A BRITISH CONSULATE IN WAR TIME.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 156, 17 March 1916, Page 4 (Supplement)

A BRITISH CONSULATE IN WAR TIME.

By G. APPLEBY TERR ILL

Even in these days a great nianv British civilians are to be found moving about on the Continent, and Consular stnfis are kept busy. The io. lowing impressions were gatherel by the writer whilst waiting to geu his passport vised when abroad recently.

It is a narrow street of white flat faced houses, and shows no signs of life except at one spot, where a small British flag projects above an op.en door. Taxis and private cars are lrawn up here and people are entering i ball and climbing a flight of stairs. To the majority of them, who are British, comes a comforting sense of the homeland they are anxious to reach, for this is the British Consulate, and may be regarded as a bit of Great Brita'n itself.

TURN BY TICKET. A rather dismayed-looking group fill> the 'ending at the top of the stairs, and ,i craning of the neck reveals to the newcomer that the waiting-room beyond is crowded. Travellers who "kno* the ropes" at once tear num'■ered tickets from a bunch hangirg at the waiting-room door, and look around for something to lean against; the others twist their way into the room mid approach a grim, alert litt.e man who is guarding a door at the farthe*" end. He crushes their hopes of being instantly attended to by telling them to go back and get tickets, and wajt until he calls their number three-quarters ol an hour hence probably To one or two Britons, who have been to their mother-tonguo for a considerable time, the delay is not unpleasant —the chatter of English voices all round falls welcomely on their ears. But everyone else finds i. tedious, and nervous travellers grow thoroughly uneasy as a result of spending the interval in wondering whether some irregularity in their passports will doom them to exile. Fo r :t ?? passport business, especially that oi getting vised, which brings this throng to the Consulate. Without a passport, and without the Consul's visa affixed thereto, no one call start on the |otirncy to England.

A CONSCRIPT S PLIGHT. A pathetic figure attracts the attention oi people near the stairs. A sun burnt workman, a foreigner, who In* been told by an official to go away, stands crying bitterly, his hands full of flimsy and not overt-lean papers. Several bystanders question him, and h* tells a story which arouses general sympathy. He lives in the town with his young sister, who is entirely dependent on him. But he has received an unexpec* • ed order to join the colours to-morrow and must leave her to starve or beg. unless he can send her to England at once, where they have a relative. He has scraped together her fare, and row he learns that she cannot go until hj», or she, can produce a letter from the relative stating that she is willing .o receive her, until, also, he, or sh.e. ha? written to the Foreign Office and obtained permission in the matter; an.; in the meantime the passage-money will have to be sp.mt on food for Llic girl.

THE ANTE-ROOM. The waiting-room is bright with n stream of southern sunshine that is it variance with tho English idea of winter. Every chair is occupied, and ever} inch of wall which will support a bao.r and a good many persons have to be content with the unsatisfactory ox pedlent of changing their weight from one leg to tfie other. Most of the people present arc well-to-do. Stylishly dressed ladies sigh impatiently, or while away the time in jesting conversation with carefully groomed male escorts. Throe American gentlemen in broad-shouldered overcoats stand together and somehov. - convey the impression of wealth and importance. Near them a poorly-clad man and woman are endeavouring to soothe a baby which shows symptoms of burstin;; cut crying.

The most noticeable, also the most patient, figures in the room are two priests, wearing long black soutanes and carrying hats under their arms. The younger is reading h's prayers for the day, the other, a tall, upright man, with a great chestnut beard and gentle eyes, is repeating them from memory, as the rythmical moving of his lips tells. In recognition of the official character of the place and of the _ possible presence of the Vice-Consult himself in some adjacent room, considerable; decorum is observed. People step about quietly, and the merriest remarks are exchanged in Subdued tones Thero is only one loud voice, that of the doorkeeper. Every minute or so a bell rings in the office behind him, and he calls out two numbers and opens the door to allow the holders of them to pas? through.

THE BABY. "201,202!" he calls, and the man and woman With the baby go in. Ibe priests move up to be in readiness tor their turn, and the elder makes some inquiry. The doorkeeper, quick to perceive his rank and nationality, address, es him with great deference as "Monsieur L'Abbe." Suddenly the baby's voice is heard on the other side of the door. It gives one or two sobs and then utters piercing waii after wail. This is defying the etiquette of the Consulate with a vengeance. For a moment people 'ook at ono another scandalised ; as tho wails increase they begin to titter, and even tho hard visage- of the doorkeeper relass into a smile. A distant, horrified voice is heard, the voice ol someone in authority, "Remove that child!" Tho doorkeeper instantly looks fierce, tho tittering ceases ;thc wailing dies away, and everyone hopes that the '\ ice-Con-Mil has not heard it.

THE ALL-IMPORTANT VISA. The scone of the baby's misdemeanour is a room divided by a long counter, behind which several nieinbers of the Consclar Staff stand. The traveller lays his passport before one of those and states bis desire to >jo to T'.ng'e'nd. His passport is examine I : lie is a>ked a few f|iiosl .oils, particularly his reason for going; then to his relief ho is told to sign his name in a book and ho Fees the visa for which lie pays a fee of roughly half-;.-oro\vn. nftixi •<l. lie can now s.'-t out ;ii »nn:i as h" 1 has obtained a visa from the local duel of police, and tho F;HMi v'-a w ill enable him to not this without trouble. As it may- be of interest, the writer transcribes a v : sn from his own passliort. ft consists in the main of a few lines of type, a si mature, and a twobliillin.j; adhesive Consular stamp (Ivl-

ward VII. iisue, curiously .enough) and runs:—

" This passport has boon presented at the British Consulate General at by the bearer, who declares his intention of proceeding to the United Kingdom for the porpose of . This visa is only valid for the present journey to England. „ "British Yice-Consul, .