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Lee diagrammae suivants illuatrant la mdthodo. 1 2 3 6 iMCMioopv moumoN tbt chart (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.25 I 1^12.8 |2£ la^ ■^ itt 1^ [2.2 U Ih ■■■ u !■■ &.S iii£ 1.4 ■ 1.6 APPLIED IM/OE Inc 1653 East Main StrMi Roch«l«f, Nm York 14609 USA (716) 482- 0300 -Phon. (716) 288 - 5989 - Foi miTf) TBG ROYAL TOUR ^Vt :f :?* J '.?*€, -H. .r"'^.. .-^iiiEii ••r ■*■ i**^-: ^ ?y%r ■'<•■,.■'< W3i n. *; .^r^Cf '/ tf'^^^ f -,f , "if^^ -■^-. g.."^^=i4i= 'iTJ Ar^ BY THE SAME AUTHOR. Crown Ivo. }#. 6i^, WHERE THREE EMPIRES MEET : a Nwra- WiUi • Map and M lUoMnuiont. Crown Iva 3*. U. THE 'FALCON' ON THE BALTIC: a Voyage from London to Copmhagtn in a Th««.Toi»«r. With 10 rallpagi Illuttraiionii. Crown tvo. j*. id. THE CRUISE OF THE 'ALERTE's the of Trinidad. With . Map. •»! ,3 IIIu«™iloir LONGMANS, GREEN. & CO., ,»P.e«no«« Row. Londo.. and Bombay. LongifMUM' Colonial Ubimry WITH THE ROYAL TOUR A NARRATIVE OF THE RECE^^^ TOUR OF THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CORNWALL AND YORK THROUGH GREATER BRrTAIN, INCLUDING HIS ROVAL HIGHNESS'S SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE GUILDHALL. ON DECEMBER 5. 1901 BV E. F. KNJGHT AUTHOK Ol' 'WHKatt n«RS «MI»3Kes MWiT, ETC SMcM Ccrre^^, .y ^ „^,«^ .^, *..«A^^ ^ f,^^> r„. (PUBLISHED f.VOEg THE AV!>PIC£S OF THK VICIO*i.\ LEAGUE) WITH 16 ILLUSTRATIONS AND A MAP TORONTO THE COPP. CLARK CO., LIMITED LONDON ; LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO. 1903 Longmans' Colonial Llbi»ary WITH THE ROYAL TOUR A NARRATIVE OF THE RECENT TOUR OF THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CORNWALL AND YORK THROUGH GREATER BRITAIN, INCLUDING HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS'S SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE GUILDHALL, ON DECEMBER 5, 1901 BY E. F. KNIGHT social Corrutondent ,/ tk* ' Afomi^ P„f ^companyint ttu R^al Tour AUTHOR OF 'WHERE THREE EMPIRES MEET,* ETC (PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE VICTORIA LEAGUE) WITH 16 ILLUSTRATIONS AND A MAP TORONTO THE C. PP, CLARK CO.. LIMITED LONDON : LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO. 1902 ThU Edition it mttmltd/or circulatiou only m /m/,\. •nd tht JSriHih C»l*niet 040695 'i\l6% CONTENTS CHAPTER I Introductory FASt 1 CHAPTER II Departure of the Enort from Portsmouth— Life in a British H«n-ot- War— Wireless Telegraphy— Gibraltar-Port Said- Down the Bed Sea— ArriTal at Aden CHAPTER III Life in Aden— Arrival of the ' Ophir '— Beoeption of the Duke and Duohess by the Population— A Visit to the Tanks- Native Bejoioings— Across the Arabian Sea . . 10 CHAPTER IV At Colombo— Prosperity of Ceylon -Journey to Eandy— The Ceylon Volunteer Forces— PresenUtion of War Medals— The Durbar gg CHAPTER V A Visit to iLe Boer Prisoners' Camp at Diyatalawa— Through the Tea District- The Happy VaUey— Condition of the Boer Prisoners — Some of the Boer Leaders — Views of the Prisoners 5S CHAPTER VI Across the Indian Ocean— The 'Ophir' reaches Singap-.Te— Present condition of the Colony— Foreign Trade Competition —Marvellous Decorations— The Sultans of the East do Homage >^2 . ^ Pf* viu WITH THE BOYAL TOUB CHAPTER VII PAoa OHAPTEB Vin Mtlboura.-, M,gnliio«,i Waloom. to th. Prino. u4 Prino- CHAPTER IX *»"« Troop, at Plemlngton-The Oadet. 1,4 CHAPTER X liilKl.'oKjJr^'^^ School-child^n. 181 CHAPTER XI Sertro^'~^'^'"'°*'''*«^*'-The Allen Labour Ml CHAPTER XII FareweU to Sydney- Voyage to New Zealand-At Anekl^.^ CHAPTER XIII CONTENTS IX CHAPTER XrV • Windy ' Wellington— Ohriitohareh- The Cuiterbnry PUios— MUltory Spirit— Mr. Seddon'a Viewi on the War-Dnnedln —A Seottiih Weleome-Farewell to the Fortanftte IsUnda — OoMt Seenerj PAea US CHAPTER XV The Tasmanian Coart— Hobart— On Mount Wellington-Log. Chopping Match— Voyage to Adelaide-In the Great Ane- tralian Bight— Perth 289 CHAPTER XVI A Week in Perth— The Swan River— Sir John Forrest— The Coolgardie Waterworks— Weatem Australia's Welcome 247 CHAPTER XVII Farewell to Australia- A Mid-Ocean RendesTous- Mauritius, Port Louis, and its Inhabitants— A Prosperous Island- Voyage to Durban 260 CHAPTER XVIII In Quarantine at the Cape— St Helena— The Deadwood Plains —Prisoners on Parole— The Boer Camp— Industry of the Prisoners— Attempts at Escape -Voyage to St. Vincent— The Royal Escort changed 289 CHAPTER XIX Voyage to Canada— On the River St. Lawrence— Quebec—A Review on the Plains of Abraham— Commence a Railway Journey of 8,0C0 miles— Montreal— Ottawa— A Water Holi- **y ... 800 WITH THE BOYAL TOUB ORAPTBR XX rMi OHAFTEB XXI «V— Fomt gl»nto— Aborigiiwi and A«Utlo« . . . M8 OHAPTEB XXII Solphnr Spring.-Th6 M«itob. Wha.* Bdt-A BMord HwT6it-Toronto-Th« Ontario MIHtut . . 354 CHAPTER XXIII Through Ont»rio-London-TheO»rdM of OmuO^VM, of St. John, New Brnnswiok . "•»"«• S70 CHAPTER XXIV Halifax, Nova -Bootia-FareweU toCanada-8t. John'. New- 881 CHAPTER XXV °T!Zl s^*"""/"^"? *"'* Icebergs-Meeting with the Chanel Squadron-In the English Channel-Portsmouth once more-The Welcome Home-The Prince of wZ's Speech at the Guildhall . . ' ' „„. ■ • • • 89w ILLUSTEATIONS From fhotofraipht, iu. tupplitd by the London Eketntffpt Agtney TBI OIPABTUBR OV TBS 'OPBIB' PaOB POBTS- xouTB FnmUtipitt From a dratrtng ky C. W. WfUk. ■iNeAPORs: coLLTRR QUAT To fact p.lA From up^otofmp^- bimoapobb: a bii^-boofid stbcet .... B(b from a photograph. HBLBOUBNB : PB0CES8I0N TO THE OPBNIKO OF PARUAMBNT I, l^ From a photoffra;ih. MELBOTTBNB : OPBKINO of the HRST AUSTRALIAN PABUAHENT „ 116 From a photograph bf Pictorial Preu Agmei, BBVIBW AT FUKIMaTON „ 128 From a photograph. THE WAIBOA QETSER IN ACTION . . . . „ 198 From a photograph hg Uuir anil Moodlf, Dunettin. TBE HAOBI WAR-DANCE 200 From a d raving h^ .ilfrfil Penrse. WITH THE rOYAL TODB M omm TO nun »otai hw^HM,^,^^^^' _ To/act p,m ncntton AT ooraoDf '•J A Dimaunoir or wab mmam »» TW TlllM..,UDt. AT OTTArA rMM^y »«0«Ta..„OK A, CAX.A.T . BAMFF VAtUT »^'^0,rT«.o««.,oPO«T.«OCTH. «*» or TH> «ocTi or tbi .oph». . 996 984 818 884 860 862 400 at end o/ book WITH THE ROYAL TOUR fA; CHAPTER I nrrBooccTOBT This is a book of first impressions; for I have thought it best, in publishing this record of the re- cent world-wide royal tour, to preserve, so far as was possible, the form and matter of my correspondence to the • Morning Post,' despatched at the time from the various places visited by the Prince and Princess of Wales. Those letters, published in full, would have formod an over-bulky book. I have therefore submitted them to considerable abridgment while adding very little to them. I have thus omitted many details of the various ceremonies, receptions, displays, and functions genera Uy; for all this has K 3n twice and thrice told, and after the fireworks have spluttered out it is a vain task to attempt the painting of their glow in words. But I have preserved all that I have written concerning the spirit which prompted those warm welcomes to 2 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB P«ofa that were pre«mted to «, of the .rdeM oyalty, p,t„„,„„, „a i„p,ri.,i^ „, ^^ the mwy reasons why the inhabitants of these ieies sho»id entertain the warmest friendship for theL ^^e^rA'w^ T' ■""" '»" '»-'"^ **- a to r it '■ '""*'""• '" *" °™"» 0' « i™^ a tour It was nnpossible for one to learn mnch of the poht.o.I problems affecting the differenrsutel we v,s>ted to gather more than a smattering con! Zt"* *\~f *■•»» 0' We, the comme^^ Z I touched but hghtly on these matters in my lettos :s tr 'crLrg^h?^™ "^'^ -*^^' - colonies and rr/enfn srii^nTsIr: wntlen m general terms, describing what I sTw ^ h tL T '"°°"* °' ''*^'=''' '"'»'°« dealing W^UuppIyallthesedetaLrZelrSr -te^wr; 1^-t^T^hrtor ft^t r me loyalty of the colonies. There ran Ko j T that thisEoyal Progress, so ^i^Ie^aVa^ ate Majesty Q„een Victoria, afL ZiX,7 Vously enjomed by the King, and e JsUy aTd INTBODUCTORY 8 snccessfully carried through by the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, has been of in- estimable service to the British Empire. It is a tour too that has opened our eyes to many things, and perhaps its most important lessons are those to be taken to heart, not by the colonials, but by the people of Great Britain. All the world over, our colonials entertain a passionate love for the mother country. It is right that all Englishmen should reciprocate this feeling, as, indeed, all those do who know the colonies. In those broad lands of vast horizons the men of our race seem younger in spirit, imbued with a more generous enthusiasm. One does not find in Australia that cynicism, that strange indifference to Imperial interests, which, but a few years ago, was so marked at home. The average Australian follows more closely what is taking place at the remote outposts of our Empire than does the average Englishman. The colonists look across the seas to the mother country with a deep affection that has something pathetic in it. Let Englishmen realise that whenever our colonies have displayed dissatisfaction with our rule and apparent disloyalty, ours has been tho fault. When they desired closer union with us, chilly and often con- temptuous were our replies to their advances. Is it not true that, until recently, the bulk of Englishmen took no interest in the colonies?— a fact colonials promptly reahsed when they visited the land which, B 2 * WITH THE BOYAL TOUB tte earth, they always Bpoke of «. home.' Oarsne ««™ gove„,ments snubbed the colonies. ^^ ^r Jflf . ."""""'""• °" »'«'«™™ «"d our philosophic historiMis did .U they could h, al.eu.te the affection of the colonics, flto^tith ^^iy that iu the ordinary co;r.e o thS^ the colonies would one day separate from T -nounced to them that they could cut the ^^ "soon as they liked, ., we would "^W^ nd^ye ourselves of the responsibility of Lon ^ them. Bu- this tour, following on the SoutS Afncan war, has so brought Englishmen and Of feehng at home has, it is to be hoped, been made impossible for the future. It w^ brought forcibly home to us in the course of this tour that in the colonies, at «,y rate Z most democratic-nay, socialistic-of 1::^:^ and opmious are consistent with the most fervent imperishsm. The colonials .re undoubtedly ml ^penahst th«i ourselves. Their vision of elt P«.B<«rinth/course:fVtoro::orot tmst us once more; but quickly could Gre.t Brito .h«.te them M were she to neglect her dZ to a single colony-for there h.s gfown up Ce« them . moral feder.tion of mutu.l esC „d INTRODUCTORY 5 common interests. We have seen the colonial soldiers flocking from every portion of the globe to fight for their kinsfolk in danger in South Africa. Were we to fail to prosecute that war, without any surrender, or compromise of any principle, until we have achieved our purpose, the establish- ment of our supremacy in South Africa, were we to return a shred of independence to the Boers and so leave the loyalists at their mercy — it is only the pro-Boers who ignore the cruel persecu- tion that would be the result of such a desertion —then indeed would the colonies one and all despair of Great Britain, regard her as too weak and cowardly to defend her possessions, unfit to be the head of the Empire. Faith in the mother country and respect for her would go : 'It may be our turn next ! ' the men would say in dismay ; • were we menaced by some powerful foreign state, we too should be left to our fate.' Hundreds of colonials have spoken to me in these terms. The policy advocated by some Englishmen might indeed lead to the separation of our colonies and the disintegration of the Empire. Everywhere during this tour men asked me in ama/sment what was the signification of the pro-T jer sentiment at home. The frame of mind of our closet-traitors was to them incomprehensible, unnatural, loathsome, la Canada, more especially, where, unfortunately, so much of the news published in the local papers 6 WITH THE BOYAL TOUR comes from tainted American somces, people are mchned. not unnatnraUy. to take an eZZZ view of the magnitude and importaLm^ noisy, widely advertised pro-Boer movement, and Ir , V"' '^ ^°"« *^*^ - -^at the enemies of Great Britain so frequentiy assert that the httle island nation is no longer strong honest, or brave enough to direct the destinies o the Empire. The English pro-Boers have not only encouraged the enemy to continue a vain resistance, and persuaded the foreigners of the iniquity of our cause, but have also ahnost sue c.eded in earmng for the mother country the dis- rust and contempt of her children beyond the seas. The pro-Boer meetings reported in our papers would not be tolerated in any of our colonies; for in those democratic countries, where the w^est liberty is allowed to speech and thought ' they draw a clear distinction, which we do not between treason and political opinion, and would' give no license to the former. Lessons, too. on Imperial defence has this t ir taught us. The Duke of Cornwall and York h succession of reviews of colonial troops in e^ v quarter of the globe, in every one of the five con^ tinents Never before had the permanent troops, the militia. the volunteers of the various British possessions been collected in such nmnbers We INTRODLCTOBY 7 realised as we had never done before of what fine material are these troops, how excellent the training of many of the corps, how admirable the colonial cadat system, which might be adopted in England to the great advantage of the country ; and om* eyes were opened to the fact that in Greater Britain we possess an immense reserve force that would without doubt be eagerly placed at the disposal of this country were any portion of the Empire in danger. The Commonwealth Defence Bill, which was intro- duced to the Australian House of Representatives by Sir John Forrest is a measure by which demo- cratic Australia imposes upon herself what amounts to a modified conscription; her sons will all be trained in arms, and in a few years she will, if necessary, be able to place in the field a truly for- midable army. So far as sea defence is concerned, it is realised, by most people I met, that the colonies must rely on the navy of Great Britain and not on puny local flotillas, each confined to its own waters. And towards the maintenance of an effi- cient Imperial navy I found that the people in the colonies are quite ready to contribute their full share, which they now do not. A federation of Imperial defence was a favourite topic of conversation. In- deed, one of the chief lessons taught by this royal tour is that if Great Britain remain as loyal to her colonies as her colonies are to her there is little fear for the future of the Empire. 8 WITH THE BOIAL TODB To the Duke md Duohew of ConiwUl ud York ^tnoto E.glW„„en a„d o« Mow .«bjec"b,y "a of the foar jonmshBto who ^xompamed thi, tonr *"»«hout, „d it w« forcibly imp« J ^ t^ that the unqwlifled ,uece« of the roval iZ^ tacMdgr«,ou,ne88 of their Eoyl Highness Z »lf into his mmy .ri„„„, j^y ^ " through those eight mooths of travelh,,, iu> ^ ^^trL^r^tSiL^--ti- fte b™,g„,g together into closer'union of tte^V ^red Possessions of the Empire mJ tl,« . • to the colonies of .he ^o.CTl^^rZ7 for the noble way i„ which they came ^1.!^ . ance in the ho« of the Emp£' Z', i """■ --'.impression was ever^'::'pra'„ced"'brt:t admurable speeches, delivered with an Z, J ^^ INTRODUCTORY 9 bility of ruling can there be than this progress through an Empire of the Prince who will one day be its sovereign? The nation will certainly profit later from this journey of her future King. We journalists who mixed freely with the people were able to ascertain the sentiments that lay behind the cheei.-ing and the pageantry, the outward mani- festations of this world-round splendid welcome; and they were sentiments of affection, loyalty, and patriotism that it was good for an Englishman to discover. It is true that the Duke and Duchess won the hearts of the people wherever they went, and Britons have, I repeat, reason to be deeply grateful to them for the zealous way in which they performed their patriotic duty, which will be so fruitful of good results to the Empire. In this book, therefore, I will confine myself to my own experiences and impressions of the tour, relating what I saw myself, and saying nothing con- cerning the countries— Malta and South Australia, for example— which I was unable to reach during the royal visit My thanks are due to the * Morning Post' for the kind permission I have received to reproduce in this book my letters which appeared in that newspaper. 10 WITH THE BOYAL TOUB CHAPTEE II II hud been appointed that the ' Ophir • with tl,. royal p«rty «>d their «utes on boaT^o^M , from Portsmouth on March 16 T^t "" .'^-.hen.onthoMhetdul^^^*^^ Koval Espnrf Q ^ ^°'"^^' composing the 'olhJZ r'^'°° *^"* ^^« *° accompany the Ophir throughout the greater portion of Lr w cruise among the BritisH ««. • ^ mouth in advance j^"*^'^ P''^«^«"°"«. left Ports- in auvance, with orders to Drocep/? +^ a j and thereawait the arrival of the royal y^t,'" ^1:" Aden the two shins w^r- + ^ *'°™ royal escort, and s^,Cp!,r™r '° "=' " company of the-Opht- «C ^iT "' »•' ""^ oceans Th^ • , ^^ *1^® world's chief X II t^ao^'omr; 7'°"^ ' "''° '-^ '«" 'Jun„. and^^l"^ '"l^^^^" <»" i°»ed the haA k vreorge at Portsmouth- for a home r,oTf1.""' ""^ ""^» ^onld'htoi '" ''"'« '* '"^y "ted as eecort-and what DEPABTUBE OP THE ESCORT 11 happier home can one have than the wardroom of a British man-of-war ? My ship was the ' Jmio,' and my life on board of her, and the comradeship of her officers, will ever remain among the happiest memories of my life. In the afternoon of the 7th we anchored off Spithead, and remained there for the night. There had been a succession of westerly gales, the glass was falling, and the weather was about as disagree- able as it could be. From the vessel's deck one looked out on a universe of dismal grey— grey sky above, grey sea below ; there was a driving rain that hid the land from our sight, the wind howled through our rigging, and occasionally squalls of great violence swept down on us. The sky and sea seemed mingled together. There was nothing but that grey waste to be seen round us save when some sailing vessel, under as snug canvas as possible, would suddenly loom out of the haze and then as suddenly disappear. There was everything to show that we should have extremely bad weather during our voyage to Gibraltar, and that we should have a very uncomfortable time of it in the Bay of Biscay. At six o'clock on the morning of the 8th the two vessels weighed anchor and proceeded down Channel, the 'Juno' as senior ship leading, and the 'St. George ' following at about three cables' distance. And now no sooner had we made our start -d com- 13 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB «'«. 4« "l^^l^r ;'«1' ■"<»""• «">■■-■ The th.ir«h bLe uZ^^^lTT'^ '"^- "*"■ And „„p«„, ,^ ordL ..d tn^*^™'™""*- to m.d«.u„a . d re^ 'rxTrr"^"""^ inan-of-war «,,™.« Y ^"'' *•"' We m a Britigh lived » . »rrwrr ;:^r:r: "".-"'' org«iB.,io„ on this igbZX^ttu"'"' work that everv offiot J »"«""ne, the amoant of eaiieo on to 7^,:™°' ^^it:.:? ""^ » ""■> who think that thi, cruise ™"'^,'^ T°- ^"^^^ the officers of the escort tT ^ "^"^^ J"""'" '»' opinion had they pr^t J";^ "°°''' »<" ""M that these ships. Wo ZuJl .?" °' "^^ ™ ^-■"'" "' noon totLon h^r^'aCtZTr ''f "^ "'"■ ships Which raised th^etXT^^^'i'^jf « the Jm>o • to over five hnndred. "'' At midday on Snndav th» intk -inisterre.andhadreaohi^'.'tLr;:--^ LWB IN A BBITIBH MAN-OF-WAR 18 more. It wm as hot as on an EngUsh Angust day. The Church service on this day was brought toa closti with the first verseof ' God save the King,' and sung heartily, as it was, by some hundreds of blue-jackets and marines, it produced a most impressive effect. On the nth we had some gunnery practice, which was spoilt by a succession of rain squalls ; but on the foUowing day, when we were about fifty miles from the mouth of the Mediterranean, targets were put overboard, and the two ships steaming slowly round them opened fire with all their guns, from the big 9-2 guns canied by the • St. George,' down to the httle a-pounders in the 'Juno's* tops. The new telescopic sights were employed on some of the guns, and seemed to give satisfaction. To judge from the' columns of water that the shot were throwing up in close proximity to the small target, any vessel that had been in its place would have been destroyed long before our practice was completed. Both the ' St George ' and the ' Juno ' are fitted with the Marconi apparatus. The ' Juno ' ' called up ' Gibraltar when we were about twenty-five miles distant, and received a reply. In the afternoon we reached Gibraltar, and there found the • Andromeda ' and 'Diana,' the' two ships that were to escort the ' Ophir ' from here to Malta. On landing we found that the town was full of preparations for the coming of the 'Ophir,' and tnumphal arches were being erected in the principal M WITH THB BOTAL TODB •ta-l* It WM g,T«, oM tut w« wofld not nil fr«n G.br.lU,«,tiI th. Boming of th. 16th, « Z th. Bock, .nd to «e old friend, that on. M mot in «non. part. 0, .he world, for .h«. i. nooth.rlh ~d..,ou. or wldier. and «ilor. .. Gibr.ft„. other. 10 grert me w«mly wm a fonner g«,l., of »»., Seaor Congo.to. now the 8p«nd> ^ « G,b«lt.r who WM General BI«,co-. «oret.ry I Havana dnnng the 8i»uii,h.Am.rioan War. A. a .pec,al correspondent accredited to the 8p«nd, ride Ihljd ^run th. United State, blockade rordj^t' reach Havana, wa. .hipwrocked with low of all mv P^perty. mclading paper,, on the Cuban coaat. and! untU I could prove my identity, wa, confined in the spy. Seaor Congcto did all that lay in hi. power to m^e n>y imprisonment comfortable; he^w^ mdeed. the most amiable of turnkey, w.,?.^"^ "^™i' "■' """■• " ««° ''"-n 'he • Jmo • wa, bathedjn a den« atmcphere that reminded one bine Medjternmean. It wa, raining ,teadily from a leaden dcy. and there wa. a fog higing o4 7l^ hou«,-a true ™oke fog, too, hke thft LilL to Londoner, ; for thiaplace appear, to consume a 1^ on the dock work, being re,pon.ible for mort Z OIBRALTAB 15 the tmoke. There had been a good deal of nun, •nd the steep slopes above the yelJow town were beautifully green. One not infrequently finds foggy weather at the Rock. It will be remembered that it was like this when the elder Dumas saw Gibraltar. In the book which describes his tour in the Mediter- ranean on a French man-of-war he tells us that after visiting many sunny ports in the inland sea he came across a fog for the first time at Gibraltar He questioned the captain, who explained to him that when the British first established themselves on the Rock they looked round them and felt that some- thmg was wanting. There was no fog, so, being a practical people who always make themselves com- fortable m their possessions across the sea, they promptly set to work, made unto themselves a fog and were happy. This day it looked quite homelike on shore, and the yellow coal smoke in the air tended to make an Englishman sentimental. On Saturday, March 16, the 'Juno' and 'St George ' left Gibraltar for Aden. We steamed down the length of the Mediterranean, which was not of Its usual blue, for the sky was overcast, the rain fell steadily, the wind blew hard in our teeth, and we loUed and pitched in the short seas more uneasily than we had done in the Bay of Biscay swell For a great part of the way we had the African coast nearly always visible on our starboard bund, the lofty peaks of the Algerian Atlas still capped with snow 16 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR It was not till we came to an anchor off Port Said on the morning of the 23rd that the weather cleared. Here the 'Juno' coaled. One of the things that strike the traveller forcibly when hp :oi.!to"—«> of ol^ When the Z^:'^^tl *he square to «ldress tho troops the l^, !? epectaters. ctadng in, practically ff™*, th'^ ^3^ «de of ,t The new colours we» breultup wt! guard of honour and m,folded Th. B?i ! Colombo came forward and in™ked tte bf "^ "' ^ Ahm^ty on their dediZr^/t^r^; tJordon Beeves, in command of th« ,i.+ i, ^ tte Mounted Infantry. ap;r:Lht lltSr' °' ^mg on one lm«, received the colours t^ ^ t.^« «.. oai-ToXei-rrz v-^- JP»»t , • The Major rose to his Z^l^JZ I>°1» hnefly, and tho troops salnb^ ^^ colours, the playing of the Naln:;'r:'be:'^; s go WITH THE BOYAL TOUR ing this most imprearive ceremony to a dose. Next the officers and troopers of the Ceylon Contingent, who had returned from South Africa, were brought up in turn to receive their medals from the Duke's hands, his Boyal Highness shaking hands with each. Many of the colonial spectators, who so far had maintained a complete silence as they watched the proceedings with deep interest, now cheered their friends as each came up and received his medal. That same evening I was present at the durbar, held in the old audience haU— a spectacle that was extraordinarily picturesque and weird. It was more than that, for it had its impressive story to tell, and WW full of significance to one who meditated oii it. For here one saw, as in a picture, the ancient days and the modem brought together in strong contrast— the beneficent rule of Great Britain and the cruel tyranny of the old Kandyan kings re- presented side by side. This ancient audience chamber of the former kings of Kandy, in which they used to receive the foreign ambassadors by night, is a long low-roofed haU, with elaborately and quaintly carved teak piUars and a beautifully carved roof. On this occasion festoons of electric Ughts brilliantly iUumined this dark teak cham- ber. Long before the playing of the National Anthem by the band outside announced the arrival of the Duke and Duchess, the Kandyan chiefs who were to be presented lined each side of the passage THE DURBAR gj that had been kept clear from one end of the haU to the other, while all the space between them and the waUs on either side was occupied by tiers of seats fiUed with the spectators who had ihe privilege of attending the durbar-British officers in miiform Government officials and other Europeans, a number of English ladies. brillianUy arrayed native notables, and the wives of some of the chiefs in their gorgeous national dress and flashing with jewels. Among the spectators I noticed Arabi Pasha, grey, but cheery-looking. and apparently in good health. The Kandyan chiefs themselves, descendants of the chief, tarns who resisted us. still hereditary lords with magis- tenal power vested in them, as they lined the approach to the platform in their double ranks, prwented a superb appearance; for they were all clad m their traditional state dresses such as tiieir ancestors had worn before them from time im- memorial, their richly embroidered robes and curious squaxe-topped volmninous hats gleaming with gold and bnght colour, and flashing with gems. Each chief had an enormous length of ' cummer- bund wound round his middle, a sign of rank. 80 that each seemed to be the possessor of an enormous paunch that Sir John Falsteflf might have envied. This, from the European j^oint of view somewhat detracted from the dignity of thei^ appearance. At one end of the hall was a red- carpeted platform flanked with great elephant tusks. B 2 69 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB where stood the scarlet-dnped native ohftin on which their Boy»l Highnesses were to sit, the beantifnlly carved chair intended for the Dnke having been the state chair of the last king of Kandy. By the side of the chairs stood Kandyan pages clad in white silk, holding long-handled fans and fly-whisps. At about half-past ten the Duke and Duchess, the military staff, and the suite entered the hall, the military band outside playing the National Anthem, and as their Royal Highnesses passed down the whole length of the hall between the ranks of Kandyan chieftains and the large assembly of standing spectators to their seats on the platform the spectacle was indeed a magnificent one. The ancient dark carved teak pillars and walls, the Oriental pageantry, the gor- geous dresses of the natives, the diamonds, sapphires, and other jewels that were flashing all over that electricity-lit hall combined to produce a remarkable scene. Were it not for the European uniforms and costumes here and there, one might have imagined oneself to be in one of those enchanted palaces hung with priceless gems of which one reads in the ' Arabian Nights.' The chieftains and some of their wives, who appeared to be very shy, having been presented, the functiou closed, and their Boyal High- nesses went to the Dalada Maligawa, the Temple of the Tooth, where the yellow-robed Buddhist priests displayed to them the famous relic that gives LOYAL ENTHUSIASM OP THE PEOPLE fiS the temple its name— the tooth of Buddha preterred in its saored shrine. Afterwards there was a display of fireworks, a military tattoo, and an illumination of the entire town and of the shores of the beautiful lake. Their Royal Highnesses drove round the lake and through the streets, encountering enormous happy crowds eveiywhere, which with difficulty opened a passage for the carriages— crowds ever cheering and filled with an enthusiasm that knew not weariness. Wherever their Royal Highnesses were expected these multitudes of brown, mild-eyed, gentle, loyal people were patiently awaiting them. During the railway journey to and from Kandy it was not only at the stations the people assembled to catch a glimpse of the Duke and Duchess as they passed, but even at remote jungle-grown spots on the line, to which the peasantry had tramped from far in- land. The aspect of Kandy during the royal stay was wonderful in the extreme. It was a veritable • debauch of colour,' to quote the expression of a French writer. Over the red earth, under the blue sky, through the brilliantly decorated streets, and between the rich tropical foliage, were ever pressing to and fro those crowds of people robed in every bright tint. It was like the movement of a huge kaleidoscope. On the 15th their Royal High- nesses returned to Colombo, and there was another round of receptions, public rejoicings, and illumina- M WITH THB BOTAL TOUB tions. Th« whole hwboarwMiUtimiiu^ed, the bndi- water wm lined with toroh-beuring, chetfing natiTee, and the men-of-war were oatUned with their eleotric lighta. And so ended our four days' etay in Ceylon. In no other place in the conne of the tonr did oar eye* gaxe on tnoh a magnificence of pageantry. One felt bewildered by it at times, and half expected to awake suddenly as from some fantastic dream. J CHAPTER V A VniT TO nu BOBB PanOMBBS' CAKP AT DnATALAWA— TKBOUOH imm TBA OIITBIOT — TSI HAFPT TALLBT — 00MOI< nOM or TBB BOBB PBISOMBBS— BOMB Of TIB BOBB LBAOBB* — VIBWS OP TBB PBM0NRB8. Thb authorities at Colombo intimated to the correspondents attached to the royal escort that they were at liberty to visit the camps of the Boer prisoners in Ceylon if they desired to do so. April 14, falling as it did on a Sunday, was a quiet day in Kandy, with no important functions to claim our attention ; so Mr. Maxwell, of the ' Standard,' and myself, who happened to be the only war correspondents of the South African campaign in our band of journalists, decided to avail ourselves of the permission that had been given to us, and to occupy our day of rest in travelling to far the largest and most important of the Boer camps, Diyatalawa. Many contradictory accounts of the condition of thi Boers in Ceylon have appeared in the papers, so we considered that it would be int«%8ting to discover for ourselves whether, as some few pretend, the prisoners are being treated M WITH THE BOTAL TOUB with undue serverity, or whether, m other critioa m»intMn, they we being pMnpered in « ridiculous muiner. It hM been stated, for example, that three grand i»an«ifl were supplied to the prisoners, that a yacht was chartered to take some of them on picnics round the coast, and— this is the main grievance of some of Uie local people— that the band of a British regiment, instead of being kept in the city to charm the ears of the loyal com- munity, was sent to Diyatalawa for the gratifica- ticm of the spoilt Boers. It was acknowledged by all that for the treat- ment of the prisoners — whether it was v.rrect, or harsh, or foolishly kind — the Gk>vemt)r wab urinci- pally, if not wholly, responsible. To him ws^ lue the praise or blame for what was being done. Bir Joseph West Bidgeway has been Governor of Ceylon for the last five years. During that time he has devoted himself to the conscientious per- formance of his manifold duties, displaying an extraordinary energy, and giving his own personal attention to every detail of administration. Bound of judgment, it was he who initiated a bold and vigOTous policy of railway extension — notably the extension towards the extreme north of the island — and proved that these railways, by opening out rich districts, not only are of the greatest benefit to the colony, but are profitable to the Government that owns them. He it was, too, who originated VISIT TO THE BOBB PBI80NBB8' CAMP 67 ft new tpeoiftl Inrigation DepMrtment with most ■KliffMtory rwolto; and ha hM mort raooMtfuUy wt himself to the sappreetion of crime, more eipeoiAlly of the morderoxu tue of the knife—* frequent (^ence on the part of the generally amiable bat at times fierce>tempered Cingalese. Now the GoYemor is the leading tgirit in the general management of the Boer camps; he has given his constant personal supervision t > this matter, and it is pleasant to be able to ecord that the opinion I formed after my visit to Diya talawa was that this camp is being adminbly managed, that the Boers are most certainly not being harshly treated, and that, so far as I could ascertain, they are not being pampered. In short, they are well treated, as prisoners of war should be, and as most civilised Powers— I speak from experience, for I have been a prisoner of war myself —do treat their prisoners. It is a nine hours' railway journey from Kandy to r^'r itfli^v %, for though the distance as the crow fliet i;i : <>^ ^.^'etA, the line throughout winds and zigzags along the mountain sides, while the grade is often ateep, necessitating slow progress. Thus we left Randy at two o'clock in the morning, arrived at our destination at about eleven a.m., had two hours to visit the camp, and then we began the return journey, reaching Kandy at ten p.m. When we awoke at dawn we found ourselves in m WITH THE BOTAL TOUR the middle of the tea district, a pleasing oonntry of hills and vales and streams, a oonntry clothed with the magnificent vegetation of tropical Ceylon — great trees and dense jnngle, where the lianes intertwining formed an impenetrable growth of verdure and brilliant flowers. The roads and paths winding along the hillsides formed streaks of red that pierced the elsewhere universal green. Here and there great tracts of the jungle had been cleared, and the slopes were covnwd with the symmetrically planted little tea bushes. Near each tea garden we saw the ' Unes,' the long low buildings, separated into com- partments, where dwell with their families the Tamil coolies employed on the estates ; and the large lightly built factory of several stories where the tea leaves pass through the various stages of preparation, the machinery as a rule being driven by water power, so that one but rarely sees here the coal smoke pouring out of factory chimneys to defile the pure air. And occasionally, too, we caught a glimpse of some pleasantly situated bunga- low, where the planter dwells alone among the heathen, often with a considerable journey between him and his nearest neighbour. It was not only a land of flowers and gorgeous butterflies, but of singing birds as well; for this is not like some sultry sad lands 1 have visited, where no bird has a song. Many sweet-singing birds enliven the groves of Ceylon, and here, too, abound the thrush •*! THBOUOH THE TEA DIBTBICT 69 taxi the robin, and many other birds of our own country. We gradually ascended, leaving clearings and plantations behind us, into a highland forest country, frequently crossing steep ravines down which rushed foaming torrents, and occasionally passing beautiful cascades falling sheer over rocky ledges into deep fern-shaded pools. Everywhere where it could get a footing was luxuriant vegetation, but it was now the vegetation of a somewhat cooler zone, tree ferns, rhododendrons, and flowers that we know in Europe. As we travelled iu a south-eastum direction we had frequent glimpses on our right of a far range of purple hills, and saw, towering above the lesser heights, a remarkably steep and majestic mountain. This was Adam's Peak, the famous mountain of the Sacred Footprint. At about nine o'clock we reached the summit level, our highest point, and were six thousand two hundred and twenty-five feet above the sea. Then we passed through a long tunnel, and came out into an entirely different country. We had left behind us on the other side of the tunnel steep mountains, forests, and jungle. But now we looked down on a lower land lying far beneath us, an open grass country, where trees and bushes were scarce, crumpled into dales and steep rolling hills of no great height, so that it presented the appearance of a confused sea over which gales from different directions had been blowing. It is WITH THE BOYAL TOUB Mid that if it raiiu on one tide of the tonnel that pieroee this dividing ohun it is always fine (m the other side. We wera fortunate, for it rained on neither side that monang. And now, on our left, tipo thousand feet beneath us, and about two miles distant, we perceived on an open plain between low hills a glistening spaee. which at a distance might fcftve been taken for a kke ; but this was the Bjer «a«f , mA the corrugated iron roofs of the prisoners' quaiters shining in the sun's rays. Near as was the tamp, the train did not bring us into the camp station for another hour, so long and numerous were the loops and zigsags by which the line descended to it. At last we reached the station, and here we met Colonel A. C. Vincent, of the Scottish Rifles, the commandant of DiyataUwa, who had been apprised at our coming, and who, after we had breakfasted in the mess, kindly took us round the camp itself. Before recounting my own experiences it will be well to give a general description of this camp. The Diyatalawa camp is in the Province of Uva, at an elevation of four thousand feet above the sea. The climate is therefore comparatively cool, and the situation is a very healthy one. This used to be known as the Happy Valley, and a reformatory once stood here, the only building in the neighbourhood. All the 'buildings connected with the camp are of recent construction, having been erected since the CONDITION OP THE BOBB PBI80NEBB 61 fir»t bttfech of prisoners was s«it here in August, 1900. At the dftte of our visit then ware lonr thoosand three hundred and forty-eight prisoners in the camp, of whom the majority were burghers of the late Transvaal Republic and Orange Free State. The camp is divided into two laagers, one, which has been dubbed Krugersdorp by the prisoners, being occupied by the Transvaalers ; the other, known as Steynsville, by the Free Staters. As there was a good deal of friction between the burghers of the two Sti^»8, who used to indulge in mutual recrimi- nations that might have led to fiays, this separation became advisable. Towards the close of last year there were three hundred and forty other prisoners in this camp, foreigners who belonged to twenty-four nationahties— there were Turks and Greeks among them, as well as subjects of France, Germany, and the other European Powers— so that as all their letters have to be examined by Mr. A. C. Allnutt, of the Ce^n Civil Service, who is in direct charge of these prisoners, and acts as censor, this gentleman, master though he is of several tongues, has a diffi- cult task to perform. But these foreigners, coming as so many of them did from the dregs of the European capitals, caused so much trouble by their insubordination, their squabblings, and their frequent attempts p ^cape, that they were turned out of this camp in J .ry last, and are now at Ragama Camp, nine miles from Colombo, Diyatalawa Camp being WITH THE BOYAL TOUR 1^ praotioally roMrvvd for the Bocn, who are dii4iBc% better behaved and more aasenable to dieo^^e, and who moreover eatertain httle love or respect ier Uieir diirepntable allies. Colonel Jeaeer Co<^ is the officer in charge of the prisoners at Diyatakwa, acting, so to spei^, as the intermediary between the commandant and them. The camp is surrounded by a stout barbed-wire entanglement, and is guarded by the Duke ai Cornwall's Light Infantry. In reference to the charge that the Boers have been allowed a military band for their amusement, it is true that, the whole regiment being stationed hare, its band is with it, according to the usual custcnn. Though the soldiers are not in evidence in the camp itself, a care- ful watch is kept on it. The lew prisoners who attempted to escape were all recaptured, and the natives, whose vigilance it is difficult to elucte, prompted by the rewards that are offered, keep a good look-out for fugitives. AJter breakfast Colonel Vincent accompanied us to the camp. We passed through the well-guarded gate of the wire entanglement enclosure, and found ourselves in a scattered 8«ttlement of huts and tin- roofed sheds and tents, not at all unlike one of those newly established townflhips one comes across in Bhodesia, or some other yoimg colony, but tidier and better ordered generally. And, indeed, it is a township. For this Boer prisoner community, as I soon discovered, controlled by their own officers, SOME OF THE BOBB LEADEB8 63 muwge everything for themseiyes, h»Te unong them their own tradesmen and artifioerB of every sort, their shops and their schools and churches, all within the limits of the wire enclosure. As we walked from the gate towards the first of the buildings two men approached us ; they were smartly dressed in white duck and had red puggarees on their hats ; they might eadly have beoD ti^en for young Englishmen of good position. They saluted the colonel and wished him a good morning. He exchsiged a few cheery words with them, and when they had passed he said to us : ' Those are two Boer officers, burghers of the Transvaal.' Then he went on to explain that the Boer officers are here distinguished by the red puggarees they wear in their hats, and that they are permitted to go beyond the inclosure on parole, but have to keep within certain bounds. Every other day, I understood him to say, an officer is allowed to take ten burghers with him on these excursions on parole. Then we came across other groups of Boers walking or standing and chatting, and to all appear- ance they were not only in good health but were quite contented and happy. It was only now and again that one saw some sour old Dopper irrecon- cilable or ill-conditioned youngster of the loutish Boer type, who glared sullenly. It was evident that the colonel was liked and respected by the bulk vemment has supplied no pianos to the prisoners, but did permit them to hire a piano with their own money. It was a motley crowd of prisoners that was collected in this camp: some refined and highly educated, others of mean intelligence, as ignorant as their Ka£Br herds ; many honest, excellent fellows, some ' slim ' and treacherous ; a few unmitigated scoundrels with evil histories behind them ; some chivalrous enemies, others violators of the flag of VIBW8 OF THE PBI80NBB8 69 tmoe, bredun of the oftth of nentnlity, aasaaaioa nih«r Uum loldMn, who, Mcording to dl the rnlee of war, oaght to have been shot ae toon as captnrad. But they all have to conduct themselves well in this •dmirably ordered camp : during the previous month two only had to undergo punishment. The Boers are not a truthful people, and they put small faith in the words of others. Consequently the prisoners refused to believe any statement that was shown them in the British newspapers ; they still considered themse ves invincible, and laughed at the accounts of our successes. But now, at last, many of them are beginning to realise the situation. Some, recog- nising the futility of further resistance, openly declare themselves anxious for peace ; others are irre- concilable and are for fighting to the death. General Rouz, the fanatical fighting clergyman, is the leader of this party in the camp. I did not see him, for he finds it difficult to speak civilly to an Englishman, regards us all as sons of Belial, and is confident that the Lord will yet bring about our destruction by His chosen instruments, the Boers. Then there are the timid people, who in their hearts desire peace but dare not say so. One thing is pretty certain ; were the prisoners now sent back the majority would promptly fight us again, some of their own free will, others because they would be compelled to do so. We were able to converse with some of the Boer officers, who, of course, have their separate quarters. MHCROOOrY MSOimiON TBT OMIT (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.1 1 23 133 IM 1 40 12.5 Ih L25 i 1.4 i I /1PPLIED IN/MGE Ir S 1651 East Main StrMi Roch«t€r. N«w York 14609 USA (718) 4«2 - 0300 - Phon. (71«) 288 - S989 - Fo« 70 WITH THE BOYAL TOUR We visited General Olivier, a sturdy, frank-looking Boer of amiable disposition, who chatted with us in a very pleasant and unrestrained fashion. In one tent we found five Irish-Americans, officers of the Irish Brigade. Among them was O'Eeilly, who, I believe, was one of the chief organisers of the brigade, and Menton, once chief detective in Johan- nesburg. One would have expected that these Irish- Americans would have been, of all the prisoners in the camp, the most difficult to control. But the reverse was the case. Of all the prisoners they were the most amenable, the most ready to assist the authorities and to make themselves useful in the management of the camp. When on parole in the neighbourhood of the camp some of them employed their time in prospecting for gold. One showed me specimens of the quartz which he had found, and which panned out fairly well ; another had made a fine collection of butterflies and moths. O'Eeilly recognised me and addressed me by name ; we had met in Ehodesia during the first Matabele war, when he was fighting on our side in Ealph's column. But the time had arrived for us to leave the camp for the railway station to undertake our nine hours' journey back to Kandy. Are the prisoners pampered or not ? I will leave the facts I have given to speak for themselves, and it must ever be borne in mind- some seem to forget it— that prisoners of war, as such, are not cruninals. I should have liked to BRITISH SUBJECTS IN THE CAMP 71 visit the camp at Bagama, where the three hundred and forty quarrelsome foreigners are, but time would not allow. There had been no attempts to escape from Bagama. Some of the French confined there complained that the • Comity Fran9ais pour la Conservation de I'lnd^pendance Boer,' which sent them out, dumped them dovm at Delagoa Bay with- out giving them any further assistance, and left them there to shift for themselves. I understood that there were several British subjects among the prisoners in this camp, including a London medical student and other Englishmen. Not a shadow of an excuse can be put forward for some of these who took up arms against their own countrymen, and yet they were treated as prisoners of war when they fell into our hands ! We may suffer in the future for this sentimental tolerance of treason. On the other hand, there were some British subjects confined here who could with some justice plead extenuating circumstances — men who, with their wives and families, had long been settled in the Transvaal, and who, though perhaps loyal to their country at heart, when the field comet gave them the alternative between joining a commando and the forfeiture of all their property — and bearing in mind, too, how the British Government of old, after all its solemn, assurances, deserted the Transvaal loyalists— found themselves between the devil and the deep sea, and so fought, or pretended to do so, against us. 72 WITH THE BOYAL TOUB I III Ml! CHAPTEB VI ACB088 THE INDUM OCBAK— IHB 'OPHIB' BSA0BX8 BDIOAPOBB— PBKSKNT CONDmON OF THK OOLOOT— rOBMOH TBAOB COM- PETITION— MABVELIOUB DECOBATIOMS— THE 8UITAM8 Of THE EA8T DO HOMAQB The 'Ophir' and the two ships of the royal escort left Colombo on April 18, and steamed eastward across the smooth waters of the Indian Ocean, bound for Singapore. The damp oppressive heat was not aUeviated by the frequent tropical showers which poured down on us. stiU further saturating the air with tepid moisture. Gp our fourth day out we saw land again on our starboard hand, the forest- clad headlands of Sumatra, a coast steaming and sultry, and ever green with the profusely luxuriant vegetation of the torrid zone. Then we entered the broad Straits of Malacca, which divide the island of Sumatra from the mainland, and steering in a south- easterly direction until we were hard by the equator, we saw before us, early in the morning of the 2l8t,' our destination, the little island of Singapore, its low green hiUs veiled but not concealed by a thin silvery haze, through which the sun's rays piercing. ! I SINGAPORE 78 gloriously illumined the lush foliage ; an equatorial land, where the temperature does not vary appreci- ably from year's end to year's end, where there is no winter or spring or autumn, but an everlasting sunuuer of fierce suns and warm rains. Singapore is the seat of the government of our valuable Crown Colony, the Straits Settlements. It is one of the most commodious and most frequented of the world's ports, and is the principal port of call for vessels trading to the Far East and to Australia. It is a great emporium of trade, exporting every form of tropical produce, and tin — a large proportion of the world's tin coming from this colony and its dependencies — and importing our manufactures and those of our trade rivals. It is a free port, only the alcoholic drinks and the opiimi CO' sumed in the colony paying duty — the trade in these, by the way, being farmed out to the Chinese. And, lastly, and to Great Britain the most important fact of all, it is the greatest coaling station in the East, the only one that can supply a sufficiency of coal in time of poUtical crisis, when the fleets of the nations gather in these waters, as was forcibly brought home to the Powers during the complica- tions of 1898. Nearly eighty years ago we purchased the island of Singapore from the Sultan of Johor'^, the important native State at the heel of the Malay I isula, which is divided from Singapore by a channel under a mile in breadth. Under our rule it i 74 WITB THE EOYAL TOUR has grown into one of the most prosperous places of the world. Accoirding to the census of 1 391, the city contains a hundred and sixty-three thousand in- habitants, but of these only thirteen hundred are Europeans; while the Chinese number ninety thousand, the Malays twenty-five thousand, and the Indians twelve thousand. Singapore affords an instructive object-lesson of the strength and weakness of our colonial methods. We founded this wealthy city in the good old days when we practically monopolised the Eastern trade. Men made fortunes easily then, and, having made them, the Singapore Britishers have shown a ten- dency to sit idle and allow the bulk of the trade to slip into other hands. The British community in Singapore is regarded as the most conservative and least go-ahead in the East. The British here have not the enterprise and energy of our people in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and other trading centres of the Far East. Consequently others are now reaping where we have sown. 