Troops for the Transvaal.

Manawatu Herald, 30 September 1899, Page 2

Troops for the Transvaal.

i The Premier on Thursday moved ihe motion of which had giv n no-ice, v z : -" Tnat a respectful address be presented to his Excellency the Governor requesting him to offer to the Imperial Government, for service in i in the Tran*vaa!, a contingent of mounted rifles ; and that in th? cv nt of th? ofkr being accepted, tha Government be empowered, utter selection by the Commander of tbe Forces, toprovide, equip tmd cU*p*tch ' the force.' 7 He was, he said, folly sensible of his responsibility in making this proposal, which meant entailing a heavy exp^nie on the Colony, and perhaps loss of life. 9o hop^d members would deal with with the matter in a w<>y creditable to thi>nnelves, and profitable to ths Empire. The volanteers would b asked to provide their own horses. The pprsonal expenses would be about £10 per day and would bprovided by the Government. Tbe force would consist of a commanding officer, surgeon, two captains, six lieutenant?, four sergeants m»j ora, twelve sergeants and twelve corporal • four trumpeters, and 160 private The coat would be about £50 a day. In addition there would ba the co-< of passage, so a 9 to land the contingent clear of expanse to the Imperial au horities. The Govern - men' wou'd insure the horses, and be wou'.d leave to members tha question of injuring the lives of the men, all of whom would be single. The proposal would if carried into effect, cost about £20,000. New Zealand, he went on to say, formed part of a great Empire, and in tbe Trans, vaal wore many of th^ir kinsmen. Nothing wa* so dear to them as their civil rights, which hod been denied to the outlandera in the Transvaal. The 'demand of the outlandew had been moderate ; the civilised world regarded those demands as just and reasonable. He hoped the Imperial Government would not recede from the position which it has taken up 4 s years had gone on the tie between tbe Mother Country and th 3 colonies had grown stronger until it had paralysed the other nations of the world* Now when the necessity arose tun colonies | were anxious to give the Mother 0«mn f ry all the afoistauce that lay iv their power. Just as our troops acquitted themselves creditably at ( the Queen's jubilee, so he was sure '•

i bey would acquit themselves credit* ably on tbe bault-fie dU of the Trans* vaal. It was to tbeir interest to adhere to tbe Empire and assist tbe Imperial authorities whenever the occasion arose* The British tax* payer bad cheerfully consented to contribute by far tbe larger share of the Cost of the Australasian navy, and it was tbeir duty to assist tbe Imperial authorities cheerfully and thoroughly when ♦ho occasion arose. [f they wanted 2000 volunteers they would be able to get them. The question arose in his mind whether they should not offer to pay the pas* sages of any who wanted to join the forces in the Transvaal, apart from the contingent they were now proposing to equip. (Hear, hear.) For the colonies to carry each proposals as this would strengthen the hands of the Imperial authorities. In helping the outlanders to obtain their civil rights they would also be main* taining their own rights, and though the blood of New Zealanders might stain the Transvaal, they would have the satisfaction of knowing that they had demonstrated they belonged to a raoe which never deserted in the hour of adversity. After some discussion, the motion was carried by Bi votes to 5- When the result was announced, the Premier rose to his Uok and commenced singing the the National Anthem. Other ineni. bers then took up the strain, and the first verae of the anthem was sung with much enthusiasm, ail up-stand-ing. Then, at the instance of the Premier, members gave ihree hearty cheers. — N.Z. Times.