PEACE CELEBRATIONS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17685, 24 July 1919, Page 6

PEACE CELEBRATIONS.

THE CONCLUDING DAT

PATMOTIC ENTHUSIASM UNDIMINISHED.

Tho peace celebrations as far as Dunedin and suburbs wero concerned wero brought to a conclusion yesterday. " Business as usual" was tho motto during the day, but in the evening, when the torchlight procession was in progress, tho people seemed to lot themselves go, and unbounded enthusiasm was everywhere displayed. Favoured by extraordinarily good weather tho celebrations wero a success in every particular, and tho different functions will livo long in tho memory of those who took part in them or witnessed them. This applies more particularly to tho juvenile section of th.-> community, who havo had tho greatest celebrations which this city has taken part in impressed on their mind ,in a manner which time will not efface. Tho success of the celebrations is in a great measuro due to the untiring efforts of a set of executive oflicers who did not spare themselves in tho direction of attending to every detail. It would be invidous to individualiso where so many deserve credit, and one and all can safely bo congratulated on tho succc&s which has attended their efforts. Freedom from accidcnts was a feature of the proceedings, and although every provision was made for contingencies in this direction no accident was officially icported to tho executive.

TORCHLIGHT PROCESSION.

Tho torchlight procession that preceded and heralded tho big evening demonstration at tho Drill Hall got away from tho Firo Brigade Station at 7.20. Tile Kaikorai and Greon Island Bands led the way, about 40 Boy Scouts in uniform assisting by bearing the torches. Prominent places in the procession that followed wero taken by the Hillsido Workshops tank, the armoured car that took Dart in Saturday's big procession, tho United States tableau, and Whitcom.be and Tombs's Red Indians, while two separato squads of 50 firemen from tho city and suburbs added greatly to tho whole spectacular effect. Tho rear was brought up by tho pretty Chinese pagoda, the occupants of which appeared to possess an inexhaustiblo stock of resounding firet works, which thoy scattered lavishly all along tho route. It may bo mentioned that the display by tho Chinese was largely the result of tho efforts of tho D.LC. The procession moved along Cumberland street to Hanover street, and thence to King street and so past the Hospital, where a particularly brilliant display of fireworks was made. Turning by Frederick street into George street, the procession moved right down the main thoroughfare, passing crowds of appreciative spectators all the way to tho Kensington Drill HalL

IN THE DRILL HALL.

GRAND FINALE AND SOLDIERS' NIGHT.

CONCERT AND ADDRESSES.

A SUCCESSFUL APPEAL.

A grand concert was arranged as a suitable finale to tho proceedings. This took place in the Kensington Drill Hall last night, when this commodious building 'was packed, hundreds having to ba content with standing room. The concert was given by the Peace Celebrations Choir and bands, and a special appeal was made for an augmentation of the Returned Soldiers' Memorial Buildings Fund, tho responso being of a gratifying nature. Tho items ably rendered by tho choir, under the baton of Mr W. Paget Gale, were tho National Anthems of _ the Allies (Now Zealand, Franco, _ Belgium, and Britain), " Hail to tho Chief," "Battle Hymn of the Republic," "Men of Harlech," "The Star Spangled Banner," and "Tho Hallelujah Chorus." Tho massed bands played the following items in a manner which brought forth several undeniable encores, the chairman's instructions Jiotwithstandmg:—" Invc rear gill March," " Soldiers of tho King," '"Sons of the Sea."

The Mayor (Mr W. Begg), who presided, said that wc had now reached tho final meeting of tho peaco celebrations. This last meeting was known as iho soldiers' meeting. We wore all proud of our boys, and after the boys got their collection there that night they would bo proud of us. The collections at the last two meetings had 'been somewliat disappointing. Between 6000 and'7ooo pooplo were accommodated in tho hall on Monday night, and the average given per head was twopence. On Tuesday night tho average amounted to the magnificent sum of ljrd. That was not Dunedin, which could, do better. If they could only raise one shilling per head there that evening ho was sure tho_ boys would bo satisfisd. They wero making a special appeal on the soldiers' behalf, and he was sure that they would respond as only Dunedin could. As the programme was somewhat lengthy, ho asked them to refrain from demanding cl cores.

