WELLINGTON.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 497, 29 April 1869, Page 2

WELLINGTON.

THE DUKE OP EDINBURGH'S VISIT. (FEOM OtTE OWN COEEESPONDENT.) April 19. His Royal Highnoss the Duke of Edinburgh baa been and gone. The visit respecting which Ave have been thinking, writing, talking, spending money, aye, and quarrelling, is now a thing of the past. Owing to the irregularity of communication between Wellington and Westport, I have not been able hitherto to do more than send you brief telegrams concerning this visit, but I will now endeavor to | give you an account of the five days as i briefly as possible. It was first expected that we should have had the honor of welcoming our Sailor Prince among us on the sth or 6th of the month, and preparations for his arrival were occupying us for many days before then. A Royal Reception Committee was formed, and by it sundry sub-committees were appointed for collecting subscriptions, getting up processions, balls, regattas, dinners, and other mild bind of enjoyments. The subscriptions came in but slowly, and the whole sum of them amounted to but £IBO. Of this by far the greater portion was contributed by the less wealthy of the community, the few rich men in Wellington having rendered themselves conspicuous by the smallness of their donations, and in several instances by refusing any assistance whatever. It would rather surprise you were I to give you the names of some of our merchants who should have headed the list, but who absolutely gave nothing. The Provincial Council refused to grant £2OO that was placed on the estimates as an aid to the funds of the Reception Committee, and gave nothing. The General Government gave the use of the Government Buildings for the ball, and also gave some decorations for the halls. Beyond this a few fire-works for what was termed a pyrotechnic display was the extent of its donation. This was a poor fund out of which to entertain a Prince, and the committee had no easy task to perform, but I am glad to say they did their " level best." The inhabitants liberally went into expenses in the matter of flagpoles, bunting, and transparencies. A perfect mania for flag-poles was exhibited. Wherever the eye turned forests of these were to be seen sticking up in every place, and some ot them could scarcely be called ornamental. Every old clothes' prop in the place seemed to be pressed into the service, and dire must have been the anger of housewives and washerwomen at the despoiling of these useful adjuncts to a laundry-yard. Perhaps the most unsightly flagstaff in the town was one, a rude, clumsy, untrimmed pole, about 20 feet high, which was untidily tied with dirty rope to the iron railing in front of the Supreme Court House. Here and there, decently made and painted flagstaff's were to be seen, but the majority were indeed poor attempts. However, such as they were, they appeared all over the city, and the wonder was where all the bunting to grace them would be procured. On the evening of the 9th instant a telegram was received from Melbourne by the s.s. Alhambra, stating that the Galatea had left Sydney on the 3rd, and might be expected to arrive here on the 10th or 11th. Accordingly about that time expectation and excitement rose to their highest. The 10th (Saturday) passed, and the Prince came not. The morning of the 11th came round, wet, misty, and very disagreeable, and the general opinion was that if the Galatea neared the land then she would wait outside the heads till Monday morning, but in this public opinion erred. At about noon on Sunday a large man-of-war was seen gradually coming up the harbor through the thick mist, and the word ran from mouth to mouth rapidly from end to end of the city," The Duke has come." Gradually flag after flag was hoisted, till at length a goodly display was made, and people hurried in crowds to the wharf. The Customs' boats put off to board the new-comer, but in the meantime the Commodore's flag was descried flying at the truck of the foremast. Immediately disappointment was felt by all, and " It's only the Challenger " was the remark. But as she came nearer and swung round at her anchorage, her double funnels were seen, and then all uncertainty disappeared. Our Prince, the son of our beloved Queen, had, indeed, come to visit us. The church bells rang out a merry peal of welcome, more flags were hoisted, larger crowds assembled on the beach and on the wharves, and now the question was "Will he land to-day?" The last was set at rest by the return of the Customs boat with word that the Prince would not land until Monday. In the meantime His Excellency the Governor's A. D. C., Captain Pitt, went on board the Galatea, and on his returning Sir George Bowen paid the Duke a private visit. This was all that was done that day, except posting the guard at Government House, which was set apart for the Duke's residence during his stay here. It had been arranged that the Volunteers should supply this guard, the Artillery taking the first twenty-four hours, No. 1 Company Rifles taking the second, and the Veteran Company the third, and so on during the stay of the Duke. Accordingly the Artillery mounted guard on Sunday afternoon, j Among the preparations I must ■not forget to mention the arrival from

the Wairarapa and the Hutt of two fine troop b of cavalry, that came in at their own expense on the 7th. They waited in town for three or four days, when finding that no Duke appeared they were about to return home, but the Government requested them to wait, and allowed them for the remainder of their stay eight shillings a day a man towards their expenses. Neither must I forget the arrival in town of crowds of Maoris, two hundred of whom were lodged in the Mount Cook Barracks and supplied with rations by the Government.

