A DAY OF GREAT REJOICING

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 191, 8 May 1920, Page 8

A DAY OF GREAT REJOICING

WONDERFUL PARADE OF CHILDREN :

EARLY SETTLERS' WELCOME

aa,;.:,.The:Prince of Wales completed his'public engagements in Wellington '■" yesterday. The city was favoured with delightful weather, a light breeze

..., ..tempering, the warm sunshine, and the population seems to have turned'' '';out-for the occasion almost to the last child. The demands made upon -.the attention ami good, nature of tho Prince were very great; iudcort, > r t]iey might not unreasonably have been regarded as excessive. But His Highness complied generously with the demands of tho city, nud ho made , every gathering that he attended an oniphntic popular success. Tho desire of tho people to extend him the warmest possible personal welcome showed no diminution at all.

Tho Prince's first engagement was to meet the school children in' tho

grounds'.of the Parliamentary Building. Tin's gathering was a memor-

. ablo one., Something like twelve thousand children, from the schools of the city and the adjacent districts, assembled in, the. grounds,' whilo tho neighbouring streets.were filled with dense crowds of citizens.' The young pooplo gavo tho Prince a tremendous reception, and hjs boyish figure, surrounded by masses of eager young faces and waving flags, made a picture that a generation of Wellington citizens will remember.

..■: After leaving tho children the Prince met members of-the Returned Soldiers' Association, and became a life-meinbor of the organisation. Ho

wore his gold, badge of membership the.rest of the day. Tho meeting was necessarily brief, but His Highness showed iifiain his keen personal ■interest in:the comrades who served with him in the Empire's armies

during the Great War. The Legislative Council Chamber, whero he received his badge, was capable of' holding only a small proportion of the returned men resident in AVellington. but the relative smnllness of the gathering was no gaugo of the affectionate regard it represented. The response of the returned men to the call of the local president for "Threo cheers, for the Digger Prince" was right from the hearts.of New Zealand's soldiers. ■ ' ' The Rugby match at Athletic Park was the Prince's next engagement. It was.a disappointment to a great gathering, and doubtless to tho Prince himself, that his later appointments prevented him remaining until the close of the game. He is tbo good a Briton not to be a lover of sport, and his interest in, the opening stages of the game was obviously keen. But the Petone pageant called him away before tlie second spell. Ho was taken across to Petoiie in the Government .steamer Janie Soddon, and he found another huge crowd, the\biggest ever seen on the eastern Bide of the harbour, waiting for him on the shore, where some'of the notable events in the history of New Zealand were to bo represented before., him. , ' v

The idea.animating- the members of the EavJJ Settlers' Association in-arranging this pageant was a good one. Unfortunately tho effective ness of'the programme wns lessened by the very popularity of, the. function; So many people came to see the Prince and to enjoy with liini the scenes of Old New Zealand that the pageant was almost buried in its own success. But the people of the Hutt Valley, and thousands of Wellington folk who had made their way ;to Petone, had an opportunity of extending another welcome to the Prince, and they did this with the.pnthusiasm that lias characterised all the gatherings that he has honoured with bis presence. Wellington has placed-some strain upon the Prince's good nature,and £Ood humour during the last three days,,and it will'rot forget that the Royal visitor has" taken it all in good part.

._ ; The Prince paid a visit to Trenthani Military. Hospital after'lcav.ing Petone, and met the "boys" who are'recovering there from tho effects "of their war service. He has missed no opportunity of visiting die'military ;hospita|s since he arrived in New Zealand, and in each hospital he has-madis himself personally acquainted, with every'man. The "Diggers" who have not yet been able to resume- civilian life ar.e all his -friends. The final .engagement for tho day -was the citizens' .ball in. the ,'Town Hall: This great! gathering came at the end of what must have .:,been f,or tho Prince, a very, heavy day's work. It was a scene.of crowded' "ga'iety,'".with a smiling Prince as its central figure.

-■■.'To-day is tho Prince's freo day in. Wellington'; Ha will spend it •in his own-fashion, and if Wellington people .see .him they wil! have to thank their- luck, and not any official arrangement for the happy chance. ''--■"■-: Tho" Prince is an enthusiastic golfer, and it is likely that he will visit tho Miramar links during the day. Early on Monday morning ho j 8 to leave'for Picton on board the llouown, •■ - , • ..- >