For the Front

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 72, 14 August 1914, Page 3

For the Front

t:k-; nth (taraxakd regiment. A NOBLE RESPONSE. The 11th (Taranaki) Regiment has responded ncbly to tie call for volunteer for active service at the front, as will be seen from the following statement obtained in conversation with Captain McDonnell. The totil strength ef the regiment is 900 men, of whom fully 600 are under 20 years of age, and consequently ineligible. It migh, be mentioned that quite a number of these, too, endeavored to get into tlhe force, but the "record books" of the Department proved their age and 'their Midoing. Of the remaining 300 men, fully one-half have been accepted for •ervice, which im itself is a record of which the regiment has a ught to >e proud. There was, in addition, a very large number of Territorials I'esirous of service, but quite unable, on account- of family affairs—such as illness, dependents on them as bread-winners, and so on—to offer themselves; while, of course, many of our Territorials would I fail to pass the fairly stiff medical examination. It is certain that the 11th Kegiment (Taranaki Rifles) has worthily upheld .'he traditions of the Rifles of old, and the young fellows of' .the area from which the lltnv is drawn have done their duty to dat-s and they can be depended on to bring credit on the parents who have yielded them up to rtie service of the Empire .i_ her hour of danger.

Taka-NAKI MEN DESPATCHED. A MEMORABLE MORNING. Eicitement thrilled every minute from reveille to entraining a: New Plymouth yesterday morning. Reveille sounded at 5 a.m. at the Coronation Hall, and t'hose of the troopers who had managed-to accustom, their bones to the hard sleeping accommodation turned out in haste. Many had not slept at all. It was not long before the men lined up, haying mastered by dint of the previous day's nractice the mysteries of I the "web" equipment of straps and! pockets. There was no "sally" and no cookhouse at headquarters, vn; commissariat arrangements having been made with the Coffee Palace and Trocadero proprietaries, where the men breakfasted. At <UO a.m. they fell in at Egmont, Street, and, cheered by a big erowd f which had collected even at that early i 1 hour, marched behind the band to the railway station, which was soon thronged with people. One man from, th" country remarked that when townspeople could leave their be Is in the grey hours of early mom 'n this fashion ' it said much for their enthusiasm, and { the departing soldiers were evidently impressed by the excited, panting, pushing and cheering people. The Red, White and Blue or Britain was everywhere in evidence. The band played the National Anthem, the Marsjillai'se, and other patriotic airs, and the precincts rang again with vociferous- cheering The carriage windows and platforms were alive with the smiling faces of as fine a lot of young colonials; as ever pleased the eye of a recruiting ser geant, their hands outstretched and responding with earnest grip to the good-byes of friends and relatives. Mr R. Cock spoke some messages to the Territorials on behalf of the people. The soldiers in turn cheered the townsfolk and their officers. The crowd still grew, and extended right rp to the overhead bridge opposite the Harbor | Board's buildings. In the last few min- 1 utes Auld Lang gvne was sung with, enthusiasm, led by the band, and "God be with you till we meet again," suns: with an evident true conception of the depth of meaning in the words, were the last notes the departing soldiers heard at the station, though cheers re- I sounded again and again till the en- | ' gines themselves, decorated by some I patriotic officer of the railway service, drew out of the New Plymouth station Taranaki's first offering of 1 young J manhood to the Empire in this particular time of stress and need. The townspeople gave the men. as was fitting, a most enthusiastic send-off. r.iav there he eiiual enthusiasm, equal gladness, j snd few if any gaps in the ranks, when I our boys return, crowned with honors, i CONTINGENT. | D COMPANY. j The following men in this company I are from El:hani:— ' F. J. Velvin T. W. Narbcv F. R. Swimllehurst L. Pennington ' W. C. Falconer B. C. Hahtedt W. H. Biggs J. Zinsli L. J. Sharrock From Stratford: G. W. Kerr R. Wood R. 11. Kivell .7. Petrie R. D. Turnbull T. Luverty R. L. Okey R. I). Cameron ('. W. Milner Other men are:— R. J. Taylor, Hurleyville. F. C. Espiner, Ngaere. F. W. Tavendale, Whan-pimomona C. Kennedy. Inglewood D. E. Theumine. Riverlea L. A. McCracken, Maiigatnki. THE OFFICERS, Following are ■the. officers: Captain Brunt (Hawera) will be promoted to the rank of Major and will be in charge. Captain Cox (Hawera) will be second in command. Other officers will he: Lieut. Narbey (A Coy., Okato). Lieut. Morrison (D Coy., E.haiii). Lieut McOill (('■ Coy., Taumarunui). Lieut. Wells (O Coy. Taumarunui). INGLEWOOD PATRIOTIC FI'ND. Inglewood, August 13. A larite and most enthusiastic meeting was held in the Town Hall last night, [on '(he invitation of the Mayor, who presided, with the object of initial iiu ' I a scheme to augment the Dominion pati riotic fund. The municipal and cadet I drum and bugle band played patriotic ami martial limbic outside the hall previous to tihe meeting, play ins "KuhI'rittania." which the whole public joined in singing. An influential commit;ee Wiis formed to conduct a general canvass of the district. It is expected to realisover £HKiO. At the close of the business. -Soldiers of the King." "Our Land." and the "National Anthem" were sung. AT ELTHAM. There was a large gathering at the siation. The school children, who had been granted time off. were present i» full force, while the Elthani Brass Ban'! also turned out under Bandmnst'" 1 Beesley. The approach of the train was greeted with; heariy heers and