At last Monday morning came, and the whole city was astir early. Elags everywhere, of every nation, and of every fanciful device. Transparencies quickly appeared in front of what before were but hideous wooden frameworks disfiguring the fronts of nearly all the principal shops and hotels in the place. Busy hands tastefully arranged ferns, flax, grasses, and evergreens round poles, in front of houses and about transparencies. The Volunteers paraded on the reclaimed land, 500 strong, including Cavalry, Artillery, and Infantry • and as the time appointed for the official landing (11.30. a.m.) drew near, a horrible noise was heard coming down Willis Street towards the wharf, when to the surprise of most, and the fright of a few, the two hundred Maoris were seen marching down to take their part in the ceremonies of the day. And a fearful lot they looked. Halfnaked, painted, wrapped in blankets, rugs, and rags ; their hair twisted up and adorned (?) with feathers, straw, and rubbish ; spears, paddles, tomahawks and meres in their hands ; dancing, yelling, brandishing, grinning; eyes rolling, tongues protruding • they were a sight such as I never saw in Wellington before. As the time drew nearer one hundred of the Eifles were told off for a guard of honor, and marched along the wharf where they were drawn up in line, in open order, on the fir3t T on the right hand side, opposite the landing steps erected for the occasion. The remainder of the Eifles lined the wharf on each side facing inwards from the T to the shore. The Cavalry were marched off. to take their place in .the procession which was to be formed ; the Artillery took up a position, with their guns pointed towards the sea, on the reclaimed land, ready to fire a salute, and the Maoris—the painted savagelooking set—were placed on the wharf just beyond the T where His Eoyal Highness would land. On the right of the landing steps were assembled all the military officers in uniform, while on the left stood His Excellency the Governor, his A.D.C.'s, the Premier, the Hon. Col. Haultain and John Hall, Mr Justice Johnston (in full robes ; en passant, tights and stockings scarcely suit so corpulent a body,) the Consuls of the United States, Hamburg, and Norway and Sweden, Commodore Lambert, His Honor the Superintendent, Archdeacon Hadfield, and a few others. Among them some brilliant uniforms and dresses were to be seen, and altogether the place looked gay, and everybody was in holiday attire to welcome His Eoyal Highness. • I had almost forgotten the prettiest sight of the whole, namely, about _ 150 ladies in gay dresses, with blooming faces, and bright eyes, who were assembled on temporarily erected seats at the shore end of the wharf, facing the space where the address was to bepresented. The Custom House and the Pier Hotel standing at opposite corners facing the space were literally dressed with flags, and crowded in every window and on the roof with spectators. At a few minutes before half-past eleven the first gun of a salute from the G-alatea announced that the Duke had left the ship, and her gig was seen approaching, carrying in the stern the Eoyal eusign. As it approached within one or two lengths of the landing steps cheer after cheer was given lustily by the Volunteers on the wharf, and caught up and echoed back by the crowd on the shore, while the Maori mob commenced dancing and shouting, brandishing spears and tomahawks, and generally looking very fiendish. Thisjthey intended for a warm welcome to the Prince, but to a European uneducated eye it looked very threatening, and so, I think, His Eoyal Highness thought, for, though he came steadily on and mounted the steps on the wharf, he looked slightly nervous j and at last, after many months, there he stood among us. On his right stood His Excellency the Governor and his suite, on his left the military officers and the band, while in front were the guard of honor of rifles drawn up on line presenting arms. It was a pretty tableau, and while the band played the National Anthem and he stood with his hat off bowing his recognition of the cheers and general welcoming, I had plenty of time to do what I am sure all your lady readers should have been glad to do, namely, have a good look at him.

j He is about the medium height, broad-chested, square-shouldered, wellmade, and upright. His face is a pleasant looking one, not exactly handsome, but certainly not ugly ; his skin well browned, his eyes rather a dreamy blue; mouth and chin well cut; hair brown, and little or no whiskers. The only thought that occurred to me when I saw him (he was only a boy the last time) was " "Well, you are grown up a gentleman at all events." Chesterfield would have said that was the highest compliment I could pay him. After allowing a few seconds to lapse His Excellency went up to his Eoyal Highness, shook hands, and presented him to the Ministers, Consuls, the Judge, and a few other gentlemen

standing round. The Duke then walked down the wharf towards the shore.and on reaching the end His Honor the Superintendent presented to him the prepared address, and the Duke replied. When the little ceremony was over and the carriage had been gained, the procession which had been decided upon as a part of the proceedings of the day, was formed and marched up to Government House. Arrived at Government House the procession gradually melted away, and the Prince was met by about 1500 little children in white who sang the National Anthem on the lawn in front of the house. These children, when this was concluded, were taken off to a paddock close at hand, and were regaled with tea cakes and buns to their hearts' content and to the universal rejoicing of the medical men in the city for some days afterwards. In the meantime preparations were being made for a levee. The guard of honor had been marched up from the wharf to the Government buildings, where, drawn up in line with fixed bayonets, they waited the arrival of the Duke. Punctually at twelve o'clock the open carriage with fonr in hand which had been placed at His Royal Highness's disposal was seen coming up the drive and again the men presented arms while the band struck up the National Anthem. His Royal High, ness, who now appeared in the uniform of a Captain of the Navy, entered the building, and many gentlemen, clergy of all denominations, government officials, Militia and Volunteer officers, and others had the honor of being presented to him.

