DAY OF REJOICING & THANKSGIVING AT THE ESCAPE OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH.

Westport Times, Volume II, Issue 211, 3 April 1868, Page 2

DAY OF REJOICING & THANKSGIVING AT THE ESCAPE OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH.

At an early hour yesterday morning tho sound of tho bugle warned the Volunteers that the time had come when they wero to inaugurate the proceedings about to be taken, in honor of Prince Alfred's escapo, and after a preliminary drill and instructions had been given them in reference to the part they were to take in tho day's proceedings, they wero dismissed about ten o'clock. The members of the Demonstration Committee mustered opposite the Post-office Hotel, and proceeded to the river banks where they embarked in boats, aud went to the other side of the river to meet the loyal people of Addison's Flat, who were coming down to join in the general rejoicing. The town was all this time gradually assuming a busy appearance, aud knots of people wearing the loyal colors, were gathered all over the principal thoroughfares, waiting to participate in the general rejoicing. Flags streamed from poles and windows, and the whole town bore unmistakeable testimony to the general holyday, that was being celebrated to joy over the escape of the sailor Prince. On the returning of the committee, with the Loyalists of Addison's Flat, a procession was formed on the north bank of the river, and the whole moved slowly forward, headed by a band playing various national airs, to the Court House, where service Was about to be conducted, the Rev. Wm. Harvey officiating. The vast crowd, which at 11 a.m. were assembled, obliged the clergyman to adjourn to the outside of the Court House, as its size was far too limiteel to hold the vast crowd of worshippers, w! o were eager to offer thanks to the Most High for the gracious providence that had rendered futile the dastardly assassins aim. The ordinary morning prayers were read, and the following hymns were selected, as appropriate for the occassion, and it is needless to add that the whole multitude as one man, echoed the joyful strains :

HYMN 474. Lord of heaven, earth,, and ocean, Hear us from thy bright abode, "While our hearts with deep devotion Own their great aud gracious God ; Now with joy we come before iifcee, Seek thy face, thy mercies sing ; Lord of life, and light, and glory, Guard thy Church, and guide our Queen Health and every needful blessing, Are thy bounteous gifts alone, Comforts undeserved possessing, Here we bend before thy throne ; Young and old do now before thee Their united tribute bring ; Lord of life, and light, and glory Shield our isle, and save our Queen. Thee, with humble adoration, Thee we praise for mercies past; Still to this most favored nation May those mercies ever last; Britons, then shall still before thee Songs of ceaseless praises sing, Lord of life, and light, and glory, Bless thy people, bless our Queen.

HYMN 475. Soverign of all, whose will ordains, The powers on earth that be, By whom our rightful monarch reigns, Subject to none but thee : Lo! in the arms of faith and prayer. We bear her to thy throne Receive thine own peculiar care, The Lord's anointed one. Guard her from all who dare oppo: c Thy delegate and thee ; From open aud from secret foes, From force and perfidy, Still let us pray, and never cease, Defend her, Lord, defend, Stablish her throne in glorious peace, And save her to the end ! The sermon was from the 2nd verse of the 18th psalui; " The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer ; my G-od, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high [tower." The minister enlarged on this theme, and in a most eloquent sermon, set forth the aim and object of the present demonstration ; and after speaking of the homage and love we all should feel for the earthly rulers of our land, dwelt upon that greater homage which we all ought to feel for our Heavenly King. After the sermon, the National Anthem was sung, and as it is from the " heart that the mouth speaketh," we are quite sure that no one can gainsay the hearty manner in which expression was given to the soul-stirring strains of " God save the Queen." A service was also held at the Catholic Chapel, where tho services were directed to express the general thankfulness felt at His Eoyal Highness's escape. Soon after two o'clock, the vast multitude again assembled and formed into a line, the Volunteers leading, and headed by a band, perambulated the principal streets of the town: the whole procession, in a most enthusiastic manner, testifying in a loud and demonstrative manner to tho deep feelings of joy felt