'Trade foUows the flag.' "Where another flag than our own flies our trade is generally boycotted and has to go. Madagascar affords a good example of this law. We can trade freely only under our own flag ; and now, even under that flag, such is our tolerance (never reciprocated) of foreign competition— a tolerance that was all very well in the old days when we monopolised the across-seat, commerce— that the bulk of our trade in o o E < o z PORBION TRADE (3CMPETITI0N 75 Singapore hM fallen into the hands oi the foreigner, who does not love as while he profits by onr generons treatment of him. The youngest German clerk in Singapore smiles if he hears an Englishman speak of this as a great British trading centre. It is true that the coaling is in the hands of two great British firms ; yet, this business apart, by far the greater proportion of the Singapore trade is con- ducted, not by British merchauts, but by the rich Chinese and German firms. The Bussians, too, are creeping in, though their trade so far is confined to supplying the ships of the Bussian Volunteer Fleet, of which this is a favourite port of call. A few years ago vessels flying the British flag far out- numbered all others in this harbour. This is not now the case, and the German flag is especially con- spicuous. If the old pioneers of our commerce in Singapore could revisit the scene of their former enter- prise, it would astonish them to find the British flag still flying over Government House, while foreigners w,. '' -a the trade ou shore and foreign bottoms ^ . . ; ing away the produce of this rich fcropic c ..-t In the Singapore Club you will hear GbiiuiUi and Dutch spoken almost as much as English. The head of the Entertainment Com- mittee which received the Duke of Cornwall and York in the Town Hall was a German. The apathy of the Colonial Government and of the British community is largely responsible for Una state of 79 WITH THE BOYAL TODB things. The old people here who have made their fortunes and lead British society are lacking in enterprise. It is these who have seats on the Legislative Council, with the result that the Govern- ment does not move with the times and has no initiative. To take one concrete example. So greatly has the number of vessels that call here increased that the wharfage room has become altogether inadequate for the shipping. Vessels entering the harbour often find no accommodation, and have to await their turn, wasting a considerable time before they can coal. The result is that many vessels have abandoned Singapore as a port o£ call, and repair to the Dutch coaling station of Pulo Wai. The increasing pro- sperity of that place is likely to affect Singapore in the near future, for vessels that have gone there once go there again. Now, it would be quite easy at Bmall cost to construct miles of wharves and throw out piers all along the sheltered shore at Singapore. But the Government will not initiate this necessary work, and the coaling companies, which are repre- sented in the Legislative Council, earn large dividends and are not anxious to increase their business, though they are jealous of others who would come here to compete with them. In this community every man's hand is against the newcomer. Unenterprising themselves, the people here, regardless of British interests, dog-in-the-manger-like, discourage the ij i ' MARVELLOUS DECORATIONS T7 introdaotion o£ new and more vigorouB blood into the colony, and it in such new blood that is most needed. It would be well if this colony had a race of sturdy planters like those of Ceylon to give it backbone. On landing on the :htxt I engaged a queer look- ing hackney carriage, driven by a Malay coachman, and went round the town to view the decorations, the arrangement of which had happily not been under- taken by the Government, the British community, or the Germans, but had been left to the Asiatic inhabitants, who, the Chinese more especially, spared no effort and put themselves to great expense in order to make the city present as gorgeous an appearance as possible during the progress through the streets of their Royal Highnesses, and they succeeded well. First we followed the wharves, which extend for a great distance along the shore, closely lined wth the steamers of all nationalities, and all dressed with flags in honour of the Duke's coming, "^'^rther out at anchor was a host of shipping, jamers and sailing vessels, from the great full-rigged ship and the handsome Yankee schooner down to the picturesque Chinese junk with its battened sails, and the Malay coaster. One realised the magnitude of this equatorial Liverpool. We had the shipping on our left hand, and on our right were the rows of shipchandlera' shops, marine stores, and sailors' grog shops and dancing-rooms ; 78 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR but the inioriptionB oTer the doon of theie were in JepaoeM. Chiae«>, Biueiui, Armenian, and other foreign charaoten. There were f ^ nga» to show that it was a British city. Then we left the water-side and passed through the white main streets teeming with people of many races, some attired in aU the colours of the rainbow • bnght-coloured crowds that went to and fro under the fierce sunshino; Chinamen of all ranks, from the silk-olad merchant to the sweating, ever-running, half Eude rickshaw coolie; Malays; Klings and other natives of India; Dyaks from Borneo; and others; the Europeans being few and far between. The p ces of worship that one passed testified to the number of creeds and races, for here were the mosques of the Mussulmans, the joss houses of the Chmese, the temples of the Hindoos, the churches of the three great divisions of Christianity, and the chapels of the various Dissents. I saw remarkably few women in the streets : as a matter of fact, in Smgapore there are four times as many men as women. Then we crossed a foul-smeUing canal whose shores were lined with mat-roofed sam- pans, where the Chinese families live and multiply and fish as on their own rivers. Everywhere it was a bright tropical life, bathed in sunlight, and in every street were the decorations and a profusion of coloured bunting. Here- there, too. in gardens and open places there blazed out brighter than all MARVELLOUS DEC0BATI0N8 79 •1m thftt flow«ring tree which is a feature of this city, the ' flame of the forest,' the flamboyant acacia, with its glory of scarlet blossoms. The Chinese town had been decorated in a marvellous fashion, and most effectively. The fronts of all the shops were hong with festoons of silk and wreaths of flowers. Innumerable paper lanterns depended from the eaves or spanned the streets, some of these representing huge grotesque fish and other hideous monsters. There were weird trium- phal arches, too, up whose columns enormous dragons •v.ormi their sc'lv folds. There were clock- work models of queer figores that nodded their heads or performed other antics. These streets, moreover, were roofed entirely over for miles with thin, ve.y transparent Chinese silk, of pink, light green, and other delicate tints, through which the vertical sun shining cast a diffused but very brilliant light over all this wealth of grotesqueness and bright colour. This same night all these thousands of lanterns we'-e lit, and the Duke and Duchess drove in ricksha : through these tunnels of light and colour and f& tastic forms. The effect was extraordinary la the densely crowded silk-roofed s^r^ets. 0. ? could easily fancy oneself to be in somf . bterraneun City of the Magicians. The dwelling-houses, the theatres, and the joss houses all stood wide open, so that one could see a good deal of the— to us — fantastic life of the Celestials as one passed through. 80 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR The ceremonies in which their Eoyal Highnesses took part in Singapore were deeply interesting, appealing to the imagination and having consider- able political importance. Connected with the re- ception of the Duke and Duchess at the landing- place there were some features worthy of record. Here the guard of honour was formed of blue-jackets and marines from the ships of the China squadron that were in the harbour. All these men had served throughout the recent fighting in North China, and tough and well they looked after it. All the world over we found that the necessities of the South African War had stripped our possessions of their British garrisons, leaving their defence to our native troops. Thus there was no British regiment in Singapore, and it was the 16th Madras Infantry that formed the guard of honour outside the landing, stage, while the streets were lined by the local Volunteers and the Penang Volunteers. These corps were patrioticaUy raised when the South African War broke out and the regular troops were with- drawn. The native-bom white men of Singapore and Hong Kong were the first of our colonials to volunteer their services for that war. Their offer was rejected ; later on, no doubt, it would have been gladly accepted. Their Eoyal Highnesses drove to Government House in the elaborately ornamented state carriage of the Sultan of Perak, and the fine horses that I o O 2 o z SULTANS OF THE EAST DO HOMAGE 81 drew it were ex-racers of his, bestridden by English jockeys in the Sultan's employment, and wearing his uniform ; for, like all other important Malay Sultans, the ruler of Perak is a keen sportsman and owner of racehorses. He also provided the escort of lancers that rode in front of the carriage— time- expired Bengal Lancers who have enlisted in his service. On the following day, at the Town Hall, after the addresses of the British community had been presented, the Sultans of the Federated Malay States, headed by the Sultan of Perak, and the representatives of the Arab, Malay, Chinese, Khng, and Hindoo inhabitants — a most picturesque group, exhibiting an extraordinary variety of racial type and sumptuous national costume — came up in turn to present their addresses to the Duke, bearing with them costly gifts, characteristic and often symboU- cal, beautiful specimens of native work. All these chiefs rule important States which are either under our direct, control or under our protection. They were evidently much impressed by the sincere tones of the Duke's reply to their loyal addresses, and were highly gratified by the gracious tenor of his words when they were translated to them. It is these things that bear good fruit in the East. The Duke invested the Sultan of Perak with the K.C.M.G. It is interesting to remember that the State of Perak gave us more trouble formerly than any of the other Malay States. There was some o 82 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR tongh fighting between us and that fierce race. The predecessor of the present Stiltan was suspected of complicity in the murder of Mr. Birch, our Govern- ment Agent in Perak. We accordingly deposed him and put in his place the present ruler, who had made overtures to us and promises of friendship, which he has faithfully observed. The deposed Sultan was exiled to Singapore, and, curiously enough, was present in the Town Hall on this occa- sion, and saw the man who he considers has usurped his rule receive the order of knighthood from the hands of his Sovereign's son. The long bread esplanade that fronts the sea is the favourite promenade of Singapore m the cool of the evening after working hours. It then presents a wonderful, not to say an instructive, spectacle, and helps one to a fuller realisation of the fact that Sin- gapore is not really a white man's city. We remained two days at Singapore, and each evening at about six o'clock I happened to be walking down the esplanade when all those who could afford it were driving up and down to take the air. The Chinese merchants^ the wealthiest men in the island,' were the most conspicuous, for there passed me a great number of their expensive and luxurious lan- daus and other carriages, with splendid horses, retired racers probably — the Chinese here are devoted to the turf — driven by Malay coachmen in gorgeous hvery. In each of these carriages reclined the calm, THE ESPLANADE, SINGAPORE 83 inscrutable-visaged Cb'aese capitalist, clad in rich silks, or, in some instances, in a partly European dress, generally in lonely state, and in no case accom- panied by his wife. There were fast young Chinamen of fortune driving smart dogear^-?, while the less wealthy Chinese and many Indians and Malays were taking the air in hackney carriages, the still poorer in rickshaws drawn by perspiring coolies. Young Chinese clerks, too, employed in the counting-houses of their rich countrymen, were riding bicycles, their pigtails sometimes flying out beneath British straw or soft felt hats. The tun- sex was not wholly unrepresented, for trim Japanese girls and Malays with long, flowing black hair, and wo nen of other eastern nationalities, all brightly dressed and with faces painted without stint, were driving up and down unabashed, in rickshaws and hired carriages. And in all this throng of people there was scarcely a European man or woman to be seen. In the strf ets, when the Duke and Duchess drove by, the crowding natives, though evidently deeply interested, raised few cries, for these are by nature a much less demonstrative people than the Cinghalese. But the Asiatic inhabitants of Singapore are quite contented and loyal to us. The Malays .and Indian natives are, of course, our subjects ; and of the Chinese who flock here, because they know that they are well off imder our flag, a considerable number remain to become our subjects, the rich men more o2 84 WITH THE ROYAL TOUB ! P especially, for they appreciate the fact that here they will be allowed to keep the wealth they have accu- mulated and need not fear the rapacity of the man- darins. The Chinese, Malays, and Tamils not only deco- rated and illuminated the city on a magnificent scale, but organised a wonderfi^l proce»ion of lan- terns, which passed through the grounds of Govern- ment House, before the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, on the night of the 22nd. It was an enormous procession of weird masks, of transparent monsters illumined from within, of long crawling dragons, of which the hundred feet were the feet of the men concealed in them, of cars bearing models of illuminated ships and temples, of quaintly attired dancing and leaping figures — an orgie of monstrous shapes, bright colour, quick movement, fire, and the din of cymbals and drums and shoutings. Much of it was symbolical. Each little district had supplied its own section of the spectacle, and the result was amazing. The Chinese part of the procession alone was as huge and elaborate as any of the great processions that take place in China itself on festival nights. On this same after- noon their Koyal Highnesses, while driving back to the city from the Uotarical Gardens, were witnesses of a pretty scene that had been prepared by the clerg of different denominations. Five thousand little school children had been collected together to A PRETTY SCENE 85 see the Duke and Duchess as they passed. They were all Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Eurasian children. The boys were smartly dressed, and the little girls were resplendent in frocks of white, pink, light blue and green, and bright sashes. One of the girls presented a bouquet to the Duchess, and then all these mission babies commenced to sing lustily ' God save the King 'in quaint native accents that pro- duced a strangely pathetic etiect. 86 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR CHAPTER VII AMONO TRB ISLANDS OF THE BASTIBN SKA — CB08SIMO TBI LIKE — NBPTVNB VISITS THE SHIPS— ON THE AU8TKAUAN COAST — THE BARBOUB OF ALBANY— ITS PBOSPBCTS— LOTALTT IN WB8TBBN AU8TBALU — THE VOTAOB TO MBLBOUBNE In the afternoon of April 23 we steamed out of Singapore harbour, bound for Albany in Australia. We had a voyage of two thousand five hundred miles before us, and we had now 'l^ne with the gorgeous East, for throughout the remainder of the royal tour we were to visit those new worlds where no ancient civilisation confronts our own without mingling with it — regions where our own country- men are not only the rulers, but the toilers and the delvers of the soil. During the two miles passage of the royal barge to the ship a great number of small native boats hoisted their sails and, favoured by the strong breeze, hovered round her like a swarm of flying-fish, tacking, and running, and reaching, on all sides of her, each boat crowded to the gunwales with fan- tastically clad natives, who waved their arms and cheered and chanted their farewell to their Sovereign's on and his consort. The boats were apparently ISLANDS OF THE EASTERN SEA 87 being tailed in the most reckless manner; masts were carried away; at every moment a capsize seemed inevitable for one or the other of them, as she heeled over to some sudden squall until half her great leg-of-mutton sail was in the water. But these amphibious careless people seemed not to mind this in the least. To them a capsize and a long swim through the shark-infested water was all in the day's pleasure. It was a water carnival and masquerade that formed a fitting conclusion to the gorgeous ceremonies that the Chinese, Malays, and other Asiatics of Singapore had organised to welcome their Boyal Highnesses. For the first three days of this vo;, age we had land always in sight and generally close to. We were sailing over smooth, dark green, hot, land- locked waters. First entering the Bhio Straits, we passed through an archipelago oi low green islands. Throughout the 24th we were coasting along the shoves of Sumatra, leagues of rolling hills clothed with dense dark forests, and here and there a narrow strip of gleaming sandy beach, like some flashing Malay kris, cleaving between the dark green of the sea and of the forest. We traversed the Straits of Banka and came out into the Sea of Java, and on the 25th dawn found us steaming through the beautiful and narrow Straits of Sunda, which divide Sumatra from Java. On either side of us the tropical forests sloped to the water's edge, both shores being 88 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR apparently uninhabited, for we nw no aigns of human life; but a few little native craft with strange-shaped sails were here and there alrimming over these erst pirate-haunted waters. We had crossed the Equator on the previous day, and we all remembered the message that the •Ophir ' had signalled to the captains of the • Juno ' and • St. George ' while we were on our way from Colombo to Singapore. The message was as follows : • His Royal Highness received a telegram while at Colombo from Mr. and Mrs. Neptune expressing their intention of visiting the ships of the squadron on April 26. His Royal Highness hopes that you will permit this visit, and as there must be many young men on board your ships who have not yet had the honour of a personal introduction to this old Sea Dog, he trusts that you will allow the ancient custom of the Service to be carried out for the entertainment and amusement of the ship's company.' When the time arrived we were sailing out of the last narrows of the Straits of Sunda into the long swell of the open Indian Ocean. There was no land now between us and Australia, and after the stifling heat of the land-locked waters we had recently been sailing, it was pleasant to find ourselves again rolling on a freer sea, and to breathe into our lungs the sweet fresh south-east trade wind that came to us from cooler regions across thousands of miles of pure ocean. NEPTUNE VISITS THE SHIPS 89 Panottially at the appointed hoar, we heard a hoarse voice hail the ship, and next we saw Neptnne and his queer ooort advancing along the main deck with a distinctly nautical gait. There was great Neptune himself — in ordinary times John Roberts, A.B. of his Majesty's ship ' Juno ' — in dishevelled, tattered, many-coloured garments representing sea- weed, with a wonderful wig of yellow tow on his head, and, like all his suite, with face and arms and legs stained with yellow ochre. With him were Mrs. Neptune and her two daughters, very rough and tough-looking ladies with red stockings, wild- flowing tow-hair, and bright dresses of a cut that may be fashionable beneath the waves ; Neptune's burly son ; the sailor who was drowned at sea, who acts as Neptune's clerk, sad-looking and clad in medisBval nautical dress ; Neptune's quack doctor ; Neptune's barber and the barber's assistant; the two policemen and Neptune's six bears. These weird-looking creatures ascended the after-bridge, and Neptune, in the gruJSest of voices and with an amusing assurance and air of sovereignty, reported himself to the captain and introduced him to Mrs. Neptune, her offspring, and his suite, each in turn shaking hands with the captain. Then Nep- tune, in his gruff tones, reeled out the following speech : ' Captain Bouth, officers, and ship's company of his Britannic Majesty's ship "Juno" — It is with ; I ;i i ill : •Ml MK li'l' 90 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR infinite pleMura, not to mention flendiih delight, that I end my enite welcome the " Jmio " to Eqoetoriel weten. It it with mcioh greater pleasure I hear there ie on board the exceptionally large number of nine officers and three hundred and twenty-four young seamen who have not yet crossed the Line. As you all know, it is and has been the custom from time imiDomorial for all budding Nelsons to pay tribute and ^e made freemen of the sea on entering my domains. We trust that the ceremony about to take place will be accepted in the spirit in which it is meant. While the performance will be carried out in as amiable a manner as possible, we trust that should any unforeseen accident occur the person or persons concerned will take it in good part and bear no malice. On coming on board I noticed that with one exception the "Juno" was as smart a ship as ever entered my dominions ; it is not my usual cus- torn to remind commanding officers of their duty, but I think on this occasion I am justified in saying that the main-brace of the "Juno" requires splicing.' Then Neptune took his seat on his throne, his wife on one side, his clerk on the other; and one by one the young officers and men who had not before crossed the Line came up, were presented to the Sea King, and submitted to the time-honoured ordeal. Neptune's doctor gave each his huge bolus and passed him. Then the candidate mounted the NBPTT^NB VISITS THE SHIPS 91 itept to the pLtform thAt had been erected above » large oanyaa bath brimming with sea water. The barber and his assistant lathered him profusely with whitewash and blaoklead, and gave him the tradi- tional shave. The two bears on the platform tilted np the stool on which he sat, and backwards, head over heels, he fell into the bath, where two huge mermaids and others of Neptune's ' bears ' pulled him under water and baptized him thoroughly and repeatedly before they allowed him to escape, an electric shock which he received on grasping a bar to help himself out of the bath completing his initiation. Each of the three hundred odd men who were now crossing the Line for the first time were thus treated. It was boisterous play, but no one received the slightest injury, and good tem^jer was displayed by all concerned. In the ' Ophir ' and ' St. George ' the ceremony was performed in like fashion. The Duke himself, though he had of course crossed the Line on several previous occasions, at his own wish went through the ordeal. When Neptune had completed his labours ju board the ' Juno ' he signalled the following message to the ' Ophir : '— • From Father Neptune to His Koyal Highness the Duke of Cornwall and York. In com- pliance with your wish I have bO-day mustered the officers and ship's company, and all those who have not previously crossed the Line have been duly made freemen of the sea. The only thing of importance 99 WITH THE ROYAL TOUB I noticed was that the main-brace of the "Juno" requires splicing.' The foUowing reply was signalled from the ' Ophir : '— ' His Boyal Highness noticed that the main-braces of the " Ophir," " Juno," and " St. George " require splicing, and hopes this may be done this evening.' I need scarcely say that the main-braces were spliced later on with good navy rum in all three ships. That night the men gave an excellent concert on the •Juno's' quarter-deck. It was the holiday of the blue-jackets : they enjoyed the traditional license of Neptune day ; the arrangement of all the proceed- ings was left to them, and they carried everything through in admirable fashion, and with a delightful zeal and cheeriness. The crossing of the Line with the royal escort was an experience one would not have missed. We steamed on towards the South, each day being cooler than the last, as we left the sun further behind us. On the morning of April 30 we were oflf the Australian coast, but could not distinguish it on account of the thickness of the weather. There was a leaden sky above us, from which the rain descended steadily; around us was a leaden-coloured sea, rough, and with a big swell coming up on our quarter! causinii ^^ to roll rather heavily. It was dismal weather indeed, but it was homelike, reminding one of the Channel in November. Later in the day the weather cleared, and on our starboard hand there ON THE AUSTRALIAN COAST 93 appeared a long line of undulating coast, the shores of West Australia. At dawn on May 1 we steamed into the broad entrance of King George's Sound, and saw before us the town of Albany on the hill slopes at its further extremity. Slowly we passed up the great, landlocked bay, and came to an anchor at about a mile from the town. This was my first visit to Australia, and on this lovely morning the conditions under which its shores presented themselves to our gaze were certainly such as to give one a very agree- able first impression of the land. All round us were boldly shaped hills clothed with low trees and scrub of brownish green. Here and there white or ruddy- coloured cliflfs rose sheer from the smooth waters of the sound, and little rocky capes enclosed tiny inlets. The stone-built, slate-roofed houses of the town are picturesquely scattered over the steep wooded hillside. Two jetties extend from the beach, alongside which some sailing vessels were lying. Anchored round us were about a dozen large sailing vessels and steamers. The sky above was pale blue ; there was the thinnest autumnal haze, and the light breeze had a keen bite in it. In short, it was as if we had woke up sud- denly to find ourselves in a broad Scottish loch on some fine September morning ; for the quite British appearance of the little town, the colouring of the hills, sky, and water, the sharpness of the pure air, all united to complete the illusion of home — a pleasant country indeed it looked to us men of a northern M WITH THE ROYAL TOUR clime after the enervating, sultry, soft, equatorial islands we have recently visited. We had reached a true white man's land at last. The ' Juno ' and ' St. George ' were to coal at Albany ; but the ' Ophir ' which had gone in advance of us to make the necessary arrangements, after anchoring for a few hours outside the bay, proceeded at once for Melbourne. None of the royal party landed at Albany— its turn was to come later; for, according to the programme laid down, Melbourne was to be the first Australian city to welcome the Duke and Duchess. The ships of the squadron were to follow her so soon as they had coaled. We thus had but a short time to explore the httle town that was so pleasantly English-looking from the sea. On landing the illusion was not dispelled; one was startled by the extraordinarily English appearance of everything around. If there were any difference it lay in this being a brighter and a cleaner-looking place than is generally found m smoky England and in our northern climate. The streets were unmis- takably English ; the shops were just such as one would find in our own towns ; the names over the shops were English; English advertisements con- fronted one on the walls ; there were the numerous places of worship to meet the requirements of our numerous sects. English was the only language one heard-an English that had no provincial accont, free from Cockney corruption or Yankee twitng, ALBANY 95 an English that at once struck one as being re- markably pure and refined in intonation. The people were, if possible, more British-look- ing than the British themselves— a tall, bright-eyed, sturdy, fresh-complexioned people ; and men, women, and children were all well dressed and contented- looking. There were no signs of poverty or any- thing sordid or miserable to be seen in these happy streets. Of course, all this has been said innumerable times before ; but one is so forcibly struck by first impressions of a Western Australian ^own that one feels compelled to give expression to them. How- ever many and graphic may have been the descrip- tions of this land which he has read the visitor is likely to be vastly astonished when he first puts foot on shore here. It comes as a sudden revelation to find the character of his surroundings so completely British at the opposite side of the globe. In other colonies which I have visited this home-look is often wanting. Another point which the stranger who comes here cannot fail to observe is the pleasing courtesy of the Western Australians. This air apparently softens the manners of the Anglo- buxon, which improve here and do not roughen as they do under New England skies and in some British possessions. Albany is but a little town, its popula- tion at the last census numbering a little over three thousand ; but it is well laid out, and contains some handsome buildings. Its magnificent landlocked Mi*l 96 WITH THE BOYAL TOUB harbour could without difficulty be slightly deepened by dredging, so as to make it capable of accommo- dating a large number of vessels of the deepest draught. This is undoubtedly the natural harbour of Western Australia ; but as the country to the back of Albany is a poor one, producing little, and as Fremantle is the nearest port to Perth, the capital of the colony and the head-quarters of the wealthier colonists, Fremantle, where, but a few years ago, vessels found only an open and insecure roadstead, has now at great ex- penditure been converted into a fairly commodious mole-protected harbour, at which the mail steamers call, instead of at Albany as heretofore. Yet Albany will still remain an important coaling station. We found a good many vessels at anchor in the harbour on our arrival, discharging coal into the hulks or taking it on board. When the Duke of Cornwall and York and his brother, as midshipmen, visited Albany in 1881, during the cruise of the ' Bacchante,' the young Princes in their diary noted that Western Australia, enjoying a per- fect climate and being so close to India, would make an excellent sanatorium for our British troops ; and quite recently it has been suggested that Albany should be made a primary strategic base. We are hkely to hear more of this proposal v^hen the scheme for Federal Defence comes to be considered. Having so poor a country behind it, Albany until recently was little else than a coaling station, the ALBANY 97 supplying of the shipping which visiteJ the port being practicaUy the one business of the population; but it now participates to no inconsiderable extent in the prosperity of the new goldfields, which have led to the introduction of two flourishing indu8trie«i. There are some excellent fishing grounds near Albany, and now that a good market has been secured, the fish are being caught in large quantities, and are despatched, packed in ice, by train to the diggings. Moreover, the greater portion of the vegetables consumed at the diggings is produced in the market gardens round this town, chiefly by our own people, though some Chinese and Japanese are also engaged in the industry. There are very few of these aliens, by the way, in this district, and it is practically a white man's country. I may mention that Albany can also boast of one export ; for on the average two ships a week are loaded here with the timber of the karri tree, the one valuable product of the neighbourhood. The town presented a somewhat lively appear- ance when I saw it, as the streets were full of troopers from aU parts of Australir and New Zealand, who had just returned from ' th Africa on the White Star liner which was ^ off the town, and were passing a few hours on shore while their ship was coaling before proceeding to Adelaide and Melbourne. They were a tall, hard-looking lot of youngsters, apparently as fit after their long H 98 WITH THE ROYAL TOUB campaign as they were when I saw them eighteen months ago on their arriyal at Orange Biver. To judge from what I saw at Albany, Australia is very proud — and rightly so— of her volunteer soldiers who did such excellent work for the old flag. The large bulk of the Australians entertain no silly notions concerning this war ; they wish to see it carried through with determination. Vo many Australians have worked in the Transvaal as miners, and in other capacities, that they have come to know the Boer and understand what we are fighting for. The troopers who have fought out there and the people who have stayed behind are of one opinion on this matter. The sickly sentimentalists or political adventurers who at home champion the enemy's cause and slander our own soldiery would not be tolerated out here. I looked through the local papers of various shades of opinion, and found that, much as they differed with regard to Australian politics, they were of one mind as to the justice of our cause in South Africa. Very pleasant, too, it was for an Englishman to read in these papers contributions from Australian officers and men who had served in the war, and to note the appreciative terms in which they alw^ays spoke of their comrades in the British Army. Those tales of friction and discontent, and what not, put forth by malicious people at home, find no echo here among the men who have done the fighting. I entered into conversa- LOYALTY IN WESTERN AU8TBALIA 99 tion with several of these troopers. They were all glad that they had had this great experience of war, and were evidently quite ready to volunteer agaiu to defend the Empire should the occasion arise. I die!, not hear one jarring note in Albany that day. Those who would know if these colonies are loyal should read the West Australian papers which appeared at about this time. There was nothing in them but keen delight at this visit of the Heir to the Throne, an anxiety to give him the most cordial of welcomes, expressions of affection for the Eoyal Family, a generous patriotism, and an intense pride in the great Empire of which the colony forms a part. This was all the more satisfactory, seeing that Western Australia was the most democratic colony of the Commonwealth, the Labour Party being supreme, the Democrats of an advanced type having secured a large majority at the recent elections. The demo- cracy of Australia, however, is of a robust character, and is not inconsistent with patriotic and Imperial views. It is not the malignant lie-fed democracy of Battersea Park. I took a drive for a few miles along the road to Perth to see what the country looked like. It was a region of loose white sand, which was yet covered with rank grass, scrub, and gum trees. Near the town were the pretty little villas of the citizens with gardens round them such as the British love. A little further out, too, I saw the market gardens, irrigated by water pumped up B 2 100 WITH THE BOYAL TOUB from the wells by windmillB, where the vegetables are produced which supply the town, the shipping, and the distant diggings. Then it was time to bid farewell to friends on shore and to get on board the ship again ; for the coaling was almost completed and the anchor woold soon be weighed. The ' St. George,' having coaled first, steamed out of the harbour early in the afternoon; but the ' Juno ' did not get away until late in the evening. The ' Opbir ' therefore had a twelve hours' start of us, but the ' Juno ' is the fastest ship of the three, and it was expected that we should overhaul the royal yacht before she reached our rendezvous off Morning- ton, in Fort Phillip Bay, about thirty miles from Melbourne. We had a voyage of, roughly, thirteen hundred miles before us, and had to cross the Great Australian Bight, which, at the antipodes, enjoys much the same reputation as does the Bay of Biscay in the northern hemisphere ; for bad weather is often encountered here. We were fortunate in meeting with no strong wind ; but, as usual, there was a big swell in the Bight, in which we rolled steadily as we ploughed our way eastward. Then we had some weather of a distinctly British character, and yet by no means pleasing to us on that account — twenty-four hours of cold dense fog, compelling us at times to steam slowly, our siren, at frequent intervals, shrieking its warjoing to the invisible passing vessels around us, whose fog-horns THE VOYAGE TO MELBOUBNE 101 or steam-whistles were occasionally to be heard sounding in the distance. Then the fog lifted and we were again steaming fast across a smooth sea, the sky blue above as, and a breeze blowing that was cold as an easterly wind on the North Sea in the early spring, delightfully refreshing after the depress- ing heat of Singapore. On the morning of the 6th, having crossed the Great Bight, we were in sight of land again, the undulating bush-covered shore of Victoria, and over our port bow was visible a stately white ship, to be recognised at once as the ' Ophir,' which we were rapidly overhauling. We had passed the • St. George ' two days before. The ' Juno ' had given the other two ships a good start, and by thus overtaking both before Melbourne was reached had proved that she was anything but the ' lame duck of the squadron,' as certain London papers had termed her. Before midday we steamed between the Heads, and the broad gulf lay before us. Here four men-of-war of the Australian station, the ' Eoyal Arthur,' the * Eingarooma,' the ' Mildura,' and the ' Wallaroo,' came out to meet us. They passed us in single line ahead, each in her turn firing a royal salute from her guns, and then, following us, accompanied us to our anchorage off Momington. For the completion of the voyage to Melbourne and the official landing of the Duke and Duchess were not to be until the morrow. Ill loa WITH THE ROlfAL TOUR CHAPTER VIII miAouBNB'a MAomnoiKT wiLcom to thi nxticn amd PRIMCI88— ACBTRALIAN CROWDS— THE CITT's MN DATS* HOUDAT That Melbourne would give a magnificent welcome to their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, on May 6, we all knew well ; but the splendour of that reception far exceeded any- thing that our imagination had conjured up before we reached this beautiful city. It was a day of splendid pageants, stirring and impressive, and the extraordinary enthusiasm of the ovation given to the Duke and Duchess by the hundreds of thousands of Australians who packed the streets along the entire eight miles of route must ever stand out vivid in the memory of all who witnessed it. It was a perfect Australian autumn day. The sky was cloudless, and a cool breeze was blowing from the south across the sea. The aspect of the bay, as seen from St. Kilda Pier at the time of the landing of their Royal Highnesses, was itself strikingly imposing. The great white ' Ophir ' lay at anchor on the blue water, and round her was collected a goodly fleet of fighting ships, our own seven MELBOUBNE'S MAGNIFICENT WELCOME 108 men-of-war, and the foreign wurships which had come to honour the Heir to the British Throne —the AmerioMi cruiser 'Brooklyn/ the Bcissian 'Gromoboi,' the Gtermap. ' Hansa,' and others. A multitude of little yachts and boats were ever sailing round the warships, and a bank of morning mfit, which formed the background to the scene, veiling the distance, brought out the anchored ships in stronger relief, making the effect more impressive. Of the landing at the St. Kilda Pier while the cannon fired their salute, of the first ofiJcial welcom- ing of the Duke and Du^iheps of Cornwall and York as they set foot on Australian soil, of the procession through the decorated crowded streets, of the sights on the way, notably that prettiest sight of all, the thirty-five thousand school children who lined the slopes of the Domain, and sang ' God save the King' as their Boyal Highnesses drove by, I will not retell the story but will confine myself to some description of the aspect of the streets in the heart of Melbourne itself on this day, and to the view I obtained of the procession from the roof of Parlia- ment House. The police regulations were admirable. Barriers lined the route of the procession to keep the people from overflowing on to it ; but there were no vexa- tious restrictions, no unnecessary closing of roads and interference with traffic hours before the arrival of the procession ; and up to the very last moment 104 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB i thoM who hMd poUce pMMi ooald more quite freely. Prom a yery early hour on M*y 6 the itieeti were crowded with people viewing the decorations. The excoruon trains brought in tens of thousands of visitors from aU the neighbouring country. Prom all parts of Australasia people had been pouring into Melbourne for days, and it is estimated that upwards of a hundred thousand strangers were in the town. So far as the local and suburban traffic was concerned it was a < record • day, for the railway officials estimate that three hundred and seventy, five thousand passengers traveUed by the trains which entered the city stations at frequent intervals. A better behaved crowd it would be impossible to find in any country. The police, mounted and foot, had no difficulty in controlling the traffic. It is difficult to convey any adequate idea of the decorations of the Melbourne streets. Our attempts at the adornment of London on great occasions look sordid m comparison. It is true that, at the Diaii.cnd Jubilee, St. James's and a few other streets were weU decorated; but the general effect produced in Mel- bourne was wanting in London, while the many tri- umphal arches which spanned the Melbourne streets were such as we had never seen in England The whole scheme of the decorations was admirable, and the masses of colour produced an unfailingly bar- monious effect. It is true that the broad straight streets of Melbourne lend themselves well to public MELBOURNE : PROCESSION TO THE OPENING OF PARLIAMENT. M COLONIAL SOLDIEBS 106 decoration ; bat it was chiefly due to the keen loyalty, generosity, enterprise, and good taste of the citizens that their city had thus been made so beautiful to welcome the King's ron. To Englishi .ou one of the most interesting features of the lay was, of cr\irse, the gathering of so large a forc<; c£ colonia! soldiers representing every State of Australasia. It also included a con- tingent from New Zealand— a colony which, though refusing to join the Federation on account of its own remoteness from Australia, and its independent resourcefulness, rejoiced in the opportunity of wel- coming the Sovereign's son, and of doing honour to the new Commonwealth. The route of the procession was lined by nearly twelve thousand troops and cadets. To one who had not seen them before, the appearance of these splendid troops came in the shape of a pleasant surprise. One was lost in admiration of their soldierly appearance and wonder- ful physique. Few Englishmen realise what a fine and effective little army is now possessed by the Australian Commonwealth, and the day is not far off when it will be an army formidable in numbers as well as in material. An ' At Home ' was held at Parliament House that afternoon, and it was from this point that I viewed the procession. In the spacious chambers of this stately building, and in the beautiful grounds, a large number of guests were assembled, making a representative gathering; for 106 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR one met the leading men of all Australasia. Here, too, were the oflBcers of the foreign men-of-war in uniform. It did one good to watch the faces of some of them as the mounted Australian troops rode by in the procession. The Gcnnan officers understand what soldiers should be like, and they did not disguise their admiration. It was high up on the summit of the Parliament roof that I took up my position to see the procession pass, and the spectacle as viewed thence deserves a detailed description. It was both beautiful and imposing. Below me, running along the front of the Pariiament House, was Spring Street; and branching at right angles to this, just facing me, and leading directly away from me, no that I could look down the whole length of it, was Bourke Street, one of the principal commercial streets of the city, through which, after turningfrom Spring Street, the procession was to proceed. For quiie a mile before me there stretched away that broad, perfectly straight street profusely decorated from end to end with Venetian masts, festoons of flowers, hanging drapery, and innumerable flags and banners, while two magnificent triumphal arches spanned it. Up to the barriers lining each side of the line of route the space was full of people ; but the feature which made the aspect of this street so entirely different from anything I have seen in London was that at least two-thirds of the spectators were not in the streets at all, but in the stands ijli AUSTRALIAN CROWDS 107 which formed an unbroken line on each side of it. These stai ds in no way impeded the traffic, for they were bnilt above the pavements, the pedestrians walking imder them. They sloped up to the second or third stories, and they appeared to be packed as closely as the people could sit. As nearly all the spectators were dressed in mourning, no bright costumes relieving the sombre tints, these stands formed two sharply defined black belts dividing the brilliant colouring of the houses and decorations, and extending down the whole long street. It was not only Bourke Street which had this enormous stand accommodation. It would be no easy task to persuade our authorities in London to sanction the erection of stands on so huge and extensive a scale on a great holiday. The experiment has now been tried in Melbourne with complete success. The charge made for a seat in the stands was not high ; so that the great ^nlk of the spectators took their places in thti '' sat there patiently for hours, the majority hn ^ iaken the precaution to provide themselves with lunch baskets. The result of accommodating such great multitudes in the stands was that there was no dangerous congestion in the streets. Every stand had been examined and passed as safe by the authorities, and, so far as I have heard, not a single accident occurred in connec- tion with them. Most decidedly they do these things well in Australia. iti^m 108 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR \' ' From the height at which I stood I looked over the whole city, a grey flat expanse of house-tops and smoking chimneys, with here and there a dome, tower, or spire rising above them, extending towards the distant sea, where the warships could be seen lying. The smoke formed a thin haze which lent a softness to the distance. In this climate dense smoke fogs are unknown, but if we burnt Australian coal in London the place would probably become absolutely uninhabitable. Bourke Street looked like a great river of colour cleaving the grey waste of the myriad housetops, a river of light and movement ; for all the flags and festoons and draperies were fluttering in the breeze, and there was a perpetual flashing as of shaking gems amid the decorations. That one line of bright hfe athwart the grey made one of the strangest and most beautiful scenes imaginable. The spectacle, as seen from that high roof, was most impressive ; the magnitude of the landscape formed a noble frame to the pageant without withdrawing one's attention from it. Patiently the people waited in the Lot sunshine, listening to the excellent military bands stationed in the street and watching the troops as they marched by to take up their several positions on the line of route, the majority in the khaki uniform now so famihar to us, and one regiment— the Victorian Scottish — in kilts. At about a quarter past three the cathedral chimes THE ROYAL PBOCBSSION 109 u the distance pealed out, announcing the passing of the procession at that point. A little later we heard a distant murmur like the sound of the sea on the beach, ever increasing in volume as it neared — the cheering of great multitudes. Then the head of the procession itself came in sight in Spring Street, and for a short period a complete silence fell on the expectant crowds beneath me. First rode by a body of police mounted on grey horses : and then, squadron after squadron, the splendid Mounted Infantry and Mounted Eifles of Victoria, New South W'j>les, Queensland, South AustraUa, Western Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, forming the advance part of the escort, passed by — all well-knit men, mounted on most businesslike-looking horses, which they sat like men who have ridden from babyhood They were clad in serviceable uniforms, some of the regiments in khaki and some in brown cloth, and all were wearing the felt hat turned at the side and adorned with emu or cock's tail Teathers, or other distinguishing badge. It was not until the three carnages containing the members of his Boyal Highness's suite had driven by, and the carriage in which sat the Duke and Duchess came in sight, that the people cheered. The cheer seemed to accompany and to follow the royal carriage all down the street, but not to precede it. It was taken by each successive group as it caught its first glimpse of the King's son and his 110 WITH THE BOYAL TOUR consort. That glimpse, indeed, was like a match to a train of gunpowder, for it exploded a tremendous out' orst -f enthusiasm. It was a wonderful roar of smcere welcome that rolled down the long streets. The p.