THE WAIKATO CAVALRY AT THE THAMES. THE EASTER REVIEW. (FROM OUR SPECIAL REPORTER.)

Waikato Times, Volume XIV, Issue 1210, 1 April 1880, Page 2

THE WAIKATO CAVALRY AT THE THAMES. THE EASTER REVIEW. (FROM OUR SPECIAL REPORTER.)

Thb Walkato Cavalry left Ohinemuri at 10 o'clock on Saturday morning, and had luncheon at Warohoe. Arrived at Kirikiri about 3 o'clock, where a large number of the Thames people were assembled on horseback and on foot, and several carriages containing ladies. Amongst the occupants of the latter were — Colonel Lyon and lady. Mrs Ehrenfried, Mrs Perry Mr A. Brodie (County < hairman), Captains Watson (T.S. V.) aud Wildman (T.N.8.) Councillor Porter, and otherß, were also in carriages. The Borough was r presented by < ouncillors Marshall and Wilkinson. When Major Murray, who had gone out some time previously to meet the visitors, saw the numerous gathering, he informed Major Jackson, and the bugle souuded the halt. The County Chairman (Mr Brodie) here addressed a few words of welcome to the Waikato men, who were drawn up in front of the Kirikiri Hotel for the purpose. Mr Brodie said it afforded him great pleasure to welcome them in the name of the people of the Thames on their approach to the township. The occasion was both interesting and important — in serving to cement that unity which should exist between citizen sof* diers and to bring two important and. rising centres of population into closer union with each other. The great drawback hitherto to such a visit had been the roads, but they had no doubt seen that morning what had been accomplished, in the face of many obstacles, towards removing this barrier to their progress, and he trusted more would yet be done in the same direction before long. They also hoped that railway communication would soon follow, when these gatherings would be perpetuated without any of the difficulties and loss of time they now involved. He could only give them, as he had been deputed to do, a most hearty welcome to the Thames, and hoped they would thoroughly enjoy themselves. Major Murray and others had made some preparations in anticipation of their visit, and they would be made comfortable during their stay, and he trusted derive pleasure and instruction from their visit. At the conclusion of Mr Brqdie's address cheers resounded on all sides, and Major Jackson briefly responded, congratulating the Thames County Council on the road having at last been opened, and expressing a nope that it would in future oe kept open. The road required attending to in many places, and he advised the county authorities to place men on it in certain parts which he indicated without loss of time before the wet weather set in. He thanked the Thame» people for the kind wishes, and for the preparations they had made for their Waikato visitors. At the boundary of the borough the Mayor (Mr Ehrenfried) was to have met the Cavalry, and the bands began to play the troopers into town, but his Worship's welcome was reserved until the men reached their destination. On the arrrival in Shortland the Naval Brigade fired a salute of fifteen guns. The town was gaily decorated, the most notable streets being Albert, Brown, and Owen. A very large concourse of inhabitants thronged the thoroughfares, and at the Pacific Comer the men were formed into a square to receive the welcome of citizens from his Worship the Mayor, who saidColonel Lyon, Mijor Jackpon, officers non-cornmibsioned officers, and members of the Waikato Cavairy, — The most pleasant duty whio.li I have had to undertake since O'jcupyin* the position of Mayor of tke Borough, is the present one of bidding you a hearty an 1 sincere welcome to the Thames, in the name of the inhabitants. Permit me to tell you that we have anticipated your visit with a great degree of pleasuie, for report has preceded you pointing to you as the finest cavalry troop in the colony, and now that I have the pleasure of seeing you personally, I am ready to endorse that report as correct. I say this with some degree of authority, as I have had the opportunity of seeing some of the cr&ck Cavalry regiments of Europe, andl tell you with much pleasure that your appearance and horsemanship compare favourably with the best of them. Allow me to congratulate you upon your having been fortunate enough to secure for commanders men so eminently qualified for these posts, — men who have proved in actual warfare that they are full of energy, and ability. Gentlemen such as Col Lyon and Major Jackson are eminently fitted to lead men, and to train them in such a way as to be a credit to all concerned. But while you are appearing here in gallant military array, we must not forget that at the Waikato you