NEW ZEALANDERS IN EGYPT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 207, 9 February 1915, Page 8

NEW ZEALANDERS IN EGYPT.

t MARCH THROUGH CAIRO, The following r.cec.u.it of tlia Nc« Zeuhuulcrs' march .through Cairo ii given by the Egyptian Mail of Dscsmbn 23: — In these stirring times we arc Incoming' somewhat accustomed to martial spectacles. A street with half the ' men walking along its pavements clad in khaki is the rule rather than the exception. Even in comfortable, peaceful old Cairo, we are gett'ng familiar, with the clash of arms. In the last two 1 months we have thrice been privileged to see troop by some few of the many thousands of gallant soldiers whoso mission it is to fr; honor of I, Britain In the greatest conflict the world has ever seen. , First the Indians, then the Terriers, and now the New Zealandcrs. I Comparisons a,re notoriously odious — I excuse the platitude—and we will there- , fore draw none between the various I'm? todies of troops that have marched l>y .. its .of recent days. Giant Sikh, stuffly Gurkha, stocky Terrer, stalwart New Zealander—they are all one, serving one Kim.'. (Wilting one cause. | All Cairo was out to see the inarch through its principal streets this mom- ' ing and all Cairo 'was not disappoint- | cd with what it saw. For ail hour and | a-half Lioutenant-General Sir John j Maxwell, comanding the forces in Eg- j ypt, sat on his horse at the junction ! of Sliaria l.lulac and Sharia Kamel and took the salute from ai line a body of men as can be found anywhere. Close on twelve thousand there must have been—horse, foot, artillery; Auckland Wellington, Otago, all towns of the' Dominion of New Zealand "have given of their best to the Mother Country, and gladly she has received them. THE CAVALRY. First came the cavalry, and among the various Australasian regiments were, it should be noted, the Queensland Mounted Rilles, their hats adorned with emu feathers. Regiment after regiment of cavalry rolled by, horses and men all as one. The horses were magnificent and seemed to quite understand the dignity of the occasion; only at times did a steed become restive at a particular loud outburst of cheering' on the part of some enthusiastic group of'spectators, There seemed an endless number of horses; would they never stop going by? Regiment after regiment rolled past, interspersed with signalling and machine gun detachments. Then came the field artillery; very murderous and businesslike the dull colored guns looked. THE TKFAKTRY. - At last the cavalry had gone. While ' the hoofs of the last horse could still be heard reverberating, the cheery strains of "Tipperary" burst upon our ears, and the first of the New Zealand infantry came into view. Headed by their bands, the various regiments matched excellent, ly, and went by with a swing and rhythm that caught all eyes. Attached to one regiment were two hundred of perhaps the smartest men 011 parade—the Ceylon Tea Planters' Ride Corps. Their khaki helmets and dark green facings showed up well in contract to the slouch hats and nlahi tunics of the rest of the troops. Ceylon nas not yet- sent many of her sons' towards

the trenches; only two of the nine hnn(lrcd odd men comprising tlio Tea Hunters' Ivifie Corps have come, though nil , Were ready and anxious to do so. Tint those two hundred are as fine an example of Colonial troops as one could wish In see: one-is only sorry that all their comrades are not with" them. The procession passed: gradually the last file was reached. We had stood for an hour an a-hnlf—rather weary work: but it was worth it, and we went away even more convinced of •the union of the Jiritish Empire and of its strength, after liavin;* seen such specimens of t.lie troops thp Colonies r.re sending to the Mother Country.