-ocession turned from Spring Street into Bourke Street, and I watched it fill the whole length of that great thoroughfare, and then graduaUy disappear in the distance in the dust raised by the thousands of hoofs. Every man's hat was off as the Duke and Duchess passed, while the thousands of representa- tives of the fair sex who occupied the stands rose to theur feet and waved their handkerchiefs with energy, so that the black double belt of spectators of which I have spoken became mottled with innumerable fluttering patches of white. It was a magnificent welcome indeed, and one which evidently came straight from the hearts of our generous Australian kinsfolk. After the royal carriage came more troops- the New South Wales and Victorian Artillery with theur guns, the New South Wales Lancers in the fawn tunics with red breasts and pipings now familiar to Englishmen, the Australian Horse in their myrtle- green tunics, and more Mounted Infantry and Mounted Eifles from the various Australasian Eegi- ments. There were fifteen hundred of these men altogether in the procession, and they were well worth looking at. In the evening the city was illuminated, not m the straggling fashion we see iu London, but on THE ILLUMINAx^IONS 111 a splendid scale. The glare from the myriads of electric lights in Melbourne that night must have been visible at an immense distance. As one of the newspapers suggested, such a huge flood of light may well have attracted the attention of the Martians, and somewhat alarmed them. Every triumphal arch blazed with coloured . ght. The public buildings had every detail outlined with electricity, and many a dome and minaret was a solid mass of dazzling white, or ruby, or amber light. As I looked round from a high housetop I could recognise every im- portant edifice in Melbourne by its fiery tracings- It looked like a city of enchanted palaces built of light and fire. The crowds in the streets were much denser than they had been by day, as the people were now con- centrated within a narrow area, and the stands were empty. Vehicular traffic had not been stopped, and at certain points it became almost impossible to move along either on foot or in a carriage, but it was still the same good-natured, admirably behaved crowd. There was no ' rowdyism,' though there was plenty of honest merriment ; there were no rushes of young roughs, for the 'larrikins,' who formerly terrorised Melbourne, no longer exist, or, rather, they have been compelled to amend their ways. The most stringent measures were taken to suppress them. Very severe flogging— not mere birching— had the most salutarj' effect. There is little of that fblse ■HiliifiB 119 WITH THE B07AL TOUB humanitarianism in Australia which shadden over the whipping of a murderous brute. Perhaps some day we shall have the sense to deal with our 'Hooligans' as the Australians deal with their 'larrikins.' Thus it happened that in Melbourne the respectable majority of the people was able to vie\. the illuminations without risk of molestation from the small minority of the ill-conditioned. I noticed, too, that there was practically no drunken- ness on this occasion, and that Jjy midnight the streets were almost clear. And now we began to experience that Australian kindness and hospitality of which we had so often heard from those who had visited this generous land. Australians are ever anxious to give English- men a hearty welcome. These people are not cynical, but warm-hearted, and all these fervid expressions of loyalty to the Crown and pride in the Empire were perfectly sincere. Englishmen at home would do well to read the ' Argus ' and others of the Melbourne newspapers of this time. To do so would help much towards the cementing of our friendship, and towards our un'^arstanding and appreciation of the national aspirations of the Australians, which are compatible with the most fervent loyalty. One of the things of which Australia is proudest (and this sentiment is being repeatedly expressed in the press and in conversa- tion) i# that she will always, when the rights of THE CITY'S TEN DAYS' HOLIDAY lis Great Britain are questioned, when the Empire is in danger, send her gallant sons, well trained to arms and riding, in their thousands to fight by the side of their kinsfolk of the British Isles. Throughout the ten days of their Royal Highnesses' stay in Melbourne function followed function, pageant succeeded pageant. These I will not describe anew, interesting though they were. But with the opening of the Federal Parliament by the Duke, which was the central object of this royal progress, and the great review at Flemington— both historical events of great importance— it is right that I should deal at some length. 114 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR CHAPTER IX opKNnro or the fkdbral parluxknt — australu's abmy and NAVY — THE COMMONWEALTH DEFENCE BILL — REVIEW OF AVBTRAUAN troops at rLEHINOTON — THE CADETS The crowning ceremony was over ; the Heir to the Throne had opened the Federal Parliament of Australia ; a continent of rival and bickering colonies had been made a united nation that will have full power to work out its mighty destinies. Surely this is the most momentous historical incident iice Prussia's King became the Emperor of a Uiiiled Germany. This Federation, which has now become an accomplished fact, gives a dignity to Australia, making it one of the Powers of the earth that will have to be taken into account in the Councils of the Nations ; and it is not merely a union of States that has been effected, but also a closer union between these States and the Mother Country. Very significant were the proud articles that appeared in the Australian papers, breathing patriotic devotion to the Crown and Empire. A leader in a recent number of the ' Melbourne Argus,' which hails the Federation of the States OPENING OF THE PEDEBAL PARLIAMENT 115 M a long step towards the greater Imperial Federation which will consolidate the Empire's power, and looks forward to the day when that larger union will be accomplished and the British peoples will possess one Parliament and one customs law, as well as one Sovereign, one flag, and one literature, well represents the feeling now pre- vailing in Australia. ' It may be," said the article, ' the happy fortune of the Duke of Cornwall and York, who opens the first Parliament of Australia, to open other Parliaments in which all parts of the Empire will be directly represented. We sincerely hope that this honour will fall to his Eoyal Highness. No Emperor of the Old World, no Caesar, no Alexander, could even imagine so wide a sovereign sway; no Czar, no American President, can hope for a realm so wide extended as that which a Federated Great Britain will fuse into a whole. And the union of Australia brings Imperial Federation close to the line of practical politics. It is the next step.' The petty jealousies of the Australian Colonies— jealousies that took active shape in the framing of hostile inter-colonial customs tariffs— the bitter feelings engendered by this suicidal legislation, the short-sighted narrow politi- cal outlook of the local Parliaments, will now be things of the past ; for Australians are taking a broader and more imperial view of their duties and responsibihties. I 2 116 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR The opening of the flrat Anitrftlian Pftrliunent, on May 9, wm certainly » a.oit impocing function, and chiefly bo became it was obyiooa that the vait mnltitudes who had collected to fill the great Exhibition Building or to line the streets along which the royal procession was to pass appreciated folly the import of the occasion. To the ends of their lives the people present will talk with pride of their presence here on that day. Men, as they waited, talked to each other seriously, speculating in awe as to what might be the far-reaching results of this act of Federation, realising the great responsibility that has now been entrusted, for good or evil, to the Australian democracy. The crowds assembled on the line of route were as dense as on the day of their Boyal Highnesses' entry into Melbourne, and as loud and sincere as ever was the enthusiastic cheering that ran up the long streets to welcome the Prince and Princess who, since they had been here, had so completely won the affections of this warm-hearted people. Within the Exhibition Building itself twelve thousand people were accom- modated, people who had come from every portion of Australia that they might witness the great inauguration. They represented the intellectual aristocracy of Australia, for this assembly included nearly all those who had distinguished themselves in the different States, whether as statesmen or men of business, or in the various professions— the OPBNINa OP THE PBDBBAL PAELIAMENT 117 Church, the law, literature, art. It was a most representative gathering of Australians ; and as one looked round and saw the number of remarkably fine heads, the serious impressive faces indicative of energy and capacity, when one observed the wonderful physique of men and women, and the healthy beauty of the majority of the latter, it was brought forcibly home to one that in such a favoured land, with such a people, there may be a mightier future in store for AustraUa than any of us can even guess at now, and that the motto 'Advance, Australia ' that faced one over many a triumphal arch or decora- tion in Melbourne's streets was no idle aspiration. The interior of the Exhibition Building, in which the ceremony took place, is remarkably graceful. The colouring of the walls, roof, and dome is har- monious and eflfective. The dehcate blue of the roofs of the transepts, the golden yellow which is the prevailing colour in the decoration of the roof, the light chocolate which predominates in the colouring of the walls, and the scheme of decora- tions, produced a bright and pleasing appearance. The whole floor of the building, the transepts, and the galleries were packed with the waiting thousands who had been favoured with tickets of admission— a crowd in which the black and white and purple hues of the universal mourning were brightened here and there with the blue, scarlet, and gold of British and foreign uniforms, military, naval, and official. The 118 WITH THE BOYAL TOUR raised platform from which the Heir to the Throne was to deliver the King's message was in the middle of the building, midemeath the golden glory of the great dome, where the three main transepts of the Exhibition meet, one facing the royal platform, and the other two branching to the right and left. Immediately facing the platform war a space reserved for the members of the two Chambers of the first Federal Parliament. The Senators took their seats early. It was not until after the royal party had arrived that the members of the House of Bepresen- tatives, led by the Prime Minister, Mr. Barton, entered the building. Shortly after noon we heard the strains of the National Anthem sounding afar off and the ever- increasing murmur of the cheering in the distant streets. Then the heralding trumpets near the platform announced that their Boyal Highnesses were entering the building. As they walked up to the platform the National Anthem was played by the admirable orchestra, and sung by a large chorus of able professional singers from the opera. Then followed the singing of the ' Old Hundredth ' and the reading of the prayers by Lord Hopetoun. The Nonconformists, who in Australia work in harmony with the Established Church, were willing, nay anxious, that the AngUcan Archbishop should read the opening prayers on this great occasion; but the well-organised Boman Catholic minority . OPENING OP THE FEDERAL PARLIAMENT 119 raised an angiy protest. The performance of the duty by the Governor-General, however, settled this delicate question in a dignified manner. There was the profoundest silence throughout the great building while his Boyal Highness, in his usual distinct voice and impressive tones, read the King's message, which the Melbourne press has rightly hailed as gracious, kindly, and dignified. Every Australian who did not hear those words has now read them, and they have gone to the hearts of this people. As his Boyal Highness brought his dehvery of the King's message to its conclusion with the words: 'I now, in his name, and on his behalf, declare this FarUament open,* the Duchess, by touching an electnc button, gave the sig al for the hoisting of the Union Jack on all the schools in the colony. This was the signal also for the despatch of the Duke's telegram to the King aimooncing that he had delivered his message, and in his name opened the first Parliament of the Conunonwealth of Australia. The Duke, having spokea the words that gave Australia her Federal Farliament, stepped back, taking off his hat, the trumpets in the building blared, and, without, the guns of the Field Artillery fired a royal salute. Then the Duke, stepping for- ward again, announced that he had received a telegram from the King. He read it in a loud voice, which carried its meaning to the ends of the hall: 'My 120 WITH THE BOYAL TOUB thoughts are with you on the day of the important ceremony. Most fervently do I wish Australia prosperity and great happiness.' And now the assembled people, who had so far maintained so complete a silence, moved by the King's gracious words, raised a spontaneous cheer, which was repeated over and over again through all the aisles, galleries, and transepts, starting afresh in dififerent parts of the building, a cheering that was so sincere in its ring and signified such strong feeling that it thrilled one to listen to it. I need not describe again the remainder of the ceremony, the swearing- in of the members by Lord Hopetoun, and the playing of the ' Hallelujah Chorus.' Then through a lane of cheering multitudes their Royal Highnesses drove back to Government House. The great cere- mony was over. The Federation of the continent had become an accomplished fact. Of all the questions before the Federal Parlia- ment the most important — and certainly the most interesting to Englishmen— is that of Federal Defence. Australia will now have its united army and its united navy. Sir John Forrest, the first Minister of State for Defence in the new Federal Parliament, has within the last few months intro- duced to the House of Representatives his admirable Commonwealth Defence Bill, which, as a London paper has observed with justice, is an object-lesson to the Empire. By this measure, which is warmly COMMONWEALTH DEFENCE BILL 131 ^ welcomed by the people, democratic Australia im- poses upon herself what practically amounts to modi- fied conscription. With a few necessary exemptions all male British subjects between the ages of eighteen and sixty years will be liable to serve in the Defence Forces when called upon to do so by virtue of this Act. Those liable to serve will be divided into four classes — the unmarried men of between eighteen and thirty years of age forming the first class ; unmarried men of between thirty and forty- five years of age the second class ; married men, or widowers with children, of between eighteen and ^orty-five years of age the third class ; and men of between forty-five and sixty the fourth class ; and, when it is deemed necessary, they will be called out in this order. The Defence Forces are to be kept up by voluntary enUstment in ordinary times, but, in case of emergency, all men liable can be called upon to serve by proclamation of the Governor-General. The active forces will be composed of :— (a) Permanent forces consisting of officers and men bound to a con- tinuous naval or mihtary service for a term; (b) Militia Forces ; (c) Volunteer Forces, Naval and Military. There will also be Eeserve Forces, consist- ing of :— (a) Officers and men who have served in the active forces ; (6) Members of Eifle Clubs consti- tuted in the manner prescribed. The Permanent Forces will be liable to serve beyond the seas in time of emergency. The Bill provides for both naval 193 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR and military defence ; but it is with the latter that we are principally concerned. The formation of powerful colonial navies, each to act only in its own waters, is not a scheme that commends itself to those who have thought the matter out, either at home or in the colonies. Small local fleets are of course neces- sary for certain purposes ; but for many years to come, at any rate, the naval defence of the Empire should surely be left in the hands of the mother country. This is too large a subject to be dealt with here ; suf- fice to say that the AustraUans I have met with, who support this view, are anxious that a scheme should be devised by which the colonies would contribute their full share towards the expenses of the naval defence of the Empire. They hold that the average contri- bution per head of the population should be the same in AustraUa as in Great Britain. But to put these questions aside, the most in- teresting functions in which the Duke of Cornwall and York took part on this tour were those connected with the colonial troops. There was one most graceful and agreeable duty which his Boyal High- ness had to perform in nearly every British posses- sion visited — the presentation of war medals to colonial soldiers who had returned from South Africa. Thus five hundred Victorian soldiers received their medals from the Duke's hands in Melbourne on May 8, to the great satisfaction of the troops them- selves, as well as to Englishmen present, emphasising. PRESENTATION OF WAR MEDALS 133 as the ceremony did, Great Britain's gratitude to the Australians who had fought so stoutly for the old flag. The last man having stepped up to receive his medals the Duke, followed by the royal party, walked to where three men were seated on a form. One had lost his leg at Eland's Biver, while the others had received serious injuries. The Duke gave the medals to the wounded men, and both he and the Duchess conversed with them for some time in a sympathetic way that evidently went to their hearts. It was pleasant to observe how their faces brightened with pride and happiness. It was an impressive ceremony, for it meant so much. Nothing is more calculated to cement the ties between our- selves and our colonies than the fighting side by side of Britons who have come together from all regions of th3 earth; to be followed by the re- ceiving, all the world round, the honours they have so well earned, from the hands of the son of their common Sovereign. But the military ceremony that appealed most to the British visitors, which was the most instructive to us and the most suggestive of the possibilities of Australia from the defensive point of view, was the review of the troops on May 10. Up to the present time each State ha^ had its own little volunteer force. Now Australia will have its one consolidated Army, and of what sort of material it will be com- posed we were on this occasion afforded an excellent 134 WITH THE ROTAL TOUR opportunity of judging. Flemington, which is four miles from Melbourne, is an ideal race-course, and it is equally well adapted for a great review. 'Baw, squally, and wet' was the forecast of the Government meteorologist, and it proved correct. During the day a cold and gusty wind blew over the sea from the Antarctic, and heavy showers swept across the broad expanse of the Flemington flats. But this was the first occasion on which the troops of the different States had been brought together in a review on so large a scale. The people wished to see their Army, and were too keen to trouble about wild weather. The lawn was crowded with men in orthodox frock coats and silk hats, and ladies in smart dresses, braving the elements, and, of course, utterly spoiling their raiment. The accommodation in the stands at Flemington is very large, but though closely packed they held but a small proportion of the spectators, of whom it was estimated nearly a hundred thousand were present. As one looked round, one was able to form some idea of what the scene must be like at Flemington on a fine Melbourne Cup day. This great lawn in the days before the national mourning, with the multitude of ladies in their bright summer frocks and hats, must have presented a wonderful appear- ance. I have seen no race-course that can compare with this one. Just behind the stands is a steep BP4VIEW OP AUSTBALIAN TBOOPS 136 ridge which, from a distance, looked this day hke an upward continuation of the stands themselves, its alopes being covered with people patiently waiting in the rain. Looking from the grand stand across the coarse, one saw the masts and yards of far-o£f shipping in the harbour and the dim waters of the great bay beyond. On the right and left were low ranges of hills, which accommodated tens of thou- sands of spectators, who thence were enabled to com- mand a good bird's-eye view of the review. It was a gigantic natural amphitheatre, round three sides of which, tier above tier on the hillsides, the myriads of spectators overlooked the great flat on which the trooj)s were manoeuvred. The royal reserve, with the royal pavilion draped scarlet and purple, was on the lawn at the edge of the course. When I reached Flemington, shortly after midday, I found the troops, numbering about fifteen thousand, already massed in review order, the infantry facing the course in line of quarter columns, the mounted troops behind them in quarter column of divisions, and behind these again, forming a third line, the Field Company Engineers, the New South Wales Army Service Corps, the Victoria Array Service Corps, the New South Wales Army Medical Corps, and the Victorian Ambulance Corps. The splendid little force now massed before us consisted of representative detachments of the per- manent troops and volunteers of all the Australian 116 WITH THE BOTAL TOTJB Stotes, regiments till now in the service of sepurate gOTemments, bnt for the fntnre to be united m the territorial regiments of the great Federation. Many of the spectators present, notably some of the foreign officers, appeared to realise for the first time that Australia was already in possession of an Army that no Power could afford to despise. At the present momeut there are in Australia over sixty thousand well-trained men in the prime of life, who are either serving in the different regiments or, having served in them, may be regarded as forming the Reserve. These sixty thousand men could be put into the field for defensive purposes within a few weeks ; but they are far from representing the whole fighting strength of Australia, as I shall show. One of the most important and suggestive features of this day's review was the presence of nearly five thousand boys of the various Victorian cadet corps. Australians appreciate, perhaps better than the people of the United Kingdom, the necessity of preparing for war in time of peace, so that they may be able to defend themselves against sudden attack. They are ^ dy to devote a fair proportion of their time to ni cary training, and, having the true soldierly spin^, they are apt and quick in attaining efficiency. Every State school of any size in Australia has its cadet corps. The boys do not play at soldiering, but take keenly to it. It is no perfunctory training they are put through. They have to go into camp with the THE CADETS 1S7 tro< ys each year, to do their piquet and other dotiee like the men, and they are inatmoted in the use of the rifle in a most thorough manner. Sir Frederick Sanford was the father of the cadet movement, and Australia owes much to him. The local govern- ments supply the uniforms and rifles to the cadets. The cadet movement is ever growing, and a very large percentage of the Australian youth will have had a sound military training which they can never forget before they begin the business of hfe. This early discipline may partly account for the undoubted good manners of the people. I understand that quite two-thirds of the Australians who so distin- guished themselves in the South African war, had, as boys, passed through these cadet corps, and had therein acquired their taste for soldiering — a suffi- cient proof of the great utility of the movement. I have explained that Australia could at once put in the field sixty thousand men who have served in the State regiments, but the men who have gone through their cadet training without afterwards joining these regiments vastly exceed that number. In New South Wales alone there are at the present moment ninety thousand men of the right age for active service who, as boys, made themselves eflficient in the cadet corps. A few months' further training^would convert these men into as useful troops as could be found in any country. In addition to the troops from the various States and the boys of the cadet corps there were 198 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR puftded on the eonne about a thooMod officers, bine-jackets, 'M\i Qumnei from onr wanhipein the harbonr, and over fiye hundred men of the Anatralian Navy. In sharp contrast to the darker uniforms of the masse. Irc.^ ^ was one short line of white, the Fijian N«i -•: Constabulary, these Pacific Islanders looking ^ their bar who took Id i>*>.n u their white cotton dress and with They were not the only natives ^he r'view, for among the New Zealand w> ite . Vt^Oj-^ ^ ,. i, contingent of Maoris, d soldierly bearing attracted id drew much applause during whose firti :)>;yHi.'. the attentici of t .. the march ^last. At two o'clock the royal party, preceded by a mounted escort, drove up, and the massed artillery bands played the National Anthem. The Duchess was accompanied by the Duchess of Hopetoun and attended by the members of her suite. The Duke rode to the course, attended by Prince Alexander of Teck, Major-General French, and members of his Boyal Highness's staff. He wore the uniform of a colonel of the 7th Eoyal Fusiliers. As his Royal Highness entered the review ground the field artillery guns fired a royal salute. The Duke rode down the front of the cadets, who were drawn up in the straight of the race-course facing the grand stand, and then down the three lines of the massed troops, receiving the royal salute &om each regiment as he passed it. Having completed the inspection he I z o ►- o z > c THE CADETS 199 and his staff cantered to the saluting base, where, facing the Eoyal Pavilion, the Royal Standard was flying. The massed artillery bands struck up lively airs and the march past commenced. The first to pass the saluting base were the cadets, who, to the stirring strains of the ' British C idiers.' marched by wiih a fine swing and preserved an excellent aUgnment. They presented the appearance of very tough young soldiers, and they exhibited no signs of fatigue after a trying day, in the course of which they had been standing for hours with soaked clothes in the heavy rain. They looked very businesslike in their khaki uniforms and felt hats. During the march past I was in a pavilion re- served chiefly for British and foreign naval officers. The German and American officers were much struck by the physique ar.d soldierly qualities of the Australian troops, but they spoke with unreserved admiration when they saw these cadets. After the cadets the mounted troops of the different States rode by, each regiment being loudly cheered; but none were more heartily greeted than the ever-popular blue-jackets and marines of his Majesty's Navy who followed the troopers. Then came the smart Colomal Artillery, and next the Infantry regiments and the other details. After this the mounted troops marched past at the trot ; and, lastly, all the troops takmg up their original formation, came to the s 180 WITH THE BOYAL TOUR present as the Duke rode off the ground. It was all admirably done, and set us all thinking and talking of that possible greater Federation of the Armies and Navies of Great Britain and her Colonies for the defence of the Empire. 181 CHAPTER X AUSIBALU'S DKMOCEACT— ITS IMPEEIAU8M— BY TRAIN TO BBISBANK-QOKBNSLAND'S WELCOMK-AnSIBALUN SCHOOL- CBILOBBN— AFTER SIX YEARS OF DB OUGHT. Melboubne'8 ten days' holiday had been brought to Its close. The memorable and splendid pageants were over; in all the principal streets men were occupied m taking down the decorations, the.Vene- tian masts, the festoons of flowers, the bunting and the brilliant draperies. The streets were strewn with remains of triumphal arches, leaves and faded blossoms and torn ribbons, recalling in some way the morning following a wild masked ball, when the floors are Httered with broken gauds and fragments of finery. ' ue myriads of electric Ughts no longer converted the sober public buildings into fa^y palaces, the last firework had spluttered into dark- ness, the tens of thousands of visitors from th- various Austrahan States had returned to their homes, and the camps of the soldiers had dis- appeared. The curtain, in short, had been rung down on the great historical drama, the audience had dispersed, and the lights had been extinguished. K 2 132 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR I ! ! I The citizens of Melbourne had played with energy, and with a like energy they now returned to their usual avocations, a little weary at first, perhaps, after so long a rejoicing, but happy and contented, because they felt that they had good reason to be proud of having so well accomplished the labour of love they set themselves, and of the noble recep- tion which Melbovirne had given to the King's son, who had come to put the copestone to the Con- stitution that makes of Australia a united continent of free men. All the more loyal are they because they are so free. I am being frequently asked what my impres- sions of Australia are. As a matter of fact, Australia comes as a revelation to the Englishman who visits it for the first time. There are so many things here that open one's eyes and give one cause to think, so many problems that appear incapable of solution at home that have yet apparently been satisfactorily solved in Australia. But one of the strongest of one's first impressions, and it is strengthened as one wanders from State to State, is that the Australians as a body are more loyal to Great Britain than are the people of Great Britain themselves. Their patriotism is more fervent, and the Imperial sentiment is truer. All classes— with the excep- tion of the least intelligent in the great cities, whose politics resemble those of Batlersea Park look beyond provincial interests to the larger AUSTBALIA'S IMPERIALISM 133 interests of the Empire, and are more jealous of Great Britain's rights in directions which do not immediately concern them — in India, in Africa, in China— than are ordinary Englishmen. The cyni- cal indifference to the affairs of the Empire so often affected by the people of Great Britain of all classes is rarely found in this younger-minded, more enthusiastic, and generous people. It is refreshing, indeed, to travel among them. They are less provincial than ourselves, more breezy, and they affect no foolish cynicism. They live in a wider land and in a clearer atmosphere, and their minds reflect these conditions. It must be remem- bered, too, that this loyalty burns steadily. It is no mere flash of passing sentiment stirred by this great occasion. Great Britain's so-called statesmen long neglected or snubbed these people who loved our country so well. Eichly we deserved in those days to forfeit all the warm attachment of these colonies as we did forfeit their respect. But, as the Australians so frequently tell one, a brighter day has dawned for the British race. The British democracy has come to realise the selfish narrow- ness of the doctrines of its old political teachers; and this South African War, which Australians frankly hail as the happiest thing that could possibly have happened for the Empire, has brought us all together, so that the dwellers in Great Britain now fully reciprocate the affection which Australians 134 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR hi li i i: undoubtedly entertain for us. An Englishman cannot but fall in love with Australia. He finds himself quite at home here, but in a brighter and more joyous home than his own. On Saturday, May 18, at about midday, their Royal Highnesses left Melbourne by special train for Brisbane. It was a journey of thirteen hundred miles across the States of Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland, which carried one from the cool south through 10 degrees of latitude to close to Capri- corn and a region of tropical vegetation. As each State has its own gauge for its railways, that of Victoria being 5ft. 3in., that of New South Wales 4ft. S^in. — which is the standard gauge of the world — and that of Queensland 3ft. 6in., the Duke and Duchess had to change trains twice in the course of this journey— at the Victoria and New South Wales border, 'and at the New South Wales and Queensland border. Had this been an ordinary train, there would have been an examination of baggage by the Custom House authorities at the borders ; but for those who were permitted to travel on this privileged train these formalities were dispensed with. It is now under consideration to introduce the standard gauge on the Victorian and South Australian lines, a con- version which will cost about two millions sterling, so that the rolling stock of the two States and of New South Wales can be carried on the railways of the three. Federation, will, no doubt, tend to bring BY TRAIN TO BRISBANE 135 aboat the use of this standard gauge on all the Australian railway systems. It was a delicious morning, with bright sunshine and a cool bracing breeze, when the special train started. As we steamed out of the station some hundreds of paraded school-children sang the National Anthem with zest, in their fresh trebles, and thousands of the people lined the railway to cheer the Duke and Duchess. Throughout all those thirteen hundred miles of journey, whenever we passed a town or little settle- ment or mining camp, or even some lonely home- stead standing in a little clearing in the virgin bush, the people had collected in their thousands or their hundreds, or in their little groups, as the case might be, to shout their welcome to the son of their Sovereign and his Consort. Here it was a crowd of sturdy miners, here a dozen stockmen, sometimes a comely Jiatron and her baby coming out of a log hut, and sometimes it was the population of a whole thriving township. Along the whole Jine the people had gathered, many having come from considerable distances on horseback or in traps, merely to catch a glimpse of their Boyal Highnesses as they passed them on the rapid train. We were thus enabled to acquire a fair idea of the general appearance of the various populations through which we passed on this long journey across some of the richest territories of the Australian States. Strong 136 WITH THE ROYAL TOUB i !