THE KING'S COLOUR.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 40, 17 December 1920, Page 8

THE KING'S COLOUR.

The organisers of last Suiiday's ceremony, when the Colour of the 2nd Battalion of ihe Otago Regiment was conse«rated and left in. St. John's Church untii further required, are to be most heartily congratulated. It must have heen a grea: pleasure for Lt.-Colonel Hargest, D.S O., M.C., to see such a grand turn-out of returned men in response to his invitation to them to form the guard. And it was undoubiedly a treat for the peorde of Invercargill to see so many on parado It has been suggested by some civilian or.. lookers that the work of the returned men was markedly superior to that of the territorials who made up the balance of the parade. We think that fchis opinion is perhaps a natural one for ihe public. to form ; but as the official organ of the returned men themselves we take this opportunity of thanking ihe territorials for turning out in such 1 arg? xxuxnbers, and of congraruxatmg them. on the manner in which they carried om tb&it duties. After every parade such as wre had on Sunday last, one hears numbers of returned men saying Jhat they wislied they had turned out. It is to be regretted that every returned man does not make a special effort to attend these parades. In almost every case the parades are called either to" do honour to our fallen com. rades or to commemorate some glorious incident of the war. It is something of a disgrace to be absent on such occasions; and we hope that the example gst by the few hundreds who paraded on Sunday last will be followed by thousands when we are called out again, probably on Anzac Day. On behalf of returned soldiers ' "Ihe

Digger" thanks every one who helped to make last Sunday's ceremony such a success. Tlie officers of Southland -held a reunion dinner in the Federal Tea Rooms on Monday last, and spent a delightful evening with sp.eeches, songs, orchestral music and yams. The opinion was very freely expressed that the event must become an annUal one, and we venture to suggest to the "otlrer ranks" of Southland that these re-union dinners are good for all. It is contended by some that big fortunes have been made by many- who avoided the war and stuck to business. This may be so, but these big fortunes cannot buy one fraction of the good fun and good feilowship that reign when returned men gather together for an evening. This good fellowship is cur heritage from the war ; far more valuable than gold or precious stones. We commend any function which brings returned men together and allows them to enjoy this heritage to the full. That the soldiers are settling down and taking their place -again in the civil li/e of the community was plainly to be seen at the Southland 'A. aird P. Association's Show on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. In the jumping competitions, perhaps particularly, ihe; Diggers wcre very much in. evidence', and bitg of the old familiar khaki uniform wete . much in demand. It is good to see the boys getting back into their stride in the sporting evcnts as well as in the sterner and more commercia.1 walks of life. The war has given us all a keaner interest in the outdoor life. We have lived the life and know its possibiliti.es. We have lived arnong animals — horses particularly, and now very few of xis are "green" when we visit the shows. It should be good for us and good for the A. and P. Associaticns, and we predict that it will not be long before the experienc.es of Diggers at tlie other end of the world and the valuable information they picked up in their travels has some influence for good in the show life oi our Dominion.

W,e all endorsed the rennn-ks made by Mr Ilall-Jones when extending on behalf of the soldiers a. welcome to Sir Thomas Mackenzie, K.C.M.G., on Tuesday last. Every returned man who has spent ti ma in hospital in England will remember with grateful thanks the ijnormal visits to the hospitals made so frequently by Southland's distinguished guest. He brought with him an- atmospliere of Newr Zealand. It was almost as good as a visit from our own parents or immediate friends. Whatever position Sir Thomas takes up in future he can be aire of ihe support of returned soldiers. Mr Hall-Jones also referred to the glorious war record of Sir Thomas's family and Sir Thomas in his reply proudly claimed that the compliments paid to his children had been richly deserved. We share this point of view axid we wish good luck and good fortune to them all. The ex-High Commissioner can be justly proud of the reputation he has made for himself and need not be at all surprised at the warmth of tEe welcome -which has greeted him on his retuxn to the land of his adoption. He has earned every bit of it.