are the owners of many broad acres of land — land which is intended by nature and also by yourselves to produce food sufficient for thousands of people, which would, however, not be of much commercial value to you without you could find people to consume it. Let me then tell you that the Thames has a population of 10,000, who require all the necessities you wish to dispose of, and who iv return are able to give you their gold, which at the present time mostly finds its way South, and once having gone there, never by any chance returns to us. We are very pleased that the visit paid to you by our Volunteers has resulted in your present visit to the Thames, and trust that the exchange of these visits will become annual, and that the Government, recognising our necessities, will finish the Thames Valley railway at the earliest time possible, so that instead of occupying days over the trip from your district to this, or vice versa, you will in future be able to take your breakfasts at your own homes, and be here in time for lunch the same day. I must not keep you any longer, but will conclude by calling on the Thames people for three hearty cheers of welcome for Colonel Lyon, Major Jackson, and the members of the Waikato Cavalry. Colonel Lyon in replying said he bail muoh pleasure in expressing thanks on behalf of himself, the oHicei's and members of the Troop, for the very hearty reception they had received at the hand« of the Thames public. He believed great benefits would be derived from these visits by both districts, and he would have pleasure in doing his best in promoting a repetition of them. He then called on Major Jackson, the officer commanding the Cavalry to say a few words. Major Jackson expressed himself as much gratified at the reception, and was pleased to say that he had found the road in a much better condition than he had anticipated, but for all that it might in some places be better. The portion which seemed to present some difficulty he had found to be quite open for the Cavalry, but if by some chance it was closed again he would have great pleasure in re-visiting it with his t«*>P. &>r the purpose o,f re-qpening it, Three cheers were then given for the Mayor, the Mayoress, and the Thames Volunteers, after which the line of march was taken up throuerh Brown and Owenstreets, the Cambridge Band playing lively airs en mite to the stables erected, for the accommodation of the Waikato Cavalry by Mr Oonnell, on the reolamation works near the Cu^tqm House, where a pox tion of the horses were quartered, the remainder being taken to Coromandel

and Haven-streeti : sentries being posted throughout the night to see that the animals were unmolested. The men, after seeing to their horses, were shewn to their respective quarters by a company of Thames Volunteer non-commissioned officers. In the evening the members of the Grahamstown Fire Brigade gave an exhibition of their skill in manipulating Water at the corner of Albert and Brownstreets. Fully a thousand people were pre-ent, and the demonstration was conduoted by Superintendent G. Price and Captain Pearce, and commenced with the formation of four arches of wator by eight branohmen— two at each corner of the square, which was followed by a fountain and two Prince of Wales' feathers, all of them exceeding 40 feet in height. The fountain was in the middle, and was composed of nine jots of water issuing from as many holes in an iron plate fixed to the end of a hose, whilst the feathers were made by a perpendicular jet and two others at a slight angle. After the water had been Tunning some minutes colored fires from the top of a fire engine were thrown against it, which made the sight an exceedingly pretty one, and elicited the admiration of the spectatprs. A large quantity of fireworks, inoluding red and blue lights, wheels, rockets, and " the devil among the tailors," were then let off, under the superintendence of Engine-keeper Wright, whioh brought an hour's very enjoyable entertainment to a conolusion. During the proceedings the splendid brass band tl the Scottish Volunteers was stationed oivjbhe balcony of the Stock Exchange, aud by the excellent music which it discoursed conduced much to the evening's enjoyment. On Sunday a parade was held, at which quite 900 Volunteers attended. The Wakato Cavalry paraded at 10 o'clock, and under command of Major Jaokson, Captain Kunciman, Lieutenants Kirkwood, Johnson, Rutherford and Fisher, marched to St. George's Church, where Divine Service was held by the Rev. VicessimusLush, M.A., Incumbent. After service the combined forces marched to Shortland, the' band playing lively airs. THE REVIEW ON EASTER MONDAY. On Monday morning at an early hour the