^ and comely and wholesome to look at were these men and women and children, and all were well dressed. It was obviously a land of comfort, where no man who can and will work need be poor. Yes, the first strong impression one receives in Australia is that given by the aspect of its people. In some colonies our type degenerates. In nearly all it undergoes a gradual change, modified by new climatic conditions, and this change, even in tem- perate climates— in the Eastern States of America, for example— is often not for the good. But when one looked at these Australian people, and attempted to discover in what direction the old type was changing here, one found oneself at a loss. The majority of them looked more English than the English do themselves in some parts of England. One began to wonder whether up till now there had not been rather a reversion than a change of type in our brethren in Australia, whether, in happier con- ditions, wiih purer air and better food, these people have not become what their ancestors were before them in the Merry England of old, when the struggle for existence was not so severe, when the men and women did not crowd from the country inio the cities and factory tovras to degenerate. The farmers I have met here, the ' selectors ' in their bush clear- ings, are like what our ovn sturdy yeomen must have been of old. Even in the Australian cities it is rare to see a ragged person. Such a person, a BT TBAIN TO BBISBANE 137 rale, is ragged because he is worthless ; so far I had not come across a single beggar. Here men not only earn good wages, but respect themselves. The artisans enjoy the comforts of the British lower middle classes. In the city suburbs they dwell in comfortable little houses— villas the English house agent would call them— not herded together, but with one home, and often with one little garden, to each industrious happy family. There is room for millions more of the British in the unoccupied lands of Australia. Artisans are wanted ; intelligent men, too, with some small capital are wanted; but the ' waster ' is not required ; neither is the clerk in this country where all are educated. Of exceeding interest indeed is this land of which we caught but a glimpse during this rapid tour. One would fain come back to it for a prolonged stay, so that one could study at leisure its problems and possibilities, of which a flying visit only teaches one enough to whet one's appetite for further knowledge. After passing the English-looking suburbs, we got out into the open country, for the most part just as it was before the white man touched these shores— a rolling wilderness of grass and bush and close- growing gum trees, the trees, as a rule, leaning to the south-west, and indicating the direction of the prevailing winds. Here and there portions of the bush were enclosed, homesteads stood among the clearings, and little villages had grown around the 188 WITH THE ROYAL TOUB I rare railway stations. At six in the evening we reached the border, changed trains, and thronghont the night were whirled past the bnshlands, the wine- prodncing districts, and the agricaltnral regions of New South Wales. At dawn on the 19th we were in a hilly wooded country, the tree tops gleaming like gold as the first rays of the rising sun fell on them, and shortly afterwards we skirted the banks of the beautiful Hawksbury Biver, with its lakelike expanses of blue water enclosed by wooded heights. Then we traversed the great coalfields of which Newcastle is the centre. We skirted the suburbs of that seaj^ort, and saw its shipping in the distance. We passed many of the mining camps and villages which have grown around the mines. It was Sunday, so all the population was free to crowd each station platform and line the railway to welcome the Duke. The green country, with the unflecked blue sky above, bore little likeness to our English colliery districts, and still less did this mining population resemble ours. Men, women, and children were all well clad — not foolishly so ; there were no tall hats on the men's heads nor feathers on the women's; the children were all clean and prettily dressed, the girls generally in spotless white, many of them going barefooted, not on account of poverty, but because their mothers were sensible. It was another revelation of Australian life, and I noticed that on BY TBAIN TO BBISBANE 189 otir return joamey, whoi it was a week-day, and the tall chimneys were pouring out their black smoke and the men were at work, the women and children who collected to greet again the passing train were as nicely dressed as they had been on the Sunday. So we travelled on throughout the day, at about the ntte of sixty miles an hour, under the blue sky, sometimes for hours through dense bush, with only at long intervals a small clearing with its homestead, and sometimes through rich agricultural districts, such as the Hunter's River Valley, where great clMured plains and valley bottoms were covered with maize and other crops. We passed green vales with pleasant villages scattered over them, and backed by wooded hills, which reminded one of the fairest portions of onr English countryside. Then we crossed great stretches of rich short grass, afford- ing pasture to multitudes of sheep; and towards evening we reached the highland country, and, winding up the timber-clad hillsides, reached a point about four thousand feet above the sea, which com- manded a vast but melancholy-looking landscape, leagues after leagues of hills and deep ravines clothed with forest extending to the purple horizon. Shortly before midnight we crossed the Queens- land border and again changed trains. On the following dawn, after the silvery haze had lifted, we looked out on a tropical land, the cactus grew among the bush, the palms raised their graceful 140 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB '1 !i ,1 I! feftthery he«dB above the lesser vegetation, and flocks of red-breasted parrots hovered over the woods. As the son rose we felt that the climate was likewise tropical, the temperature being considerably higher than that which we had experienced at Melbourne ; but it was a green and rich land, with large flocks of sheep on the pastures and excellent crops in the broad clearings. At eight o'clock the train entered Brisbane Station. The long journey had come to an end, and we were now to be spectators of the welcome that the fair capital of Queensland was to give to her future King. In no part of the world could a long railway journey have been made under more comfortable conditions than was this one. The well-appointed state carriage in which their Royal Highnesses travelled over the New South Wales line was built for the use of the Governor- General by the Railway Department of the New South Wales Government in its own workshops. The arrangements made for the journey by the Government railways of the three States were all admirable. There was no hitch and no delay. Careful rules had been laid down for the officials all along the diflferent lines. Every precaution was taken to protect the train against the possible, if improbable, attempts of miscreants of the Anarchist type. Several of the best detectives in Australia accompanied the train. The whole thirteen hundred miles of the railway were constantly being ARBIVAL AT BRISBANE 141 pfttrolled by two thousand five hundred men, whosn beats were at regular intervals, and who were always in touch one with another. The large stations were well guarded ; but, so tar as the small stations were concerned, as a detective told me, Che people who collected to sec the Duke and Duchess could be relied on for adequate detective service. They all knew each other, and were certain to keep a sharp watch on any stranger who might come among them. According to th«^ original programme, the • Ophir ' and the mrn-of-warof the royal escort were to have come into this harbour, and their Boyal Highnesses on disen'barki ig from th ' Uphir ' were to have landed at Keniiei1> v'<'had and thence made their progress through the cify As bubonic plague had appeared in Brisbane there was a risk that the ships would be put into quarantine at Sydney should they call at this infected port, and as refusal of pratique would involve a delay that would put the programme of the entire tour out of joint, and cause great inconvenience and disappointment throughout our colonies in three continents, it was decided that the ships should not visit Brisbane, and that the Duke and Duchess should proceed thither by train. But Brisbane had made its arrangements carefully, and at considerable cost, to receive their Boyal Highnesses at the wharf, which had been specially prepared for the ceremony of the recep- 142 WITH THE BOYAL TOUR tion, and, together with the streets along the line of ronte for the proposed procession, had been beantifolly decorated. It was, therefore, arranged that the original programme should be adhered to as far as the reception and procession were con- cerned—that is, that their Boyal Highnesses should drive quietly from the train to Government House, and that in the afternoon they should travel by water from Government House to the wharf, there receive the addresses of the Municipality, and then drive along the route the loyal citizens had prepared for them, escorted by a goodly number of Australia's magnificent mounted troops. Kennedy Wharf is on the banks of the beautiful Brisbane Biver, Government House being also on its shores, but at a considerable distance from the wharf and not visible from it. At the shore end of the stage was drawn up a guard of honour, composed of men of the Ist Queensland Infantry Begiment, whose uniform, like that of several other Australian corps, is the scarlet tunic of the British Army, the traditional colour appealing to this loyal people. It is difficult when one meets these men walking in the streets to know whether they are colonials or men of an English Line regiment. Still more strongly, perhaps, does the man of an Australian Scottish regiment resemble one of our own Highlanders. It is touching, and it is no slight indication of the ties which bind these colonies to the mother country, AUSTRALIAN SOHOOL-CHILDBEN 143 to find the uniforms in which British troops fought so many battles faithfully reproduced in the Australian regiments. Immediately behind the escort, facing the landing-stage and the broad river with its wooded further shore, was a grand stand which accommodated about three thousand people ; but the central section of it was reserved for a thousand little school-children, the girls in white frocks with scarfs of red and yellow, the colours of Cornwall, the boys in white sailor dress and blue sailor caps, and each child carried a small Union Jack studded with the six stars of the Common- wealth. Beyond the enclosures a great crowd had collected to await the arrival of the Duke and Duchess. Punctually at the appointed hour, the Government yacht ' Lucinda ' came alongside. The Duke and Duchess stepped on to the scarlet-carpeted stage, and the proceedings opened. It is unneces- sary to describe again the details of the reception. The lovely wooded shores of the broad stream formed a fitting background to what was a very fine picture, and prettiest of all were those tiers of white-clad bright children, who, as soon as the Duke had delivered his reply to the addresses, sang ' God save the King ' in the heartiest fashion in their young altos and trebles, following it with ' The British Flag of Freedom ' and other songs as they waved their thousand little Union Jacks. The assembled people were highly gratified to / Hi WITH THE ROYAL TOUR observe how delighted the Duke and Duchess were with this touching welcome from the coming genera- tion. The Australians' sympathies are quick, and it is partly by the keen appreciation of such incidents as these that their Boyal Highnesses have so com- pletely won the hearts of this people. At every dty we visited in Australia, even at little stations at which the royal train stopped for a few minutes, the people proudly ranged their school-children thus in a conspicuous place to sing their welcome to the Duke and Duchess. Sometimes we saw them only in their scores or hundreds ; but sometimes as many as seven or eight thousand were collected to sing in unison or to march in procession. And of all the wonderful things we saw in Australia perhaps these gatherings of school-children were to us visitors the most interesting and suggestive. They were the children of the State schools, the equivalent of our own Board schools. Australia, like Great Britain, insists on the free education of her people, but what a difference there is in the result ! In the big Australian cities one gazes with amazement at these wholesome-looking, well-nourished, well-dressed, ex- cellently behaved, joyous children of the free schools. Compulsory education is said to have considerably improved the manners of Australian children. The Australian working man is a self-respecting person. He has paid his share to the maintenance of the State schools, and feels that he is justly entitled AUBTBAUAN SCHOOL- CHILDBEN I4fi to profit by them. He considers it no disgrace to •end his child to a free school. The more one sees of the children of the State schools the more one discovers features to admire in this system, and not the least astonishing feature of it is that in these SiAooIs one finds the children of la-vyers and doctors learning by the side of the oflfspring of the pooiest and even the least respectable members of the com- munity. The poorest children, at any rate while in school, are decently dressed and well-behaved, and it is acknowledged by all that no contamination of the better class children results from this, to our eyes, strange fellowship in school hours. It is in these State schools, too, that the admirable Cadet Corps are raised of which I have spoken in previous letters. In these corps, which are as popular with the parents as with the boys, the bulk of the Australian boyhood acquires a very fair military training. It would be well if we could introduce the Cadet Corps system into our own Board schools ; but what an indignant howl of 'Militarism,' that bogy of the Little Englander, would be raised by some of the parents ! So far as I have seen them, the Board school-children in our big centres of population are unhappily very difterent from the children of the Australian free schools. Of course, some of the reasons for the difference are obvious enough, depending on the entirely different conditions of life in the two coun- tries ; but in Australia free education has produced 14ft WITH THE BOYAL TOUB sue satisfactory results that one would much like to fir time to make a thorough study of the methods piasued. The Duke's reception at Brisbane was of the heartiest description. Money was spent unstintingly to decorate and illuminate the city, despite the pre- Tailing financial depression caused by the six years' drought, which has converted thousands of miles of rich pasture into dusty wild«mess. Brisbane is an exceedingly bright and pretty city to look on, while pahns and other tropical foliage in gardens and open places give a very pleasant aspect to the streete. The streets, being narrower, were much more closely packed with spectat<»s than were those of Melbourne during the cwemonies in that city. But it was the same happy well-behaved crowd that I had seen in Melbourne, a little more boisterous perhaps, and more demonstrative in its welcome to the Dnke and Duchess. It was pleasant to mix veith the crowd and over- hear their remains. It would have gone hard with any man who had uttered a disloyal or disrespectful word in the streets of Brisbane that day. To attempt a verbal description of street decorations is a thank- less task ; Imt I saw two triumphal arci.;;S which were so ingeniouaiy constructed and so strikingly original that they aw well worthy of mention. The first, the ♦ Aboriginal Arch,' was covered with rough tea-tree bark, with ferns, palm-fronds, staghoms, kangaroo rfi 8TBEET DEC0BATI0N8 AT BBI8BANE 147 •nd emu akint, boomenngs, and other native weapoM. The arch was constmcted in a Mries of st^ like the successive ledges on tome rocky mountain bnttrew. On these ledges were perched natiTe dwellings and sixty wild-lookmg ab<»igine8 in fall war paint (their black bodies striped with white and red ochre, their heads dec(»rated with em« feathers) and bearing spears, together w^ some gins and piccaninnies; thus forming a human arch of a most fantastic description. The other arch was a very graceful structure, topped by a huge golden crown. It represented all the products and industries of Queensland, and each portion of the State had sent in its tribute of decoration. The staple produce —wool and cattle — was represented by the wool which covered the greater part of the framework, and by the heads and horns of oxen; the cereals by great sheaves of wheat and rows of com cobs. There were pineapples and sugar-cane, and lines of glittering pearl shells reminded one of Queensland's rich pearl fisheries. The gold and the precious stones of the country were also in- dicated. For five days the Duke and Duchess remained at Brisbane, aaxd, as at every other place visited in the course of this tour, the programme of ceremonies was a very full one. The Duke held a review of 4,000 of the State troops one afternoon ; and there was a presentation of medals to the Queensland 148 WITH THE BOYAL TOUB soldieni who had retoxned from the South African war. Among my first impressions of Brisbane, and I think this one is not at fault, is that there appears to be here in proportion to the population an extraordinary number of men of good breeding, brain-power, and energy. These are partly men from home and partly descendants of the adven- turous pioneers of the old days, and they form a class from which this democracy, if it is wise, can easily find its best representatives in the Federal and local Parliaments. Brisbane is a somewhat remote city of about the size of Southampton. It is true that it is the capital of a naturally rich State bigger than the British Isles, the German Empire, France, and Spain put together ; but the population of this huge region numbers only half a million, the bulk of the territory awaiting population and capital to develop it. Well, in this comparatively small city of Brisbane there are several good clubs. I was an honorary member of three of these, and I think I can safely say that in no town of Brisbane's population in England would it be possible to bring together so masxy men of what I may term the intellectual clawes as I met in those clubs. There is nothing provincial about Brisbane, and one finds exactly the same sort of men as in the best London clubs where professional men congregate, for this is no THE SIX YEARS' DROUGHT 149 land for the mere idler. In the Brisbane clubs one meets politicians, lawyers, doctors, merchants, jonmalists, squatters owning territories as big as British counties, men who would not only be leaders in their respective professions at home but who take a keener interest in matters outside their daily work than we do. I met old friends, too, among them, who had been with me at public school or university or Inn of Court ; and it is the fact, and an instructive one, that of the professional men who come here from the Old Country, with the intention of returning home after they have acquired a sufficient fortune, the majority stay here, or, even if they have returned, yearn for the pleasant land of their adoption, pack up their belongings again, and sail for Australia to settle down in it with their children and found colonial families. The six years' drought has brought Queensland face to face with ruin, but the cycle of rain is approaching, if there be any truth in the theories of the mete- orologists, and, having learnt useful lessons from adversity, such a people in such a land cannot Ixit quickly recuperate. The Government itself, owning as it does more than nine-tenths of the lands of the State, will be in a strong position in the near future. As for the people, they bear their disasters with an admirable cheery fortitude. The all-bufc-ruined squatters never complain, but hopefully discuss the IW WITH THE BOTAL TOUB I methods they must employ in the oyolet of plentifal run to ftore the water for the days of drought. Eten in the old Australians there is a wonderful buoyancy of youth. They apparently neyer feel that they are old. 161 CHAPTER XI STDMBT AND Rl BAUOVB— ANOTBBB TIN DAYS' MUOICIMOS— SOOUUtnO UIOItLATION— COKCBNTBATtOM OW POPULATIOM a CmMt—tBM LABOCB FAETT— HMD FOB IMMIOBANTB— TBB ALIIX LABOCB QT7BSTI0N On the morning of May 24, the Duke and Duch of Cornwall and York left Brisbane by special train for Sydney. Many thousands of the inhabitants of Brisbane crowded the railway station in order to give their Boyal Highnesses a hearty send-off from Queensland's pleasant capital. The long journey to the south was agreeably broken by halts at interest- ing places; once the train was brought up for an hour opposite an extensive clearing in the bush, a portion of a typical sheep station of 85,000 acres, where the Duke and Duchess partook of damper and ' billy ' tea cooked in bush fashion, and witnessed the rounding in of some thousands of head of cattle by the stockmen. There was also a halt at New- castle, where the colliers gave their Boyal Highnesses a splendid reception. On Saturday the 25th we reached Hawksbury, and once more saw the ' Ophir ' and 'Juno' lying at anchor in the broad estuary. Ifi9 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB Hera their Boy*! Highnemet left the train, m it had been arranged that they should paai the Sunday amid the beautif ol scenery of the Hawksbnry Biver, and proceed to Sydney in the 'Ophir* on the Mcmday. But the journalists attached to the royal escort did not stop here, bat proceeded to Sydmy, reaching it that afternoon. There is a fascination in exploring alone a city that is new to one, and Sydney is a particulaily in- teresting city to the English visitor, it is so peculiarly English in its aspect. It has not the magnificence of stately Melbourne, whose straight broad streets were all planned out before a house was built. Sydney, on the other hand, like Old London, grew up haphazard, and therefore irregularly, its streets being narrow and crooked. It is much more English- looking than Melbourne, especially in the old quarters by the waterside, which remind one of bits of Portsmouth or other English seaports, having the same narrow lanes, old inns, and low two- storied stuccoed houses. In all directions one recognises the same strong resemblance to the Old Country. One long street in an unfashionable suburb which I traversed in a tram was, so far as houses and shops were concerned, a replica of Hammersmith Broadway. Again, in the pretty suburbs overlooking the harbour the residential suburbs of London are faithfully reproduced amid more beautiful scenery BTDNBY AMD ITS HABBOUB 168 Mid tmd«r ft kinder iky. Hen are the little TillM one leee at Oonnersbury or Wandsworth, the homei of middle-olMS comfort; and here, too, standing in eztensiTe grounds, the more pretentious man- sions of the rich merchants, snch as look down on the Thames at Bichmond. I was taken for a thirty-mile drive along the beantifal sinuous shores of the harbour, past the South Head to now almost deserted Botany Bay, of sorrowful memories. For many miles outside the town we drove by these scattered residences of the wealthy citizens, and some of them appeared to me to be as enviable homes as any I have seen in any portion of the world, each set in its beautiful groves and gardens, each with its own little inlet, opening into the majestic gulf, or with its own little pier or artificial haven, and each from its wooded slope commanding one of the loveliest views of land and water that any harbour in the world can show. Each, too, had its flotilla of steam launches, sailing yachts, and rowing boats. Happy indeed are the citizens of Sydney in possessing such a harbour, surely the Paradise of water-loving men. Every man and boy in Sydney can, and does, sail a boat, whether it be the stately fifty-ton cutter or the tiny canvas cockle-shell in which the small boys boldly take their first lessons in the art of sea- manship. In every book I have read on Australia or on the Brazils the question is raised as to whether MKBOCOTY MKXUTION TBT CHART (ANSI ond ISO TEST CHART No. 2) .^^S /1PPLIED IM/OE Ir 1BS3 Eait Moin StrMt RochMtw. Nm Yorii U609 USA (716) 482 - 0300 - Phon. (718) 288 - 5989 - Fo> 164 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR the harbour of Bio de Janeiro or of Sydney is the most magnificent in the world. I know the harbour of Bio well, and now I have seen that of Sydney, and I confess that I fail to see how any comparison can be instituted between the two. Both are beautiful ; but there is no likeness between them, save that in both there is a narrow entrance from the ocean, between two capes, opening out into an inland sea with many inlets, promontories, and islets. The scenery is entirely different. The shores of Bio Bay are grand, mountainous, and clothed with luxuriant tropical vegetation, whereas Sydney Harbour is en- closed by low gently sloping hills covered with the trees and vegetation of a more temperate climate, the dark stately Norfolk Island pines towering con- spicuously above the lesser growth. These shores resemble rather those of some of our West Coast harbours. Indeed, one can form a very fair idea of what Sydney Harbour is like by picturing to oneself half a dozen Plymouth Sounds opening out into one long central gulf. Sydney itself is built on rolling ground ; its streets are often steep as well as narrow and sinuous ; so that frequently, when one reaches the top of one of these undulations, one commands, through the frame of some street sloping steeply to the shore, a picturesque view of this grand harbour. One is never far away from the water in this fair sea city, for the winding arms of the gulf penetrate it and the suburbs, and the masts and SYDNEY AND ITS HARBOUR 155 yards of the skipping face one in unexpected places as one wanders through the busy thoroughfares. On the day following our arrival (Monday, May 25) we had a good opportunity of admiring this land- locked sea, for the officials kindly placed at tha disposal of the journalists attached to the escort squadron the harbour-master's steamer to take us down to the Heads, so that we could witness the entry into the harbour of the 'Ophir' and her escorting men-of-war, which were to sail from Hawksbury at an early hour that morning. There was a leaden sky above us threatening rain, and a haze obscured the shore as we steamed down the harbour and passed out between the grim weather- beaten Heads into the long swell of the Pacific Ocean. Here we found, just outside the Heads, the steam yacht 'Victoria,' her decks crowded with Ministers, members of Parliament, and State officials, all in silk hats and frock coats ; for in this country the greatest demagogue dresses in a manner suited to the occasion. The flannel shirt and cricket cap which one of our own Labour members was wont to wear in the House of Commons would not be tolerated here. Our engines stopped and we lay rolling quietly in the long swell awaiting the appear- ance of the royal yacht. Soon we saw columns of smoke so black and dense that they were visible afar o£F, despite the haze — for it was the burning of the most smoky Australian coal that caused them — and 166 WITH fHE ROYAL TOUR then some dark hulls loomed into sight, which were recognised as the *Eoyal Arthur* and three other ships of the Australian squadron, coming in from the east to meet the ' Ophir.' Shortly afterwards the ' Ophir ' herself hove in sight. The four men-of-war of the Australian squadron now formed in double colmnn and steamed out towards the royal yacht, which was being closely followed by the ' Juno ' and ' St. George.' The ' Ophir ' and the two ships of the escort then steamed in line through the column formed by the four warships, which fired a royal salute. These four next altered their formation from double column to that of single line ahead, and all the ships thus passed through the Heads in a long line, the ' Ophir ' leading with the Eoyal Standard at her main and the Trinity House flag at her fore, the yacht ' Victoria ' bringing up the rear with her company of legislators. It was a pretty sight to watch the ships thus manoeuvre in the haze, and then, having formed into line, gently rolling in the swell, sweep round the square mass of the North Head into the tranquil waters of the great harbour. And then, just as the line straightened, pointing to the distant city, a strong wind sprang up from the north, drove the rain-clouds from the sky and the haze from the shore, and the sun's rays falling obliquely on the white sides of the 'Ophir' lit her up so that she suddenly became clearly visible all over the harbour. Sydney lay SYDNEY AND ITS HABBOUR 157 before her, the details of its buildings easily dis- tinguishable in the clear atmosphere, its houses gleaniing white and red and yellow in the bright sunshine. There gleamed, too, the many little villages and pleasure towns and villas embowered in luxuriant foliage, which on either side lined the green slopes of the winding shore. Our boat steamed abreast of the warships into the harbour, but at some distance from them, hugging the shore. We passed close under green-capped rocky headlands, and looked into delightful coves with dazzling white beaches. On one bold cape we saw drawn up the boys of the ^raining ship ' Sobraon,' waifs and strays, many of them rescued from the slums, who raised three ringing cheers as the ' Ophir ' steamed by. Then we went past the great Eussian warship ' Gromoboi,* whose guns fired their sclute. At eleven o'clock the ' Ophir ' reached her appointed berth in Farm Cove, facing the beautiful Botanical Gardens and the grounds of Government House. Their Eoyal High- nesses landed at Farm Cove that afternoon. A more lovely landing-place for a great seaport it would be difficult to imagine, for it is set amid the green sloping lawns, the thickets of various semi-tropical plants, and the groups of stately trees which beautify that comer of Sydney which is occupied by the Govern- ment House grounds, the Botanical Gardens, and the Domain. ' lands at this spot without catching any glimpse of the sordid surroundings of a modem 158 WITH THE BOYAL TOUR commercial port. It is such a landing-place as the people may have had in Carthage or Syracuse of jld. Behind the rocky shore and the wooded slopes rise the domes and towers and steeples of the loftier city buildings, while as one looks outward there stretch before one the capes and bays of the wonderful har- bour and the fleet of anchored merchantmen and men-of-war. The decorations of the city were singularly har- monious. It is a revelation to find that the Anglo- Saxon under southern skies has developed an esthetic taste which is undoubtedly wanting at home, if one may judge from our own street decorations on days of public rejoicing. Sydney had adorned itself mag- nificently ; and, what is more to the point, the crowds assembled in the streets gave their Eoyal Highnesses the heartiest of welcomes. And here again a great city took a ten days' holiday. Function succeeded function; levees, presentations of addresses, State concerts. University commemorations, naval displays, reviews, demanded the Duke's presence. That his Eoyal Highness was at that time the hardest worked man in Australia was the often expressed opinion of the Australians theoiselves. The review of eight thousand Australian troops in the Centennial Park, on May 28, was a brilliant spectacle, and one of the interesting features of this review was the parading of veterans who had served in British regiments in various parts of the world. Those who had fought the REVIEW IN CENTENNIAL PARK 169 wan of the Empire wore their medals, and amongs^ these were men who had served in the first Afghan war, in the Crimea, in the Indian Mutiny, in the first Transvaal war, in the Sutlej campaign, in the New Zealand wars, and in Ashanti. T.^e Duke also presented medals to the New South Wales soldiers who had returned from the South African war. In the course of the month we had spent in Australia we had visited three of its great capitals and many smaller towns. Everywhere we had found the same weil-to-do, courteous, amiable people, well educated, speaking a pure English, a people of the most independent spirit, but who do not consider it necessary to assert that independence as they do in some countries, by a rejection of good manners. I can testify to the sincerity and heartiness of the welcome that was in every place given to the Prince and Princess who had come hither to represent the Crown of England on a momentous historical occa- sion. From what I gathered in conversation with men of all classes, and from what I overheard by chance daily in the crowded streets, I was enabled to realise what patriotic Britons these Australian people are. There can be no manner of doubt about their loyalty and Imperial spirit. If it were thus all over the British Possessions, well indeed would it be for the Empire. I know well that it is difficult for many home-staying Englishmen to realise this Imperialist feeling in our colonies. I think that mcst English- 160 WITH THE BOYAL TOUl men, on arriving in Australia, experience a pleasant surprise. The reason for this is not far to seek. An Englishman reads at home of the Australian demo- cracies, of their aggressive Labour party, the petty squabblings of paid politicians, of rabid demagogues, of wild experiments in Socialist legislation, of many things that in the old country are not associated in his mind with loyalty, or patriotism, or Imperialism, or even, perhaps, with common decency and honesty. His memory recalls ugly and disagreeable pictures, the worst features of the European proletariat, and when landed in an Australian city, he half unconsciously expects to find there a sordid but rampant democracy, made up of the same sort of people that applaud at open-air meetings in European cities the treason and the falsehoods that are shouted to them by their dema- gogues. But one cannot apply European standards to this people ; one must put European conditions and ways out of mind when picturing to oneself this Australian democracy. In a land where life is so easy the sordid elements aia wanting, and there is no real malignancy of class feeling. It is, of course, true that the democracy of Australia displays, as in other lands, a short -sighted selfishness, that the Labour party at times wages an unfair and suicidal war on capital, that Australian politics present some ugly features, and are not without dangerous possibilities ; but it is quite certain that these democracies are now quite sound in their SOCIALISTIC LEGISLATION 161 conTictions so far as the vital interests of the Empire are concerned. There is a far larger proportion of Little Englanders at home than of Little Australians in Australia. One cannot but think that in a country of such vast and yet undeveloped resources, and with such a prosperous, well-educated, self- respecting people, common sense in legislation will prevail at last, and that there is little fear of reckless socialistic experiments dragging the States to ruin ; but a good deal of temporary harm may be done by wild legislation. It is not reassuring to hear, as I did, a leading politician in New South Wales, who is not a Socialist, but who for party purposes coquets with the Labour leaders, argue that it is safe with such an in- telligent people to • give them their head,* to allow them to test their socialistic theories ; as, when they have discovered that they have made a mistake, they will be shrewd enough to undo the mischief by fresh legislation. People who talk thus ghbly overlook the fact that nr- ma- ent injury can be inflicted on the country's r portant industries by experi- mental legisla )\ ' that it is not so easy to take back what has oeen given. We who accompanied this tour were carried rapidly from country to country, paying but a flying visit to each, so that it would be absurd for any of us, after so slight an experience of the land, to attempt anything like a thorough inquiry into the complicated problems of Australian politics. If one tried to do 162 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR so, he would of a certainty display his ignorance by lamentably coming to grief souner or later, to become the laughing-stock of the Australians. There are men who have written books on a count:7 on the strength of having called for a few hours at one of its seaports while the steamer on which they were travelling was coaling, but this is not an example which it is wise to follow. Still one may, without much risk, touch superficially on some of the most obvious results of the absolutely democratic form of government as it is carried into practice^ in Australia. For example, one may take as a text a passage in a local paper which lies before me now, in which the writer rejoices, because, according to the late census, the population of the city of Sydney represents but 36 per cent, of the population of New South Wales, whereas, in Victoria, upwards of 41 per cent, of the population of the State are concentrated in Melbourne. It is true that in the last-named State the unsound conditions are being rectified, as the census shows that of the 55,469 people who have been added to Victoria in the last decade, only 3,060 have been gained by Melbourne. It is not satisfac- tory to find that so large a proportion of the inhabitants of each Australian State are thus con- centrated in the great cities, where the conditions that lead to the degeneracy of the race will in time prevail as much as they do in the great centres of population in Europe. CONCBNTBATION OP POPULATION 168 I believe I am right in saying that when the United States of America numbered the same popu- lation as Australia does at the present time they did not possess a town of more than fifteen thousand inhabitants ; but here, in New Soul a Wales, out of a population of 1,369,000, no less than 489,000 are congregated in Sydney. When one observes how well-dressed and prosperous-looking are the inhabi- tauts of this city, and when one remembers that it is not a manufacturing town affording employment to myriads of operatives, but merely a great seaport and emporium of commerce, one marvels how all these men live, how all can find work to do. As is the case in Europe, people flock into the cities because they love the excitements of town life ; but in Australia a democratic Government encourages the country people thus to crowd the cities, and a foolish socialistic legislation t^nds to fatten the city mob at the expense of the country behind, that, is, of the producers, of the backbone of the land, the cause * all its prosperity. Tb ob has too large a voice in the government of Sydney, and, through Sydney, of the State. In this land of universal franchise and paid members of Parliament the demagogues have great influence, and it is unfortunate that there is a ten- dency among the better people to keep aloof from politics on account of the gross personalities and generally disgraceful tactics whic i characterise the 164 WITH THE BOTAL TOUR i eleciioni. The Stftte Purliunent oumot be taken m fwrly representative of the people of New -otith Wales; while the ministers, as a rale, are not selected from the country members, as most of them shonld be, to represent the true interests of the State, but from the members elected by the metro- politan constituencies. They are therefore not uncommonly men who, while perhaps at heart alto* gether disagreeing with the Labour party, fear to irritate it by opposition and truckle to it to win the labour vote. The Labour party is excellently organised, and succeeds in havii its own way in most matters — hence the reckless expenditure in public works to give employment to the clamouring workmen ; hence the costly socialistic experiments made at the expense of the producers in the interior. To take an example : recently the Hon. E. W. O'Sullivan, the Minister for Works, announced that tho minimum daily wage for men employed by the New South Wales Government should be seven shillings. Coupled with this was the recognition of the Government's duty to provide labour for the unemployed in the city at this high rate of pay. Consequently every unskilled loafer considered that he now had a right to receive his seven shillings a day in return for very little work. The trade unions in the State n»' ily took their cue from the Minister for Works, and laid it down that no one should work for a private employer for THE LABOUB PARTY 165 leu than the Gk)yexnment minimnm wage. Now, in Anatralia, one pound » week with food is the oraal pay fok' boundary riders and othen employed on similar work, and the employers certainly cannot afford to raise this to seven shillings a day. The consequence is that the dictum of the minist'er has caused dissatisfaction with their condi- tion among the workmen in the country, which is now being drained of the men who are so much needed there. Statistics show that, attracted by the Goyemment relief works and the high pay offered, numbers are flocking into f h< city, many of whom have abandoned regular employment in order to do BO. Some of the work which the Government has provided for the unemployed is in the country districts — for example, labour on the water conserva- tion works and the clearing of crown lands that have been thrown open for selection. Mr. Schey, the Chief Labour Commissioner, informed an interviewer from a Sydney paper that of the :memployed regis- tered on the city relief books the larger proportion refuse to tako any country work that is offered them by the Government at seven shiUings a day. They are not content with that wage unless their ^. oik is within easy reach of the city dissipations. There is a section of the population of Sydney which, like the mob of ancient Eome, clamours for it» panem et eircerues as its right. The State needs strong statesmen who can lead the people in the right 166 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB direction instead of pandering to their whims. As a rale, a New South Wales Parliament contains some undesirable members who are the creatures of the populace. All this is reflected in the city life. The ' Larrikins ' — who bear a family resemblance to our own ' Hooligans,' but are worse than the latter, insomuch as they are better fed, better clothed, and of more vigorous physique— still flourish in Sydney. Bnffian'i form themselves into organised bands — ' pushes ' they are termed — whose object is robbery with violence. The notorious 'Bocks push,' for example, has its conomon fund, and retains lawyers to defend any of its members who may fall into the hands of the police. These bands defy the authorities, and the intimidated juries often fail to find these scoundrels guilty when there is the clearest evidence against them. As enormous tracts of rich country yet remain unoccupied in New South Wales calling for immi- grants of the right description, the day must come when the breeders of sheep and cattle, the raisers of grain, the farmers who are what our sturdy yeomanry used to be in the old-time England, will take their proper place in the direction of the State, and the balance of power will no longer, as now, rest with the demagogue-led, pampered city mobs. As it is, the bulk of the people disapprove of the social- istic experiments that are being tried by their ministers ; and as for the squatters, who form the NEED FOB IMMIGRANTS 167 backbone of the State, there are, in the opinion of all who know them, no finer specimens of the British gentleman to be found in any portion of the Empire. Of what breed they are their sons have fully demonstrated of late on the South African veldt. Immigrants are much needed, but Australians are determined that they shall be of the right sort. They wish to preserve their breed pure : they will not permit to flow into their new nation that impure stream of degenerate alien paupers that has already done so much to contaminate London. Many Australians are so vehemently British in sentiment that they would like, if possible, to exclude all foreigners, to establish a race at the antipodes that shall be exclusively British — Anglo-Saxons and Celts from the British Isles. There is but a small per- centage of foreigners in Australia at the present time, and one cannot but feel that the increase of the foreign element in our possessions is not altogether desirable. There can be no doubt that a consider- able proportion of the foreigners settled in our colonies, whether they be naturalised or not, are more or less anti-British at heart. For example, there are many Germans in Australia, who, though they dare not openly declare their strongly pro-Boer sentiments in that loyal land, while making their living among our tolerant and generous people, strive to stab them in the dark with anonymous contribu- tions to the German press : those outrageously false UB WITH THE BOTAL TOUB reports of colonial disloyalty, of the desire for separation, of the bad character of the Australians who volunteered for service in South Africa. The new Federal Parliament is now engaged in solving that momentous problem, the question of alien coloured labour. This will aflford a good test of this bold political experiment which intrusts to a democracy the rule and national development of an entire continent. Before the Federation each colony had placed its limitations on Chinese immigration. Thus, in Victoria, every fresh Chinaman who landed had to pay a poll-tax of lOOZ., and vessels from China were not permitted to carry more than one Chinaman (other than Victorian naturalised China- men) for every f.ve hundred tons of registered capacity. The Chinese have without doubt been of great service on the goldfields : they collected and saved every drop of water, and carefully tended their gardens by day and night as no white man would have patience to do. They thus succeeded in growing vegetables on desert soil, and by supply- ing the miners with green food, at moderate cost, they prevented much of the sickness that was the scourge of the camps in the early mining days. But now it appears that those who raised the cry of a 'white Australia' are to have their way. The immigration of both Chinese and Kanakas will be absolutely prohibited, provided that the Imperial Govenmient sanctions such a measure. Throughout THE ALIEN LABOUB QUESTION 109 the greater part of Australia the white man can labour in the fields as well as he can in England. But north of Capricorn it is otherwise; in that tropical region a class of white labourers would rapidly degenerate. Least of all can the white man cut the sugar>cane under the Queensland sun, and> sugar-planting is the industry of Queensland, where Kanaka labour is necessarily employed. The interests of North and South are thus opposed. Even in Queensland there is a considerable party that would do away with coloured labour. There are Australians who hold moderate views and main- tain that the question can be solved by drawing a line, north of which coloured labour should be permitted under certain restrictions, and south of which it should be prohibited. There are some again who would admit these useful immigrants in moderate numbers, but would confine them to certain industries, not permitting them to engage in those which would bring them into competition with the white labour market. Thus we have coloured labour unpopular in the South, where it is unnecessary, and indispensable in the tropical north unless existing industries are to be destroyed ; a position which, in a way, recalls the condition of things in the United States which led to the great Civil War. But, in Australia, of course the question is not a vital one as it was in America, and cannot lead to serious trouble in whatever way it is ultimately settled. It will 170 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB be interesting, however, to observe whether proies- sional politicians will work on democratic passions and prejudices to enforce a law throughout the Commonwealth that will press hard on Queensland. Popular governments at times show little respect for the rights of minorities, and we have seen at home valuable and useful interests sacrificed as a peace offering to the god Demos. m CHAPTER XII FABIWBLL TO STDMBT — YOYAOS TO MIW ZCALAND — AT ADCXLAKD — mw zialand's wblcohb — bitbw of colonial tboops — ^TBTXBAM SOLOnBB AS SITTLBB8 — DIPBBIAUBT SOCIALISW We joornalists attached to the ' Juno ' and ' St. George,' after leaving our ships at Melbourne, had for upwards of a month, been on shore, living in tho great Australian cities, travelling thousands of mileb by rail, and attending manifold functions. Pleasant indeed it now was to change the land for the restful ocean again, to find ourselves once more in our homes ; for as a home, indeed, did I, who had the good fortune to be her guest for six months, regard his Majesty's ship ' Juno,' and one of the happiest memories of my life will be the good fellowship I enjoyed in her ward-room. On the morning of June 6 the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, having brought their stay at Sydney at an end, rejoined the ' Ophir.' The people who crowded the waterside gave the royal visitors a grand send-off when the ' Ophir ' and the two men- of-war weighed anchor at midday and proceeded in single line ahead down the harbour, which appeared 173 WITH THE BOYAL TOUB more than usually lovely on that splendid autumnal day of breeze and sunshine. As we steamed through the narrow Heads into the open ocean, New South Wales gave her final farewell to the Duke and Duchess, for the guns in the batteries on the South Head fired a royal salute, while, on a high bluflf on the North Head, within the limits of the quarantine ground, several hundreds of people who were gathered round an ominous yellow flag, cheered and waved their handkerchiefs—unfortunate prisoners of the health authorities, the passengers of vessels lying in quarantine as being under suspicion of infection with plague or small-pox. From here we shaped our course eastward for the northernmost point of New Zealand, over a thousand miles distant. The sea ever got higher as we increased our distance from the sheltering Australian coast, for a strong north-wester was blowing. By sunset the Pacific Ocean was belying its appellation, and the men-of-war were rolling more heavily than they had done since we left Portsmouth. But the sky was cloudless, the breeze keen and bracing as that of our own North Sea, and to toss about a bit on the free ocean was a pleasant change after a month on shore of constant bustling in the streets of holiday-making cities. On the morning of June 9, our fourth day out from Sydney, w saw land again on our port hand —the desolate, almost inaccessible Three Kings' VOYAGE TO NEW ZEALAND 173 Islands, which lie to the north of New Zealand ; and before midday we were off New Zealand itself. We doubled its bare storm-beaten northernmost cape, and then steamed sonthwsurd along the eastern side of the North Island; so long as the weather remained clear enjoying a fine view of the grand mountainous coast scenery, and of the many pic- turesquely shaped islands that lie off tti shore. But in the afternoon a mist enveloped us, concealing the land from our view, and the three ships had to slow down to nine knots. On getting on Jack the following morning I found that the mist had lifted. There was land now on either side of us: cloud-capped mountainous islands on our port side ; a mountainous mainland, also covered with rolling masses of vapour, on our starboard — both but dimly looming through the moisture-charged atmosphere. It was a universe of sombre grey : the sky was grey with rain-clouds from horizon to horizon, dark grey were the mountains, and grey too was the uneasy sea, save where the strong cold wind broke the wave-tops into plumes of white foam. From the aspect of land, sea, and sky, one could well imagine oneself to be sailing across some exposed frith on the west coast of Scotland on a sad autumnal morning. We had now entered the great Hauraki Gulf, a beautiful inland sea of many fiords and islands. On our left I perceived Little Barrier Island, its lofty peaks lost in the clouds, while ftuiiher 174 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR distant other islands were visible, with the seas breaking white against their cJiflfs. It was wet and dismal weather as the three ships steamed up the wind-swept gnlf between the green shores of many a cape and island towards our destination, Auckland, which lies high up the gulf on the shore of a well-sheltered sound. Early in the afternoon we saw before us, appearing dimly through the drizzle, the red-roofed houses of Auckland in the distance ; but as the • Ophir ' was timed to reach this port on the following day, and as the programme was always, if possible, rigidly observed, so as not to put out in any way the arrangements that had been made on shore for the reception of the Duke an 1 Duchess, the 'Ophir,' 'Juno,' and • St. George ' came to an anchor for the night off the little town of Devonport, at a few miles' distance from Auckland. On the foUowing morning, June 11, there was a bright sunshine, and only a few fleecy clouds were driving fast across the blue sky before the strong cool wind. It was a perfect climate to an English- man, recalling a bracing spring day in our own north country. Now that the veiling haze had lifted we were able to appreciate the beauty of this fair harbour. We saw around us hills of many forms covered with groves and pasture, and sometimes with dark green wildernesses of high ferns ; here and there