by all present at the fortunate escape from murder of His Royal Highness. One of tho principal features in the procession, next to the crown composed of flowers and evergreens, and said to be the work of soino Germans on Addison's Elat (a marvel in itself if finished workmanship was tho boat called Prince Alfred, that was hoisted into a cart and taken round in the procession, ornamented with sundry loyal and expressive national flags. In this boat Mr Kynncrsley, R.M., Commissioner, went the round of the town, and frequent and hearty were the feelings of goodwill shown towards him and his barge. After tho town had been perambulated, the procession stopped in front of tho Court-house, and the piper blowing his bags, walked up and down the crowd, playing various characteristic tunes. Mr Payne, tho marshal of the proceedings, then culled upon the people to appoint a chairman, and proposed Mr Kynncrsley ; this proposition was received with the most tumultuous cheering, and Mr Kynncrsley proceeded to address the meeting as follows—Gentlemen—We are met here to-day, to express our feelings of devoted loyalty to the Queen and Royal Family, and to propose an address to the Qeeon, aud H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, expressive of the thankfulness we must all feel, at the futile attempt made to assassinate H.R. Highness. We must all feel these sentiments of love and attachment towards the Duke, and any man who this day does not express his loyalty shows himself an enemy of his country. With regard to the dastardly attempt to take the life of the Duke we must all be of one mind. We have read that unsuspecting and confiding, whilst he was enjoying himself at the Sailors Home picnic at Sydney, a dastardly ruffian crept up behind him, and stealthily shot him in the back. The dastardly attempt of this miscreant O'Farrell was most cruel —he had no previous quarrel with the man he attempted to shoot,, the Prince was unarmed, and with stealthy and catlike feeling the dastard dealt his assassin's aim. There are three circumstances connected with this attempt at murder which must increase our horror. First the Prince was the son of our Queen, that fact alone should have protected him; secondly, he was leaning on the arm of a lady at the time the shot was fired, and gallantry alone should have paralysed the arm of the miscreant; and thirdly, he was the guest of the colonies, acid this latter fact alone should have rendered his life sacred. The meanest Arab, I venture to say, would not have attempted to slay any guest either of himself or his tribe. We must not, however, be led away by these expressiotis of our feelings on to any blind or indiscriminating hatred against the faction of Avhich O'Farrell was a member. He believed that every man, whether English, Scotch, or Irish, or from whatever part of the world they hailed, viewed with abhorrence and hatred the cowardly and dastardly attack upon the life of so young and so amiable a Prince. There are two classes of men who deserve no commisseration—firstly, those who have expressed themselves antagonistically to the Government and the Free Constitution of Britain, and who have expressed their determination to overthrow the Saxon rule and drive them into the sea. He believed that Saxons generally were especially opposed to being thus driven, and he was sure they would oppose any attempt made to carry this threat into execution. Secondly, there are another class of men who are deservin"of no consideration. He meant those persons vvho have systematically tried to set class against class, creed against creed, and nationality against nationality. It was no excuse that such men might belong to a country who imagined themselves of a depressed and hard dealt by nationality, for in all cases it was mainly to obtain notoriety or to further some other selfish end that these men put themselves forward. They must be put down. (Hear, hear). They must be suppressed the same as any other common nuisance; and as St. Patrick was canonized for expelling the frogs, snakes, and other veneinous reptiles from Ireland, he thought that any man who would bauish such snakes as these from amongst us was deservin"of canonization as the patron saint of New Zealand. He said he would not detain them longer, as several gentlemen wero prepared to address the meeting. It would be unnecessary for him to advise them to uphold law and order this day, as their presence here was a proof of this feeling. The day was one of rejoicing, and he hoped nothing might occur to mar any of tho joyous feelings felt by.all. He then, amidst tho most repeated and enthusiastic cheering, called on Mr W. Pitt, to move the addresses of loyalty that had been prepared for the occasion.

Mr Pitt, in moving the first resolution said : that after the eloquent and able speech of the Commissioner, he had no need to say anything to make the meeting pass with acclamation the two addresses, which as a comparative stranger, it was his pleasing duty t.) propose this day. The first address was to the Queen, as follows : •

"To Her most gracious Majesty Victoria, by the Grace of God, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland : " May it please your Majesty, We the loyal inhabititants of Westport, in the Province of Nelson, in your Majesty's Colony of New Zealand, desire to approach your Majesty with the expression of our warm attachment to your Majesty's throne and person, and the members of your lioyal family : " We desire, also, to express our extreme detestatation of the recent attempt upon the life of your Majesty's son, His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, and our unfeigned thanks to the Almighty Disposer of events, that His Royal Highness was preserved from assassination : " That the same good providence may continue to watch over and protect your Majesty, and the members of your Royal Family will be the constant prayer of this loyal 2>eople. " Signed on behalf of the inhabitants of Westport, in public meeting assembled, "T. A. S. Kynnerslet, " Chairman. " Westport, April 2, 1868. " With regard to the first part of this address, loyalty to the Queen and Royal Family, it is hardly necessary to refer, as it is an axiom that Britons are superlatively loyal; and as to the second part of it, referring to the attempt at murder, it would be unfair to charge any person or faction with the crime unless it was clearly proved against them, and he believed that the bulk of the people, whether Irish or Scotch, felt in common with himself the utmost horror at the attempted crime, and it was as a proof of this that they had now met to show their devoted loyalty. He then read the Address to the Duke, which was as follows :

To His Royal Highness Prince Alfred Ernest, KG, Duke of Edinburgh : May it please your Eoyal Highness, We, the loyal inhabitants of West* port, in the province of Nelson, in Her Majesty's colony of New Zealand, desire to approach your Eoyal Highness with expressions of our warm attachment and devoted loyalty to your Eoyal Mother, our Most Gracious Queen, and to the members of her royal family. We desire also to express our extreme detestation of the recent attempt to assassinate your Eoyal Highness, and our unfeigned thanks to the Almighty disposer of events that you were preserved. That the same good Providence may continue to watch over your Eoyal Highness and protect you from every danger, will be the constant prayer of these loyal people. Signed on behalf of the inhabitants of Westport, in public meeting assembled.