[ "The Red, White and Blue" by the band, and then theie was i grettt rush for a final handshake. Many fount! triends aboard from New Plymouth, vlii wera, and other places. All ti.t. v.uinleers were in high spirits and >h'j good - byes were said amid smiles and good . wishes. Hearty cheers were again given when the mail train steamed out, the ' band rendering "God be with you till we meet again." AT STRATFORD. There was a big crowd on the station to farewell them, hearty cheers being given as the train drew out. AT HA WERA. A large gathering of people assembled at the Hawera station to see the Taranaki contingent for the Expeditionary Force go through by the express train yesterday morning. Intense enthusiasm prevailed, and a reporter was informed that all along the line the Territorials received magnificent greetings. The Hawera men were detrained and addressed, by the Mayor 2nd Mr R. G. Sellar (representing tile Chamber of Commerce). The Mayor said he knew | that, New Zealanders, as Britons, would do their duty manfully. (Applause.) New Zealand would not forget her sons when across the seas—(renewed applause)—and in conclusion he wished them God speed and a safe return. ( Mr 1 Sellar said this wai would be counted in thousands and in millions, and it would not do to under-estimate the strength of the foe. T,he citizens appreciated the spirit of the New Zealanders in giving their services for their country. The war would be stupendous, causing much hardship and sufi fering; but wai was preferable to servi- . | tude. He knew that New /"ealanders would, like all Britons, do t'heir duty ad fight to the last. If necessary, ; I more men would be given, who would I fight to the last drop of blood. (Hear, I hear.) The people of Hawera would : i watch their boys, and he knew that the ■'. Hawera and Taranaki men would up- i [ hold the traditions of'their forefathers. Cheers were then given for the King «md the troops l , the Hawera boys asking for cheers for Captain Brunt. | The following officers have been ap- , pointed to the 11th Taranaki Regiment in the expeditionary force:—Captain ] Brunt (promoted to Major), Captains , Cox, Narbey, Morrison, Wells and Me- i Cull. \ The following officers of the 2nd , Mounted (Queen Alexandra) Regiment have received commissions in tlhe force: < 'Major Henty, Captain Chishoim ipro- \ moted to Major), Captains Hardhara, [ 'V.C. (reserve 'officer), Jansm, James, i Risk, Lieut. R. Joll. TAUMARUNUI CONTINGENT. . t GIFT'S FROM NEW PLYMOUTH. | 3 There was a fairly large muster at'r the Coronation Hall' last night, when I s the 24 members of the Taumarunui and J Ohakune contingent were officially fare- , welled by the Mayor, Mr J. E. Wilson, t and presented with, a variety of "com- 1 forts" provided by the ladies of New j Plymouth and the High School girls r similar to those presented to the Tarnnaki men on the previous evening. In addressing the men, Adjutaiit Mc- ] Donnell said that no doubt they had j left the backblocks in a hurry, anil they , would appreciate the usefui gifts provided for them by the ladies, and that i they would take care not to allow the , Germans to despoil them; of the memen ■ toes of the ladies' goodwill. The Mayor, in addressing the men, • said that no doubt they had been talked to enough in their own towns, so his ] remarks would be very brief. The \ people of New Plymouth' felt they could not allow th; men lo go to the front, without saying how proud they were of all those who had so readily responded • to the call for volunteers. It was no picnic that they were going to, so that he thought it was all he more to their , credit to come forward at the call of the Empire. He was satisfied they would do their duty manfully and faithful: y, and would keep untarnished the ' splendid traditions of the British Army Glad as they were to see the volun teers go forth, they would be more glad still to welcome them on their return (Applause.) I At the call of the Mayor, Three, hearty cheers were given for the men. who responded with a similar comipii ment to the people of New Plymouth. Sergeant-Major Harvey briefly expressed the thanks of the men for the | gifts conferred upon them, and called ' for three cheers for the ladles. The call was lustily responded to. Subsequently the reserves each received a series of gifts from flic ladies The contingent leaves for Palmers ton by the mail train this morning.