Mr C. E. Stathara, M.P., said that in the year 1829 a deputation waited on the Duke of Wellington, who was then Prime Minister of England', to ask him to take steps to procure New Zealand for the British Crown, and his reply was thai Britain had enough colonies alroady, ana' ho could not comply with the request. Little, did the Iron Duke dream that ih. less than ICO years Now Zealand would cquit> and send abroad an army greatly in exocss of the number of man the duke had under him at Waterloo. Now Zealand sent forward ICO,OCO men, and the Duke of Wellington haa only 67,000, only ono-third of whom wcro British. The army sent from New Zealand was a magnificent one, and one which wo all had reason to be proud of. la this connection they could not forget tho Australians and tha .gallant 29th Division, who had still further added to the fair fame of the British army. lie wished to say a fow words to tho relatives of the boys 'who had laid down their lives in this groat war. He knew that times lilco tho present accentuated the grief. They had the satisfaction, however, of knowing that those who had suffered bereavement wcvro the relatives of heroes Tho nation would have no • heroes if men were not prepared to lay down their lives. As the result of these sacrifices there wero now many spots in tho world which were sacred to New Zealand. _ Thoy knew that these men gave their lives willingly in the cause of freedom and justice. He knew also that those who had sacrificed their lives would have wished that wo should enjoy that freedom and liberty as they were now doing.—(Cheers.) They had scon the birth pf the great German Empire. Napoleon crushed Prussia, and it was through him, in a great measure', that Prussia got this great dream of unity! and from that dream of unity tho German Km pi re got tho idea of world domination. It was the gallantry of our men that Drevented the red, black, and white flag" ok, Germany floating over the Town Half today instead of the red, white, and blue flag of Britain which now floated there. (Cheers.) Was there anyone. present who would say that tho terms of tho Peace Treaty were not just and right in every respect?—(Applause.) _ They would never forget tho c'-orts of little Belgium and the great Britis.. navy. It was the dogged, stubborn valour of our men that had brought about this victor;.'. Napoleon, in his time, recognised this. Tho speaker then referred to tho bravery of the Maoris. The spirit which characterised tho Maori as a fighter was earned down into the present war. He also made reference to tho Red Cross workers and to the women who remained at homo. When tho soldiers went to tho front al'. sorts of promises were made that when tho men returned they would not <ho forgotten. Those promises were made again and agajij. Ho" asked: Were promises soing- to be fulfilled? When they saw t.'-? scars and disfigurements of their

men ho know that "their answer would bo thai; thoy would remember.—(Applause.) i>r Harrison (iircsidcnt of tho Otago lloturn'jd Soldiers' Association) spoke on boliaLf of tile association's building campaign. A year ago, ho said, tho association had < Iccidcd that a fitting memorial to tho Otago soldiers who had "gone west" would Ik) an Otago Soldiers' Memorial Club. Thoy found that this would cost anywhero between £15,000 and £20/000. At first this se-cmod to bo a rathoc large sum to bo raised in Otago, but when thoy saw tho huge amounts raised by tho Rod Cross and othor patriotic bodies for tho boys at the front they thought that £15,000 or £20,C00 was very little for the men Mid women of Otago to provido as a peaco memorial for the boys who gave their lives for tho cause. The campaign was launched three or four months ago, so far with disappointing results. At present they had between £5000 and £4000, but they could not lay the foundation stone of the building until they had reached the £7000 mark. This peaco week had been their opportunity to increase their funds, and they foynd that it was the poor who were giving towards this memorial club.—(Applause.) Somo rich men had given exceedingly well, but there wero many rich men in Dunedin who had not given according to their moans. —(Applause.) He thought it was only right that peoplo who had made money out of tho war —and everybody hero who had money at tho beginning of tho war had made money directly through it—should give freely to the Returned Soldiers' Memorial dub. 110 wished to thank the people of Dunedin for the hearty and willing responso they had given to the soldiers' appeal during the last week. They wished publicly to thank the Commercial Travellers' Association for tho great assistance it had given. • By its own efforts it raised £300 Is 6d for tho returned soldiers' campaign.—(Applause.) He thanked them, on behalf of tho Returned Soldiers' Association, for turning out in such large numbers, and appealed to them to give what they could to the building fund.