steep verdant domes towered above the lower slopes, extinr volcanoes that, within historic times AT AUCKLAND 175 yomited fire and lava, and which may not un- probably burst into action again some day, even as did "^ esuvins after its long slumber. We caught glimpses of many pleasant country houses nestling on wooded slopes, and overlooking the smooth land> locked waters ; and before us was the original capital of New Zealand, the pioneer city of its civilisation, fair Auckland, rising, from its long lines of wharves, in terraces of very EngUsh-looking houses, many of them of red brick, with the steeples of churches and lofty public buildings crowning all ; while, forming the background to the pretty scene, was the verdant pjrramid of Mount Eden, with its cin'^er-strewn crater and slopes of decomposed lava to tell its tale of fierce volcanic action in days gone by. Shortly after ten in the morning the ' Ophir ' and her consorts weighed anchor, and the men-of-war of the Australian squadron which were lying off Auckland fired a royal salute. The royal entry into Auckland was one of tae prettiest sights of this tour, which has been so rich in picturesque spectacles- The sunlit shores made a noble frame to the scene. The ' Ophir,' ' Juno,' and ' St. George ' steamed slowly past the long line formed by the six ships of the Australian squadron — the ' Boyal Arthur,* ' Pylades,' ' Sparrow,' ' Archer,' ' Torch,' and ' Penguin ' — and at a very short distance from them. Each of these ships was dressed rainbow fashion and manned, the blue-jackets and scarlet-coated marines lining the 1 J 176 WITH THE BOTAL TOUR rides, while inoh of the thipe m pouessed yards had these manned also; and as the • Ophir ' passed each ship its crew cheered with the stirring rhythmic cheering that one only hears from the company of a ship of war. The interest that was taken in the royal ▼irit by the loyal New Zealanders was evinced by the number of excursion steamers— every little steamer in the harbour had apparently been also converted into a passenger boat for the day— which came out to meet the • Ophir/ their decks packed with crowds of enthusiastic people. It was the first mgn of that heartiest of greetings which the colony, that is behind none in the Empire in its loyalty, was about to give to the son of the King and to his Consort. Numbers of smart little sailing yachts also hovered round us, running and reaching and tacking at great speed,' for the wind was strong, the boats quite up to date in their lines ; and the men who sailed them handled them admirably, for nearly every man and boy in Auckland knows how to sail a boat, as, indeed, he should do, dweUicg as he does on the shores of one of the most splendid yachting grounds that the world can show. The roaring of guns, cheering, and muMc heralded the approach of the ' Ophir ' to the citizens of Auckland, who crowded every quay to see her and her escort enter tho harbour. I took the earhest opportunity of getting on shore. Though the landing of the Duke and Duchess was not to take place for three hours I AT AUCKLAND m found th»t all the whvTM that wen open to the pnblio and all the streeta along which the royal procesMon was to pass were crowded with speototors. As I looked at the people it strack me that the crowd was in some way different from the crowds I had seen in the great Australian capitals. At first I was unable to define the difference, though conscious of its existence. But at last I realised that it lay in the fact that the majority of the folk who filled the streets of Auckland that day were of what I may term a more countrified appearance. Auckland is but a smaU city, a homely and modest place, like one of our old towns in an agricultural district at home, and free from the feverish bustle of a metropolis like Melbourne. Moreover, a large proportion of the people who thronged the streets were not citizens of Auckland, but people from the country who had come here in their tens of thousands from all parts of the island— by train, by steamer, by coach— some having ridden for days over difficult roads that are quagmires at this season of the year. In an Australian colony upwards of a third of the population is concentrated in the capital, an un- desirable state of things which does not exist in New Zealand. In this rich land the people do not fiock into the cities as they do in New South Wales. The islands are scattered with pleasant homesteads, where a sturdy race live, as the yeomanry in England did of old. The laws regarding the tenure of land « N .1 I i ITS WITH THE BOTAL TOUB in N«w ZeAland — ^reTolationiMd m they have been by that remarkftble nuui Mr. Seddon, the preient Pzemier, who hM dereloped the poUoy initiftted by Sir George Grey and carried on by Mr. Vallance — ha^ ; encouraged the oocnpation of the country by the fanner clan; and, happily for the colony, there is no paralysing centralisation, no concentra- tion of population in one big city. There is no one big city here, but. there are many towns of moderate sise, some in the interior, centres of agricultural industry ; a healthier condition of things than that which at i .esent prevails in some of the Australian colonies. The ' Ophir ' was moored along the wharf at the foot of Queen Street, the principal thoroughfare of the city, so that their Boyal Highnesses had but to step on shore to find themselves surrounded by the loyal people who had gathered to greet them. In the numerous stands in Queen Street every seat was occupied, despite the heavy charges that were made. Every point of vantage, at window or balcony or on housetop, also had its group of spectators, while in the street itself a dense but orderly crowd filled all the space between the houses and the lines of New Zealand soldiery that guarded the route. The blue-jackets from the colonial men-of-war formed the guard of honour, and the Auckland Mounted Bifles the royal escort. As one looked at these fine troops one recalled that of all our NEW ZEALAND'^ WEUCOUB 179 colonies there wm perhaps none in which patiiotio enthrnawn and a keen deeire to fight for the old country were to signally displayed at the outbreak of the South African war as in New Zealand. Practically the whole manhood, of the islands was eager to take up arms and go to the front. Men left their wives and families and abandoned their busi- nesses to volunteer for service in South Africa. Many a young man sold all he had, bought a horse, and offered to fully equip himself and take passage to South Africa at his own expense. For every man who was chosen for service in the war twenty as good as he were rejected. Had we wished it a formidable force indeed might have been quickly raised in Now Zealand. The Maoris, too, the brave«i; and most chivalrous of fighting peoples, flocked into the towns to volunteer, a thousand picked men offering their services as soon as it was known that Great Britain was about to engage in a serious war, and bitterly disappointed they were when our reluctance to employ coloured men against a white foe prevented us from accepting their offer. At that time New Zealand set an example of loyalty and patriotism which it will be to the shame of Englishmen if they do not always remember. Of such stuff being the manhood of this country, it was not surprising (hat the progress of their Boyal Highnesses from the landing-stage, through the main streets, to Government House, aroused in the M 2 if ; i 11 180 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR collected multitudes of men, women, and children an enthusiasm in which the feelings of the colony towards the Sovereign and the mother country were most unmistakably confessed. It was a magnificent reception, and the cheering had a sincerity in it that must have gone to the heart of every one who listened to it. Like Australia, New Zealand is proud of its system of State education, and here, too, as we saw them in several Australian towns, the school- children were paraded to sing the National Anthem as their Eoyal Highnesses drove by. The two thou- sand five hundred children were dressed in red, white, and blue, and were so arranged as to represent a gigantic Union Jack, the staff being formed by a number of children dressed in white. It was a somewhat tremulous Union Jack in consequence of the tremendous enthusiasm of the little folks who composed it. Their delighted excitement when the Duke and Duchess came in sight was a pretty thing to see. We had not yet been twelve hours in New Zealand, but in the course of such a tour as this impressions crowd on one's mind in a somewhat bewildering fashion. The first impression, and the strongest, after a very brief stay on shore here, was that this is one of those countries with which one falls in love at first sight. June 12, the day following the landing of their Boyal Highnesses, was crowded with ceremonies of various sorts, with one of which only will I deal REVIEW OF COLONIAL TBOOPS 181 here ; for that was of Imperial importance, and was one of the many suggestive object-lessons afforded by the colonies to the mother country in the course of this tour. This was the review of the New Zealand troops, and the presentation of war medals to the New Zealand soldiers who had returned from the South African war. Upwards of four thousand men were present — Mounted Bifles, khaki-clad Infantry, Artillery, Engineers, and the Auckland Naval Brigade; while the British marines and blue-jackets from the ships of war marched by the side of their colonial comrades. In addition to these the newly formed Public Schools Cadet Corps, which owes its origin to the patriotic spirit excited by the South Airican war, took part in the review. Smart and of wonderful physique looked both men and boys, and of as soldierly bearing as any were the sturdy Maoris of the native corps. One had but to look at these stalwart well-trained Maoris — who, I am told, full of military zeal, acquire their drill more rapidly than the Europeans — to understand how it was that we found them such formidable foes. It was a most interesting review, and it had a deep significance, for these are no toy soldiers. Ajb I have already said, practically the entire young manhood of New Zealand was eager to fight the Empire's battles in South Africa. One of the ministers publicly stated that all the young men 182 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR could with safety be sent beyond the seas if Great Britain needed their services in time of peril, as the Maoris could be depended on, in their absence, to defend the island and the wives and children of the colonists against any possible foe— a saying that was carried throughout all the native districts, and was discussed with pride and satisfaction by the Maoris, who had been so bitterly disappointed because a sentiment, which they cannot understand, prevented our acceptance of their services in the war. It is probable that in no portion of the British Empire is the martial spirit so strong as in New Zealand. The reason is not far to seek. The bulk of the population are hereditary fighting men. In no colony is there so large a proportion of our old retired soldiers. Many who fought here during the long Maori wars settled in this fair land when their service was completed. Moreover, all the colonials who have attained middle age passed their early years amid perpetual danger. The Maori wars and the unceasing menace of the raids of these formidable warriors made the New Zealand settler of necessity a fighting man. The spirit is still in the blood, tradition keeps it up, and the young New Zealander is a bom soldier. In these colonies of the antipodes all one's old ideas are upset. Here in New Zealand, for example, we have the most democratic of all civilised communi- ties. What to us in Great Britain would seem VETEBAN SOLDIEBB AS BETTLEBB 188 the wildest socialistic doctrines are carried into practice ; and yet one finds in New Zealand above all countries a strong Imperialist sentiment, a universal and warm patriotism and loyalty to the Throne. There is no foolish talk here of the dangers of militarism, the abolition of war, and the brother- hood of nations. There are no pro-Boers; the socialists of this colony have little in common with those of Battersea Park, who would fare badly did they ventilate their theories in this country. After the review the Government entertained &t a banquet the vc.;eran soldiers settled in the colony and the young troops who had returned from South Africa and had just received their war medals. The Duke made a most stirring speech on this occasion. In the course of it, while proposing the toast of these veterans, and of the troopers who had returned from South Africa, he used the following words, which aroused an indescribable enthusiasm : ' I am proud to think that I meet here to-day not only your fine old soldiers, who, after serving your Queen in various campaigns, chose your homes in New Zealand, but also your sons, who, inheriting the gallant spirit of their fathers, and keen to emulate their deeds, have, when their turn came, cheerfully given their services in defence of the old flag, . . . and if in the future, whenever and wherever the mother hand is stretched across the sea, it can reckon on a grasp such as New Zealand has given in the present, well, I think you 1 f 184 WITH THE ROYAL TOUB will all agree with me that the dear Old Country can look ahead with confidence.' The zeal with which the soldiers, old and young, sprang to their feet and cheered the Duke when he first entered the room was a grand thing to see. There were upwards of four hundred men present, all living in the part of the North Island in which we were. The veterans represented many British regiments, and the medals on their breasts showed that they had fought in nearly every one of our wars of the last fifty years There were several Crimean and Indian Mutiny medals, but the New Zealand war medals were the most numerous. One of these old soldiers, named Eoyley HiU, was decorated with no less than eight medals, but he stiU yearns for war. Twice he volunteered for service in South Africa, but was not among the chosen ones. He therefore shrewdly took advantage of this favourable occasion to extract from Mr. Seddon, the paternal Premier of New Zealand a promise that he should be allowed to join the next (the eighth) contingent of New Zealand troops if it were despatched to South Africa. There were also present several men of the 18th Eoyal Irish Eegiment who had formed part of the guard of honour at Osborne on the day of the King's wedding. I under- stand that these veterans have prospered in the colony and It would be to the advantage of the Empire to encourage the emigration to New Zealand of the better sort of our time-expired soldiers. They would IMPEBIAUST SOCIALISM 185 be welcomed, for the colony needs more of such men, and they ought to do well here. During onr stay I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of all the members of the New Zealand Ministry, and had frequent opportuni- ties of conversing with them — the very able man who is Premier, the Right Hon. R. J. Seddon ; the Hon. J. G. Ward, one of the most clever and most justly popular men in the country, now Postmaster- General and Minister of Railways ; the Hon. James Carroll, the Native Minister, himself a Maori and a man of great ability ; and the other men who at p .^sent compose the Government of this flourishing colony. These are the men who have been chosen by the most democratic people under the British flag to represent them, in a land where the franchise is universal, every man and woman of age having a vote, and where the Maoris also from their own territories send their delegates to Parliament. The party that is now in power here is, moreover, what we should term in Great Britain an extreme Radical party ; the Conservatives, who represent capital and the large landed interests, being in opposition, E it these men who in New Zealand lead the democ are not like the demagogues of the old world, i c like our Labour-party candidates, for example, but are men of good position, of the highest ability, of broad views, striving for the good of the common- wealth, men who in Great Britain would probably 186 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR have attained the highest rank in political life ; not faddists or adventurers, but men to whom one felt it was no dangerous thing to entrust the control of the afiTairs of a great colony, and always Imperialist to a man when it comes to a question of the Empire's larger interests. It must be remembered that the socialistic policy of Mr. Seddon and his colleagues is not like that of the democratic Australian Govern- ments. In New South Wales, as I pointed out, the Government panders to the mob. Its policy tends to concentrate the population in the great cities, with manifold evil results. Apparently the ideal of the democratic leaders in that State is that the working man should, at the expense of the country's interests, do a minimum of work for a maTim iini of pay, within easy reach of the city dissipations. But in New Zealand the democratic Government pursues a very different policy. It opposes centralisation, and its aim is to prevent the concentration of people in the towns. By sweeping alterations in the laws affecting the tenure of land it encourages the occupation of the back country by a class of peasant proprietors or yeomanry — a policy to which just objections can be raised, inasmuch as there is a some- what arbitrary dealing with established rights, but which in all probability tends to further the true interests of the colony. UT CHAPTER XIII THB NEW ZEALAND WONDERLAND — BOTOROA — TBS HOT BATHS — MAORI WELCOME —GEYSERS AND MUD-TOLCANOES — THB GREAT MAORI ' HAKA ' — THB DANCE OF PEACE — THB WAB DANCE The Govemment had arranged for the royal party a visit to the famous New Zealand Wonderland, and in the morning of June 13 the special train that was to convey their Boyal Highnesses, their suite, the Governor, the Ministers, the naval officers from the * Ophir,' • Juno,' and ' St. George,' the correspondents attached to the royal escort, and others, to Botorua, left the station at Auckland amid the cheering of the people. This is a nine hours' journey by ordinary express train, but on this occasion the distance was covered in seven hours, a record journey, I believe. Having traversed the cheerful suburbs of the town, we passed through a pretty imdulating, cleared, and cultivated country where farms and pleasant-looking homesteads were frequent, the fields being enclosed by low walls made of volcanic stones that had been thrown up by the great eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886. Clumps of pine crowned the green hills, and between the belts of cultivation stretched an 188 WITH THE BOTAL TOUR nntilled moorland where our English golden-blossom- ing furze grew in profusion. This furze, like the sweetbriers that cover vast tracts in New Zealand, is not indigenous, but was imported from England, and has spread until, like the imported rabbits in Australia, it has become a nuisance to the farmer. In the clearings, too, that we passed, which had been conquered by man's labour from the primeval bush, the green pasture that nourished the flocks had also been raised from British grass seed, for of useful grass there is little in New Zealand, the surface of the ground being generally covered with a close-growing carpet of fern, which smothers all other growth, and which itself must be destroyed before the grass can be sown. We travelled over rolling leagues of these fern wildernesses, dark-hued dreary wastes that under the leaden sky from which the rain was steadily pouring reminded one much of our own moorland country in rainy autumnal weather. Here and there the monotony of the fern fields was broken by patches of ti-tree bush— the stout scrub of which the Maoris used to construct their stockades in the war. For a while the line followed the banks of the Waikato, the largest river in New Zealand, which flows through magnificent scenery between lofty forest-clad hills. At each station that we passed the people had collected to welcome the Duke and Duchess, the British with loud cheering, THE NEW ZEALAND WONDERLAND 189 and the Maori men and women with their national songs and dances. The comitry got wilder and cultivation was scarcer as we advanced. We entered a region of steep hills and deep and piotoresqae ravines, all clothed with a dense subtropical forest, very beautiful with its profligate luxuriance of lush vegetation, which presented every shade of green, from a very dark bluish green to brightest emerald. Here the Kauri pine, the cypress, and forest giants of various species towered to a great height, while close packed between their trunks was an impene- trable jungle, a rank undergrowth of flowering bushes, tree ferns, and various lianes that wound round trees and bush, binding them all together. Wherever the forest was cloven by open glades the ferns in infinite variety closely covered the ground, interlocking their myriad fronds. The rain fell steadily as the train rushed through these green avenues, and the dripping foliage looked all the richer and lovelier for it. At last we neared our journey's end, for on our left we saw a great lake backed by distant moun- tains, its waters breaking in white-capped waves beneath the strong wind. This was the beautiful many-islanded Lake Eotorua, whose waters are of a sad dark green even on days of bright sunshine. Between us and the lake stretched a waste of ferns, from which here and there we perceived columns of what appeared to be white smoke rising. This was, 190 WITH THE ROYAL TOUB however, the imprisoned steun banting through holes and fissures in the thin and treacherous earth- crust that in this weird volcanic region roofs the inferno raging beneath. A heavy sulphurous smeU, too, in the air warned us that not far beneath this verdant carpet were earth's internal fires and awful agencies of Titanic destruction. As the train steamed, at about five o'clock, into the station at Rotorua, it was still raining heavily, but no rain couJd damp the ardour of the people, white and native, who crowded here to welcome the Duke and Duchess. Two thousand Maoris of various tribes had coUected at the station, the women wearing the national mats of bright-dyed rustling flax strings over their short frocks, and sprigs of lycopodium in their raven hair, and carrying green branches in their hands ; the men too wearing mats over their European clothing, and bearing battle-axes, spears, clubs, and merds (tomahawks of greenstone and whalebone), many of the warriors having their faces tattooed. These were representatives of many tribes who had travelled great distances from remote regions in the Maori territory to join the great native camp that was formed at Eotorua on this occasion. In the front of each contingent stood a man bearing the tribal flag. As soon as the train had come to a stop these two thousand natives leaped to their feet and, waving weapons and leafy branches, raised a loud barbaric but harmonious and pleasing chant, BOTOBUA 191 the ' Powhiri,' or Mftori song of welcome. Some of the leading chiefs were presented to the Dnke, and then their Boyal Highnesses, escorted by mounted Maori riflemen, drove to the Grand Hotel, which had been reserved for themselves and the suite. The excited Maoris followed the royal carriage to the steps of the hotel, where they insisted on singing another song of welcome, and here, too, Mr. Carroll read to the Doke and Duchess the beautifully worded address of the Maoris of the North Island. To this the Duke replied at length, Mr. Carroll translating each sentence, as it was uttered, into the Maori lan- guage, and the assembled natives by their excited ejaculations and frequent vociferous applause mani- fested tbeir appreciation of the sympathetic words that were uttered to them by the son of their King, whom t ley had come so far to see. So here we were at last in this famous sanatorium in the New Zealand Wonderland, of all the health resorts in the world in some respects, I imagine, the most attractive. A little township has here sprung up that owes its existence to and lives by the invalids and tourists that frequent this place, chiefly in the summer season. Now that commimication has been made so easy and rapid it is likely that greater numbers will flock to Rotorua from all parts of the earth to benefit by its curative waters. In this pretty place, on the shores of one of the fairest of lakes, everything combines to make life agreeable 199 WITH THE ROYAL TOUB • perfect climate, pleeiant exonnioni to be made by land and water, and the many marvels of this aotiTely Toloanio region within eaiy reach. The little town- ship is prettily laid out. There are some good hotels and boarding-houses, in which visitors are made comfortable at moderate charges. The 'tamed geysers,' as they have been quite correctly termed, the mineral springs that here bubble out of the ground a« various temperatures up to boiling point, fill the well-appointed baths ; and nearly all diseases that are amenable to such treatment find thermal fountains containing the necessary curative chemicals in solution, whether they be saline, sulphurous, alka- line, acidic, or silicious. Not a twentieth of the thermal springs have yet been fully analysed, and they vary greatly in their chemical character. In this socialistic colony the Government undertakes most of the work that at home is conducted by pub- lic companies or private enterprise, and it must be allowed that it does its work well. Here, for ex- ample, there are a Government sanatorium and an excellently appointed hospital connected with the baths, all the buildings being situated in the midst of a beautiful subtropical garden. The charge for board, lodging, and attendance is only one guinea a week ; but, of course, this institution is not intended for the use of those who can aflford to stay in the hotels and lodging-houses. According to the Govern- ment medical report this thermal district covers THE HOT BATHS 198 nearly a thonsand iqiuure mile* at between a thon- sand and two thousand feet above the sea level. High ranges of igneous formation, geners^lly clothed in magnificent forests, border the great pumice plains, where geysers, hot lakes, and pools of boiling water abound. On the night of our arrival most of us, though we were far from being invalids, bathed in the hot baths. First we tried the Bachel Bath, the water in which is at about as high a temperature as one can well bear. It smells of sulphuretted hydrogen, as indeed does this whole neighbourhood. The water is silicious, and contains free sulphuric acid. It certainly does possess one quality claimed for it — that of communicating a deliciously soft satiny feeling to the skin. Then we tried the Blue Swimming Bath, whereon one floats luxuriously — for |it is difficult to sink in the buoyant water — in a temperature of 98* ; while at the same time one is ridding oneself of rheumatism if one happens to be suffering from that complaint. This was our favourite bath, in which during our stay we had an early morning swim at seven and another at midnight when the day's labour and sight-seeing were done. There is a large variety of baths here from which to choose. There is an oil bath, for example, supplied from a furiously boiling crater, and there is even a bath in which one may become intoxicated — the laughing-gas bath, the fumes arising from which produce insensibility G o 194 WITH THE BOYAL TOUB if inhaled long enongh. We had not been long in Eotorua before we noticed that all the silver in our pockets had been blackened by the sulphurous fumes that here pervade the air, while the boots of those who wandered incautiously through the Geyser Valley suffered considerably, the ground underfoot being often so hot as to bum the leather. We paosed two days in this wonderful district. It rained before we got here and it rained again in a determined fashion so soon as we re-embarked at Auckland ; but for those two delightful days of weird experiences, we enjoyed royal weather. The wind 8h"..c3d from the rainy quarter, a bright sunshine flooded the strange volcanic scenery, the breeze, that blew from the wintry Antarctic, was deliciously cool, and there was a slight frost each night. The air was ever keen and pure (save for the sulphurous fumes) and wonderfully exhilarating. The bracing climate of this volcanic region induces a feeling of well-being, which we all experienced, and I can quite believe finer sanatorium than Eotorua is to be found '. 3 face of the earth. I believe that, in all our memories, what we saw at Eotorua will remain the most striking and impressive feature of this interesting tour. For their Eoyal Highnesses it must have been a delightful experience, and all the more so, perhaps, because this was an occasion on which formalities were thrown aside. It was, throughout, a happy picnic, in A MAORI WELCOME 195 which the Duke and Duchess walked about freely, unescorted and unguarded — as the royalties of less fortunate realms cannot do — among the loyal colonists and amid the equally loyal thousands of Maori warriors who had coUt .;i ed liero to '^^ honour to the son of their Sovereign. Di^-.tant tiioi gh it was from centres of population, j tftt nnmbors of the colonists had flocked into the little township to see the Duke and Duchess. All the hotels were crowded. Even the billiard-rooms were full of sleepers at night; and many, being unable to find accommo- dation elsewhere, had to take up their lodging in the railway carriages or bivouac on the station platform. June 14 was a busy day for their Royal High- nesses, function and excursion succeeding each other from an early hour in the morning till late in the evening. First, the Duchess opened the large new bath in the Government Sanatorium, called in her honour the Duchess Bath. Next came a drive to the neighbouring village of Ohinemutu, where the Maoris of the Mao Arawa tribe who inhabit it gave an old-time Maori welcome to the royal visitors. Forming three sides of a square the natives gave the dance and chant of welcome, and then the chief, Pipiri Mataiwha, standing in front of the statue of Queen Victoria, which is in the centre of the village, presented to their Royal Highnesses the gifts of his tribe, beautiful and valuable mats and greenstone eS 196 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR • meres.' As he laid the gifts on the ground the old man said : ' We are spreading these Maori garments before you and before the statue of the Queen who is dead. This is in accordance with the Maori stom of laying offerings in memory of those who are departed as a token of our love. Therefore we beg your Royal Highnesses not to disregard these slight presents, unworthy though they be, but to take them with you. That is all. These are from the Arawas.' Then the men and women sang a song of mourn- ing for the Great White Queen whom they had loved for so many years. The following is a transla- tion of some of the words of the moving lament : Seek near and far, Where is our Queen ? She has gone, alas, to Pairan, to the resting-place, To the gathering place of all earthly treasures, The greatest of England lies low. It would be difl&cult to convey to people at home how deeply reverenced and loved was Queen Victoria by these Maori people, and how they grieved at her death. At every ceremony in which they took part the Maoris sang the chant of lamentation for the Great White Queen, often in the most beautiful and touching language ; for these wonderful Maoris in their poetry cover the whole gamut of feeling. Their chants of love and war and mourning are marvellous in their expression. Cannibals they A VALLEY OF GEYSERS 197 were of old, yet this is the most sympathetic and lovable of races ; and wherever we went we heard their pathetic songs of mourning for "Victoria, the distant, the never seen by them, but of whom from their child- hood they heard so much and whom they had loved. On leaving this village the royal party drove to Whakarewarewa, the famous valley of the geysers and the boiling springs which have so often been described. As we entered the valley I observed a police notice painted on a board warning the public that any one who was found soaping a geyser would be prosecuted and heavily fined, a mysterious announcement to a stranger, though the necessity for it we soon recognised. A geyser is a capricious thing. One cannot tell how long it will slumber or when it will awake into dangerous activity ; but it has been discovered that a bar of ordinary soap thrown into a geyser funnel will within a few minutes rouse it into is action. The pro- miscuous soaping of geysc ht imperil the safety of the neighbouring Maori village, and is con- sequently forbidden save on certain occasions. In this rugged and weird valley, where the soil is coated with white sihceous, yellow sulphurous, and other chemical deposits, one looks through innumerable cracks in the earth's crust into subterranean lakes of furiously boiling water; streams of boiling water wind among the hot sulphur-coated crags ; and in every direction r-'jins of white steam are seen 196 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR ascending from the earth, while the strong odour of sulphur permeates the air. The royal party was led by the famous guide Sophia, now an elderly woman, who witnessed the great volcanic eruption of 1886 which destroyed the world-famed White and Pink Terraces, rent a mountain range in twain, blew up and scattered over the country a large lake, one of the fairest in the island, and poured a rain of boiling mud and ash over a great expanse of country. Sophia had a very narrow escape on that occasion. But she still lives to guide visitors over the dangerous, ever-changing, and disturbed volcanic district. For the benefit of the Duke and Duchess a bar of soap was dropped into the steaming gulf of the Wairoa geyser, and we all stood round it, but at a respect- ful distance, to await the result. First we heard a moaning under our feet, the hollow ground shook, then the tumbling, boiling water began to overflow from the brim of the geyser funnel and rushed in steaming sulphur-scented streams over the ground. The geyser became more and more troubled, the water sprang high with intermittent gasps from the hissing throat, and at last a huge column of boiling water, mud, and steam, carrying with it fragments of rock, rushed with a mighty roar quite a hundred feet into the air. All the chief sights of the place were visited— the boiling pools of wonderfully transparent waters, blue as the heavens as one gazes into their mysterious ! 1 TIKITEBE 199 depths ; the holes of boiling mud ; the Brain Pot, wherein the great chief Manawa boiled his conquered foes for his tribe's cannibal banquets, at which the brains and eyes were reserved for his own share. Close by the Maori huts we saw the potatoes cooking for dinner in saucepans which were standing in the boiling pools ; for the inhabitants of this place need no fuel, having the volcanic fire so close beneath. In the afternoon two small steamers took the whole party for about three miles across the tumbling waters of the lake to the opposite shore, where carriages were waiting to carry us over quagmiry roads to the steaming valley of Tikitere. We reached this place as the sun was setting, and were able to explore its wonders before dark. Here the luxuriant bush encircles a dismal barren hollow of brimstone and ghastly grey volcanic crags. From hundreds of crevices the foul-smelling steam arises. One looks into profound abysses, and indistinctly through the heavy vapours sees the violently boiling and hissing waters tumbling and writhing as if in torture. Strange moaning sounds are heard rising from the unknown depths. The mud volcanoes and pools of boiling mud form the principal feature of the place. The mud is of an ugly slate colour. In some of the pools it is quite fluid ; in others it is of the consistency of tar ; while in one hideous boiling cauldron, such as Dante might have imagined for his Inferno, the mud was so thick that the fires beneath 900 WITH THE ROYAL TOUB could only make it heave sluggishly. Huge mud bubbles were slowly formed by the rising steam on the surface of the pool, and then burst to form concentric rings or waves that, so viscous was the foul stuflf, only very slowly subsided. And these mud rings froL. the different bursting bubbles crossed and broke into one another, forming strange snake-like figures that crept and sank with a slow deliberation as if moved by some unseen volition. It was an uncanny and an ugly pool, at which one gazed almost with horror. It was altogether a ghastly valley, in which one had to pick one's steps with care, for the crust is thin in places. One of our party broke through, sinking up to his knee before he could extricate himself. Fortunately the mud was not very hot at that spot, else he might have lost his limb, as others have done before in this valley, in which one walks along narrow ridges of com- paratively solid earth between foul smoking pools and rivers, and treacherous trembling ground, where the thin sulphurous earth that covers the witches' cauldrons below will not bear the weight of a man On the following day, June 15, we were spectators of a ceremony altogether unique— a Maori welcome an^ war dance on a scale far larger and more elaborate than has ever been seen before. Four thou- sand five hundred Maori braves had been collected in camp at Eotorua to welcome the Duke. With the exception of a tev wfe9 had come from the South ui £ o ^ I? — >, S I z . THE MAORIS 901 Island, where the Maoris are all but extinct, they were men of the North Island, representatives of eighteen of the principal tribes, of which some had fought for as, and others had stubbornly fought against us in the wars— tribes between which blood feuds had existed from generation to generation, and which until now had never met in amity. It was by some considered not improbable that there would be trouble between the rival tribes thus brought together, more especially after they had worked themselves up to a state of frenzy with their war dance. From all parts of the island, after long and weary marches by mountain paths and, at this season, difficult swampy tracts, these Maoris had gathered to welcome the grandson of the Great White Queen who had gone. No other object than this could have induced the tribes to meet thus at Botorua. They had come in their loyalty with rich gifts in their hands, to display the traditional ceremonies of their warrior race as they never have been performed before and never will be again. We saw on that day the last great meeting of the Maori people, and no one can ever see the like again. It is a revelation to one to mix with these wonderful people. The Maoris may have been cannibals, but they were never savages. Of high intelligence, of amiable disposition, and of beauti- ful manners, they are among the most delightful people one can find on the earth's Surface. These WITH THE BOTAL TOUR proud and brave men are in this island fully ac .epted by the ^ mte men as their equals, and this is the only cult ♦:ry I know of where a native race is thus regarded. But this is a right exception to a just rule, as the stranger who visits New Zealand soon discovers. A Maori whose father may have been a cannibal warrior becomes a distinguished barrister, an eminent statesman, a great physician; and his civilisation is not skin deep, for the germs of it were ever in the race, and a Maori was always a gentle- man, even when he picked the bones of his slain foe. The Maori race is well represented in the New Zealand Parliament, and one distinguished native, Mr. Carroll, whose statesmanly qualities are ac- knowledged by all, is the native Minister in the New Zealand Government. The Maoris are rightly very proud of Mr. Carroll, who, by the way, was elected member of Parliament, not by his own race, but by a purely white constituency. Marriages between Englishmen of birth and fortune and well- bred Maori girls are not infrequent here. One of the principal chieftainesses in the island, Oirini Tonore, is the wife of Mr. Donnelly, one of the greatest breeders of horses and sheep in the North Island. Mrs. Donnelly's tribe, whose territory is on Hawkes Bay, took a prominent part in the day's ceremony, and the chieftainess, who was sitting by the Duchess, was able to explain to her Royal High- ness the signification of much of the performance. THE MA0BI8 908 It is a good feature in the character of the Maori that, unlike the men of some native races, he does not, when he becomes civilised and adopts European clothing, depise the noble barbarism from which he sprang. The cultivated Maori ever loves his tribe, is proud of it, and keeps in touch with it. There were professional men who, discarding for the nonce the silk hat and frock coat of civilisation, took part in the fierce war dance of their particular tribes on this occasion. A Maori is rightly not ashamed of his fighting ancestors, and it is no wonder that he is 80 much respected by the white men of the island. Our troops have never met an enemy braver or more chivalrous in war than these. They so dearly loved a fair fight that, on one occasion at least, when our men ran short of ammunition, in a stubbornly fought action, and ceased firing, the Maori chieftain sent them a quantity of cartridges under a flag of truce to enable the u to continue the battle ; and another chief, on being asked why he had not cut off the supplies of one of our columns, as he could easily have done, laughed at the foolish man who put the question. ' How could the British go on fighting us,' he exclaimed in wonder, 'if we prevent them from getting food ? ' The British and the Maoris fought long and well together amid these beautiful New Zealand hills, and now that they are living at peace together each race is proud of the other. This, the greatest of Maori ' hakas,' took place iM WITH THE BOTAL TOUB on the Botorna race-conrse. It opened at half-past nine in the morning, and was carried on without intermission for three hours. The warriors and the women who were to take part in the ceremony took up their position on the coarse at an early hour, and punctually at the appointed time their Boyal Highnesses drove up and entered the grand stand. There came a loud shout of gratification from the Maori ranks when the braves observed that the Duchess was wearing the beautiful kiwi mat (a mantle of huia feathers that were spun into a cloth of soft native flax) which had been presented to her on the previous day by the Maoris of Ohinemutu, and that the Duke too was wearing his gift mantle of feathers, and had in his hat the huia feather that had been given to him by the ancient chief. His Boyal Highness also carried in his hand the carved greenstone mere— the chieftain's weapon— that had been presented to him by the natives. The grand stand commanded a magnificent landscape that formed an admirable background to the wonderful spectacle of which we were the deeply impressed observers. In front of us, beyond the grassy race- course, was a fern-covered plain stretching to the broad lake of sad green water which in the rays of the rising sun shimmered as with a myriad shaking javelins of burnished steel. Beyond the capes and bays and wooded islands, an undulating bushland on the opposite shore gradually sloped up to a range of THE GBEAT MAORI 'HAEA' 906 forest-clad mooniains, some of whose lofty dome- shaped summits were probably extinct volcanoes. All over the fern waste that lay between us and the lake columns of white vapour were rising from the innumerable chasms that opened into the mysteri- ous boiling lakes beneath. And on the straight of the race-course, facing the grand stand, were drawn up about two thousand of the braves who were to open the ceremony. They were formed in three solid squares, according to their tribes, at about a hundred yards' distance from us. It was an impos- ing sight indeed to us who remembered what terrible fighting men these Maoris had shown them- selves of old, and were quite prepared to prove them- selves again should the opportunity offer itself. Silent, and in as perfect order as if they had been the most highly disciplined European troops, they stood awaiting the commands of their chiefs, giant warriors almost to a man, and of splendid physique. The bulk of them were in the national war dress — that is, nude save for the piu-piu, the kiltlike mat of flax strings dyed in bright colours with native pig- ments, that each man wore about his loins. Many had feathers in their hair, and some had their faces and bodies tattooed in the elaborate Maori fashion. They were armed with war clubs and spears, and certainly looked as formidable and ferocious a bar- baric fighting force as one could find in any region of the globe. 906 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB In front of the massed sqtiares of braves, and immediately facing the Duke and Duchess, there sat on the ground, enveloped in a great feather cloak, the aged chieftain Pokiha Taranue, who at the head of his tribe had ever fought loyally for us throughout the Maori wars. Feeble and bent with years, the old man with his long snowy beard and eagle eye still looked every inch the leader of a warrior people. Across his knees lay the cherished sword of honour which had been given to him by Queen Victoria in recognition of his services. By his side and tending him stood two handsome young braves of the tribe and a good-looking girl with long black flowing hair, who, I believe, were his children. In front of him was a large beautifully carved model of a canoe which he was to present to the Duke, an exact representation of the canoe in which his tribe, the Arawa (of whom some hundreds were present), had, according to tradition, first landed from far beyond the seas on the New Zealand shores. To the left of the braves were massed the women and girls who were to take part in the ceremony. They were arranged in different groups according to their tribes, each group having its characteristic dress or colour — short skirts of white or pink or scarlet — some wear- ing over their skirts the parti-coloured flaxen mats and others mats of feathers, the whole forming a very harmonious picture. No description could convey anything like an adequate idea of the savage A MAOBI CHABOE fn grandeur and the savage grace of the wonderful performance at which we now gazed almost spell- bound for the space of three hours. First the three massed squares of braves charged in turn with brandishing spears and loud wild chorus, all in wonderful unison, until they were within twenty yards of the grand stand, when the excited warriors stopped short as one man, and threw themselves prone on the ground. It was a charge that, were it being made in grim earnest, might weU have dis- mayed the steadiest troops. Then came chants and dances of welcome; in every action, movement, and cry, the men always keeping the same perfect time. As one man they brandished or thrust their spears ; or, holding them horizontally so that they formed one continuous line extending down the ranks, raised them above their heads or lowered them to the ground, as if they were doing physical drill with one long straight rigid bar of iron. As one man, too, they suddenly and with a magnificent gesture stretched out their arms towards the Duke and Duchess as with one voice they chanted with passionate expression the words of loyalty and affection and readmess to fight tothe death for Great Britain and her kingdom. It was a wonderful combination of fierce barbanc excitement and perfect driU, such as those of us who had travelled in many wild regions of the earth and among warrior races had never witnessed before. 