C COMPANY. ' INGLEWOOD AND WATTARA CONTINGENT. The following Inglewood men will also leave this morning:— Sergeant J. Capper. T. S. Tapp. 0. S. Baker. , E. J. HaTris. L. A. Walker. A. B. Dodmitki. F. ,T. Fougere. A. G. Hunt. The Waitara members ars:— O. B. Lepper. C. Feakins G. Soffc. The Taranaki Reserves, who only received their uniforms yesterday evening, and leave by this morning's train, are:— Reg. Sole. E. Hine. —. Rea. —. Laugh am. —. Nicoll. GOVERNMENT PROPOSALS. His Worship the Mayor of New Plymouth has received an urgent c-ir.-iilnr from the Minister of Defence sett, g forth th" action the Government is taki„„ in calling upon the people to assist in the despatch of the Expedition- ' an-Force, etc.' An Empire Defence fund has been established into which will ■;•<■ paid all money contributed from lo'a! authorities, companies or mdmdiiu-, whether for purchase of horses or 0t,,.. material required for the bxpe< lidouarv Wre TJi'3 fund will irom tune, to t ; me be sunplcmeuted bv payments from th,, Consolidated Fund.' li contributors s|.e(if-i the object for which donations -ire made. the. a mounts will be credited to a special account—e.g.. purchase of horse, purchase of material, purchase ot personal equipment for men. If no sucu intimation is given, the PaymasterGeneral will either credit the contrniutions to a general account or to one ol the aliovo-mentioned accounts, .as he thinks- tit. The circular then goes on to specify items which come under the ■|-f----feront -headings—horses for expeditionary force, saddlery, forage, food, motorlorries, motor-cars, •' motor-cycles, bi- > cycles, also .what is required for the Liverpool Fund, which the ladies are attending to.

