THE ROYAL VISIT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 121, 17 June 1901, Page 2

THE ROYAL VISIT.

THE ROYAL TOUH, < x I (By Electric Telegraph.—ropyright.) < PISR PRICSS ASSOCIATION. Received IG, 4 50 pm. London, Juno 15. It is officially announced tin.t tho ( Dako and Duchess of 'Cornwall wi'lj\ ■rrive at Simonstown on August l!);h ' VISIT TO TIKITEKE. | THIS UNDERGROUND DEMONS. Rgtuhoa, June 15. A (Maori chief, Hikutoia, aged 74 year?, one of the chiefs from Tauranga, died in the camp at the racecourse. His death was kept quiet so as not to disturb the proceedings o day. , Major Fox, in presenting the Arawa's canoe to the Duke, sa,id; " Welcome ! welcome 1 welcome! You have come hither from your i lustrious fath>r to bting tha love of your grandmother to us; come to New Zealand to see the Maori p;op!e, My grand-on I present you now with the modtl of the canoe in which our ancesiois came distant Hawaiiki. It is named " Arawa," after our people. I beg you to accept and placa it in your ances ral halls." . Kotohua, June 13. Tue ducal pirty, accompanied by the Governor and Ministers, embarkei on the lake s l, earner about quarter to three 1 o visit Tikiteie. The Duke waikoJ from the Grand Hotel to the pier, which pleased the Maoris. The party waslimiud to 85 and tho New 'A aland press men were unprovided fo . Tik-toru was retched about sunJo-vn, and to Uio lateness of the train and approaching darkness, the tiip was. cutjjshnr'". The Royalties and the •usjoiiy nf tie party returned by coaches, iind the remaiiidor.hy bteamor. During thee a :h journey of some d z n miles,, one Inive of the Royal coach fel l , being auequal to the heavy road. There wa? no alarm, as there was no daDger. A horse from anther veh : cl i rf placed ..the disabled animal, but tho inish'ip caused a de'ay of half ■n hour. The parly reached the Grand Hotel at six thirty, having been impr.s eil with what had seen of the country. To-night the town is en fete, the M*,ori and European bands pLying lively airs, tV>e Maoris singing ind ge"e ally displaying exuberant; spirits. .J'i |, dWorks and illuminations *ere exhibited on a sin ill but effective cile. Ro'.orua is swarming 'with polici and detectives, but their se''vi es are extremely as the whole of the population is orderly though noisy in jubihtion. The scene a 1 VVhakarewarewa this morning was quite uuiqae, many thousand native-' and europaans, most of former in pictun sque Maori tos'ume, swarmed h'x u" the ruggad volcano mound, plntering mud holes, seething could ons, and wonderful intermittent geysers. Groups of men, women and children .formed around the various hiws of dame nature, some on heights hsf hidderi iti,g Sen repulsive looking J *¥jl , icate and sulphur mounds, some down declinities suggestive of the scenes in D.inte's inferno. The sulphurous spray from furiously boiling pothoh's e pattered tho Royal v'sitors, and sulphurous fumes assailed the nostrels, while geyers klio' scalding columns of water high into the air with a roar and fury, and their Highnesses found themselves among sights and sounds pandemoainc. It tnust have beeri an interesting horror 'o them. Amid all these* scenes the Royalties passed, minut-ly ir.spectiag each, in company with one or others of the Ministers, and at etch point they were snapshotted from a multitude of cameras. When the R >yal pirty reached tbi* bullient locality the L'ohutu g was ia full activity, sei.ding up' coluins of w iter to a con siderable height: A b>tter sigh*-, ho>'eve' 1 , had been pnp.ivd for the Royalties in the enforced eruption of the Wairoa geyser, which his a tendonc o hide its fore s, It is a large ugly hole, at the fo.t of a rugged silicate hill- ck, which is hot ard streaming from many fractuies. It might hi likened somewhat to that wlrch sho' up the subt j rr estri iln exploring Proft s sor Jul as Verne's story, for it apparent')' re chiß intoths vo-y bawe's of tho f-arth. l'o8«t it on a s'ow foot'ng, Mr Clarke,' Govei nment I> speiitor at Whak iwerea, who act'd as master of t ! e ceremonies to the u dergrouml demons, fel it with a bag of soap. Witlvn a few minutes thereafter the '(linns responded, and with a ioud report a volume of boiling sulphurous water r se to the surface, then, in a *u ce-rsion of jerks, up it went ever higher and higher, until a huge pil'ar ef water with a wide base but narrowing aloft, and rndirg ir feathorly spray, rose to a he : ght of about 100 feet. It was a jjlorious sight, and one which tho 11 ya'ties are likely to remember as among the mos interesting of their exp3riences in this remarkable part of tli3 colony. Vohutu was subsequently bribed with soap, but; refused to respond in time *o enablo it to be seen by the Royal vi-i'ors. Five] thousand natives will take part in tomorrow's demonstration of welcome j