"When this ceremony was over, the Prinee retired, the Volunteers were dismissed, the crowd dispersed, and state receptions and official etiquette being for a short time neglected, people spent the remainder of the day enjoying themselves. The Duke rode out with the Governor. in the afternoon, and in the evening drove through the streets to see the transparencies and illuminations which had been everywhere lit up, and to witness the grand pyrotechnic display on the reclaimed land, to wit, a few dozen rockets and a Catherine wheel or two. About half-a-dozen bon-fires burning on the hills surrounding "Wellington threw all night a lurid light over the scene, and I suppose people thought the rejoicings magnificent, and that they were immensely happy. So ended the first day.

The next day, Tuesday, was wet and miserable. Bain was falling in torrents in the morning, but towards the afternoon the weather cleared up a little, though showers fell at intervals, and sufficiently frequently to render most holiday-seekers disinclined to stir out. However, bad as the weather was, a Maori war dance was got up in a fashion for the Duke's amusement during the afternoon. I say in a fashion, for such a dance with rifles is an anomaly. The Maoris for a long time refused to exhibit themselves unless paid for it, and eventually they succeded in obtaining £6O for going through their performance. It was scarcely worth seeing when it was got up, the Maoris laughing to each other all the time, and being certainly not in that excited state in which they can only do this dance properly. JEn passant. During the whole of His Eoyal Highness's stay in "Wellington the programme prepared by the Reception Committee has been persistently ignored by his Excellency the Governor, in whose hands, I presume, the Prince placed himself, at least as regards his appearance in public and his countenance of endeavors towards his amusement. . The consequence has; been that the public has known no-! thing of his Eoyal Highness's move-1 ments, and has not not been able to calculate where he would be during the day or what sports he would patronize. As an instance of this, I would notice that the Maori war dance was arranged to have taken place on the Wednesday, but although it was so stated in the programme put forth, and although the public arrangements for its so taking place had been matured, it was got up on the Tuesday, when comparatively few knew anything about it or were able to be present. Again, a visiting-book was left open at Government House, and it was expected that gentlemen would call there and leave their names in it for the Duke. But no announcement was made of this, and the Prince expressed his surprise at no entries being made, when the real fact was no one even knew of the existence of this book, and, of course, it would appear to be a piece of cool impudence to visit His Eoyal Highness unasked. So nobody thought of going. On the Wednesday there was a regatta, but owing to all matters having been bungled, this was with most other things a failure. There were only two races, a man-of-war gig race and a sailing race. In the evening came the ball, held in the Government Buildings, and which was the most successful affair during the visit. The House of Bepresentatives and the Legislative Council Chamber were set apart for the dancers and were tastefully decorated. Bands of music were in one of the galleries in each, while the other galleries were set apart for spectators. At half-past nine punctually, the rooms having become tolerably full, the Duke entered the hall and the bands struck up the National Anthem. The Prince opened the ball ■■ with Mrs Stafford as his partner in a quadrille danced a la Francois. Later in the evening h. 9 danced the Lancers with Mrs Justice Johnstone as his partner, and these two

dances were all he indulged in, except a Scotch Keel, which was the sight of the evening. This his Boyal Highness danced with Mrs Col. Reader, three sets heing made up and the Prince's piper in magnificent Highland costume, playing the spirited airs requisite. At supper, after the toast to the Queen had been duly honored, His Honor the Superintendent proposed in an admirable speech the toast of the evening. After supper his Eoyal Highness withdrew, and though the rooms became speedily thinned yet many enthusiastic dancers kept up "the mirth of feet" till nearly 5 o'clock. The day following, Thursday, His Eoyal Highness planted four trees in the grounds of the Government House to commemorate his visit. This ceremony was performed in the presence of the Governor, his A.D.C., the Hon. Mr Stafford, and the Government gardener. The names of the trees are Abies Nordnian, Podocarpus Totara, Cedrus Pensilis, and Arancaria Excelsa. On Friday, H.M.S. Galatea was open for inspection, and crowds visited her. In the afternoon there was a picnic got up by the various friendly societies in "Wellington, held at Howe's farm, about two miles from Wellington. At this there was dancing, kiss-in-the-ring, athletic sports, and all the various amusements which seem inseparable from such affairs. But the chief attraction was the announcement that the Prince would be present, and accordingly at about four o'clock he rode in and around the place, thanked the people for their courtesy, and rode away to Major Mcßarnett's run, about three miles further off, where he purposed having some pig-hunting, but the late hour at . which he got out there prevented this. At about seven in the evening he returned to Wellington, and went privately on board the Galatea. In the morning at six o'clock the < Volunteers were paraded for the purpose of escorting His Eoyal Highness , down to the wharf, but it soon transpired that he had gone on board the night before. The Artillery, however, fired a parting salute, and at nine o'clock the Galataa steamed out of harbor. Thus ended the Duke's visit to Wellington.