„ DEFENCE RIFLE CLUB. I. - •■ u OKKEiIS ITS ASSISTANCE. ]' Tic members of the Now Plymouth '. Defence. Rii.c Club held a in eeting last ' night, being attended by about tb'ity ,: members and presided over by the p:ea sident (Mr. F. J. Hill). The meeting 1 was called to discuss what steps tlhe club should take fo assist in the present crisis. ) The members unanimously resolved to place their services at the disposal of j the Defence Department, and it was r stated that they would all be available, if necessary, for training, eitiher at drill or shooting, any section at present short of officers. The mater of enrolling and training members of rifle clubs was also suggested, and an endeavor will ■ be made to carry this out. > The president was instructed to con- . vey to Riflemen Wilson, Sole and Selden, i who aro going to the front, the best . wishes of-tlhe club, i Nine new members were elected. . The club resolved to donate £.lO 10s to the Patriotic Fund. COLONEL W. G. MALONE. Colonel W. G. Malone, who has been appointed to the command of the battalion to be raised from the Wellington military district, left yesterday. Colonel Malone's three elder sons 'have also volunteered for service. One is already in camp, in the army service section, and the other two will offer themselves as mounted men. Colonel Majone has been connected with the New Zealand forces for about fifteen years past, and served for three years in tthe time of the Te W'hiti trouble (says the Post), Since the coming into force of the present defence scheme he has been in command of the XI. Regiment (Taranaki Rifles). Colonel Malone was educated in the north of France, and as a boy can remember hearing firing in connection with the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. He has a wide knowledgo of the country in the present theatre of operations in Belgium, so that he should prove a specially useful officer at Dhe front. NOTES. The officers will go to Palmerston nextweek. Local motor cyclists who expressed their willingness to form a motor cycle corps, (have been notified by the Defence Department that the services of a number of them at any rate will be accepted. Mrs. Walker, assisted by a bevy of girls, has organised a "Violet Saturday" when bundles of violets will be sold, the proceeds to go towards the local Patriotic Fund. Mrs. P. J. Nathan has also kindly offered to give a recital of Enoch A'rden, set to music by Richard Strauss, in the Good Templar Hall on Saturday week |Mrs Nathan will be assisted by Mi«s Beryl Hirst and Captain Stevens. | Two German reservists, who were arrested in the Awakino district, were sent to Palmerston North yesterday. **£' ™ R S< ! le ' of the reporting staff I of the Taranaki Herald, was presented by the employees with a handsome flask. Mr. W. J. Penn, editor, in makig the presentation, congratulated the recipient on his determination to assist the' Empire, and assured him that wherever he went he would carry the best wishes of the whole <of the 'staff. He then wished him God-spc.ed and a safe return. Mn John Grey, of Messrs Wilson and Grey's staff, was presented b? comrades with a smoker's outfit. Mr W. P. Okey, of t'he staff of Okev and Rollo, was presented by the employees by « handsome case of pipes. Air J. K. Cargo, of the Bank of New South Wales, was farcwelled by a number of friends, and Wie bank'staff arranged to have his photo taken. Next Wednesday evening a concert and dance will lw held at Rahotu, the total proceeds of which will te donated to the war fund. The same evening a . subscription list will be opened in aid Of the fund. Among those who left yesterday morning to join the expeditionary force | at Palmerston North were Corporal T. H. Hudson and Private T. U. Hancock, of the Land:; and Survey Department, New Plymouth. On Wednesday they wer o heartily fa-rcwellcd by their colleagues, and eaeh presented with a wristlet watch as a token i.f appreciation of their action in volunteering for service. The lady member. .>? tlie'svaff also presented them with suitable Scott cttps, housewife lu.\d-al'.s, and ether useful articles. After the recipients had replied, thanking their fellow-officers, the staff assembled cheered them and sang "For they are jqlly goo.-i fellows," and concluded with the National Anthem. Miss- Burke and Mr M. Zemba, of the New Plymouth Shirt Factory, have kindly offered to do free of charge any sewing or work that may be required ■by the local committee. ' The staff of the factory has also offered lo give its services free. Yesterday morning Mr Arnold George consigned to Lieut.-C-olonel Myers, Well-., I ington, the bicycle kindly donated by him to the Patriotic Fund. Territorials from Taumaru-'ii and intermediate stations as far a- Olmkune. to the number of about thirty, arrived in town by the mail train o , Wednesday night, and after having supper marched to the Coronation Hall, where they received a great ovation from the men already assembled and from the crowd farcwelling the local men. The reason for bringing these men to New Plymouth was that it was necessary they should be inspected by Adjt.-Capt. McDonnell, before proceeding to Palmerston. Waitara and Inglewood volunteers came into town by yesterday morning's train, and were medically examined in the afternoon. They leave this morning with Sergeant-Major Mahon;'y. The New Zealand railways are now under military guard. Tin? ;;'on be.ong to the Territorial forces but are drawn from (he Railway Depnrtm -lit permanent staff. The men are \v.-'i>ring full service equipment ami are supplied with ball cartridge. The services of Captain Short, ot lailHEinimii have been accepted for tiervic« willi the expeditionary force, and he will be attached to t'he 17th (Wairarapa) regiment. This makes eight officers inciudinir the office-commar-.d-in" from the lllh Regiment. .Most of i 1.- i, her regiments are seiding only

