PUBLIC MEETING AT THE THEATRE ROYAL, TO EXPRESS SYMPATHY WITH HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH.

Southland Times, Issue 922, 25 March 1868, Page 3

PUBLIC MEETING AT THE THEATRE ROYAL, TO EXPRESS SYMPATHY WITH HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH.

Although only a few hours notice had been given, the meeting held at the Theatre Eoyal on Monday evening, "to express sympathy with His Eoyal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, on his providential escape from ' assassination,' ' was most numerously attended. At the time specified for the meeting to take place, 8 o'clock, the whole of the area of the house was densely filled by a most respectable and enthusiastic audience.. The warm and hearty manner in which the assembly expressed its participation in the .sentiments of loyalty and attachment to Her Most Gracious Majesty ; and the Eoyal Family, embodied in the several resolutions brought forward^ showed unmistakably that the people of Invercargill are of one mind upon the subject, that they! contemplate the dastardly, atrocious [act; with unmixed feelings of. horror and execration, that they most sincerely congratulate the Duke on his escape, and most gratefully acknowledge the interposition of a merciful Providence in frustrating the aim of the assassian, and preserving the life ; of a Prince, whose virtues and amiabilities have endeared him to the whole nation. His Honor the Deputy Superintendent, J. M. M'Clure, Esq., occupied the chair, and a large, number of our leading-.citi-zens'also took their seats on the platform, prominent amongst whom we. observed Messrs Pearson, Calder, Aylmer, Ham, Harvey, Wade, Ellis, (Collector, of Customs), M'Culloch, (Sheriff), Eev. "W. P. Tanner, Blacklock, Eichardspn, Baker, Adamson; D. M'Ddnald, ' and Dr Grigor. The Chairman, opened Ijhe. proceedings by reading the notice calling 'ihe meeting. He said they were met to place on record their expressions', of. indignation at the cowardly attempt which had, in a neighboring colony, been made on , the life of the Duke of Edinburgh, to offer their sympathy to him, as also to the Queen, who must feel for; ,her son as only a mother could. She had sent him out on a friendly. visj.t to ..this part -of' her dominions, " " and it was to the honor of the colonies that he had .been everywhere': received Hoi a most princely manner. It might have been expected that while he was the guest, iof the colonists his Hfe : would have been regarded as sacred, and that the visit would have terminated as auspiciously as it had begun. Unfortunately, however, we had now to deplore an act—which it was most charitable to suppose was that of a madman— that, while it would cast a slur on the whole ofjfche colonies, would imost likely deprive~us of the honor of having him ,,amongst -us, iThi&i.was the more to be regretted by us, as he (Mr JM'C.) believed that: New, Zealand would bear favorable comparison with any of the colonies, that His Eoyai'Highness would have left our shores with favorable impres- { pionV regarding/ ujs,? and/Jhaty the/be|£ Results might 'have been expected to follow. He would not say mor ; e; piijthe subject, but call on Mr 'Calder to propose the first resolution^ -whiehj 'he believed, . ihe meeting would. cordially endorse. ' .„\ ■■-.:. .. ~O ■-•>• ■& vf •" s - *■'*• V * X X