Tho Rev. R. S. Gray, who was very cordially received, said he deeply appreciated tho great honour of having been asked to come all the way from Wellington to speak at that function and to appeal for the returned soldiers, so that th<iv might bo able to erect their clrib to the memory of their fellows who fell upon tho field. Tho most significant and satisfying feature of the great victory we have achieved was that it was victory in reality, and not a victory in name merely. The Gorman nation had discovered to its cost that what it called tho great victory of 1870 was in reality a crushing defeat—(applause),—and tho most satisfying feature to members of the British Empire about the present victory was that it was a victory based upon great and deep moral and ethical considerations. The most significant feature of the war, so far as wo were concerned, was not the unsurpassed might of our navy, not the matchless heroism of our men, not the wiso statesmanship and leadership of the men in authority, not the skill and foresight and strategy of our admirals and generals. The most significant feature was that, from tho beginning until the end, the conscience of the Empire was in tho fight.—.(Applause.) There was no civil war in the conscienco of tho nation. He suggested to them that tho soldiers had done a great thing in circling the little badge they had been selling with these words: "Through God -we gained the victory."—(Applause.) It was a great victory- for principle against power, for right against might—a great victory for the weaker nations, for that magnificent little nation that stood in the van of tho small nations and said to Germany: "We are not a road; we are a country."—(Applause.) The absolute and total and permanent defeat of German militarism which wo celebrated was not the end. It was only the beginning. Our men fought for freedom, justice, truth, and honour, the protection 6f women and children, and the alleviation of suffering humanity against militaristic humanty—(applause),—and we must put into practice the things for which our men fought. It was a perilously easy thing to applaud sentiments about liberty and that other people should give money. It was an exceedingly difficult thing to put into practice the sentiments we applauded. Ho held all our soldiers in tremendous honour bccause he believed thoy were fighting for the things which lay at the very base of tho gTeatness of our Empire.—(Applause.) He honoured these men, not only because of what wo would havo suffered but for them, but because the whole tide and trend of civilisation would have been altered without them. He honoured the men becauso he believed that in the providence of God Great Britain had been raised up to lead the nations into a greater and larger and deeper and more honourable life; and without the sacrifice which our men had made we should havo lost our place.—(Applause.) He charged the citizens present not to allow that sacrifice to be in vain. Rupert Brooke, in his magnificent sonnets, spoko of that "richer dust" which would lie in a foreign soil. But it was not dust that lay where our men had fallen upon the slopes of Gallipoli, in Palestine and Mesopotamia, and the great fields of Franco. It was not dust, but corn —(applause),—and from it a new civilisation would jrow. Did they dio for liberty? Then liberty would grow in those lands where they died. What was tho spirit that governed our men who went out, that held them in its silken yet iron grasp out on the field? It was the spirit of each for all and all for each. No man went to fight for himself. Every man went to fight for tho Empire, for the weak, for tho women, for the children, for the land they loved; and when they got to the front they fought for each other, for the army, for the dominion, for the Empire, but never for themselves. They were trustees, and thoy recognised their trusteeship. He wanted to say to the returned men there that they had absolutely tho greatest opportunity in the world to make a great, free, pure, and true nation in these lands.—(Applause.) Ho had seen most of the other lands of the world, lie had seen and examined into their civilisations and their laws, und he would tell them that there was no land in tho wide world that compared with New Zealand for opportunity for young men to expend tho powers and gifts which God had given them.—-(Applause.) If they carried into the civic and national life of this country tho .spirit of trusteeship which they carried on to tho battlefield they would malvo this land a great land. The citizens of this country for whom these men fought and blod and died must also recognise their trusteeship. Ho pleaded with them to help tho returnod soldiers in this endeavour to crect a memorial to their dead comrades. Mountains could not be freedom's ramparts Living men wero freedom's ramparts. It was not tho greatness of ■ our munitions or tho might of our artillery that stopped the German advance. It was the rampart of human bodies. It was our men who saved us, not our machinery. Ho asked them to remember that theso men stood between us and destruction,_ and out of intense gratitudo to them to give to their memory. Ho was travelling 800 miles just to talk to them, and ho wished to iburn into their hearts that they owed to the men who had 'fallen and to the men who had fought and come back absolutely everything they had. (Applause.) Ho asked tho audience to promise the £2000 necessary before the foundation stone was laid. Thoy could give that £2000 and nsver know they had given it. Mr Gray then prooeedod to mako a skilful and persistent appeal for subscriptions, asking in turn for amounts beginning at £1000 and reaching _ down to a humble ss. The largest subscriptions announced were throe of £100 from Messrs Thomson and Co., James Brown, and an anonymous donor. Four or ftvo sums of £50 wero contributed", and an increasing number of smaller sums down to £1. Mr Gray conducted tho appeal with tho persistence, good humour, and ready wit that mako him such a master in handling audiences, and- when ho ceased ho was accorded tho spontaneous compliment of the great choir rising and singing " For He's a Jolly Good Fellow."

