Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star SATURDAY, MAY 15th, 1920. THE WEEK.

Hokitika Guardian, 15 May 1920, Page 2

Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star SATURDAY, MAY 15th, 1920. THE WEEK.

ini: week has been rendered notably Historical by the presence of the Prince of Wales in our own town. The reception and entertainment of the august visitor was not a light task, and the are still taming it over, tne wonder of it all. Princely weather prevailed, Old Sol smilling down on the' proceedings as charmingly as the Prince himself greeted the people. Prince Edward lias a captivating way with him, anOrolk are never tired of talking about his charm of manner, his easy unaffected grace, and confess how readily they fell victims to his personal magnetism. It is not too much to say that the Prince of Wales enjoyed his stay in Hokitika. He appreciated very .sincerely the efforts put forward to welcome him and the coadial spirit shown, coupled by the very pleasurable-circums . laces under which the proceedings went forward, created an evident attachment- to the people while the mountain scape which ho had the opportunity or enjoying left an impression on his mind which is not likely to be easily effaced., During the week therefore Westland has filled a fresh page in its history, and judging !by the fame of the place which has gone abroad, has won some special renown by the whole hearted expression of loyalty which came so spontaimously from the community. The visit of the Prince of Wales gives a very complete answer to those who question the loyal-, ty of the Dominion. On all sides his receptions have been remarkable for the warmth of their welcome.

The local visit made such an impress on the people as a whole, that it is certainly worth while to secure some lasting pivic record of so memorable a visit. LA. Prince of Wales avenue of English trees in Stafford Street has been suggested. This could be done very fittingly, and each tree might be planted and tended to in ,memory of the fallen soldiers. The Prince took a very personal interest in the returned soldiers he-' mot, and in associating the fallen soldiers with the Prince’s avenue there is a very nice connection with the two objectives which wotdd he served. Then as regards the children in whom the Prince was so specially interested, a local citizen has suggested the outfitting of a playground for the rising generation in a reserved part of Pass 'Square. This seems most appropriate also, and so the children vould 'have the Prince’s playground it their disposal, with a tablet recording the circumstances under which the project, was launched. Tn these two simple yet practical ways the town would 'have an appropriate record of the visit of His Royal Highness which would carry memories of the visit on through the years. The. tree planting is largely a matter for the civic authorities, hut many citizens are ready and anxious to assist, and no doubt the opportunity to do so will bo given them shortly. The opportunity to heln regarding the. playground is onen already. Subscriptions to assist, towards the cost have been •’n-ited already through this paper, and the. occasion for response is open now.

Among the visitors who took interest, sufficient in our celebrations to come " distance to join in tho entertainment of the l’rineo of Wales, was Mrs R. J. Seddon who journeyed all the way from Wellington for the purpose. It was very good of Mrs Suddou to take the interest she did, and friends on 'ill sides were delighted to have tfie opportunity of welcoming Mrs Soddon amongst us. 'Hie ceremony of tree planting yesterday had its sad side as Mrs Soddon dedicated the tree to the memory of her son who fell in the war. In connection with the regal visit it was very pleasing to see tho Member for Westland so closely in touch with the Royal ! visitor. A Soddon lias been for forty years the political representative of Westland, and there was no greater Imperialist overseas than the late Mr Sedj don who it will be recalled, associated j himself so closely with the Prince’, parents when as Duke and Duchess of York they visited New Zealand. Now the ! late Premier’s son is here in office to I welcome the sou of the Duke and Duchess and to express sentiments of loyj alty and affection no less cordial than those of his late father to the Royal Household 1 . In the .celebrations here Mr Soddon’s presence was very helpful, and his knowledge of procedure and his readiness to arrange details, helped very greatly to carry through the arrangements. At the eleventh ! hour one or two hitches arose but these little difficulties' were overcome under Mr Seddon’s advice and suggesion, and in the end as all the world seems to know now, everything went as merry as'the proverbial marriage bell. Peuhaps the most interesting feature of

the recently issued “Ypres, 1914” is an official account published by order of the German General Staff, wherein a tribute it paid to the skill and courage of the British , Army. Sometimes this tribute is intentional; more than once reference is made to the desperate resistance of the British and their “real worth.” But'more often it is quite unconscious. During these critical days of October, Sir John French had only seven corps with which to ; withstand /the onset of twelve; moreover, most of his men had been fighting and , marching continuously for a month; while the Germans were fresh. But so ably were these seven corps handled, and such was the resolution with which they fought, that they produced in the German mind the impression of overwhelming numerical superiority on the part of the British. Again and again the account speaks of reinforcements which did not in fact exist. Frequently it mentions that the German attack was held up by numbers of machine-guns, which poured out a hail of bullets and did terrible execution. But each British battalion had only two machineguns,' many of which had been damaged and had not been replaced. dearly the speed and accuracy of tlnj British rifle fire led the "Germans to mistake it for machine-gun fire, both as regards volume and effect.

The German staff claims that the first battle of Ypres was a German victory, “for it marked the failure of the enemy’s intention to fall on the rear of our western armies, and to free the rich districts of northern France and the whole of Belgium.” But even if this bo admitted, the battle can, on that same General Staff’s own evidence, be regarded as a drawn one. Repeatedly wo are told that the design of the Germans was to break through; they were unable to do so. It is definitely stated in the official account that tho object of the operations was to gain Calais, “th'e aim and object of the 1914 campaign.” Calais notoriously did not fall. Clearly it was far more important for the British to retain Calais than to push the enemy back into Belgium a few miles; the effect of the loss of the Channel Ports can easily be imagined. In fact, this book is really an apologia, a confession of failure, which cannot be camouflaged by protestations of victory. Even if the battle was tactically a draw, it left the British : with a strategic balance in their favouiv !

The funds for the Westland war memorial .continue to mount up very satisfactorily. All tho lists for the late collecting period are not yet to hand, but when received they are likely to approximate £1,300, a very good result under all the circumstances. The acknowledgement of the list of subscribers will be'commenced shortly through the public press, and in the meantime it is open for subscribers to send in supplementary donations, or in any case where anyone has been overlooked by the collectors, subscriptions may bo sent in. Within the next few days a meeting of the Executive will be held to determine action in regard to the selection of a design. -The lists show that there very wide interest taken in the movement, a specTnl feature being tho subscriptions from ex-Coasters who are sending forward contributions voluntarily. Tho. financial side of the movement promises to he fully successful.