906 WITH THE BOYAL TOUB Then the women came forward to dance the haka or dance of peace, with a wonderful go and energy, and in perfect rhythm. They, too, sang, as with one voice, the welcome to the Duke and Dnchess. Then they danced the complicated but graceful J70t dance, which is also a dance of peace, accompanied by appropriate chantings and gestures, but having a significance of its own. It is the dance of the maidens when different tribes hold an amicable meeting, and in it the girls attempt to attract the finest young braves of other tribes that these may take them in marriage. The girls danced and chanted with the same extra- ordinary precision of time as had the men, sometimes in fours, sometimes in line, the directing matrons standing near to call out the successive figures. And as they k^^mced they ever waved the poi balls (balls of reed fibre attached to strings of twisted fiax), which, manipulated in unison by the swaying girls, produced a pretty effect as they were twirled now in circles, now in figures of eight, and with various complicated rhythmic movements, which it must have taken much practice to acquire. I cannot enter into the manifold details of this long ceremony, and can only touch on its leading features. The tribes, throogh their different chiefs, presented to the Duke a number of beautifully embroidered Maori mats, greenstone weapons, and other treasured tribal heirlooms, which were piled up before their Bojral Highnesses — a unique and very precious collection of New Zealand curio- THE TBIBAL HEIBLOOMS 909 sities, for the people have forgotten the art of making some of these things. Then, having made these loyal and truly magnificent gifts, the tribesmen, leaning on the gromid and looking for the last time at these tribal heirlooms, chanted the characteristic wailing lament on their separation from the treasures of their ances- tors ; and the burden of their lament was that they were sore at heart to part with these relics that were so dear to them, but that they gave them freely to the grandson of the Great White Queen and to his con- sort because of the affection they bore to them. The old chief Pokiha Taranue presented the model canoe, and standing up made a fine and stirring speech, which was translated to their Royal Highnesses. It was a pretty incident in the performance when all the girls who had been engaged in the poi dance defiled by, repeatedly bowing as they went, each as she passed close to the Duchess throwing the pen balls as a gift at her feet. All that the Maoris did that day was done with a heartiness and an earnestness that went to one's heart, and it was curious to see the chieftainesses m European dress as they sat with the royal party in the grand stand proudly giving their orders to their tnbesmen, and Mr. Carroll himself, with native mat over his frock coat, walking along the ranks of the half-nude braves and directing their manoeuvres. But how can one describe the leading feature of that day's wonderful ceremony, the terrible war 910 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB dance in which each tribe in snccession took part ! Stirring with its passionate song and action as had been the ceremonial of the Maori welcome, and moving as had been the pathetic dirges, it was the war dance that thrilled the European spectators most. I snppose that most of us have a good deal of the barbarian lying beneath our veneer of civilisa- tion, and that dance tended to arouse it. The spirit of the Maori warriors was infections, and made the blood tingle. We witnessed various phases of the war dance. Thus at one time the chief of a supposed hostile tribe had thrown the spear of challenge, on which the warriors leapt and shouted in chorus the fierce words with which they taunt the foe and accept his challenge ; while the women standing by encouraged with their song the young braves, the daughter of Pokiha Taranue brandishing her father's sword of honour in front of her excited tribesmen. But the particular phase of the war dance that was indeed terrific to behold was the short and frenzied one which precedes the battle, and with which the Maoris used to work themselves up to such a pitch of martial ardour, just before they delivered their furious charge, that no peril or loss could prevent them from carrying it home into the foeman's ranks. It was all done with a perfect time that accentuated the terror of the thing. It was the very incarnation of the lust for battle. In absolute abandonment to the rage that filled their souls, and yet acting in as THE WAB DANOB 911 wonderful unison as when they danced the dance of welcome, they chanted the fierce words of their thunderous battle chorus, brandished their spears, and as one man stamped with their feet and leapt high into the air until the earth trembled and resounded beneath them. The weird, long-drawn ha- -a, like a stupendous sigh of cruel relief in accomplished slaughter, with which the chant con- cludes, and which accompanies the charge at the foe, was blood-curdling in its intensity. I have heard the tom-toms beating and wild tribesmen raising their war songs on more than one occasion, in more than one wild country, on the eve of battle ; but I have never experienced anything so impressive as this Maori dance and song of war. It was this unique coupling of perfect discipline and well-measured time with the fiercest barbaric frexizy that made it so terrible to behold and to hear. At the close of the ceremony the Maoris shouted ' Kiaora te Tuika ! ' (' Long live the Duke ') ; and, to the astonishment of some of us, gave three British cheers with the time and vigour of a company of British blue-jackets. To their great gratification his Boyal Highness presented medals, which had been struck to commemorate the visit to Australasia, to Mrs. Donnelly and forty other of the leading chiefs and chieftainesses. That night a curious and typical thing was done by the chiefs. They came to the I>uke, and returned to him all the gifts that had in the T 2 912 WITH THE BOYAL TOUB ooane of their history been presented to them by British Royalty — the gold cup and spoon that had many years ago been sent to one of the chiefs present by Queen Victoria when her late Majesty stood as his godmother, two swords of honour, and other treasured gifts. The returning of these to the Duke was in accordance jnth Maori custom. The chiefs did not mean by their action that they wished to part with these things, and the Duke, also in accordance with native custom, placed the gifts back in the hands of the chiefs and begged them to retain them. The signification of this simulated returning of presents to the donor is that he should observe what scrupulous care has been taken of them, how bright and well-preserved they are, and by this recognise in what high esteem the receivers of the gift hold him and his family. S18 CHAPTEB XIV ' WWDT • WlLLlHOTOir— CHBMTCHTTKJH— TM CAMTIBBITBT PLAINS — mUTABT tPIBIT— MB. MDOOK'B V1«W» ON TU WA«— DTOEDW— A SOOTTISB WELCOII«-»AMWMX TO TU FOB- TDHATl IfLANDS— COAST SOBMBRT. Wb spent but seventeen days in New Zealand : but within that short space of time we travelled over the North and South Islands, visiting Auckland, Kotorua, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, at each of which places the energetic New Zealanders had pre- pared a very full programme for their royal visitors. It was an unceasing round of functions. Little time was left for rest, and the manifold arduous duties accomplished by the Duke during that busy period provided a decidedly severe test of endurance. On June 16 the 'Ophir'and her escort left Auckland, and sailed for Wellington, which was reached on the 18th. There is plenty of rough, rainy, windy weather m New Zealand in the wintry season; but royal weather as a rule favoured the functions during this portion of the tour. Thus, though the clouds were low on the hiU sides, and the rain was falling steadily 914 WITH THE llOYAL TOUR u we entared the land-locK?! monntain-ianotuided hftrbonr; when the time iume for the Duke uid Dnchees to land the weather •:!oared and the pro< cession of their Royal ^'x ■ •«»e» through the decorated streets of the m ly ve '-roofed town that climbs the steep hill slo.'t» y •% - ider a bright sun- shine. True there were o? if siiowers during our three days' stay here. 1'^ere .vf -e aler squalls of extraordinary violence; loy vVi'l'iu* •., s .ojited as it is on Cook Strait, wht i. t'»o w 'aO. concentrating between the two mountainns it> ii*. tears through the gut, is one of the breeziest aO' "^n earth, and well deserves its appellation of ' windy Wellington. It was a curious coincidence that we landed at this city, named after the great soldier, on June 18, Waterloo Day, the anniversary of the victory against the bitterest enemy of the British Empire. Had the fortune of war gone the other way in the battle, this prosperous city of Wellington would either not have existed or have been, perhaps, some insig- nificant convict settlement. The Duke and Duchess, as they drove through the streets crowded with enthusiastic people, received a true New Zealand welcome. There could be no doubt about the sin- cerity of the ring in the hearty cheering. Here, as in the other towns of militant New Zealand, one of the most interesting features of the celebrations was a banquet given by the Govern- ment to the troops who had returned from the war •WINDY' WELLINGTON 915 and to the Teteruii — two hnndrad and thirty old loldien wearing Crimean, Indian, and other medala, including one Victoria CroM. As Mr. Seddon taid in his speech, when proposing the toast of the Duke and Duchess : ' Statesmen had done something towards Empire-building, but it was men such as these present who were the real builders.' It would be well, by the way, if Mr. Seddon's speeches were widely read in the United Kingdom, for they repre- sent the true feeling of the New Zealand democracy < its fervent patriotism, loyalty, and imperialism, its determination to stand by the mother country. In the afternoon of June 21, the shoirest day of the year in these latitudes, we sailed from ' windy ' Wellingtoi for Lyttulton, the Port of Christchurch. in the South Island, which we reached in a little over twelve hours, and even before we got there the South Island gave us a foretaste of the welcome it was preparing for the Duke und Duchess ; for, as we steamed dow i the coast all that night, rolling on the ocean swell, we saw to greet us great bonfires blazing at frequent intervals on every cape and prominent height. At eight in the morning of the 22nd we came to an anchor off Lytielton. From here a special train carried the royal party to Chnst- church, which is about six miles from its port. Their Boyal Highnesses received a very cordial welcoi e from the crowds that filled the Btreets. The streets, each of which bears the name of some Fighsh tti WITH THE BOTAL TOUB diocese, were beautifully decorated, and at night, conspicuous among the other brilliant illuminations, was the electric-lit cathedral spire, a lofty pyramid of dazzling white light that was visible far over the Canterbury plains up to the foothills of the snowy mountains, a beacon announcing to the dwellers in remote farms the arrival of the King's son in the city. Throughout our stay in Christchurch we enjoyed splendid weather. It froze hard each night, each morning the ground was white with hoar frost ; but after the frost haze had been dispelled the sky was cloudless, and the sun's rays communicated a pleasant warmth to the keen bracing air. Christ- church, the centre of a vast and rich agricultural and pastoral district, and the headquarters of that frozen meat industry which has proved so im- portant a source of wealth to New Zealand, is, of all the Australasian towns I have visited, the most English in character. It is inhabited by a people who are as English in their sentiments as in their appearance ; and it is surrounded by a country which has been made wholly English by the industry of the farmers. The houses of Christchurch are mostly constructed of wood, painted i and in other colours, some of them imitating the wooden houses of old-time England; gardens of English shrubs surround them, and everywhere there is the appear- ance of English comfort. Very pleasant are the CHBISTCHUBCH aiT dwellings of the professional men and others of the wealthier classes ; while the working-man here, as everywhere else in these happy islands, does not live in crowded tenements, but possesses his own neat little house standing amid its well-care<1-for garden, wherein he and his family dwell ir .at may well be described as luxury. There are suburbs of Christchurch which are exclusively inhabited by working-men, and it is a revelation to one to walk through these streets and note the universal signs of comfort, the snug little houses, the well-clothed, self-respecting people, and the children whom they bring up so well. During our stay I took several drives in the neighbourhood of the town, and was astonished to find how wonderfully English was the land. I passed through deep lanes like those of Devon, where the ferns and wild-bner grew luxuri- antly; English-looking hedges divided English fields; and English trees, too, stretched bare branches to the wintry sky. The farmhouses and the httle old-fashioned wayside inns were just like those one sees at home; while the country houses of the wealthier people, set among fine plantations, lawns, and gardens, might have been in the heart of Worcestershire. And it is no wonder that it all looked so English ; for trees and grass and briers, and the seed that had produced all the crops, had been imported from the old country, as well as the inhabitants. S18 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB One morning, before the smoke had begun to rise from the town, I ascended a hill near the excellent Convalescent Home, about two miles from Christ< church, and looked out on what is an object-lesson indeed to one who would know what the industry of the British colonists can achieve. Before me was a vast plain extending to mountain ranges which were from forty to a hundred miles distant. The mountains presented a grand appearance, covered as they were half-way down their slopes with snow, and with here and there some mighty peak of the still further Southern Alps towering white into the forget-me-not-coloured sky. The plains that thus stretched before me for hundreds of square miles were the famous Canterbury Plains, and as far as my eye could carry they appeared to be richly culti- vated ; hedges, often made of golden-blossoming English gorse, dividing the fields. Pleasant farm- houses, tree-surrounded homesteads, and pretty villages were scattered over this fat plain, which I observed was crossed by railway lines and many good roads. It was winter, and there was stubble where the crops had been ; but I knew that on that fertile soil are produced enormous crops of wheat, barley, oats, rye, and other cereals, of trjmips, potatoes, peas, clover, and mangolds, and that here are vineyards where the finest of grapes are grown, orchards where every English fruit tree flourishes exceedingly. Last year the yield of wheat alone in THE CANTEBBUBY PLAINS 219 the Canterbury district was considerably over five million bushels. A million and a half acres of land have been ploughed and laid down in English grasses. The district is celebrated for the splendid quality of its sheep ; on the higher land the Merino predomina- ting, on the lower' lands crosses of Lincoln, Bomney Marsh, Leicester, and other English breeds find excellent pasture. The development of the frozen meat export trade has given a great impetus to the sheep breeding in this district. Last year nearly two million carcases were frozen, and the Islington works alone, belonging to the Christchurch Meat Company, can put through six thousand carcases a day, and can store a hundred and twenty thousand carcases. Apparently everything is produced in this wonderful district. There are coal mines here too, quarries of excellent building stone, and fine timber in the hills. Manufactorieu of all sorts have been established in the district — ^jam-making factories, saw- mills, potteries, meat-pre' ring works, and others too numerous to mentiuii here. And as one gazes at this great plain, extending from the ocean to the snowy mountains, which human industry has made so rich, one remembers with amazement that only fifty years ago this was a desolate, uninhabited, swampy wilderness, with fern and thorny bush and reeds alone growing on it. For it was only at the end of 1850 that the first settlers arrived here — those enterprising Canterbury pilgrims who emigrated WITH THE BOTAL TOUR under the auspices of the then Archbishop of Canter- btiry and Lord Lyttelton, after whom the district and its port are named. The Canterbury Plains, as I have said, afford a good object-lesson in colonisa- tion, and the division of the land into small holdings, which has been encouraged by the policy of Mr. Seddon and his predecessors, has brought about a rapid development of the resources of the district, and helped to introduce what may be termed a class of yeoman farmers— the best possible to form the backbone of a sturdy race. A number of interesting ceremonies completely filled each day during the brief atay of their Boyal Highnesses in Christchurch. A noteworthy feature at the function in the Provincial Council Chamber was the presentation of an Address to the Duke by the old age pensioners of the Christchurch district. For the payment of old age pensions to persons over sixty-five years of Ag^, a scheme, which at home has, so far, scarcely got beyond the limits of academic discussion, has become law in New Zealand, the Bill that made this provision having been introduced into Parliament by Mr. Seddon, in 1898. The qualifications required and the conditions tmder which pensions are granted are apparently strict enough, and should prevent unworthy persons from becoming recipients of a State annuity. The maximum pension is IBZ. a year. The Duke, in his reply to the Address, pointed out how closely the INTEBESTINO CEBEMONIES 331 system, as established in New Zealand, was being watched in the mother country. As I have more than once remarked, there are two things of which the people in every Colony we have visited are justly proud, and are ever at pains to display before their Royal Highnesses— their State schools and their Volunteer corps. At Christchurch we witnessed the usual demonstration of school-children and a review of troops, both on an unusually extensive scale and remarkable in other ways. Eight thousand school-children, none below the third standard, representing eighty schools in the Canterbury district, were massed in Victoria Square to welcome the Duke and Duchess. The eight thousand cheered lustily, each waving a feathery toi toi plume as their Royal Highnesses drove up, and the go with which they sang the National Anthem was a thing to hear and to remember. Their appearance and behaviour spoke well for the system of compulsory free educa- tion in this country, and spoke well, too, for the race that bred them. Sturdier, more healthy-looking, more intelligent, and more cheery boys and girls one could not find in any land. The yeoman breed that is spreading over New Zealand cannot but have a great future. The review was certainly among the best we have witnessed, the men, as regards both their training and physique, being assuredly second to none in Australasia. Eleven thousand troops were present, a larger number in proportion to the 993 WITH THE BOTAL TOUR population of the colony than we had eaen reviewed in any Australian State. But this is what might have been expected in this the most warlike of the British Possessions, which had sent out a larger percentage of her men of fighting age to the South African war than any other colony of the British Empire, the Cape and Natal of course excepted. The review was held on the great green expanse of Hagley Park, on a bright, frosty morning. The march past, which was headed by three thousand sturdy cadets — not pale, as are so many of the chil- dren in sultrier AustraUa, but rosy-cheeked like English boys — occupied more than an hour. After the review the Duke presented medals to the troopers who had returned from South Africa, and inspected a contingent of be>medalled veterans, chatting for some time with several of them. I think that the New Zealanders are as proud of their veterans as they are of their school-children, their cadets, and their Volunteers. Imperial troops were stationed here for so many years during the long-protracted Maori troubles that, as I have already pointed out, there is a considerable proportion of old, time-expired soldiers among the settlers. Despite all their demo- cratic views, the New Zealanders display a spirit of militarism that would be very shocking to some good people at home. The veterans and the re- turned troopers were entertained at lunch after the review. It was pleasant to observe the enthusiasm MILITARY 8PIBIT 398 of that gathering, the respect paid by the young brigade to the old, and to hear how heartily the young troopers cheered the veterans. But how it would have horrified our Little Englanders to hear on this occasion, in this the most democratic of the British Possessions, that democrat of democrats, the Socialist, Mr. Seddon, the Premier of New Zealand, who represents the Radical sentiments and aspirations of the island, in the course of a long and fervent speech, uttered in his usual stentorian tones, talk proudly of the military spirit in New Zealand which he himself had done so much to encourage, having added practice to precept by sending out his sons to the front. ' I would much rather,' he shouted, 'see all you mounted men finishing the Boer War than being reviewed in Hagley Park ' (a sentiment that was loudly cheered), 'for this war has to be finished at whatever cost of blood and treasure ' ; and bitterly and indignantly he spoke of those ' Old Country statesmen who stand up and sympathise with the Boers, finding fault with those conducting the war, and encouraging the Boers to go on.' 'Anyone,' he declared, 'who in England condoned or symi)athised with the enemy was an aider and abettor of murder.' It will be seen that the New Zealand Premier speaks his mind clearly ; and he was also most unmistakably speaking the mind of his audience and of the entire colony. It would be interesting to watch what would happen should 921 WITH THE BOYAL TOUB some of oar preachers of pro-Boeriflm visit New Zealand to ventilate their views. Mr. Seddon, on another occasion, declared that should their services be required all the white troops in New Zealand would be despatched to South Africa. Such is the feeling of loyal New Zealand when the Empire is in danger. There are those at home who would sneeringly apply the term Jingoism to this spirit. Well, it is better to be a Jingo than a friend of the enemy in time of war ; and this, moreover, is not the Jingoism of the music-hall, but of the battlefield, as the New Zealand men, and also the New Zealand women, who displayed so fine a spirit when they bravely sent their loved ones to the wars, have fully shown. On June 25 the Duke and Duchess and the suite left pleasant Christchurch for Dunedin. For eight hours the train journeyed to the south through a fair land, with the sea generally visible on the left hand, and the glittering peaks of the Southern Alps towering on the right beyond the rich plains and vales. At last, after dark, the train came in sight of Fort Chalmers, the pretty harbour of Dunedin, and then, at a given signal, the little town burst into a blaze of fireworks and illuminations. On the sur- rounding hills, too, the bonfii-es suddenly ^amed and the rockets soared, while the bells rang out on the frosty air, and the cheering of crowds made itself heard. It was a picturesque welcome at the gate of DUNEDIN I Danedin, heralding the enthnsiastio reception that this heantifnl city of the soath was about to give to their Boyal Highnesses. If Christchnrch is English, Dnnedin is Scottish. It is the most Scottish of oar colonial cities ; every man bears a Scottish name ; the pleasant accents of North Britain are heard everywhere in the streets. In the course of the fine speech in which the Duke replied to the addresses that were here presented to him he drew a tme pic- tare of this commanity. ' We have eagerly looked forward,' his Boyal Highness said, ' to visiting this favoared district of New Zealand, knowing that we shoald find here !i commanity of parely Scottish origin, who some half-centary ago left their native shores for this distant land. Trae to the national inborn capacity for colonisation, they came in whole families under the guidance of trusted leaders and of their revered minister. They transplanted to their new home in the Southern Seas their national institutions, their characteristic zeal and readiness to make every sacrifice for education. But they did more — they infused into their new life that courage, perseverance, and tenacity of purpose, which, together with the spirit of enterprise, are the inherent charac- teristics of their race. What must then have been but a mere hamlet, but in which they saw with pro- phetic eye i<» present greatness, they honoured with the Celtic name of that faiiest of cities, the proud historic capital which is the pride of all Q 336 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB Scotsmen.' Dtmedin is » prettily sitiiAted, hand- somely bnilt, exceedingly prosperous Scottish settle- ment, and it certainly gave a true warm Scottish welcome to the Duke and Duchess. The visit to Dnnedin, to the disappointment of the people, had been curtailed to one day, but the Scots contriyed to pack a great deal of welcoming and entertainment within that space. Visitors from England remarked that the Scots of >Dunedin were the biggest and finest- looking people we had yet seen in the colonies. The district sent a magnificent contingent of troops to the war, and also nursing sisters. This was the last place visited by the Duke and Duchess in New Zealand, and it gave its royal visitors a fitting send- off from the happy islands. It was with regret that we put to sea again, leaving behind us the ' Fortunate Islands ' of the Southern Seas. The ' fortunate islands,' indeed t for such a country is this New Zealand that it is scarcely possible to write with honest appreciation of it with- out appearing guilty of exaggeration to those who have not visited its shores. It is a land enjoying a perfect climate, having a soil of unsurpassed fertility, displaying within its limits every variety of sublime and beautiful scenery— awful Antarctic-like mountain wastes in the south, where magnificent glaciers slope down to the troubled seas ; fiords grand as those of Norway; snow-covered Alpine ranges; volcanic wonderlands ; the geysers of Iceland ; great lakes set THE 'POBTUNATE IBLANDfl' M7 •mid forett-clad monntuns; and for hondradi of BqnsM leagaes pleM«nt valea and plains where the crops wave deep and the pastures are rich, and where men of our own raoe live and work in happy comfort amid the soft scenery of South Devon or the garden of Kent. It is a land in which any form of alien life that is introduced flourishes excctdingly, increasing in vigour after the transplantin/( Thus the Maoris far exceed in intellect and ataiure their brethren of the distant Polynesian islands, from which they migrated long since in their canoes; and it looks much as if the people of JHritish stock settled here are likewise waxing stronger t aysicdliy and mentally, for stalwart and of splondi.i energy are the men, and ' divinely tall ' and wholesomely beautiful are the women. Imported plants also exhibit the same tendency towards improvement; the common British furse, for example, the seed of which wag brought hither from England, now covers the island, being of larger growth, lovelier, with a greater wealth of golden blossoms than at home. It is a land where every tree, finit, flower, and cereal of Great Britain thrives with a renewed vigour. The Britain of the South it has well been named, seeing how the familiar plants of the Old Country, down to the humble field flowers (imported with the grass seed), greet one at every step— a land with such vast resources yet undeveloped, that it could become not only one of the chief granaries of the o3 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB Empire, but the producer of all the cattle and sheep needed for oar home population — a land indeed flowing with milk and honey, the paradise of the labouring man, where he can always have his fill of bread and meat, and grapes so large that they recall those wonderful bunches of purple fruit that, in the picture books of our childhood, Joshua and his companions were depicted as bearing from the Land of Canaan. It is a land where all the people are well clothed, well fed, well educated, where the rich and the wage- earners — there are no poor — live to- gether in amity ; that bitter class jealousy that some- times makes itself conspicuous in older countries being apparently non-existent here. Nothing could be more loyal than the reception given to the royal visitors in the Australian States; but the New Zealanders were, I think, more demonstra- tive than the Australians. At any rate, the reception in this country appeared to be more enthusiastic than any we had yet experienced. This may be due to the fact that this is the younger, consequently the most English, of these colonies, the Old Country associations being stronger. Of the New Zealanders a lurge proportion came originally from Great Britain, while the bulk of the native-born are the children of British emigrants, and have therefore been brought up in the traditions of the Motherland. It would be a revelation to most people of the United Kingdom to come out here and observa how intense is the love NBW ZEALAND LOTAIiTT 399 of the New ZeaUuiden for the Mother Country. Eyerywhere, in Anokland, Wellington, Christchnroh, Donedin, it was the same joyoiu, Binoere, and touch- ing welcome. The Gtovemment of New Zealand, which, as Mr. Seddon said in one of his forcible speeches, is the same thing as the people of New Zealand — literally so in this land of universal suffrage for men and women — set itself most zealously to work to organise a splendid welcome for its guests. Infinite attention was paid to detail ; the arrange- ments were perfect throughout ; and there was no grudging of time or cost. A supreme success rewarded this labour of love. It was a magnificent hospitality on the part of a loyal, free, and generous people. It would have given cause for serious thought to any intelligent foreigner who had wit- nessed it ; he would have seen that the unity of the Empire is not the idle dream of a few patriots. As one watched that grand and significant demonstra- tion, and as one remembered that the entire young manhood of New Zealuid is ever prepared and eager to fight round the old flag, one realised that if Great Britain be but as loyal to her colonies as this ' last, loneliest, loveliest ' of the colonies is loyal to Great Britsin, then we need have little fear for the future of the British Empire. In the night of June 27, the ' Ophir ' and bar two escorting men-of-war steamed out of the grand mountain-enclosed harbour of Ljrttelton, while on in WITH THE BOTAL TOUB shore the lojtH people cheered and the rockets soared into the dark sky. We had bidden farewell to the pleasantest land that, in the estimation of some of US who had wandered most, we had ever yisited. But it was not for another twenty-four hours that we were to see the last of New Zealand, for throughout that night we were steaming along the coast of the South Island, and dawn found us at the eastern entrance of Cook Strait, the broad and windy channel that divides the North from the South Island. Throughout the 28th, as we were traversing the Straits, with the land always close on our port hand, there was ever unrolling before us a ^<»ious panorama of rugged cliffs, bold capes, and fozeet- clad hills, backed by a great unbroken mountain range covered deep in snow for halfway down its slopes. It was a bracing frosty morning, with a cloudless sky overhead ; and the sea, which here is of a wonderful turquoise blue, tumbled in white-capped waves before the strong south-easter. But it was later in the day that we were able to appreciate best the marvellous richness of colouring that characterises New Zealand scenery, which is utterly unlike that of the Australian bush, with its dull-hued but impressive monotony. For that afternoon we skirted that grand highland region of intricate deep winding sounds and mountain-enclosed fiords which forms the northern extremity of the South Island. Here the huge rocky capes that in the foregrotmd COAST SCENERY 231 rose sheer from the white foam belt were of a van- dyke brown, while the forests that clothed their summits glowed in various rich autumnal hues. Bat whenever we looked between the great projecting promontories, up the sounds that run far into the iimer land, the distant mountains at the heads of these still gulfs were of the richest purples and dark-blue tints, save on the high peaks, which gleamed white with snow wherever the slopes were not too steep for it to he. The broad belt of rich colouring thus stretching between the turquoise blue of the sea and sky made a picture whose beauty one could never forget. At sunset the ' Juno ' began to roll gently in the high swell of the Pacific Ocean ; for we had passed the Straits, and behind us Cape Farewell, the northernmost point of the island, faintly blue in the distance, slowly sank below the horizon. 2sa WITH THE BOTAL TOUR CHAPTER XV TBI TAUUMXAll OOAIT— HOBABT— OM MOnm WSLUMOTOir' CBOmXe MATCH — TOTAOB TO AOILAIOI— IM TBB ADSTBAUAM BIOHT— VKBTB On the voyage of fifteen hundred miles from Lyttelton to Hobart, Tasmania, we encountered the first really heavy weather since we left England. We were overtaken by a south-east gale, and tumbled about a good deal, rolling to considerable angles, shipping occasional seas, Mid losing sight of our consorts as the huge Pacific waves rolled between us; and I discovered how marvellously comfortable and easy is the action of a shif like the ' Jxmo ' ina heavy sea. As I came on deck, on the morning of July 2, 1 found that we had sighted land again after our four and a half days' stormy voyage. It was a wild morning; the wind was howling through our rising ; the sun shone but fitfully between the driving clouds on a grey tumbling sea in which &e ' Ophir ' and her consorts were pitching and ro^Bg. On our right stretched a high coast, where movntain ranges, clothed with sombre-hued forests, fell into the ocean in lofty dark brown clifib, against whose base the great seas THB TASMANUN CX>A8T 388 dadung, formed a long ngged lin« of wkite. the one ■teeak of bzi|^tiMM in this glo 240 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR assured that this act wiU cement closer than ever the bonds of friendship between the homeland and the furthermost parts of the Empire/ The Domains, or crown lands, which have been wisely reserved for the recreation of the public in all the Australasian cities, are generally beautifully situated; and none more so than the spacious Domain of Hobart, in which the chopping match was contested in the presence of their Eoyal Highnesses and a large crowd of eager spectators. Every inhabitant of Hobart appeared to be in the Domain on this occasion. The Domain covers some rising ground just outside the city, and it is completely encircled by beautiful scenery ; for in whatsoever direction one looks, as one stands on its green sward, one commands fine views, whether it be of the picturesque town below sloping to the mountain-encircled bay, or of the winding Derwent and the capes and sounds at its estuary, or of the snow-capped peak of Mount Wellington. Tasmania produces some of the finest backwoodsmen in the world, who display marvellous skill in the use of the axe, and a log-cutting match here causes as keen an interest and enthusiasm among the crowds who always assemble on these occasions as does a football match in some parts of Great Britain. This may almost be termed the national sport of the island, and a class of professional log-choppers has sprung up, who practically earn their livelihood LOG-CHOPPING MATCH 341 by engaging in these contests. But it is killing work, and the professional is likely to die yoong unless his heart is very sound. In no sport is the physical strain more severe; it is not unusual for competitors to faint, and on this day I saw more than one man drop exhausted or insensible to the ground as soon as he had delivered the last stroke that severed the block of wood before him. When one has witnessed one of these competitions — and this day's was an exceptionally good one — one begins to understand why this is so fascinating a form of sport for the onlookers, and why the backers of the various competitors exhibit so intense an excitement. I will endeavour to describe the first of this day's events— the contest for the Grand Championship of the Commonwealth— for which the first prize was^60Z. and a gold medal, while there were other prizes for second, third, and fourth. Standing blocks of timber corresponding to the number of the competitors were placed on the ground, each block being of 6 ft. 4 in. girth. As the logs might differ in hardness of grain or in other respects, lots were drawn for them ; and it was curious then to observe each man delicately feeling with skilful fingers his particular log, appraising its qualities, selecting the side from which he could attack it best, and then, after careful measurement, chipping two little notches on it, one above and one below, to c B 342 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR mark the proper range of his stroke and guide his eye. As there was a large number of competitors there were several heats, about ten men engaging in each. Each man, in the light attire of the athlete, stood by his log, axe in hand raised ready for the starter's signal, and as it was a handicap contest the scratch was started last and the others at intervals of a few seconds. By each competitor stood his coach, stooping, hands on knees, eagerly watching, like a man's second in a boxing match, prompt- ing, urging, giving hints as to how to deliver his strokes, telling him how his opponents were pro- gressing. It was wonderful to see how each man as the starter ga^e the word tackled his block, how his wiry arms swung and his lithe body swayed as he rained down his strokes with his heavy long-handled axe with extraordinarj rapidity and still more extra- ordinary accuracy, at each stroke the razor-sharp blade entering deep into the wood at the most effec- tive spot and within a hair-breadth of where the wielder intended to drive it home, huge chips— if one can apply such a term to them, for they weighed pounds and were often several inches in thickness — flying all over the ground. With lightning strokes, upwards and downwards, the quick axe ate into the block its wedge-shaped cleft, exact and smooth as if machinery had cut it. As soon as a man had cloven his triangular cutting to the centre of the block on one side he would turn and attack the other side LOG-CHOPPING MATCH 243 with a like fierce energy until, at last, but a thin ridge of wood divided the two V-ehaped clefts, and then, with a few well-directed strokes, the upper part of the block would totter and finally topple to the ground. The handicapped men as a rule soon out- stripped the majority of their adversaries, and there was a fine finish to every heat, several logs being all but cut through at the same time, so that it was un- certain which would fall first to the raining axe strokes. The spectators displayed the excitement one witnesses at the most closely contested horse race at home, and some of the visitors from Great Britain could not but feel the contagion of that excitement as their selected favourites hewed their way to victory. The best time was four minutes twenty-four seconds, and it will be acknowledged by i'l wbo have ever feUed a tree that to divide a log of fairly hard wood of the girth I have mentioned in that time is exceedingly good work. After the championship had been fought out there was an underhand chopping handicap, in which the log lies honzontaUy on the ground, and the axe-man standing on top of it, divides it with downward strokes of the axe. The assembled people were much gratified to observe that :he Duke took a keen mterest m their national sport, standing amid t^e ompetitors and closely watching their wonderful exhibition of skill. The Duke presented the gold medal to M'Cartfcy, the Tasmanian who carried off b2 244 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR the championship, and who wrs among those who fell exhausted after the last stroke in the vigorous struggle in the final heat. The Duke congratulated him heartily on his hard-earned victory, and the pro- ceedings dosed with as loud and sincere a succession of cheers for the Duke and Duchess as their Eoyal Highnesses have heard in loyal Australasia. In the afternoon of July 6, the • Ophir ' and her consorts sailed for Adelaide, and we reached ' port in the evening of the 8th. It was arru ^ understand in consequence of some difficulty in coaling— that the 'Juno* and ' St. George' should not stay at Adelaide with the ' Ophir,' but should proceed BO soon as they had received their mails to Albany and coal in that port. It was intimated to the corre- spondents attached to the royal escort that there was accommodation for two of us on board the • Royal Arthur,' the ship that was to act as the ' Ophir's ' escort in the place of the 'Juno' and 'St. George* during the remainder of the royal yacht's stay in Aus- tralian waters. Accordingly lots were drawn, two of us, one from each ship, were transferred to the ' Boyal Arthur,' and the four others, including myself, sailed for Albany that same afternoon in the two ships that had so long been our homes. Of Adelaide and the State of South Australia we therefore saw no- thing but the distant shore as we lay at anchor about six miles off it for a few hours, rolling in a choppy sea. But, on the other hand, we visited Western i! VOYAGE TO ADELAIDE 245 Australia, and its capital Perth, whi>h those who joined the ' Boyal Arthur ' could not do. As we put to sea in the afternoon there was every sign of bad weather, the sky looked stormy, the glass was falling, and as soon as we haU got outside the bay into the open ocean the wind began to howl and the sea to rise. The Great Australian Bight, of as bad repute as the Bay of Biscay for foul weather, had treated us kindly on our outward voyage ; but now it proved to us that its reputation was well deserved, for during the four days which were occupied in making the voyage to Albany we were buffeted by a succession of gales from various quarters. It occa- sionally blew with great fury, it rained in torrents, it hailed, it thundered and lightened — in short, we were put through every variety of foul weather, now pitching violently into the high steep seas with the gale howling in our teeth, now rolling in the beam seas until our boats dipped into the wave crests and were all but carried away. In the morning of July 13 we entered the smooth waters of St. George's Sound, and were at peace again, lying at anchor off Albany, the first Australian port at which we had called in this tour, ten weeks before. On the following day we correspondents took train to Perth, a twenty hours* journey across a somewhat un- interesting country of bush and forest, presenting the dull monotonous tints that characterise the Austra- lian landscape. We were thus in Perth a week 246 WITH THJ ROYAL TOUB before the Duke and Dachess were expected to arrive in that city ; but we were prevented from viewing more than the opening ceremony connected with the royal visit, for, on the day following the arrival of their Boyal Highnesses, we had to take train again to Albany to rejoin our ships, which were under orders to sail from that port before the departure of the ' Ophir ' from Fremantle. In every other place we visited our stay coincided with that of their Boyal Highnesses ; it was for as a life of perpetual bustle amid excited crowds, in a whirl of rapidly succeeding processions and ceremonies; but now we were to spend a comparatively peaceful week in the capital of a great State before the open- ing of the general holiday, when the city, if not exactly in its normal condition, would be an abode of perfect rest compared with what it would be later on. I was thus able to make myself better acquainted with this city than with any other I visited during this cruise, to see more of the statesmen and other leading people than would have been possible in the following week, when all their time was fully occupied — not that those in authority had much leisure even then. It was a time of diligent and zealous preparation. Western Australia being deter- mined not to be behind the other States and Colonies in the magnificence of its welcome to the Duke and Duchess. 