Mr J. IT. Walker moved: " That the executive of the Returned Soldiers' Building Fund desires to express its best thanks to the Peaco Celebrations Executive, the various musical societies, t.ho bauds, fire brigade, the Rev. R. S. Gray, and many others for their generous assistance so sympathetically rendered, and assures them that their efforts are most highly appreciated bv the committee and the returned soldiers." Ho congratulated those who had worked in tho interests of the returned soldiers,' and in doing so ho recognised that tho services had been given ungrudgingly. At a suitable interval Mr J. Richards (of Messrs Todd and, Co.), on behalf of the Chinese residents of the city, offered at auction tho pagoda which had been a prominent foaturo in connection with tho street processions during the celebrations. It. was knocked down for £35. and on being put up again it realised £10. ' Finally it was bought by Mr D. i_<arnach on behalf of tho Reserves Committee of the City Corporation for £35.

At tho request of tho Mayor the proceedings closed, as they had commcnced on .Tune 30. with tho singimr of tho "Old Hundredth." tho > Rev. W. Trotter pronouncing tho Boncdiction.

Uio peace holidays wero mado yet. moto memorable for tho children of St. Vincent do Paul's Orphanage, South Duued'n. br tho tliouglitfulnose of Messrs R. Hudson and Co.. who placed two liirtro motor lorries at their service last evening to enable tlir>ni to view the illuminations in the oit.y. This novel treat waa thoroughly enjoyed the

little ]x;opJe, who also received an abundant supply of choice sweets. Tho children wero in charjjo of Mosdames Baker and Murlow a-ad tho Misses Caj-r.

The Moray Place School Committee entertained tho younger impils at the school on Monday morning. Close on 200 children attended, and enjoyed tho programme which went with a swing from start to finish. Each child was presented with a bronze medal. A plentiful supply of sweets, donated by M&sdm M'Dougau ;uid Co., was distributed, as well as fruit and soft drink?. Tho ehiiircnau (Air M'Gill) gavo a, short addross.

The peaco celebrations wero carried out at Pahiiorston in a most enthusiastic manner. On Saturday a largo procession paraded tho streets, after which the children we.ro provided with refreshments at tho school. In (ho afternoon a well-attended sports meeting was hold in tho Show Ground, where a largo number of events were very successfully gx>t otf. In the early evening tho wholo town was illuminated with sevoral bonfires. A concert was given in tho Town Hall, tho building being packed to the doors. The Mayor (Mr E. H. Clark) presided, and tho following performers contributed to the programme: —Mrs G. B. Smith, Miss Austin, Messrs Mullin, Thompson, and Whittleston. Tho second part consisted of a much-appreciated tableau. Mrs Gates, Miss Austin, and Mr Appleby acted as accompanists. During tho evening several national anthems wero sung by all present. On Monday afternoon a liookey match between tho Old Girls and tho present players of tho Palmerston School resulted in a win for tho latter by 3 goals to 1. A football match between Palmerston and Shasr Point went to the home team by 9 points to 6. Tho celebrations were concluded by a dance which was well attended.