An interesting little cereinonv t'«)k ~l'„.„ at the Hawera, Defence Ullieo ves-tc-dav morning, when Mrs. -Slovens (wife' of Captain Stevens, group comniander). presented one of her .peuinree ; fox terrier puppies to Lieut B ■ AM on behalf of the officers of the 2nd Mounted Rides as the contingent's mascot, it was christened "Ake Ake." the motto of the regiment. Mr. Joll promised that the mascot would he cared for, and promised lo bring it back alive. AU dentists volunteering tor the expeditionary force are to apply to Colonel Will. Dire'■for of Medical Services (h-ao-mmrters Wellington), stating qualifications. ~ , ~ i „ Captain Stevens would he glad to hear of any men canaille -of dri-ing waegons. as about 3(1(1 will be requ'red for'the ammunition column in \ew Zealand. The men must be accustomed to horses. WSjEs*^"'**' - ''

The New Plymoutii High' Soliodl' giriß secured quite a numiber of regimental liii.l.'fefl from the departing troopers last nio'iit. Their persistency could not be wibiistood, though it is only fair to Bay that the men seemed pleased to bestow the ornaments on the girls. The Lord gie lis a guid oonceit o' ooiscIb!" Bobby Burns wrote something like that, and at least one member of yesterday's contingent has evidently reached the acme of the poet's desire. This is what he told one of i'jc ffirl friends who farewelled him: "Lord Kitchener's in charge, you: know. Kitchener's getting us chaps to go over to show them what we can do. He knows himself, of course, because the New Zfealanderg helped him in So i'Ji Africa." "Avocat" writes to the Star suggesting that the ladies of Hawera might work more expeditiously in preparing articles intended for the local volunteers fo..- the Expeditionary Force, observing that the New Plymouth women even sat up all night, so "that the departing troopers might be able to take the gift articles with them. Let us (he concludes) send our boys away handsomely andi enthusiastically, so that they may be hardened to take their part manfully in the huge cataclysm which is shaking the earth. This giving of comfoTts and clothing ig essentially the woman's part. In New Plymouth, organised working parties. 1 understand, have been working all night to cope with,this emergency, and I do not see why the ladies of H*wera could not do likewise." Major Sandford has receded a letter from Licut.-Gol. CosagTOve, Dominion Chief Scout, advising all scouts - in Taranaki to prepare, especially in ambulance and signalling, and to provids not less than one pair of warm socks, men's size, for the use of troops going | to the fronti Parcels are to be sent tlrougli scoutmasters to the neaTe-il Defence office. . A concert and' dance in .i<i of the Patriotic Fund will be held at Midhirat on Wednesday evening next. A general meeting of farmers- and all others interested in furthering collections for the - Patriotic Fund will be held in the Stratford Borough Chambers at 2 p.m. 'on Saturday afternoon. The Stratford auctioneers, Messrs. Newton King, Webster, Dol>3on and Co., and the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd, notify that they will hold a special gift sale of stock on Saturday, Aagi.it 22, the proceeds of which, are to hie devoted to the Stratford War Fund. Supporters are asked to notify to the promptly the nature of their con-tribu lions. A public demonstration it all citizens of the EmpiTo' will hi held, l at Elt'ham on Saturday next. ALWAYS ON HAND. "My little boy John suffered with colds and croup and Chamberlain's Cough Remedy was the onlv medidme that would give him relief." writes Mr John Norton, Marrawah. Tas. "I consider Chamberlain's Cough Remedy! to be the best medicine for the complaints, and make a point of always having it in hand." All chemists and stores.