247 CHAPTER XVI A WBU IN PIBTH — THB 8WAM BITIB— BIB JOHN rOBBXST — TBI COOLOABDIB WATBBW0BK8— WXSTEBN AUSTBALU'S WBbCOHB This is the wettest season in the year in West Australia, and towards the end of July it is rare that two fine days occur in succession in Perth. But despite the high winds and almost constant heavy rain, throughout that week an army of work- men was busily engaged in putting up the decora- tions; the stately arches rose in the streets; the Venetian masts were planted ; the festoons of flowers, the drapery, and the bunting began to glorify the to Am with brilhant colour; the members of the Exception Committees were hard at work organising . nging every detail of the programme ; troops ?, '^llected in the city ; processions were rehearsed ; --children drilled. I was now able to realise more clearly than I had before what an amount of time and thought and toil — not to mention the expenditure— the people of each of these loyal States had devoted to the preparation of the welcome of the Duke and Duchess. I felt sometimes as if I were behind the scenes of a theatre when the details 948 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB I of some great tpeotaoohur drama were being planned and worked out ; and the labour of love and loyalty was well rewarded, for the decorations, illumina- tions, and processions in Perth bore fayonrable comparison with those we had witnessed in the other States. Every Australasian capital can boast of a magni- ficent situation on the shores of some splendid bay or gulf, and Perth is no exception to the rule. From the waterside streets and from the pleasant suburbs which, embowered amid fine trees, giant bamboos, and tropic bush, crown the hill slopes beyond the town, beautiful views are commanded over the broad Swan Biver. But to appreciate best the beautic: of Perth one should visit the extensive public park, which covers a high plateau overlook- ing the city. Here in places the roads wind through the glades of the primeval bush, which are bright with an extraordinary profusion of wild flowers in the spring, flooding the ground with colour. One of the chief carriage roads in this park skirts the edge of the plateau, where it begins to dip steeply to the water ; and from here one overlooks a scene of peculiar beauty, a landscape of impressive im- mensity. Below one, to the right, is the city, extend- ing to the water's edge, with its piers and jetties jutting out into the Swan Biver, and its picturesque suburbs on the inland side. Fronting one is the estuary of the Swan Biver, which here opens out PEBTE 349 into two great Ukes or sounds with a narrow strait connecting them, and one looks over leagues of deeply indented shores, bays, capes, and scattered tillages and homesteads; while beyond the water and the cultivated Ian ^ i» seen the solemn slate-blue lonely Australian bush, like a melancholy ocean under a clouded sky, stretching far away to the dim line of the horizon. Perth itself, as I looked down on it from here one day in an interval between the showers, was fair to see, with its red-roofed houses, its broad streets — now decorated and bright with colour — its handsome buildings, and its churches dominating all, the fine Protestant Cathedral con- spicuous amcpfi; them. The Bishop of Perth, by the way, can boast of having under his care an extensive diocese indeed, seeing that it is twenty times the nize of England. Since the discovery of the Western Australian goldfields Perth has grown rapidly, and it is less than a decade aero that this now wealthy, handsome, and still sprep g city was but a comparatively insig- nificant tuwnship. There is nothing that will so rapidly promote the development of a new country as the discovery of goldfields ; for the other indus- tries quickly arise to supply the needs of the mining population, and the development will be all the more rapid if those who hold the reins of power in the land display foresight and energy, as Sir John Forrest undoubt* ly has in this State. The Aus- 900 WITH THE ROYAL TOUB tnlMian demoonoies select their political leaden shrewdly. In the course of this tour we met statesmen of high capacity — Mr. Seddon, of New Zealand, for example — who are advancing the pro- sperity of their respective States by their bold and farHBeeing policy. Western Australia owes mnch to Sir John Forrest, who somewhat resembles Mr. Seddon in his physique as well as in vigour of intellect and commanding character. A daring explorer of the wildemesB in his early manhood, and a bom leader of men, he has for the last ten years been the Premier of this State, and has only ceased to f e so within the past few months, because he has accepted office in the Federal Cabinet as Minister of State for Defence, in which capacity he has already done his country splendid service by his introduction to the House of Representatives of his admirable Commonwealth Defence Bill. During his ten years of office as Premier in this State he inspired such confidence that he brought round to his views most of those who originally opposed him, and he generally had his way. His popularity is extraordinary. It was pleasant to hear, on two or three occasions when I happened to be driving with him through the streets of Perth, the crowds cheering him, and men hailing him with friendly phrases in the rough kindly Au;^^' i.\n way. This strong man has carried out his policy despite the opposition of the timorous, who held that his schemes involved a SIB JOHN F0BBE8T SBl dangeronsly eztnvagant expenditure. He urgoed that this expenditure was neoeuar^ to open out the vast resources of the country, and that the sums expended would be recovered by the State over and over again. Thus to him are due the railways, which, in the face of bitter opposition, he rapidly extended to the goldfields so soon as the great rich- ness of these was proved. Within the past few years six hundred miles have been added to the State railway system, and these lines were from the beginning worked at a small profit. Without them the Coolgardie goldfields could not have been developed. Sir John's energy and good government have moreover saved a great waste of valuable life. In the early days enteric raged on the goldfields ; the mortality among the young men who first flocked to Coolgardie was terrible. Sentimental people at home prate of the horrors of war; the pioneers of the goldfields perish unrecorded ; and I ha^e had figures placed before mo which show tLat the perc • "^aga of deaths from all causes in the South A can Campaign has been but a fifth of thai, at Coolgardie seven years back. But the remedy q^'ckly came ; excellent hospitals were estui'lnhed, sanitary rules were enforced ; and never, in tlie tragic historj- of the rush for gold in wild barren regions, was good order more rapidly introduced than it was in the Coolgardie district by the zealous Government that had Sir John Forrest as its head. The Fremantle WITH THE BOYAL TOUB harbour works, by which he has given Perth its port, was another of Sir John's fayoorite schemes ; but far the most important of all, and one that may produce very far-reaching results, is the Coolgardie goldfields water supply, one of the most daring experiments in modem engineering, of which, as I visited the yet uncompleted works, I will give some description. The Coolgardie goldfields are three hundred and seventy miles from Perth, in the practically rainless interior, amid a hopeless wilderness of dust. At the opening of the goldfields, as everybody knows, the scarcity of water, even for drinking purposes, formed an apparently insuperable obstacle to the develop- ment of the mines, and led to much disease and loss of life. Sir John Forrest, while advocating his scheme in the Legislative Assembly in July, 1890, pointed out that in the previous December, when he visited the fields, there was not sufficient water for crushing anywhere, water was being sold at the condensers at from 4d. to 6d. a gallon; it cost him 11. to water his five horses ; there was no water to wash with, scarcely enough to drink. Tanks with splendid catchments, that have been placed to collect the irregular rainfall, have proved inadequate in good years, and a prolonged drought empties them. The goldfields, with an ever-increasing population and growing towns, could not depend on this source. The condensation of the brine that accumulated at THE COOLOABDIE WATERWORKS 258 the bottom of the mines— at an eyer>increasing cost, as fael had to be brought from greater distances — afforded the only reliable supply of fresh water; thus, in many cases, if a mine proved a failure as a gold mine it was made to pay a small dividend as a water mine, its machinery being employed to pump up the salt water from the bottom of the shaft and to condense it. Condensed water used to cost from 62. to 122. per thousand gallons. Of course no water could be spared for sheep or cattle, except occasionally for a few which were gathered round a condenser for killing purposes; while numbers of horses were per- force left to die of thirst. Sir John, in the speech I have referred to, dis- posed of Artesian wells, condensers, and reservoirs on the spot as extravagantly costly or wholly in- adequate methods for supplying water to this price- less auriferous desert, and advocated the carriage of water from the neighbourhood of Perth, where the rainfall is considerable, for three hundred and seventy miles by steel pipes to the goldfields. The cost of this stupendous scheme was estimated at 2,500,0002., the requisite 90,000 tons of steel pipes of 30in. diameter by themselves costing nearly 1,500,0002. By these means it was proposed to supply the goldfields with five million gallons of fresh water daily. According to Sir John Forrest, if this water was sold on the fields at only 3^. 6d. per thousand gallons this great and inestimably useful work would cost the 8Bi WITH THE BOYAL TOUR country nothing, as the profit would suffice not only to pay a good interest on the capital expended, but, by means of a sinking fund, to pay off that capital in a period of about twenty years ; and, if experts are not altogether at fault, the Coolgardie goldfields should hold out for at least that length of time. The cost of the pumped water, therefore, would be about half as many shillings per thousand gallons as the condensed water costs in sovereigns. The scheme was therefore adopted, and it was decided to con- struct a great reservoir in the Greenmount ranges near the coast, and from there to carry the water by pipes to Mount Burgess, a hill overlooking Coolgardie, from which it could be distributed all over the gold- fields by a reticulation of 12in. pipes. The pipes have to be carried across ranges of considerable altitude, the total head to be overcome being about two thousand five hundred feet ; but as there will be eight pumping stations on the way, with several pumps at each, at no point will a pumping engine have to raise water to any great height. The pro- posed supply appears to be adequate, for it is esti- mated that five million gallons of water a day will keep going three hundred batteries of twenty head of stampers each, while leaving two million gallons for domestic purposes. The scheme, on account of its great cost and the engineering difficulties that pre- sented themselves, encountered a determined opposi- tion, but the work is now progressing rapidly, and THE OOOLGARDIE WATERWORKS 266 that the experiment will prove saccessfol seems almost certain. It is a mighty experiment, and it is being watched with the keenest interest throughout Australia, for its success probably signifies the initiation of a general scheme for storing the abundant, now wasted, rainfall of the coast belt for the supply of the arid interior, the development of the latent wealth of vast tracts of now waste land, and the introduction of cultivation into the desert, which, in itself, as has been proved in other parched regions, so affects the climatic conditions as to induce a regular rainfall where rain has never fallen before. One afternoon I accompanied Sir John Forrest and Mr. M. Ferguson, the engineer who has con- tracted to manufacture one half of the required pipes, to inspect the works. A special train took us down the line. First we stopped awhile at Falkirk, one of the two factories at which the pipes are made. At this spot, where, but a few months back, was merely wild uninhabited bush, have suddenly sprung up, as if by magic, engineering works on a large scale, noisy with the din of vast and powerful machinery, the tearing and hammering of metal, the roar of furnaces, and providing labour for a large number of men. Here we witnessed the manufacture of the pipes from the first to the last stage, a nuxvel of perfect engineering that appealed to one's imagination much as does a fine 968 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR poem. The locking-ban, of which I shall speak later on, were manolactared in England ; bnt the ninety thousand tons of steel plates of which the pipes are being made were imported, not from England — though the Western Australian Government was anxious that British firms should take up the contract — but one half from the United States and the other half from Germany. I understood that conservative British firms, not having been in the habit of turning out steel plates of the particular length required — 80 ft.— were unwilling to accept this order; whereas the more energetic foreign sTs were quite prepared to adapt thjir plant at once to this new demand, and to produce the plates at a lower price and more promptly than would hax^e been possible in England. One frequently hears this sort of story in the course of one's travels round the world, and there are people at home who mildly wonder how it is that foreigners can so successfully compete with us in our own markets. Mr. Ferguson is proud of his Falkirk factory, and well he may be. It was at full work when we arrived, and very interesting it was to follow each ingenious process, to watch the beautiful machinery with an unerring precision, with a strange delicacy of manipulation, with what might in truth be de- scribed as an easy grace in the putting forth of its irresistible power, rapidly twist and mould the stout tough metal to its will. First the plate was placed THE COOLGARDIE WATERWORKS 267 in a mmshine which trinuned it to the size required and beaded its edges. Than it was carried to the bending rolls, which snrved it, as easily as you would a strip of paper, into an exact half -cylinder. Next, two of these half-cylinders wer«. placed together and joined so as to form a tube by means of the locking- bars — steel rods 30ft. in length, with a groove on either side into which the edges of the half-cylinders fit, thos dovetailing the latter together— a process of which Mr. Fergnson is the patentee. Next powerful clamps forced the edges of the plates home into these locking-bars. The tube was now placed in the curling machine, which finished off the locking-bar edges. And lastly came the closing in of the locking-bar round the beaded edges of the plates by a powerful hydraulic machine, which left the completed and perfect pipe 30ft. in length and 30in. in diameter. It was all done before our eyes with an amazing swiftness. The pipes, of course, are all thoroughly tested. It is estimated that the maximum pressure in the pipes when the works are completed will be two hundred pounds to the square inch ; so each tube, before it is sent out of the Falkirk factory, is subjected to a water pressure of four hundred pounds to the square inch. We saw three of the pipes, whose making we had followed stage by stage, placed in turn in a hydraulic machine which forced the water into them, and in each case there was no sign of leakage at the juncture of the c s m m m i 258 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR plates when the indicator pointed to 400 on the pres- sure gauge. When it had passed this test each pipe was dipped into a bituminous varnish to preserve it from rust. Lpstly, we saw, being drawn red-hot out of the glowing furnaces, the steel joint-rings by which the pipes when laid down will be joined one to another, lead being employed to caulk the con- nections. From Falkirk a further journey of a few miles in the train brought us to Mundaring, where the huge reservoir has been constructed that is to supply five million gallons of water a day to dis- tant Coolgardie. As we got out of the train we looked down on a wonderful scene. We were on the upper slopes of a valley that had evidently until recently been a lonely bush-covered waste, with a little river running down it. But now, across a narrowing of the valley immediately below us, there stretched a mighty artificial dam ; while steam-engines, cranes, and various machinery, work- shops and the huts of the navvies and other labourers, scattered over the hillsides and the valley bottom, showed that a great engineering work was in progress. Below the dam the hand of man had made an ugly scar on she face of fair nature ; for there, in the heart of the green vale, was a naked waste, a confusion of shattered rocks, felled or uprooted trees, slopes of diMs, mounds of earth that had been dug out to arrive at a solid foundation for the dam. But above THE COOLGAEDIE WATERWORKS 269 the dam the interference of man had not had the same disfiguring effect, but had created an extensive and beautiful lake, reflecting the wooded heights on its still surface. The dam itself, a concrete wall gradually narrowing towards its summit, 650ft. in length and 100ft. in height, extends across the valley from cliff to cliff, and the waters of the Helena River, thus backed up, ^lave risen until they have formed a lake about seven miles in length. The water had not attained its full height at the time of cur visit, but whore its edge will ulti- mately be was clearly indicated to us by the belt of open ground that bordered it, for up to the level that will be reached by the water the sloping banks have been cleared of trees and bush. The valley of the Helena Eiver drains an immense area amid the Darling ranges, where the rainfall is considerable, so that there can be little doubt that an adequate supply of water will be provided by this reservoir. It will impound nearly five thousand millions of gallons of water, that is, a two years' supply for the goldfields at the rate of five million gallons a day, after making a liberal allowance for leakage and evaporation. Contrary to the expecta- tion of the engineers, it became necessary to excavate to a great depth before a trustworthy foundation for the dam site was found on the solid bed-rock ; but all difficulties have now been sur- mounted, the mighty dam is all but completed, and 8 3 960 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR I it certainly looks ag if triomphant snooess will reward those who have conceived this daring project and have so resolutely striven to carry it into execution. If it realises its purpose it will he a monument of colonial enterprise of which all Australia may well he proud. It rained hard throughout that week in Perth, so that the decorations began to lose their brightness as soon as they were put up ; the paint ran down the coloured scrolls of welcome ; and the energetic people had to construct many of the ornamentations of their streets anew before the eagerly expected day of the procession arrived. One day I saw a group of poor Chinese stand round the beautiful ajjh of welcome they had erected, an J c -sconsolately and in silence watch the heavy downpour washing the colours out of the sadly drooping banners and draperies, and melting the paper lanterns and dragons and weird designs which decorated the graceful pagodas of that characteristic structure. Yet the Celestials did not lose heart ; all night they toiled, and by the next morning the damage had been made good, while hundreds of yards of waterproof cloth enveloped the arch to protect it until the day of the procession. At last came the day for which all these prepara- tions had been made— July 20— on which the Duke and Duchess were to make their entry into the city of Perth. From many a window in the early monung people looked anxiously forth, and rejoiced to see a blue sky overhead. The wind had veered to a ! I WBBT AUSTRALIA'S LOYALTY 96t favourable quarter, and through out the day the^e was perfect weather. From an early hour the ezonrsion trains poured their thousands into the eity, and the streets were crowded with visitors from far and near, many of whom, to judge from their amazed and bewildered looks, had come from remote back-blocks and had never seen a city before. According to the programme their Boyal Highnesses were to have landed at Fremantle that morning, taken train to Perth, and proceeded through the streets of the capital in the after- noon. The Western Australians thronged the gaily decorated streets in their tens of thousands ready to give unmistakable proof that in loyalty and patriotism they were not a whit behind the rest of the Austral- asian peoples. It was a well-dressed, excellently behaved, eager, happy multitude, a people good to behold. But soon through the crowded streets spreaa a disquieting rumour, not credited at first, but 6t last discovered to be all too well founded. In dismay the people read the notices that were placed in the windows of the newspaper offices and in other conspicuous places, and realised that there would be no arrival of the Duke and Duchess in Perth that day ; that, owing to stress of weather, the ' Ophir,* after having accomplished the greater part of the voyage from Adelaide to Fremantle, had put back and taken refuge in the harbour of distant Albany. The disappointment was intense, more especially 969 WITH THE BOTAL TOUR among the thousands of visitors from » distance, who would he compelled to retnm to their hornet hefore the day of the postponed procession. On that night and on Sunday the trains were packed with unfor* tunate people who, after all their trouble, long journeying, and often ill-afforded expenditure, had missed the one opportunity of their lives, to which they had been eagerly looking forward for months, of seeing their future king and queen. How keen was the disappointment one could plainly see in the faces of the people, who walked slowly about the streets looking at the decorations until the time came for them to leave the city ; and it was pitiful to watch the expressions of many of the women and children, who had journeyed from far remote places and had now to go bfick disconsolate. There was another Saturday morning last year when a vast London crowd had a somewhat similar experience — ^that Saturday of unparalleled disappointment when, in con- sequence of heavy weather, the ship that was bearing homeward the City Imperial Volunteers was delayed, and their march through London was postponed — even as was the procession of the Duke and Duchess through Perth on this occasion — to the following Monday. But in Perth when the Monday came there was none of that rowd3nsm that disgraced the streets of London during the march of the C.I.V.'s. Intense as was the dis- appointment in Perth, it was possibly still more so DISAPPOINTMENT \T PRBMANTLE 263 in Fnnuuitle, which h»d been beantifolly deoorated by ite oitizent, and where elaborate preparations had been made for the reception of the royal visiton. And Fren^antle had a farther cause for mourning. Here, but twelve miles from the capital, have been oonstracted, at an immense cost, the mighty harbour works that have caused Fremantle to replace the splendid natural harbour at Albany as the port of call for the British and foreign liners. There are still many who hold that the entry to Fremantle is too dangerous when a westerly gale is blowing, and that Albany, despite its great distance from Perth, should rightly be the principal seaport of the State and the place of call for the mail steamers. That the ' Ophir ' in heavy weather failed to enter Fremantle and put back to Albany lent countenance to this view ; so Fremantle felt that a blow had been struck at her prestige, while the champions of Albany naturally rejoiced. ' It is an ill wind that blows nobody good ' was the saying in every one's mouth ; and it was recog- nised that neglected Albany distinctly scored when the ' Ophir ' and the three men-of 'War steamed into her harbour. A special train brought their Eoyal Highnesses from Albany to Perth, and on the Monday morning the postponed procession was made through the capital. Good luck attended the Duke and Duchess throughout this tour, and, with the one exception of the review at Melbourne, every function so far had 964 WITH THE BOYAL TOUB been held in fine weather. Happily thii wm no exception to the rale, After a week of howling gales and driving rain thii wae a day of bright inn- shine and cool breezes— one of those perfect Anstra- lian winter days that make this one of the most delicious climates in the world. Perth presented a fine appearance with its decorations glowing in the sunshine, its crowds, its mounted troops, and the infantry and cadets in scarlet trmics that lined the route. Though so large a number of the visitors had been compelled to return to their homes, the streets were full, and it is estimated that about a third of the population of the whole State witnessed the procession. The best behaved of crowds that day gave the Duke and Duchess the most enthueios* tic of receptions. The Duke and Duchess remained in Perth until July 26, when they took train to Pre- mantle to rejoin the ' Opbir,' which, in the meantime, had steamed from Albany to that port. Many were the interesting functions during their stay at Perth, but of these we correspondents saw nothing, for on the Tuesday we had to take train to Albany to rejoin our ships, as the ' St. George ' was under orders to sail on Wednesday, and the 'Juno ' on Thursday, at daybreak — the 'Juno' to meet the 'Ophir' at an appointed rendezvous two hundred miles from Fre- mantle, and the ' St. George ' to join us at another rendezvous about two thousand miles from the Australian coast. 966 CHAPTEB XVII FABSWBLL TO AUSTHAUA — ^A MID-OCXAM BBNDEZVOUS — MATTBI- ntrs: fobt loots and its inhabitants — a pbospibous ISLAND — ^TOTAOE TO DUBBAN In the early morning, on July 25, the ' Juno ' steamed out of the harbour of Albany to commence 'ler long voyage of three thousand five hundred miles across the Indian Ocean to the island of Mauritius. We had bidden farewell to Australasia, and I think that all of us left those pleasant southern lands with some regret. A visit to Australia cannot but be an interesting revelation to any intelligent EngUshman, and he is most likely to fall in love with the country and its people. For three months we had been wandering through these rich colonies, and had seen them all rejoicing in their newly accomplished union; we had enjoyed the hospitality, the eager welcome of their generous people ; we had met their keen far-seeing statesmen, and had felt ourselves compelled to sympathise with daring experiments in democratic and socialistic legislation that would have shocked us at home — where, indeed, the conditions are wholly different. In Australia and in New 266 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR Zealand one feels that one is living in a wider world, with more extensive horizons and a brighter atmo- sphere. It appeals to the imagination to watch these young countries struggling up to greatness, with such mighty possibilities before them. "What, perhaps, strikes one most forcibly in these Australasian com- munities is their delightful fresh youthfuMess of spirit. Youthful are the conceit of the people in the perfection of their country, and their love of approba- tion from the stranger. Youthful are their cheery daring energy, their sanguine temperament, and their undaunted pluck in time of adversity. Youth- ful is the joyous enthusiasm of the statesmen who take such keen frankly expressed pride in the vast schemes by which they hope to make their countries rich and great. Youthful, too, are the general absence of cynicism and indifference, the generous loyalty, the impulsive affection for the mother country, and the eagemei^ to fight her battles. And perhaps the most especially youthful trait of all is this people's intolerance of what they hold to be treason. Wholesome and robust youth is ever in- tolerant of what it feels to be an evil thing, and surely there is a form of philosophic sentimental toleration that is a symptom of degeneracy and unmanliness. With all their democratic independence a' d love of hberty the Australians would not tolerate in their midst 'those traitors and mischievous cranks' — I AUSTRAUA AND ENGLISH PRO-BOEES 267 quote from a leading Anstralian paper — ' the English pro-Boers.' Strong supporters as they are of the liberty of speech, they would deny it to men who espouse the enemy's cause in time of war. I have been perusing copies of the leading papers that appeared at each place I visited during the stay of their Boyal Highnesses, and I could quote passages from nearly every one of them in which our pro- Boers are spoken of in terms of quite refreshing loathing and contempt, reprerenting what most Englishmen feel but do not always venture to ex- press. The English pro-Boers, not satisfied with exciting against their country the hatred of Europe, have been doing their utmost to poison the well of pure loyalty in the colonies ; they have sent out enormous quantities of leaflets and broadsheets in which the enemy is glorified, the British troops are traduced, and the Australians are urged to refrain from despatching further contingents to fight in • so unholy a war.' It would be well if the authors and promulgators of this rubbish could re^d the very plain-spoken comments on themselves and their pro- ductions that appear in the Australasian papers, every one of which has received its consignment of this literature. And, to conclude, let me repeat that, in every State and Colony we visited, the entire press (a very few obscene ' gutter papers ' excepted), the organs of both the Government and the Opposition, of the Conservative or of the Labour party, with one 268 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR voice, and with an affecting enthusiasm, welcomed the Duke and Duchess to the colonies, displaying the keenest appreciation of the significance of this visit. There is no half-heartedness in the utterances of these papers, which faithfully mirror the sentiments of the people, and they should be read by all those who entertain the slightest doubt about the loyalty and steadfast Imperialism of the colonies : all parties unite in their patriotism, and so supply an object- lesson to some parties at home. The democracies of Australia recognised the need for the consolidation of the Empire sooner than did the masses in the old country ; and the leading Hobart paper well said that 'probably the future historian will date British con- solidation from the time when the Imperial policy was first recognised and proclaimed to the world by a royal progress. That progress has, let us hope, brought out certain facts which need to be made very plain to the world.' It must be difficult for those who have not accompanied this royal tour to realise fully the good that it has accomplished ; and insomuch as the never-failing graciousness of the Duke and Duchess, and the evident keen interest that they took in their important task, won for them the love of the generous .'Lustralian people, their Eoyal Highnesses, by their successful and useful part in this great work of uniting the Empire, have earned the deep gratitude of all men of English blood. A MID-OCEAN RENDEZVOUS 269 The ' Juno ' therefore sailed alone from Albany to keep her rendezvous with the ' Ophir,' and, having so long a start of the royal yacht, she steamed at low speed until the meeting between them, which was punctually at the appointed time — dawn ^n the 27th. Here the ' Boyal Arthur,' which had escorted the ' Ophir ' from Fremantle, left her in our charge and returned to the Australian coast. Then the ' Ophir ' and ' Junu ' steamed in company over a somewhat rough sea, in which we both tumbled about a good deal, until the morning of the dlst, when we reached the place of the second rendezvous in the middle o! the Indian Ocean, where the ' St. George,' with which we had been conversing by wireless telegraphy for many hours before we sighted her, joined us as arranged. From thi > point the three ships proceeded together to Mauritius, observing their old formation, the * Ophir ' leading, with one of the men -of- war on each quarter. And gradually, as we entered the tropics, in our oblique course across the parallels of latitude, in the direction of the setting sun, a change came over the climate; the wintry keenness gave way to the genial tempeature of an English summer ; and then we rear' a still sultrier tract of ocean, where the blue wa o are perpetually toss- ing beneath the south-east trade wind — a wind that was in our favour, blowing from directly aft, and often almost exactly at our own speed, so that one could hold a hghted match on deck as in a calm, and 1:1 I; If 370 WITH THE ROYAL TOUB the Bmoke rose in perpendicular columns from the funnels of the three ships. In the afternoon of August 4, the ' Ophir,' ' Juno," and ' St. George ' came to anchor within the well- sheltered harbour of Port Louis, Mauritius, where a number of large steamers and sailing ships moored in rows supplied an indication of the island's now prosperous trade. Framed, as it is, by beautiful scenery. Port Louis from the anchorage looks a pleasanter place than it proves to be on nearer acquaintance. The straggling town lining the shore from here has a picturesque aspect ; the hills rise steeply immediately behind it— green gully-cleft slopes of beautiful tropical vegetation topped by huge precipices of grey rock and needle-like peaks. We remained here for four days, and as the programme that had been arranged for the royal visit was a short one, there being no functions of any importance after the first reception of the Duke and Duchess of Corn- wall and York on their landing, I was enabled to spend most of my time in wandering about this pretty island. I landed early on Monday morning, and had soon seen all that I desired to see of the town of Port Louis. It has never recovered from the disastrous hurricane of 1892, which destroyed so great a part of it. It is now mainly composed of mean unsavoury streets, of slovenly houses, occupied for the most part by Indians, Chinese, negroes, and half-breeds. Port Louis is an unhealthy and feverish place, so that the Europeans, MAURITIUS: PORT LOUIS 271 who have their business establishments in the town, all reside some miles outside in pleasant suburbs high up on the hills. Thus the Governor of the island does not dwell in Government House, which ip m the centre of the town, but at Le RMuit, a beautifully situated country residence at a considerable height above the sea, which was occupied by the Duke and Duchess and some of the suite during their stay in the island. On the morning of our arrival I drove to the beautiful Pamplemousses Botanical Gardens and back. These gardens of fairyland, which have so often been described, are about twelve miles from the town. The drive was a pleasant one along a good road bordered on either side by a rich tropical vege- tation ; in places rows of the many-trunked banyan trees leaned inwards over the road, forming an arched tunnel of verdure through which one caught but occasional glimpses of the blue sky overhead. Though the season was winter, a multitude of splendid blossoms glowed in the dense bush, while winding high up the tree branches were creepers bright with a golden rain of hanging flowers, and here and there the glorious hougainvillcea flushed the hillside with its masses of vivid purple. I drove through groves of graceful palms and plantations of sugar-cane, and at frequent intervals observed— as I did later on in other parts of the island— the dismal marks left by the last great hurricane : uprooted trees; gardens laid f^i 379 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR low ; the ruins of fallen hoiues ; and, oooasionally— where had once been the handsome hospitable man- sion of some'rioh planter, strongly built of stone — the bare walls alone standing, the roof gone, the windows and doorways empty, like a building that has been gutted by fire. On my way I encountered a constant stream of country people, all in their holiday bright-coloured raiment, some driving, but the majority on foot, pouring into the town from far and near that they might see the son of the Sovereign and his Consort — people of various races, Indian coolies for the most part, with their wives and families, and numbers of Chinese, negroes, and half-breeds — all quiet, courteous, and well-behaved, and, to judge from their appearance, happy and well-to-do. The scene brought it strongly home to me that on sailing from Australia we had left the white man's country behind us, and were once more in a tropic land of palms, and sugar, and spices, and coloured folk. When I re- turned to the town I found it crowded with people of all colours and conditions ; the streets were prettily decorated, and were spanned by arches formed of tropical foliage and flowers. I witnessed the procession from the roof of Government House. From here I looked down on a moving sea of many bright colours, that filled the Place d'Armes and the streets running into it, reminding one of the street scenes in Singapore andKandy during the royal visit ; PORT LOUIS AND ITS INHABITANTS 278 for beneath me was not the sombre-clad Anglo-Saxon crowd of an Australian city, but a swaying kaleido- scopic multitude of gaily attired Asiatics and Africans —Hindoo women in rainbow-tinted robes, Arabs in flowing white, the women of African blood in the most gaudy of aniline hues, while the troops that lined this portion of the route— the 18th Bengal Infantry and the 27th Madras Infantry— supplied a further blaze of colour with the vivid scarlet and yeUow of their uniforms. At the windows and on the housetops were gathered many of the white native-bom of French blood, the women tastefully dressed in black and white, and fair to look on, for the Mauritiennes have a well-deserved reputation for grace and beauty. Mauritius is unlike any other British possession, inasmuch as it is so wholly French. French is the language of its people; even the coolies imported from India here rapidly acquire the French tongue, while they know not a word of English. If one would make oneself understood, it is in Creole-French that one must address the country people, whether they be of French, Asiatic, or African blood. The Mauritians are quite misunderstood bymanyEnghsh who visit the island. It does not follow that the white planters of good family and others of French extraction are not loyal subjects of Great Britain because they have strong French sympathies, are proud of their French origin and of the naval 974 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR achievementB of their anoetton in the«e w»tert— those Mauritian gentlemen privateers who inflicted such severe losses on England in the old wars. It is true that the French society here and the small English society, which is chiefly ofl&cial and military, mix little. The difference of tongue and religion— the French community being strictly Boman Catholic —our different ways of living, too, and the fact that English and French so rarely understand each other in any country where they come in contact, account for this mutual exclusiveness. It is a pity that this is the case, for the Mauritians of the upper class compose as charming and highly cultured a society as will be found in any part of the Empire. In this island the Englishman, unless he conducts himself badly, will meet with nothing but extreme courtesy from people of every class, a courtesy that is rather of the old-world France than of the modem, and a genuine kindliness. Those Englishmen who, liLe myself, have lived with French Mauritians, enjoyed their graceful hospitality, and gathered from them their sentiments as regards England and the English, know that it would be well for the Empire were every community within its limits as loyal as is this one. There is undoubtedly a good deal of friction at times between the French Catholic population and the English officials, and it is possible that the Englishmen have sometimes been lacking in tact. Some of the Mauritian papers published in the PORT LOUIS AND ITS INHABITANTS 275 French language have ever indulged in violent abuse of the luooeMive English Governors and others in office; but never do they direct their attacks, I understand, against the Crown or the Empire, for the Mauritians are not disloyal. They are, for very good reasons, quite satisfied to remain British subjects. Small though the island be, it supports quite a number of little French papers; none of these rather unenterprising journals was published during the royal visit, for this is a casual country, and the universal holiday extended even to the newspaper offices. It was not until the morning of our departure, August 8, that the papers appeared again to give an account of the landing and reception of the Duke and Duchess that had taken place four days previously. But before re-embarking on the 'Juno' I collected all that day's papers, and though some of them were representative of violent Eadicalism and various bitter prejudices, and had some nasty things to say concerning leading English officials, I found, in every one of them, articles in which the Duke and Duchesa were welcomed in graceful terms to loyal Mauritius, and expressions of aflfection for the Crown and pride in the Empire. It is a good sign that the disloyal obscene ' gutter press,' for which nothing is sacred, that disgraces some places under the British rule, has no existence here. The Duke and Duchess have made themselves very popular in Mauritius, and these French papers T2 WITH THB BOTAL TOUB are eloquent in their frank admiration of their rojal visitora; tact and gracioiuneia are qnalitiea that appeal to people of French blood, and on this occasion these won the kindly hearta of the Mauritiani. The Duke, while replying to the addreisea that were presented to him at Government House, spoke of the naval achievements in these waters as having reflected equal glory on the French islanders and the British, a true sentiment — for there was some tough fighting between us here — that gave great satisfaction to the Mauritians, and served as the text of many articles in the local papers. To demonstrate what is the feeling of the Mauri< tians, justly proud of their past, towards the English, I cannot do better than quote a portion of a speech delivered during our stay by M. de Coriolis, an eminent Mauritian, now surveyor-general for the island, before an audience almost wholly of French extraction, at Mah^bourg, whose rcad'-t^ad wa» the scene of an engagement between the ships of the two Powers, the hulls of the sunken men-of-war still lying there, occasionally visible through the clear water. M. de Coriolis alluded as follows to his Boyal Highness's statement, and the interruptions of applause proved that the speaker's fellow-country- men were quite in accord with him : ' Messieurs, ceux qui ont eu le bonheur d'entendre I'admirable r^ponse faite hier aux deputations par son Altesse Boyale le Due de Comouailles et d'York ont eu la POBT LOUIS AND ITS INHABITANTS 277 joie M coBur en reccvant de notre futur Roi ce beau complimeot, que les souvenin hittoriquee de I'lle Mfturice Ataient auisi glorieux pour I'Angleterre que pour 1* France. Noui pouvons lui r^p^ter ce compli- ment avec une vraie fieri* nationale, et j'ai en, pour ma part, I'Ame tonte pleine en contemplant, au moment oA je vous parle, I'impoeant panorama de la belle rade de MahAbourg et cette He de La Passe qui nous rappelle la vaillance des braves marins fran9ais dont nous descendons pour la plupart. (Applaudissements.) . . . Vainqueurs ! Les Anglais le Bont encore, puisqu'aprAs avoir fait flotter leur pavilion sur cette He ils ont conquis nos coeurs par leur esprit de toWrance et de justice et qu'ils re9oi- vent aujourd'hui le btoifice de leur sage politique par I'imposante et enthousiaste manifestation qui a prouvA k nos hdtes royaux notre affectueuse loyaut* et notre divouement k I'Angleterre. (Applaudisse- ments frinitiques.) Vainqueurs! Nous le sommes aussi, puisque nous avons conserve sous le drapeau Britannique notre iangue et nos traditions fran9aise8 et que, suivant un motcaracteristiquequej'emprunte k un homme C'it&t Canadien, les Anglais et nous, nous pouvons nous regarder les yeux dans les yeux! (Applaudissements.) ' The French Mauritians have indeed every cause to be content with British rule. Their language is the official one on the island ; the French Code NapolAon is the law of the land, the juiges are of 278 WITH THE ROYAL TOUB French blood. The colonists enjoy complete liberty. Their affection for France is a matter of np.tural race sentiment, but they would not change their nationality. E6union, but half a day's sail distant, is an object-lesson to them. That island has the natural advantages of Mauritius, and should be as prosperous; but there, under French rule, despite protective duties, the bureaucrat-ridden people dis- play no energy, trade slackens, and the administra- tion of the colony is carried on by the mother country at a considerable yearly loss. Madagascar affords another object-lesson. When I was there, in 1895, the bulk of the retail trade of the country was in the hands of the Mauritians. One came across their stores in every part of the island. Even there, m a foreign land, I found them proud of their British nationahty, friendly to the Englishmen who came in contact with them — a pleasant, lively, intelli- gent, industrious people, prospering in their business. Then came the French invasion and conquest of the island, and all was changed. Heavy protective duties were introduced, British trade was boycotted, the Mauritians found their business vanishing, and, with a few exceptions, they returned to Mauritius, not at all in love with French methods. Moreover, I know of cases in which these men of French origin and speech would have derived considerable pecuniary benefit by becoming naturalised as French subjects in Madagascar, but refused to abandon their A PROSPEROUS ISLAND 279 I <^ British nationality. Mauritius is now in a flourish- ing condition, though, a few years ago, the island was in dire straits. The devastating hurricane of 1892, follo^.':n by s.- prolonged drought, destroyed the sugar oiantutions, t..p. 1 ruin faced the planters ; but the taergy of the. people and the assistance opportunely giVoa by the British Government saved the island and enabled it to recover from its disaster. We had a pleasant all too short stay in Mauritius ; and I may here mention that there is one distin- guished Englishman, recently dead, whose memory is green in this island, where he was universally loved and esteemed. Many of the educated Mauritians of French blood whom I met told me that they had been pupils of Sir Walter Besant in the early sixties, when the afterwards famous novelist was professor of mathematics and classics in the Boyal College of Mauritius. Distinguished lawyers and doctors, men holding high public appointments in the colony, all had the same story to tell ; and it is certain that Besant must have been a most capable teacher, who compelled the interest and attention of the students under him while capturing their affection. One of these pupils, now holding a responsible post in the Government, showed me a bundle of old college exercises which he had carefully preserved because they had been corrected and initialled W. B. in red ink by his beloved professor. 