NATIVE DEMONSTRATION. Kotohua, June IC. Satu-day morning broke wi'li unclouded sky ov v llotorua, and everyF paired the Great Maori demon'str atioa which, the natives had been for weeks preparing in honour of the Royal visitors. EveryoLe was early a-tir, and l r >ng before the hour fixed for the commenc men 1 ; of tf e desnor strition tho raeeco'ir>e presented a brillant *pe tacle, such «s never before witnessed in the co'ony. Along th > margin of th i glis ening l.ke the vapour rose from hundreds of boiling •<n'l spluttering holes an 4 cro\ic s. Niar t> the shore stood the huge canvass camp of th'! various tribe?, and b tweeu this and the grands a r id tire field was gay with tribal Hags and bannerette-r. Some 5000 Maor's in full w:rr'p .in 1 , or h.-li'*ny fne-y, were .bustling about it der the general direction of Mr. Carroll, w'..o wo e over his shoulders a dog-skin nut, and r;>und his a piu piu, or 1 in mat. The commodious stanis erected for the public were crowded with expeo'.iur multitudes and the Hat wai throng-d with sigiitsteis. At h If - past uine their 11 tyal Highr.esses ap proached, hera'ded by tremendous cheering, which wjs renewed as they took their on stand reserved for them, th' ir suite, and tho Ministerial Party. The Duki carried in his h md a mere which had been present ed by Maj >r F >x, and the Duchess also carried a m-i\i prvsented by some chief ainess. As soon as their Highnesses were seated Miv. Carroll presented and fastened on of the Duko a handsome dog skin mat,