[ Mr Caldee, who was warmly rei ceived, said that he but expressed • his own feelings in reading the reso- , lution which had been entrusted to him. He did feel most deeply indignant that i the son of our beloved Queen should have received such treatment in the colonies. We had all anticipated with feelings of pleasure the day on which we were to welcome him as a visitor to our shores, and had expected that this visit would place New Zealand on an equality or position with the other colonies. He might not have come to this province, but, but for the untoward event which we have met to deprecate, he would have come and gone up and down our coasts, have visited our chief cities and harbors, and would have formed *»n opinion of us as a colony, which might ultimately have clone us much good. N^ow he would most likely go direct home, and have no better idea ;of our resources and prospects than previously, and we we're, consequently, deprived of both the pleasure of welcoming him as a guest, and of any advantages - which might reasonably have been expected as the result of his visit. Of course, at present, it might be said Hi.s Royal Highness was not in a position, of much influence, but every one knew that the sons of sovereigns, as a rule, ultimately came to fill most important positions. The Duke of Edinburgh would, most probably, at some not very distant day become a most important personage, in which case, had his visit to us been happily accomplished, New Zealand might have received great benefit. He (Mr C.) felt there was no necessity of speaking much on the subject. It needed little argument or eloquence to elicit an expression of indignation at the dastardly outrage which had been perpetrated. It had been charitably assumed that the perpetrator of the cowardly dedd was himself the subject of misfortune in being of unsound mind, but from the latest intelligence received he feared this supposition could not be entertained, in fact it was too clear that the act was not that of a madman, but the result of a most diabolical plot, of the banding together of ruthless men for the basest of purposes, men who, in the most cold-blooded manner, had actually drawn lots as to who should carry out their fiendish designs — to shoot the Prince, an inoffensive young man, who could have in no way injured them as a body, much less given offence to the individual appointed to the dishonorable position of being his murderer. In every country there were, and would be, men holding views adverse to the Government under which they lived. In England, Scotland, and Ireland, there were men holding opinions opposed to the constitution of Great Britain ; and these men were justified in not only holding but propagating their particular ideas, but holding them honestly they would be the first^ to come forward and denounce such an act as this, to reprobateaud disclaimanyparticipation in an attempt to subvert existing authority by an act of cold-blooded murder. (Applause.) He (Mr C.) was at a loss to understand what could have prompted the deed. Had the Prince been heir to the throne the object might have been intelligible ; but as it now stood it was beyond all comprehension, and could only be regarded as a cruel, cowardly, coldblooded , attempt at murder, without object or aim. He would now read the resolution, which he was certain the meeting would most cordially endorse : — " That the intelligence' of the attempt to; assassinate His Eoyal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh in New South Wales has filled the .minds of the inhabitants of this province with grief and indignation." .__ Oapt. Elles, in seconding the resolu.tion said, that under less extraordinary circumstances he should have adhered to the rule usually observed by seconders of motions of this kind, and refrained from supplementing in any way the remarks of the mover. He felt, however, that he could not silently support the proposition. He felt, indeed, and was confident everyone there felt the same, that the terms of the resolution conveyed but a very faint impression of the mingled feelings of disgust, horror, and detestation with which they viewed the diabolical act, and the sentiments of love, esteem, and enthusiastic loyalty which filled every heart there.., . >„.. On : being put from the chair the resolution was carried with eager acclaim. . Mr M'Culloch, in inoying the.second resolution, ''** That this meeting desires to express its devoted- toy klty to the throne' of the British Empire, and a deep-seated interest in the well-being of her Most ; Gracious Majesty the Queen, and all the members of the Eoyal Family," said that it might have been appended to "the first, to which it .was simply a rider ! expressive of, continued loyalty to the Throne and to, the person of our Gracious Queen. There could be no doubt as to the estimation in which Her Majesty and the Eoyal Family were held, nor of ■ the feelings evoked by the attempt upon the life of the Prince ; the large meeting before him, and the universal expressions of execration which he had heard during the day, wherever the assassination had been talked of, showed that. In fact, people seemed to feel it impossible to find language strong enough to express at once their horror at the deed, and their sympathy with the Queen. Had' such an attempt been made on the life of any person, in any town, it would have called forth expressions of execration, but when this person, is the son of Her Most. Gracious Majesty, one endeared to the people by his many virtues and his amiable disposition,, and the attempt is made in the midst of a British community, these feelings of indignation are greatly increased. • S1 !" ! MtHabtet, in seconding the resolution, said he felt convinced that the whple of those present indulged but one feeling with regard to the sneaking, cowardly, act which had been committed. For whatever purposes men might be leagued together, the cold-blooded, Cowardly crimes of the sneaking assassin

could never further their cause. (Applause.) The supposition that the perpetrator of the atrocious deed was insane was, he feared, untenable, and it was but too clear, that he was the willing instrument and associate of a wide spread and dangerous organization, which he felt constrained boldly to name. These misguided men were assuredly plotting for what would most effectively conduce to their own ruin as a nation. Great Britain united, would continue great : divided by petty quarrels she could not long maintain her position. At one time there was in Scotland feelings antagonistic to England, almost as strong as those now prevailing in Ireland. The benefits mutually accruing to the respective' countries had, however, come to be fully recognised, and feelings -of animosity had almost totally disappeared. Were Ireland' to immitate this example and seek to draw closer her connection with Great Britain, while using all constitutional means for the redress of real grievances, she would find her own happiness and prosperity; in it, whereas, were the wish of the society to which he had alluded realized, it would be the greatest misfortune which could befall her. , Me Pea.esois (who was received with, applause) said it would not require smy persuasion to enlist the sympathies of a British public on such an occasion — an Englishman habitually met his man face to face, and the very cowardliness of the action would damn it with the English public. A woman was said to be inferior to man in courage — not morally, but physically. He did not refer to the heroines of history, such as Joan d'Arc and the Maid of Saragossa, but any woman, when believed herself wronged, faced her enemy, did not shoot or stab him in the back. .'. The criminal records teem with : such instances ; however wrong they may have been, they had, at any rate, plucfe^ (Applause.) It was bad .enough pf the man to attempt to assassinate -a fellow creature, but to desire to murder a member of the Epyal Family is an atrocity unknown for years, go; fir back in history for a similar case, although the time had been wiiett a 'woman courageously made her arm serve the purpose of a bolt to a door to prevent the assasination of her sovereign. The Prince of Wales had travelled in America, a country known to be adverse, to Great Britain, but none there had dared to shoot him — such a disgrace had been reserved to a British colony. He sympathised with Ireland too in this matter ; for it was a nation that had furnished great statesmen, orators, and soldiers — he sympathised with her people that their good name should be dragged in the dust by a cowardly dog. He '! begged to move— " That the Chairman be requested to forward the above resolutions to his Excellency the Governor, for transmission to his Eoyal; Highness the Djike of Edinburgh—also to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, to be laid before her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen." Mr G. F. Eichabdson -. seconded the resolution, which . was carried unaminously,: „-. ; . : •■: .; ■■■■:■: •:"' This concluding the 'formal' business of the meeting, the Chairman called for three cheers for Her Majesty the Queen, which were given with the most ardent demonstrations. Three more lusty cheers having been given for the Duke of Edinburgh, the proceedings .terminated with, a vote of ' thanks to the Chairman ; after ' which the company joined in singing most heartily, uncovered, a couple of verses of God Save the Qtteeny \ \ f _ - ;-