T. A. S. KxiorEitSLEY, Chairman. "Westport, April 2, 1868. This address, like the one to the Queen, was recived with the most enthusiastic cheering, and the speaker concluded by stating, that he hoped the Prince, whose life had been spared, would yet live to distinguish himself in the arduous profession he had chosen, against the enemies of his country. And as often times, out of evil came good, it was a good thing that the Volunteers had been enrolled, and had already in numbers, proved themselves such staunch lovers of loyalty. Mr Eeid seconded the adoption of the foregoing addresses in a most masterly manner, and alluded to the early training which they, as loyal men, had received, and which had inculcated loyalty and truth, in contradistinction to rebellion and anarchy, and it was a pleasing proof of this feeling, to see so many loyal faces present this day, beaming with joy ana affection for tho Constitution of England. Dr Giles being called, addressed the meeting as follows, —Gentlemen, I view with great pleasure the whole of today's proceeding, and my only diffidence is for the fact that, I am afraid I can put the matter in no new light. There is great difficuly felt in alluding to this late cowardly attempt at assassination, and with the desire of observingthe key-note that had beenstruck by the Rev Mr Harvey in the morning's sermon, I will abstain from any remarks of a party feeling, as it would be impossible to speak of it without draping it in very dark colors ; indeed, the attempt to shoot Prince Alfred, to blow up Clerkeuwell gaol, and the

murder of Sergeant Brett, are till of a piece, still it is necessary to discriminate, andlcannotbeliove that every man who belongs to the Faction, of which O'Farrell was a member, is actuated by the same diabolical motives „ It is to be deplored that tho advisers of his Royal Highness should think fit to shorten his stay in tho colonies, and prevent his visit to New Zealand I believo that wero the matter left to the Duko himself, or if it were the Queen even who had laid down a programme for herself, that no such dastardly blow, would prevent his or her visit, and T think that his return without visiting New Zealand is to bo deplored, as the faction to which O'Farrell belongs, may 'take it as a sign that they had frightened the Duke.

Mr Tyler, was called by the meeting and addressed it at some length, he said his views were not so moderate, as those given out by the previous speakers, and that his feelings we're too much interested to do so. A party for the subversion of law and order had been got up, and O'Farrell waß one of tho faction, and i} was necessary to 'organise a party to oppose this measure. He said he did not like trimming, people must now take one side or the other, and concluded in terms of bitter reproachagainst all Fenians, ;aad their sympathisers. Mr Munro, being called, stated that he was glad to find that the preceding speaker had struck at the root of the evil. He did not want to provoke war or strife amongst residents here, but the men who wore the green ribbons on St. Patrick's day here, were part and parcel ■of the same rebellious faction as the miscreant who had struck the cruel blow.

Mr Payne, in a most telling and enthusiastic speech, asked the meeting to endorse the feelings of loyalty expressed by the previous speakers, and to express' their detestation at the horrid attempt made to assassinate the Duke of Edinburgh. To the loyal inhabitants of Addison's Flat and Caledorian Terrace he desired to express his warmest thanks (here the cheering was most deafening), and he was sure that those people would r take the present demonstration of feeling as a token of the g-oodwill which was borne them by the people of "Westport, and the hearty welsome extended to fthem here.

Mr Smith, MP.C. spoke shortly on the subject, and hoped that the present feelings of loyalty exhibited towards the Koyal Family, would sink deep into < every true Briton's heart. The Chairman then moved the adoption of the addresses to the Queen and '•the Duke, which, it is needless to say, 'were most unanimously carried

Mr -Fagg made a short speech, ■swishing health and happiness to all 'who took part in the day's proceedings. The Rev. Mr Harvey then proposed a vote of thanks to the Chairman, •which was received in a most enthusiastic manner and with all the customary honors. After the chair was vacated, Mr Morrison, an Irishman, spoke on behalf of some of his countrymen, who he was sure wished to see England's laws carried out in all their integrity, 'quite as much as any other members •of Her Majesty's rule. He and hundreds of others had come to-day to show their loyalty, not in any secret corner, hut in the broad glare of sunlight, and he desired on behalf of himself and others, to say that they felt as ■warm an attachment to the Eoyal Eamily, as any man who was born pi Scotland or England. The National Anthem was then sung by the multitude assembled, and the proceedings were stayed until halfpast six o'clock, at which time the people met at the sound of the bugle, and marched tc the huge bonfire on the beach, which was lighted in the presence of the people assembled, and to the sound of stirring music. Far and wide its rays were shed, typical of that blaze of loyalty which, when occasion calls, lights up the soul of every loyal Briton.