L. T. Dement, J. T. Jamieeou, W. H. Jamieson, T. Laverley, E. J. Morgan, S. M'Cool, S. J. Offord, T. C. Buckney, J. Robson, C. H. Robinson, E. Wells, F. R. Wilson, R. AVaterwortb, and J. M. Thwaites. In addition to these the following Wellington district men were given orders to roporfc at camp: —S. W. Adams, A. O. Hodge, (J. R. Dick, and R. H. Ingram. - x •: At tho Town Hall. Owing to the general upset administered to tho arrangements by the delayed arrival of the Mararoa, the galleries of the Town. Hall were not so crowded as is usual on such occasions, and for the same reason the FrancoTahitian recruits, who were to havo been present, could not make it oon r venient to attend, which greatly disappointed • a number of people. The Mayor, in apologising for their non-at-tendance, stated that they had had to return to their ship. There were, however, a number of men, who have been oil garrison duty in Samoa, and these were included in the general welcome. The Mayor, in extending the men a genial welcome, said that the deeds that had been done by our men at tho front formed one, of the brightest pages not only; in our history, but in that of the British Empire. At first there had been some ' misgivings as to whether our men, who had been brought up with an'experience of . the civil side of life woilld make good under the military system.. Since then they had been given every opportunity of making good, and had proved their fighting qualities every time. No men could do better than they had done, and their deeds Tvould go down to posterity. He thanked them heartily for the sacrifices that had teen made by those who had suffered jwounds or sickness/ We at home had had.the happy part—they had answered tlie great call,- and and gone out to • fight for us, , the advance of the world, and its happiness. The people were doubly indebted to them, and he hoped that now they had returned to the sunny shores of New Zealand they would be soon restored to health and strength. Mr. Luke also paid a tribute to the nurses and to the men who had .been doing New Zealand's and the Empire's" work at Samoa. (Applause.)

No Thought of Peace. -The Prime Minister, in according the men-a hearty welcome, apologised for the absence of His Excellency the Governor, ivlio had never missed one of the functions in the past. Referring to the Franco-Tahitian recruits in Wellington, Mr. Massey regretted that they were not ajl.'present. He wanted to •tender them 1 a' most hearty welcome on behaif of the-people of New Zealand, and to assure them that thoy. would bo just ' as'welcome in any part of New Zealand as they were in Wellington. (Applause.) He wished them to know what we felt about the war —that there should be 110 thought of peace so long as-a German stands on French soil. (Cheers.) lb those of our own men who had been tried by fire, he gave a hearty,: .greeting .'.from every man, woman, and child in the country, and on 'their behalf he said: "Welcome back to the country to which you belong!" They had done well. As the Mayor had said, they had helped to make history, and had;set a.fine example to those young men still in the country who had not yet seen lit to enlist as soldiers of the King. (Applause.) He hoped all the men would soon he restored to strength, and* that they would liave an enjoyable time with their friends and relatives. (Applause.)

Shaking up America. Sir Joseph Ward stated' that had Germany observed the old rules of honour that prevailed on battlefields in the past there would at tlie end have been a. conquered Germany that would have earned the respect of the whole world. But she had forgotten all laws of honour, and had adopted means of warfare that were looked upon with horror, as rolics of barbaric times. "Let me say to you to-day," said Sir Joseph' emphatically, "that there are superficial signs of a satisfactory, character. For the first time in this war the President of the United States has given his word that the people of the United States were incensed at the barbaric methods employed, and they wero going to have-something . to say in tlhe war that has been raging. When one remembered the number of innocent men and women, not only Americans but others, who had been hurled into eternity without warning, they would recognise with him that the President ought to do something and not stand idly by doing nothing. The manner in which the French people had conducted the campaign was one of the finest things in the war. and he was glad to see the Entente Cordiale represented in Wellington to-day. It was, he hoped, the cementing of an alliance that, would for all time be for the good of humanity at largo. (Applause.) The Hon. James Allen spoke of the excellent conduct of thj Willochra's men on tho voyage, and paid n compliment to. the' work of . the training 6taff in New .Zealand. ' In conclusion, tho Mayor willed on Mr." Bernard Page to play "The ' Marseillaise" as a tribute to the French recruits,' after which he called for cheers for the returned men, their parent and sweethearts, and ihn ladies wlio- liad assisted at tho iscept<ioni