The peace celebrations at Cromwell were a huge success, extending over two days. On each day a procession was held, and fine displays were made. On people's day appropriate addresses wero delivered by tho Mayor (Mt Brodrick) and the Rev. Mr Rankin. Monday was a special dajr for the children, and was admirably organised. The evening function consisted of fireworks, bonfires, and a fancy dress social. There were large gatherings at all tho functions.

The signing of the Peace Treaty was celebrated in an enthusiastic manner in VVaipahi. The celebrations commenced on Friday evening, when the school children, under the management of the head teacher (Mr W. H. 0. Sinclair), staged an original pageant play, " Britannia's Peace Festival," the work of the producer, depicting the reception by Britannia of her Allies and her colonies, each of whom narrated the war from his or her standpoint, and finally the reception of peace herself. Supper was provided by the ladies, and memento cards, presented by the teacher, were handed to every child on the school roll. On Saturday two processions were formed, the first in the afternoon from the school to the railway station., where " John Bull" delivered an address to the passengers of the train. Thereafter the procession, headed by Waipahi pipers, proceeded to the Public Hall, where the children and others were entertained, and fruit, lollies, and fireworks were handed to the children by the ladies of the committee. The evening procession led to the bonfire, and back to the hall, where dancing was engaged in. A special asrvico was conducted in the church on Sunday afternoon by the student supply. On Monday afternoon, after a short procession in the " festival" oosumes, the children were entertained at the school by the head teacher. Throughout the celebrations the business places in the townships decorated with transparencies. The celebrations at Alexandra were favoured with good weather. The proceedings started on Friday evening with a fancy dress ball, the participants crowding the Town Hall. About 400 were present, half of whom wore in fancy costumes. The grand march, led off by the Mayor and Mayoress (Mr and Mrs "W. Black) was a brilliant procession. Saturday's festivities started with a football match in the forenoon, the returned soldiers playing a team of civilians. At noon the church bells tolled, all work ceased, and citizens stood uncovered in respectful homage to tho fallen soldiers. At 1.30 p.m. a procession, headed by a largo company of returned soldiers, territorials, and cadets, led by the local brass band and pipers. The procession terminated at the Recreation Park, where, after a prayer by the Rev. J. Standring, a firing party gave a salute of three volleys, the Last Post being sounded while all 6tood .in silenos as a mark of respect to the local fallen soldiers. Appropriate addresses were given by the Mayor, this Rev. Father Hunt, and tho Rev. J. Standring. The rest of the afternoon was spent in sports. In the evening a huge bonfire was lit, and the returned soldiers were entertained to dinner by the ladies of the local branch of the Red Cross Society. The public were present in large numbers at a picture show held under the auspices of the Peace Celebrations Committee. A united thanksgiving service was hold in tho Town Hall on Sunday afternoon. The hall was crowded, and tho Rev.' J. Standring officiated, being accom.panied to the platform by a combined choir. The service was most impressive. Monday was children's day, and was tho most successful of all. The school children were brought in from Chatto Creek, Galloway, Fruitlands, and Earnscleugh. Tho procession was a splendid display, much time, thought, and work having been put into the making of tho various dresses and costumes. The procession marched to the Recreation Grounds, where, after listening to brief and eloquent addresses by Mr Geo. Campbell (chairman of • tile local School Committee) and Mr Jas. J. O'Kane (chairman of the Children's Day Committee), the children engaged _ in games and sports. Refreshments, lollies, and gifts wore supplied to the children. In the evening a picture show in the Town Hall, given gratuitously by Mr Hull, proprietor of tho local pictures, was much appreciated by tho children. The pictures were followed by games. The same evening the local returned soldiers were entertained at a smoke concert by the Mayor.