and on the Duchess a kiwi feather ' m it. In front of the s aud two bod'es ! of Maoiis, naked to waist, wearing pui- ' puia of llax, and equipped as for battle, 1 wore massed in a square, the remainder ! if tliotrib g being formed incolumns iir liar off the on light, while the poi I'iicers, oi e section wearing alter nady red and white dress's, and ono bor .voriririg hukarwe or blouses of snowy-j white with blue and beauiul pui puis round the waist, were irtistically groupud to the left.) Just below the r< yilties was an j ikborately carved moJul of the Arawa representing one of that name which bad conveyed tin Maori ancestors to New Zealand) and which was the cuis-3 of tubal t'ftub'ea. This model was about to be presented to the Duke with the hopi he ivould see in it a symbol of the Arawa sectioi of his people, who had baen loyal supporters of the mana of Queen Victoria. The Governor sat on tho l-'ght of the Dulta and the l'fomiet- n*-xt' to the Duchess. As the last bar of the National Anthem caas?d, and on the Royalties taking thsirseat", the solid olumns of the Ngapuhis and Arawiis cpem-d tho proceeding with a baka daucj and chants, the whoio body of men moving with machine ldse precision. Old Major F'.x, with sword in hand, was wondtrfuly active, and luoktd every inch a real wir chief. The men went through all the savage warlike pesticul ttions which characterised the light ng days of the trlbj, ilie chiif* robed iu skins and mats, and carrying wapms, ran wildly up and down in front of and bf-twteu tho ranks, and the chief-taioe-fea in front outdid tho men ntho feroc'ty of express on, tho roliiug of pyobills, and lolling of tongues. Tne N;ait'rmgis 11 x' came forward from tho rear with a nihil, el id in (lax loin ma's and chant°d a song of welcome, an 1 a lierco ol 1-t'ino war s >ng. ' Thesa were filloved Vjy ano'/ho" tribe of "emi-naki-d warrio\s who danced a b»ka to the admiration of all tp ctitora, and then retired. At this stage the chieftainefsos 'aid a handsome mat at < ho fojt of the Hoy 1 seat. The Arawas again bigi.n a lrtka iu which they sing, shouted, and gesticulated, iu amannarthat would have exhausted trained athletics, but teamed never to weary the performers. They slapped their breasts with fury, clapped lnnds, stamped with a noise resembling a herd of bu!fa'o»s in full (light,and shouted at the top (f their voices. Their songs of .velcomo we.e somewhat plaioitivo and melodious. Other tribes iu rustling mats came on in succe?sion, and went through a similar performance. Than came forward onca more the Ngaiterangi men—this time without spears—to sing two songs of w<dcom°. The 'enor ( f the greeting was " 0 Welcome here," and " DrawNtar to us our Treasures From Afar." As tliey retired, they eave ringing hurrahs. The warriors of the extreme north suc-ceed-d them, dancing a haka and singing s-ngs of welcome. A reil war dance was the next item on tho programme, and proved the most interesting of the series. The Ng iti-u ware tea tribs bad remain»d mass d to the right of the others at|s-une distance oft', and these were now to show how they acceptod a cha'len?e to fight, and they comported thems'lvi'S in dialing with the the foe. To Heulieu, a young chief, bare legged and loin ma'.ted, approached the ma'sed column, flung his spear at them, turne', and then ran forward at full speed pursued by some two hundred bnwney warriors at a gnat rush, coming to a halt in front of the Royal stand in battle order. Tl ece they sang a song of welcome, and then the war daDce began. The Maoris ytlled, jumped, stamped, prostri'ed theonelves on ths ground, rolled eyebal's, lolled tongueout in a frightful manner, and went through van ous other movemen's indicative of h 0 w they, killed their enemies, and treated c*p'ives, it was highly r.ialist r c and their marvellous (volutions in tho wild war dance wp.ia with toker ,s of aPP r0 " bation from Royalty, and thunderous app'au.se from the spectators. The wh le of tho tribes then combined and formed a so'endid spec'acle as they dmcfd and gesticulated in perfect un : on, chanting Foogs at in*erva's. Tiny WW, physically, a splendid body of men, and must hav.> greatly impres ed His Highness. Each tribe in turn laidmits, meres, and other articles at the foot of Royalties Soaie were his ! orical, hut aH were of beau*' ful or ourio'i.s do-ign. Tho space in front of thn Roya' pa veil ion was li'eral'y piled with mats of va v ious shapes and make, and greenstone meres. Several ma's were composed of peacock feather s. Included in the presents was a flaxj wa : s'coat of a brilliant]? dyed pit em. As it was exposed to the view of the i Duke a unile went round, also as the pui p us of flax strings wera handed to •h 1 * Duche-s. An historic fl'X fl»g was included in th* gift. Mrs. 0 rroll placed round the Ducbe?s' neck a greenstone tiki, and the pile of gifts in the pavilion was sirmoun'ei / by an address of welcome splndidly formed. The chief presentation was the carved canoe of the Arawa's by M jor Fox, who pe formed the funct ; on with great dignity, making a brief addrws whioh was int< rpre't d by Oap'ain Mair. The poi dancing folthe hakas, and was in a marked contrast with tho latter. There was an air of peace and joy about the perI formance aad the performers that charmed all. Dre6sad as previously stated, the damsels, some handsome and all pleising, came forward in a double line with outstretched amis, th» hands of each touching the o'hers shoolders and then they f ic d round to their Highnesses and c'lintel, sweetly, songs of wo'com", rythmitic.illy waving little bat's of r.tupo. Their evolutions w- re ext'em ly graceful, an I as a spectacle probably no more picturesqui or striking grouping was ever witnessed on any stage. At one time they were accempanied by a couple of fi ldlei and aconce'tin*, and at another by a banjo and Jew's harp The las-es were bright and tmiling, and di-lighted their Highce-sec. At the clo~e of the dancing all the girls marched pissed the dais, and laid pois at the fee 1- , of th«i Duke and I)u hefs. The present >tion of thir'y-nieo com-memo-ation meda's to the chiefs of the trib.is by the Duke concluded the pro ceelings; but before this took pltcs i he Duke and Duchossl ftt'.'o pavilion and strolled omong the groups rf natives, the Duchess shaking lunds wi'h one dusky child, who had specially attracted her attention. Their Highnesses were shortly joined by Mr. Seddon, Mis. Seddon, and Mr. Will - .), and all proceeded to a table where th meda's awaUed distribution. The Duke then addres-ed the chiefs thtough Mr. Caivll as wired. Gold meda's wero also presen'ed to Mrs. Donuelly, Chieftaicess of the Ngatibahugnui trib\ Hawktf's B«y, and Iriahapiti Parata of the Arawa people. On tin obvnv-e was inscribed " Ttar 1.8." signifying their highnesses visit to tho colonies, and on the reverse was a medallion porfcout of the Duko

ami Duchi-B'. The Government kinewas at work throughout: the interesting demonstration, and dozeos of photographers and amatuur soapshoiitera were in evid&nce, The Royal party entrained at 12.30, being escorted to the train by native and European troopers, ani natiro bauds. The whole population turned out to witnes thd parture. Too Royalties lunched in their cariagj at Arahiwi, while the o'hars wae provided with luoch in a 1 trga pavilion. The journey to Auckand wjs pljusant, and 'ln Royal party reached the city a 1; 7.25, an enormous concourse being assembled. They were driven, amid cheers, to tin Ophir, which left the following morning, accompanied by an es.ort of warships for Wellington.

OADET OFFICERS. Wellington, June 19. The Defence Department notifies that officers of cadet corps will be granted acting honorary appointments in the ranks m which they are employed during the review at Christchurch, to take effect from the date of latvirg head quarters, until the return] of the corps there. : Gjsbokne, June 16. Mr. George Keuip intends waiting! through the night to try and communicate with the Oph'r by wireless telegraphy, but no wo d has besn received that the officers on the boat will be in readicess to receive the message. Tuere is some heart-burning here because one country corps of cadets has been invited to g.> to Ciuis'cliurch and other schools were not invito i.