town was astir. At about 8 o'clock the Cavalry trumpets sounded the reveille, while the more mellow noted bugles pealed out the assembly, and Volunteers of every uniform might be seen hurrying to their drill sheds. We will pass over the particulars of the muster, bringing our readers to the general rendezvous in Brown-street at 10 o'clock. The corps were drawn up in column of companies. The Cavalry (in front) numbering 150 strong, next came the nd Artillery—the gun-» drawn by horses—numbering 60, the Engineers numbered 70, Scottish Battalion 120 strong, Rangers, 54, Natives 30, Navals 120. The latter were formed in two companies of carbineers, a color detachment with fixed bayonets and two-gun detachments. We noticed the following officers present: .Lieut. -Col. Lyon, Majors Jackson and Murray, Capt. Schofield,N.Z.M., Lieut. Perry, Adjutant, and Instructor Grant. Officers having received their instructions from the Commanding Officer, the column moved off to the field of battle, the bands playing alternately. On the arrival of the column at Tararu, the bands broke off and marched into the gardens, where they played a number of selections during the shamfight to the delight of the large crowd which thronged the sylvan shades of that delightful retreat. In addition to those in the gardens there must have been fully a thousand spectators on the flat, which number was constantly augmented by the arrival of loaded 'busses from Grahamstown. La front of the Royal Hotel two wheels of fortune were in full operation and seemed to be doing a large Diisin*ss. After the depaiture of the bands, the line was formed to the left on rear company the column having previously closed up. The Cavalry advanced to make reconnaissance, and every sixth file marched in front of the line, and formed skirmishing order to relieve the cloud of horsemen. The whole line was then ordered to advance and the skirmishers having fallen into their places, the command " halt" was given. A sharp fusilade then opened on the enemy, who soon retreated and the firing discontinued. The next item on the programmeforthe mimic battle was a pursuit by the Cavalry after the retreating enemy to facilitate which the right and left companies wheeled inward. The Cavalry charged past in grand style, ani while they were engaged in harrassing the vanquished fire, the two companies turned about and wheeled back into line at the double. The whole line then retired, and prepared to receive the Cavalry, who, after charging the supposed enemy, became transmogrified into a hostile squadron. The appearance of the squadron charging on the infantry formation was most exciting — the flashing swords, continuous rattle of musketry, and deep boom of cannon, with a "sulphurous canopy," all contributed to give the spectators an idea of a life and death struggle. After a sharp action, the cavalry, despite their f ' llant assault were repulsed with loss, *nd the infantry changing the offensive for the defensive, advanced in echelon of companies. They had not advanced far, however, befere the cavalry turned, and company square was formed to resist their fierce charge, which was also repulsed. The orders " Reform company" were then given, and line having been formed the force was wheeled into column by the right. The next movement was the formation of battalion square — similar to that used at the battle of Ulundi— to receive a general onslaught of the enemy's horse. The cavalry charged on the whole four sides of the compact mass of infantry, but again the horsemen had to retire. During one of these charges two of the cavalry men collided, and both their horses came on their knees. Fortunately neither were hurt, though the hordes appeared to be a little shaken. After the assault the whole force deployed into line, andhavin? taken open order were inspected by Lieut.-Colonel Lyon, who rode through the ranks attended by his staff. The next movement of interest was the march past, which was followed by the cavalry first marching and then galloping past Afjer several other movements the men tjcßc open order, and the infantry grounded arms, while the cavalry dismounted, and all p ooeeded to luncheon, whioh was provided on the ground. Several trap loads o^ sandwiches, beer, bread and cheese disappeared with marvellous rapidity. After this at fresco luncheon, the attention of the spectators was turned to the Naval Brigade going through their gun drill. They handled the ponderous weapons with wonderful celerity and skill. I must post this ft once or I shall miss the steamer to Auckland. A grand ball takes place tomorrow (Tuesday evening), and we start on the return trip on Wednesday, so you may expect us on Friday afternoon.