280 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR No homeward-bound mail steamer called at Mauritius during our stay, and none was expected for some days, so that the ships of the royal escort carried the mails with them to the Cape, the most expeditious way of ^ Hing them home. The South African war had dislocated the mail service in this part of the world. Owing to the great pressure of traffic on the Cape route, the Union-Castle steamers had ceased to call at Mauritius, and were not likely to call there again for some time to come. For the carriage of its mails to England Mauritius had therefore, to rely on the steamers of the Messageries and other lines that use the Suez Canal. But the Seychelles were in a still worse plight than Mauri- tius; for I was shown in the post-office at Port Louis a large pile of mail bags addressed to those islands, which had been accumulating there since May, and that unfortunate archipelago was likely to remain cut off from the outer world for an indefinite time longer unless some compassionate man-of-war conveyed to it its belated correspondence. The ' Ophir,' ' Juno,' and ' St. George ' weighed anchor in the afternoon of August 8, to steam in company for Durban. During that night we passed the island of E^union, and throughout the 10th we were following the wild south-east coast of Mada- gascar, and I looked at famihar scenery ; for, in 1895, I had to march several hundreds of miles through the swamps and forests of that roadless shore, when. VOYAGE TO DURBAN 981 after having avoided the French blockading sqnadion by landing at remote Fort Dauphin, I was making my way to the distant capital of the Hovas. In the morning of August 13 we came to an anchor ofif Durban. WITH THE ROYAL TOUR CHAPTER XVIII IN QUAHANTIME AT THK CAPE — ST. HELENA— TBI OEAOWOOD PLAINS — PBISONBBS ON PABOLE — THE BOEB CAMP — INDUSTBT OF THE PBISONEBS — ATTEMPTS AT ESCAPE — VOTAQB TO ST- VINOENT — THE BOTAL E8C0BT CHANOED The ' Juno ' and ' St. George ' escorted the ' Ophir ' to Durban, but did not remain with her, for they were ordered to put to sea again at once, proceed to Simonstown, coal there, then sail to St. Helena and coal again, and thence steam to a rendezvous in the ocean about one hundred and fifty miles to the east- ward of St. Helena, where, at an appointed hour, they were to meet the ' Ophir * and escort her to St. Vincent in the Cape Verd Islands. It was further- more ordered that the two ships should remain in strict quarantine while at Simonstown, and hold no communication with the shore — a precaution ren- dered necessary by the prevalence of the plague at Capetown. It was announced that accommodation could be given to two of the correspondents on the royal yacht; lots were therefore drawn, and the winners alone witnessed the ceremonies in South Africa. As I was not one of those who were enabled to ST. HELENA land, I can give no description of the interesting doings in South Africa, and of the enthusiastic welcome that was given by the loyalists to the Duke and Duchess. Thus it came about that we in the ' Juno ' and 'St. George' had a long spell of sea work without putting foot on land; for, after leaving Mauritius, we sailed by Beunion and Madagascar ; saw Durban in the distance as we left the ' Ophir ; ' followed the coast to Simonstown, which we reached on August 15 ; there remained for chree days anchored in a somewhat rough sea — for the wind was blowing hard into the bay — gazing at the forbidden shore and the camp of the Boer prisoners on the hillside ; and on the morning of the 18th, as soon as the ' Ophir ' arrived, put to sea again for a further long sail to St. Helena. At dawn, on August 23, St. Helena lay before us, a dark mountainous pile ; and as we approached its rugged coasts it certainly looked the prison isle all over — the impregnable natural dungeon. The stu- pendous volcanic cliffs fell sheer into the surf, and wherever some steep gorge cleaving the precipices afforded a possibility of landing, a high stout wall, in some cases fortified, had been built across its narrow mouth, thus shutting it in, and rendering it inaccessible from the sea — a precaution that had been taken during Napoleon's captivity, so that all attempts at escape or of assistance coming to him from without might be made hopeless. When the Boer prisoners from . WITH THE ROYAL TOUR the decks cf the ships that were hrmging them hither ^rst ^HzeJ on those awful inhospitahle crags, whereon apparently not even a Wade of grass was growing, their hearts must have sunk to see what manner of country was this of their captivity ; but, as they were soon to discover, the aspect of this island from the sea conveys no idea of the character of the interior —a pleasant land of beautiful green downs, fertile vales, and wooded hills, where is to be found some of the sweetest scenery of the earth. It was nine in the morning when we came to an anchor off the little town of Jamestown, which lies at the foot of a steep ravine. The mouth of this ravine is closed by a wall fronting the sea, through which one passes, by a gateway, from the landing steps to the steep main street of the town. The gate is, of course, closed at night, and a moat below the wall increases the difficulty of escaping from the island by this way. It was a picturesque scene from the sea. The Uttle grey houses climbing the steep ravine bottom formed the centre of the picture. Up the left-hand slopes of the ravine wound the arduous cart road leading from the town to the high green plateaus above, where are Longwood House and the chief Boer camp ; while on the more precipitous right-hand slope of the gorge was the famous ladder of which we have all read— that straight flight of seven hundred narrow stone steps that takes one to the Boyal Artillery barracks and the camps and fortifications on the cliff DBADWOOD PLAINS top. In the little bay were lying his Majesty's ship • Beagle,' the English collier from which we were to get our coal, and a few foreign sailing ships that had called for water or supplies, and were being carefully watched during their stay, the • Beagle's ' searchlights playing on them at night, in case any prisoneru might attempt to swim out to them. The health officer came off and gave pratique to the • Juno ' and ' St. George,' to the delight of all on board, and not the least so to the men, who got shore leave here for the first time since we left Australia, the quarantine arrangements having stopped their liberty at Mauritius as well as at the Cape. I at once landed with some of the ' Juno's ' officers, and we set out to visit the prisoners' camp on the Dead- wood Plains. This camp is but five miles from the town, but we found that the walk there and back provided us with a sufficiency of exercise, as we were travelling all the way on steep inclines. We found the Httle town more full of people than it used to be in the days before the war, for numbers of Boer prisoners were strolling through the streets. Indeed, prisoners formed the majority of the people we met ; Boer waiters attended to our wants in the club and officers' mess; when we hired a carriage on the following day it was a Boer who drove us, and in the town we saw Boer shops and stores. The prisoners are employed in many capacities; in payment for hght work they are offered a shilling a day by the 286 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR %. • fi Government, but some who are hired by private individaals receive as mnch as four shillings a day. Seeing that they get this pocket-money in addition to their excellent rations and housing, their lot is indeed an easy one, far more so, indeed, than that of the English working man ; many of these men, indeed, never fared so well in the days of their freedom. The bulk of the men I saw were of Cronje's force — they were of the mixed sort that one finds in the conojnon Boer commando ; there were among them fine-looking fellows of the best Boer type, these for the most part having French Huguenot names ; and there were not a few of those low-caste Dutch Boers of whose true nature their English sympathisers know so little — men and lads dirty in habit, of a lower and more bestial cast of features than is to be found in any other white race, with small cunning eyes and sinister expression — just the sort of people who would murder the wounded enemy and play the white-flag trick without compunction. There were some rather theatrically attired Frenchmen, too, who would look more at home on ^ne Boulevard Mont- martre than on the veldt ; several truculent Irish- Americans, Germans, Scandinavians, and a few English. In the camp we visited the prisoners represented eighteen nationalities. The inhabitants of St. Helena undoubtedly ^prove highly of this South African war, inasmuch as d has brought them unwonted prosperity. The ST. HELENA AND THE WAR 387 provisioning of ships has ever been the principal business of St. Helena ; bat the opening of the Suez Canal, which deflected the trade from these seas, and the decay of the South Sea whaling industry combined to practically ruin the island by greatly reducing the number of vessels that called here for supplies or repairs. Of the once frequent whalers only alout two now call yearly. The inhabitants became very poor, and many were compelled to emigrate to the Cape, the Cape Government en- couraging the emigration— more especially of female servants — by a system of aided passages, the Govern- ment paying one half of the fares, the employers the other half. The population, which amounted to about 6,000 thirty years ago, has, therefore, steadily diminished until now, according to the census of last April, there are only 3,342 residents. But the same census shows that on the day it was taken the total number of persons on the island, including the garrison and the prisoners of war, was 9,850, a number which has never before been reached in the history of St. Helenn the nearest approach to it having been in 1861, when there were 6,860, inclusive of the garrison. On the day of the census the prisoners of war numbered 4,650, the garrison 1,628, the men on the shipping in the harbour 321. In short, the number of persons on the island has been fully doubled by the arrival of the larisoners of war and the consequent increase of the garrison. There is, therefore, a great demand 988 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB for provisions, greater indeed than wu ever known in the palmiest days before the cutting of the canal and tb<^ decay of the South Sea whaling. The islanders are reaping a splendid harvest, and find a ready market for all their produce ; prices have leaped up to an extraordinary height— eggs, for example, being four shillings a dozen. As another result of the war, men-of-war, transports, colliers, cattle ships, and other vessels are now constantly calling here, each one of which has to be supplied with fresh provisions. And so it is that the St. Helenans bless the war and will be sorry when the prisoners, many of whom spend their money freely, leave their shores. Having lunched at a club, at which Boers waited on us, we set out for the principal encampment of the prisoners on the Deadwood Plains and trudged uioLg »he steep cart road that zigzags up the left or northerly side of the gorge. As we mounted higher and higher, the little houses beneath us and the men- of-war anchored in the bay dwindled in size, while the sea horizon receded further and further until at last it became invisible for distance and merged into the sky. And now we saw how fertile and beautiful was the inner country that was enclosed by the island's frowning ramparts. At the head of the ravine a stream fell over a lofty cliff in a fine cascade, and then, flowing down the length of the valley bottom, nourished the little artificial terraces of soil on either side, so that they were green with the fresh BEAUTY OF THE ISLAND 989 yegeUtion of palins, bananas, and fruit trees, while all the swampy places were covered with the luscious leaves and blossoms of the arum lily. The mountain sides, too, up which we toiled, were clothed with prickly pears, bearing a profusion of purple fruit, tall aloes gleaming like gold in the sunshine, scarlet geraniums, Hottentot figs, and a variety of flowering bushes and plants. Higher up we found the downs overgrown with blackberries in fruit, and yellow blossoming gorse, both accidentally imported from England ; and here again we came to timbered slopes, fields green with young com, and grassy expanses that afforded pasture to cattle, sheep, and goats. It was a country that somewhat reminded one of the pleasant highlands of the Jura. And what a perfect climate it was ; what a pure air one breathed ! The heat is never oppressive on this island, and really cold weather is unknown ; it is a region of perpetual springtime. We visited St. Helena in the rainy, gusty winter season, but we found the weather pleasant enough during our stay. The south-east trade wind, pure and bracing, was ever blowing freshly across the island, at the sunomit of which all the trees bending low towards the north- west clearly showed what was the direction of the prevailing wind, and would have served as a compass to one lost on the heights. As we clambered up the hillside, every now and again slanting showers of thin rain, that looked liVo veils of gauze in the distance, u 390 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR swept down the vftlle)^ ; and, so soon m they had pMied, the hamid vegetfttion gleamed fresh in the returning sunshine. When we were on the high plateaus the feathery clouds of the trade wind would occasionally envelop us as with a cloak, and conceal from our vision all the grand surrounding scen^*^. We experienced the climate at its worst, and found nothing to complain of. The Boer camp is remark- ably free from disease. One French prisoner, it is true, who is a correspondent of the ' Figaro,' wrote pathetically to his paper concerning the sufferings of the poor Boers in St. Helena, exposed as they are, according to him, to a dreadful climate of scorching suns by day and glacial nights. But he must be a hyper-sensitive person ; the Boers themselves, who do indeed come from a land where the temperature can sometimes fluctuate rapidly between the uncom- fortably hot and the uncomfortably cold, would laugh at anyone who spoke of the climate of St. Helena as being rigorous. On our way we met numbers of prisoners who were out on leave. They were at liberty to walk about the country as they pleased. Some were employed in collecting firewood, which is somewhat scarce and valuable in St. Helena at present, to carry back to camp ; others were filling baskets with the ripe blackberries, and many were lying under the shady trees reading books and smoking. Three hundred prisoners are thus given liberty each PBIS0NER8 ON PAROLE 991 day, and their own officers arrange it so that each man shall have his turn. They have to return to camp at a certain hour, and at the gateway their passes are given up and their persons are closely searched for spirits, weapons, or other contraband. The prisoners have proved themselves ingenious smugglers; they constructed flat tins, shaped to the hoUow of the back, which they filled with spirits and strapped on under their shirts. This method was at last discovered by the authorities, so the smugglers invented others. I was shown, for example, an innocent-looking log of firewood which a prisoner was carrying into camp when it attracted the attention of a sharp-eyed sergeant of the Wilt- shire Regiment ; it had been split down the centre and hollowed out, a tin of spirit had been placed within it, and the two sides of the log had been neatly joined again. As Jamestown itself is not under martial law the prisoners apparently have liUle difficulty in procuring spirits when on leave. Confinement to camp is the punishment awarded to prisoners who get drunk or are detected in an attempt at smuggling. A certain number of well- behaved prisoners, the club waiters for example, are permitted to live in the town. Boer officers' are allowed to go about on parole ; but Cronje, who would most probably cause trouble if he were aUowed too much liberty, lives with his wife in a pleasant cottage outside the camp, guarded by our V 2 292 WITH THE ROYAli TOUR troops. He protested against this treatment at first, but he has now come to consider it as a mark of honour, for he has been told that during the cap- tivity of Napoleon on the island, though the French officers attending on him went about on parole, this liberty was denied to the deposed Emperor himself. Mr. Kruger's son-in-law, Eloff, since he was con- victed of hatching a mutiny among the prisoners, has been closely confined in the citadel. As we climbed up the steep road we saw below us, on our right, ' The Briars,' Napoleon's first resi- dence on the island. Then we turned aside, following narrow paths, to visit his tomb ; and at last, having reached the summit of the ridge, we perceived ahead of us, across the rolling ground, Longwood itself, and about a mile beyond it, on the wind-swept, grassy Deadwood Plains, the white tents and the huts of the Boer camp. Of the two encampments of prisoners of war at St. Helena this is the largest. The other one, of which Colonel Wright is in command, is at Broadbottom, on the other side of the island, where about two thousand prisoners are guarded by detachments of the Gloucestershire and Berkshire Regiments. In the Deadwood Camp there are about three thousand prisoners guarded by the 3rd (Militia) Battalion of the Wiltshire Begiment, under Colonel Sanf ord, Lieutenant-Colonel Barclay of the same regiment being the officer in charge of the prisoners. First we passed through THE BOEB CAMP 393 the tented camp of the Wiltshires, and were much Btnick by the fine physique and soldierly appearance of these men ; they were for the most part sturdy, fresh-complexioned countrymen, those sons of the soil who have ever fought England's battles so well, and of whom, unfortunately, we shall soon be unable to recruit nearly the number we require for our Army, if the depopulation of the country and the concentration of the people in the great cities con- tinue at their present rate. We called at the officers' mess and obtained permission to visit the prisoners' camp. "We passed by a gateway through the strong wire entanglement that surrounds the camp, and found ourselves in a clean, well-ordered little town of tents and huts, much like the camp one sees at some new gold ' rush,' but far more tidy and com- fortable. The little huts have been constructed by the prisoners out of the material that was available. Timber, of course, has become dear and difficult to procure, deal planking costing sixpence a foot, while even fuel has to be imported from England. So the prisoners build their huts of barrel staves, broken-up biscuit boxes, the sides of empty kerosene tins — of which they get a fair supply, as about two dozen large tins of the oil are consumed nightly in the flare-ups that surround the camp, enabling the sentries to detect any attempt at escape. These little hvits are, of course, snugger habitations than 294 WITH THE ROYAL TODE tents in this breezy climate. This camp, therefore, has a different appearance from the one I saw in Ceylon, where the abundance of timber allowed of the construction of large huts, accommodating fifty men or more. Bnt, taking one thing with the other, the prisoners are as well off here as at Diyatalawa. The hats are not all residential; among them are small stores where business-like prisoners retail to their fellows such luxuries as tobacco, jam, and tinned milk ; there are workshops, too, where skilled cabinet-makers, workers in metal, and others — German mercenaries for the most part — manufacture toys and other articles ; the captive correspondent of the • Figaro ' has his studio, and is ready to sell you his clever caricatures ; and one prisoner has made an excellent cinematograph. The prisoners have their social clnbs, too, of which the premises are huts of larger size. I was taken into three of these— the Sports Club, in which boxing and other competitions are held ; the German Club, and the Hollander Club, all supplied with such newspapers as the censorship does not exclude. One newspaper, partly in English and partly in Dutch, is printed and published within the enclosure. The prisoners also have their recreation grounds, where they play at cricket and football. In short, they are as com- fortable as men in camp well can be ; their rations are the same as those served out to the troops guarding them : they are supplied, for example, with ^. THE BOEB GAMP 296 excellent white bread and the best of English meat, for a cattleship arrives here weekly, and each bollock landed costs the British Government 602. The prisoners, indeed, are possibly living better than are most of the British taxpayers who contribute the money that pays for all this. Outside the barbed-wire enclosnre, and at a short distance from it, is another small camp which is occupied by the two hundred odd ' peaceables ' — men who recognise the futility of continuing the war, advocate surrender, and are prepared to take the oath of allegiance. They were so ill-treated and perse- cuted by the irreconcilables that it was found necessary to thus separate them from the other prisoners, and they get their leave on days when the others are confined in camp. In the larger camp there are numbers who hold the same views as the peaceables, but dare not give expression to them ; many of these men are ' sitting on the fence,' and one told me that he would gladly take the oath of allegiance were he satisfied that the Boer cause was hopeless and that the Eepublics would not recover their independence. Everyone who takes the oath of allegiance, he explained to me, is a marked man ; he could never return to South Africa if the Boers win the day, the irreconcilables would not forget and would not show mercy. These prisoners on a remote oceanic island appear to have some mysterious means of receiving communications from the outside world. 996 WITH THE BOYAL TOUR I They thus knew that Mrs. Kroger had died at a certain date before the newg had reached the anthorities on the island. St. Helena is a difficult island from which to escape, but several prisoners have made the attempt. The Dutch Boers are not a nautical people, and fear the sea ; so it is not they but their allies who try to swim out to foreign vessels in the harbour or to seize and put to sea in the small local boats. A very bold attempt of this description was made a week before our arrival. Two Danish prisoners contrived to swim off at night to a small craft that supplies the shipping with water. There was no one on board of her, so they cast off her moorings, hoisted a sail, and got away unobserved. But at dawn the boat was sighted from the signal station above the town, a man-of-war's steam pinnace was sent after her, and she was towed back into the harbour. The men's story was that they had intended to sail to South America by themselves ; but seeing that they had no provisions with them, and that there was no water in the boat's tank, this was obviously too wild a scheme to commend itself to two sane Danish mariners, and the authorities naturally suspected that there was more behind. A diligent search was therefore instituted, with the result that a 'cache' was discovered in one of the secluded bays, where a large store of pro- visions, water, whisky, candles, and other supplies, VOYAGE TO ST. VINCENT 297 inclading a mariner's compass, had been buried. It was eyidently the plan of the Danes to sail into that bay under cover of the night, there take on board their accomplices and the stores, and then sail away before the trade wind until they were either picked up by a foreign ship or hit some portion of the South American coast— a perfectly feasible scheme. We passed three very pleasant days at St. Helena, and were sorry to leave it. The naval oflficers played two cricket matches with the Wiltshires, and I have to record that the soldiers won both. The matches were played on the flattest part of the Deadwood Plains; but the slope was considerable. In this island of steep inclines the term plain has not exactly the same signification as it has at home. A St. Helenan would define a plain as land sloping so gently that a ball placed on it would not roll down by its own weight. In the morning of August 27, the • Juno ' and •St. George' sailed from St. Helena. First we made for the rendezvous, 150 miles to the eastward of the island, and there at four o'clock on the follow- ing morning duly fell in with the ' Ophir ' and her temporary escorts, the 'Terpsichore' and the •Naiad.' So soon as we met the 'Ophir,' the •Terpsichore' and 'Naiad' turned round and steered for the Cape, while the 'Juno' and 'St. George,' relieving them, took up their old positions 298 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR on either quarter of the royal yacht and proceeded to escort her— for the last time— as far as St. Vincent. And so the three ships sailed in company up the Atlantic, through the south-east trades, across the line, past the steaming doldrums, into the helt of the north-east trades, until, at last, in the evening of September 3, just saving our daylight, we came to that unlovely volcanic cinderheap, the island of St. Vincent, and anchored in the great coaling station of Porto Grande. Here the 'Juno' and 'St. George' ceased to act as escort to the royal yacht, and the mightier and more imposing four- funnelled cruisers ' Diadem ' and ' Niobe ' took their place. I was transferred to the ' Diadem,' and I need scarcely say that it was with great regret I left the ship that had been my home for six months, and all my good friends on board of her ; even though it was to join another of his Majesty's ships, in whose wardroom, as I soon discovered, I was to be in another pleasant home and enjoy once more that wonderful good fellowship that distinguishes our naval service. The following summary of the work accomplished by the ' Juno ' while acting as escort to the royal yacht, from March 7, when we left Portsmouth, up to our arrival at St. Vincert, wiU, I think, be of interest to some : total number of miles steamed 27,800 ; coal consumed 8,144 tons. At about this time it was announced in several THE BOYAL BSCOBT CHANGED 299 newspftpen that the • Juno * and ' St. GJeorge ' had been supeneded because they could not keep speed with the ' Ophir.' In the course of an article which appeared in the ' Morning Post ' of September 17, 1 showed how utterly devoid of foundation was this statement, which cast a serious reflection on our fast cruisers, for the ' Ophir,' which was alleged to have run away from her escort much as she pleased, is by no means an ocean greyhound. Foreign journals quoting these assertions were merry at the expense of our sluggish men-of-war, and colonial papers commented in dismay on the apparent inefficiency of the navy on which the safety of all the Empire depended. Now the truth is that not only did the 'Juno • and • St. George ' have no difficulty in keep- ing up with the ' Ophir,' even on the longest runs —their coa. capacity being sufficient for this— but they could have walked round and round the • Ophir ' at any period of the cruise, being far faster ships, and always having at least two knots in hand. WITH THE BOTAL TOUB CHAPTER XIX TOYAOB TO OAMAOA — ON TBI BIVKB IT. LfcWUllCS— QUIBBC — A BlVnW ON TBI PLADn OF ABiUBAll — OOlOtlNOI A lAILWAT JOUBNIT OF IIOBT TBOUBAND UUM— MOMTUAL— OTTAWA— A WATBB BOUDAT THBOuaHOUT this long tour over the world's five continents the Duke of Cornwall and York visited British Possessions only ; consequently, though the necessity for coaling brought the ' Ophir ' and her escorts to St. Vincent, in the Cape Verde Archi- pelago, there was no landing there of the Boyal party, to the disappointment of our allies the Portu- guese, who had bestirred themselves, in co-operation with the British community on the island, to decorate the little town, and were prepared to give a cordial welcome to the heir of the British Throne and to his Consort. Shortly before sunset on September 5, the ' Ophir ' sailed from St. Vincent for Quebec. For the remainder of this cruise, my home was to be in the ' Diadem,' a stately ship of about twice the size of the 'Juno,' being a first-class cruiser of 11,000 tons, 16,500 horse-power, with Belleville boilers, and carrying sixteen guns. VOTAOB TO CANADA Ml Now commenced a voyage of over three thousand miles across the North Atlantic, in the cotirse of which we experienced every variety of weather. It was oppressively hot as we passed through the north-east trades and the belt of steamy calms which lies between the trades and the region of the westerly winds ; then the weather got cooler, and after four days' steaming our approach to the blusterous westerlies was indicated by a high swell, huge masses of oily smooth water rolling up sullenly on our port side. There were soon signs to show that we were on the edge of a cyclone, and a gale from tLe south-west suddenly burst on us, shifting later to the north-west. It broke up the great rollers into a confused turmoil of white-capped waves, which did not trouble the cruisers much — excellent sea boats that they are — but caused the ' Ophir ' to pitch uncomfortably; so that the order was given for the three ships to slow down, and for some hours we were practically hove to, making almost imper- ceptible progress. But by the 11th we were in fine weather again; we crossed the Gulf Stream, and then, of a sudden, having passed its sharply defined edge into the cold waters of the Arctic curieiit, the temperature of the sea fell, the air got chill, and the cold fog enveloped us. Slowly and carefully the three ships crept on between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, steaming in single line ahead, scarcely visible to each other WITH THE ROTAL TOUR through thftt cold grey miit, their syrens wuling their warning, while occasionally the whistle of a steamer or the melancholy horn of a fishing smack disclosed the proximity of some invisible craft. We saw no son for a few days, but we were in soundings, and the lead told our whereabouts. On the ISth the fog lifted for a while, and we saw Cape Breton looming dim in the distance. The cruisers now spread out so as to come in touch with the ships of the North America station, which it was known were coming out to meet us. Later in the day they duly joined us— the cruisers 'Indefati- gable ' and • Tribune,' and the destroyer • Quail.' It was from the 'Indefatigable' that we first received the evil news that had dismayed the whole world; she signalled that an attempt had been made to assassinate the President of the United States and that his life was in danger. Throughout the 14th the five ships steamed across the misty gulf past Anticosti into the estuary of the great river, and throughout the 15th we were ascer ig the river itself, still in misty weather, but hugg >. , the northern shore so closely that its cliffs and pije-clad heights were dimly visible. That night we came to an anchor about twenty-four miles below Quebec. The anchors were weighed at eight on the follow- ing morning, and we steamed up the majestic river to Quebec. For the suddenness of its changes the cli ate of the mouth of the St. Lawrence can cer- ON THE RIVBB ST. LA WHENCE 808 tainly vie with that of England. It had been bitterly cold on the preyiotui day while the mista were round us ; but now a warm south* westerly wind sprang up which dispelled the fog; we were onoe morr. in bright, hot summer weather, and a more perfect morning for our ascent of the river and the landing of the Duke and Duchess could not have been desired. For many days our eyes had gazed only on the barren stretches of the ocean, so that the loveliness of the scenery on either shore appealed all the more strongly to us. For the most part the sunlit country which we passed was such as one sees in the fairest parts of agricultural England, gently sloping grassy hills, fields of ripening crops divided by hedges, pleasant-looking homesteads, red-roofed villages, while here and there was a fishing hamlet with its jutting pier, flag-decked in honour of the Duke and Duchess. Where the land was not under cultivation dark pine woods clothed the hills, their sombre foliage being relieved in places by the warm flush of the akeady reddening maple. The aspect of the St. Lawrence's shores on that sunny, breezy morning could not fail to inspire us with very pleasing first impressions of this new land to which we had come. The arrival of the 'Ophir' and her escorting men-of-war into the many fair harbours we have visited in the course of this cruise has often supplied a beautiful and impressive spectacle; but I think I U i i aoi WITH TB£ ROYAL TOUR Ihftt otn entry into the port of Quebec up thii magnificent wftterwfty, between the pleaMnt heighte, WM tiie rnoet imposing of all, not even excluding the laiV into Sydney's splendid harbour. We forzc => 1 a f>i tely procession of five ships, the ' Ophir ' laid.ti,^. u- 'Diadem' and the 'Niobe' and the nntilisr Tiibnne' and 'Indefatigable' following. Am *vfi Tuau^.f our ^destination several little steamers, brigh' ...'*' 11"*.,^' d crowded with people, came out 'o mer' DB and followed at the heel of the proci ssion lad so we proceeded, until at last beforr us w b a Quebec itself, that most picturesque of cities, which covers the steep promontory dividing the two rivers. There is no other city like this in the New World. Nature and the hand of man and the maturing influence of age — for modem improve- ments have interfered but little with the aspect of the old French settlement — have combined to make it the stateliest of sea cities. The quaint deep-eaved old French houses climbing the steep slopes, the churches and convents and public buildings with their graceful spires and towers cutting the blue sky, and, crowning all, the massive medisval-looking citadel that tops the precipitous cliff overhanging the lower town, form a noble picture quite in keeping with the historic and romantic associations of the ancient stronghold. And more especially, on this day of welcome to the King's son, did old Quebec QUEBBO .30S piwent a nugnifioent appeanuoe, towering abore the white foam that laved its feet (for the wind had much strengthened and was raising quite an on- comforUbly choppy sea), its streets bright with multitudinous bunting, its quays and its terraced streets, tier abore tier, crowded with spectators. As the • Ophir ' and her escorting cruisers came in sight of the port the four British men^f-war that were lying at anchor there— the 'Crescent,' 'Psyche' •Proserpine,' and 'PaUas'- iired the royal saluti. Passing through tfae flag-decorated shipping we oa.xae to our appointed berthR. Down went the anchors, the ships' bands played the National Anthem, and with naval smartness the ' Ophir ' and the four cruisers were dressed, the long lines of WRvmg flags being quickly run up to extend rainbow fashion from bow to stem and from mast to mast. It was truly an impressive arrival at the great port, which now, for the first time these man years I imagine, had nine British warships anchored beneath Its walls. There was something very exhiiaratinrr in the spectacle-the brightness of light md colouring the qmckness of movement, the boommg .f car non' s«d the braying of trumpets ; but of s .udden some- thmg occurred to chill joyousness and to fill all heaxts with horror and indignatio We saw the ??f>K . / ^"^^ ^^^' *^^^P ^^^'^ on the ophir lu ascent stopped at aaif-maet high, and remembering the signal tha. the ' indefatigable ' had Ai 806 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR sent to us, we knew that the President had snc- oumbed to his injuries. And now on every other man-of-war the Stars and Stripes were hoisted to half-mast, in token of sorrow and sympathy. The ' Diadem ' having come to an anchor, I went on shore to explore the decorated streets before the landing of the Royal party at the King's Wharf at noon. I wandered through the winding, steep streets of the lower town, where the houses are much like those one would find in some old town in Nor- mandy. Picturesque, and in many cases dating from the old French days too, are many of the larger buildings. It is an old-world place altogether, bear- ing no resemblance to any city in Australasia or in the United States. It was, of course, a general holiday, and the entire population was in the streets. It was difficult to realise that one was in a British city, as one heard French talked all around one ; even the police— wearing the uniform of our British police— could not understand one unless they were addressed in French. It was just the sort of happy crowd of well-dressed people one encounters on f6te days in France, well-behaved and courteous. There is a medisBT * atmosphere in Quebec, and the inhabi- tants are a uttle mediaeval in their ways, some of them even in their appearance, for the cadets of the Laval University wear a queer uniform frock with a green sash about the waist that has as old-fashioned a look as that of our own Blue Coat boys. I found QUEBEC 807 quarters in the spacious ChAteau Frontenac Hotel, a modem building, but resembling some old French ChAteau, and therefore in harmony with its surround- ings. One of the first things that strikes the visitor to Canada is the grace, dignity. 1 beauty of the archi- t' cture of most of the mod. . . civic and other struc tures of any pretension. An absence of vulgarity and a noble simplicity characterise the Canadian style. The ChAteau Frontenac is owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, and has as magnificent a situation as any hotel in the world ; for it stands at the edge of the Duflferin Terrace, that grand wooden platform skirting the cliff-top that was built when Lord Dufferin was Governor-General. From this promenade one commands a superb panorama : at one's feet, two hundred feet below, spread hke a map the steep roofs and winding narrow streets of the lower town ; beyond the quays, stretching to the left and right as far as one can see, is the great St. Lawrence with its anchored shipping; while beyond the river there faces one the town of Levis with its mighty fortifications crowning the creen heights. * Canada was evidently determined not to be behind the other colonies in her demonstrations of loyalty. Every street through which the royal pro- cession passed was packed with people. Troops and pohce hned the route, but had no difficulty in con trolling the good-natured, well-behaved crowds. The X 2 306 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR people gave a distinctly good reception to the Dnke and Duchess ; but, so far as cheering was concerned, it was not nearly so demonstrative a welcome as was accorded in the Australasian cities. Not that the Canadians are less loyal than the Australians ; but they are not accustomed to cheer in the Donumon, and the majority do not even know how to acclaim after that fashion. The people waved handkerchiefs and hats, and often shouted and huzzaed as the Duke and Duchess passed; but a true British cheer was only occasionally to be heard. The reception, however, was a warm one for all that, and it was pleasant, as one mixed in the crowd, to overhear the many kindly and loyal remarks uttered in French. It was not long before the Duke had made himself as popular in Canada as he had m Australia, and the Duchess had altogether won the heajts of the Canadians, the French Canadian ladies being enthusiastic admirers of her Royal Highness. To some of us visitors who had never visited Canada before and knew not its people the reception of the Duke and Duchess by the crowds assembled in the streets of Quebec was very gratifying, when we re- membered that of tb jse spectators of all classes (it is estimated that they numbered over seventy thousand) the great majority were not of our blood, for of the population of Quebec five-sixths are French Roman Catholics. In Montreal, where the welcome was even warmer, the French compose more than half BEVIEW ON THB PLAINS OF ABRAHAM 309 the population, while the Irish oatnnmber the English. Of the various functions that we witnessed during our two days' stay in Quebec, the most notable were their Boyal Highnesses' visit to Laval, the ancient French Catholic University, at which so many distinguished Canadians have received their education — where the Duke received the degree of Doctor of Law ; and the review of troops on the 19th. The review was held on the Plains of Abraham, hard by the Wolfe Monument, on the now cleared grass- covered down where the race-course lies, but which, when the historic fight was fought, was sprinkled with bush, afifording good cover to the defending force. Unfortunately a steady drizzle fell through- out the morning, so that the proceedings were limited to a march past and the presentation of war medals by the Duke. Three thousand six hundred troops — Canadian Militia and Volunteers — and about '^ 3'ht hundred Marines and Blue-jackets from the voTships, marched past the saluting point. The mounted troops presented a splendid appearance, and rode past in a fashion that would have gladdened any soldier's eye. The Infantry also marched past steadily, and kept their alignment well; but the Marines and Blue-jackets, who, as usual, were loudly applauded, marched with the greatest precision of all. It seemed curious to find the men of the French 810 WITH THE ROYAL TOUB Canadian regiments wearing the uniform of the British Infantry and receiving their orders in the French tongtie. They looked hard and fit, but their fashion of wearing their hair somewhat long de- tracted from the smartness of their appearance, and would have horrified an English drill sergeant. Then followed the presentation of ynx medals by the Duke, a ceremony which, in Canada, as it was in Australasia and South Africa, was a leading feature of the royal visit. First Lieutenant-Colonel Turner, who, as Ueuteuant of the Mounted Rifles, so gallantlv rescued the guns at Koomati Poort, was presented with his well-earned Victoria Cross, which the Duke pinned on his breast while gracefully com- plimenting him on the valour he had displayed. Then about a hundred and twenty officers and mrai from this portion of the Dominion received their medals, and on looking through the list I found that over a fifth bore French names. On the morning of the 15th the Duke and Duchess were conveyed to Montreal on the splendid train that ha'i been specially built for their use during the Canadian tour by the Canadian Pacific Bailway Company. This was indeed a train wonderful to look on and explore, the most magnificent pleasure train that has ever been constructed. It was 730 ft. m length, and weighed 596 tons. The enormous and powerful engine veith its tender weighed 132 tons. GREAT RAILWAY JOURNEY 811 The train was lighted from end to end with elec- tricity, and there was telephonic communication thronghout. The train was composed of nine beau- tifolly fitted coaches. Two of these, the Cornwall and the York, each of which was over 77 ft. in length, were for the especial use of their Boyal Highnesses. In another coach was a consulting- room and a dispensing-room, furnished by the com- pany with a complete stock of drugs and surgical appliances. Now commenced that great railway journey across the Continent to the Pacific and back again — a distance of nearly eight thousand miles — which proved one of the most interesting, if, perhaps, one of the most fatiguing, incidents of this long royal progress through the British Possessions. For five weeks we travelled on the Canadian railway Unes, calling at a number of cities, each of which had prepared its lengthy programme of ceremonies and sight-seeing for theEoyal visitors. The programmes, indeed, were somewhat appalling to contemplate. It was an unceasing round of functions and railway journeys. For the most part of the way we travelled by night, and each day visited some more or less important city for a few hours — hours that were fully filled up by the implacable programmes. We passed a night or two in a few important places only; but the railway companies had so arranged their part of the business that this without doubt tu WITH THE BOYAL TOUB was far the most comfortable railway jonmey that has ever yet been ondertaken. The first stage of the journey was a short one, for Montreal was reached in four hours. We re- mained barely two days in this magnificent city, the largest in the Dominion, and its commercial centre, beautifully situated at the junction of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. We had little time to explore it, as we would fain have done ; but in this scamper across a continent one could not hope to catch more than a glimpse of the many highly interesting places visited. Montreal gave their Royal Highnesses a very fine reception, and the cheering was more demonstrative here than in Quebec, doubt- less because the proportion of men of British blood was larger. In Montreal the French and the Anglo-Saxons vied with each other in the decoration of the broad, beautiful streets and stately public buildings, ^th the result that the aspect of the densely crowded main thoroughfares by day and night was exceed- ingly brilliant. The large Canadian cities, I think, rivalled those of Australasia in the splendour of their illuminations, Melbourne, of course, excepted; for the Victorian capital rightly surpassed all the others, as she was the central object of this royal progress, and, as it were, the Mecca of our long wanderings. Of the functions I need say little. They were cur- tailed on the day of the United States President's OTTAWA 818 faneral ; bat there was still plenty left for his Boyal Highness to do daring oar short stay in Montreal — the presentation of war medals ; the receiving of and replying to nomeroos addresses ; the opening of the Medical College ; a visit to M'Gill University, where the Duke took an honorary degree ; a visit to the beantiful old convent of Villa Maria, where are educated the daughters of the well-bom French Canadians. It was rightly decided that the one long stoppage of the royal train during its trans-continental journey should be made at Ottawa, the capital of the Dominion of Canada. We arrived there, after a three hours' journey from Montreal, at midday on September 20, and did not entrain again to continue our progress to the Far West until noon on the 24th, so that we spent four fall days in this beautiful city, which, though — unlike old Quebec and Montreal — a modem place which has arisen within the last half century, conveys no impression of mushroom growth to one who wanders through its fine streets and gazes on its splendid public buildings. Here, as in other cities we had visited in Canada, the civic architecture displays a chaste beauty and dignity of form admirably adapted to the natural features and climate of the country. The grand pile of the Gk)vemment buildings crowning a bluff that overlooks the broad Ottawa impresses one, I think, as does no other edifice throughout all the American tu WITH THE ROYAL TOUR oontineiit, and when seen from the river, with its graceful Gothic turrets and flying buttresses tower- ing above masses of dark green foliage, it presents a strikingly imposing and noble appearance. Its majestic simplicity fascinates the observer, and the sandstone of which it is built has already been toned by climate to the pleasing mellow tints of age. One's first impression is one of astonishment to find such a building in this new world. The shoddy and pretentious magnificence of some of the public buildings on the American continent does not offend the eye in Canada. The master- pieces of the medieeval builders have been followed truthfully but not slavishly, and with the unerring good taste of the faithful artist, by the architects who worked for the Canadian Government, and one pictures to oneself the time, centuries hence, when people will come from far countries to visit and admire the architectural beauties of old Canada. Ottawa's reception of the Duke and Duchess was a good one, more demonstrative and enthusiastic than it had been in the more purely French cities ; but the Englishman who visits this country for the first time when the people are taking holiday cannot but be forcibly struck by the fact that the Canadian-bom, even c' Anglo-Saxon stock, have nearly forgotten how to raise the traditional British cheer. They shout and scream their accla- itions ; and as the Duke and Duchess drove thr- , h the OTTAWA'S WELCX)MB 810 crowded streets of these cities they were for the most part greeted hy cries that resembled the war whoops of the Bed Indians, and are no doubt imitated from them by the white youth of the country. However, these somewhat harsh noises were intended as a hearty welcome, which is the essential point after all. Small though the capital is in comparison with Montreal, for it contains but about fifty thousand inhabitants, amazingly large crowds for a town of that size turned out into the streets to see the Duke and Duchess. The city was beautifully and profusely decorated ; it was a mass of bright colour by day or night, and the mistake was not made here of relying too exclusively on electricity for the illumination ; one realised here how much more pleasing an efifect is produced by the softer glow of myriads of coloured Chinese lanterns. And how well this worthy capital of a great Dominion lends itself to holiday display of this description. Built as it is at the fork of the two rivers Ottawa and Bideau, and rising from the water up to the central height on which stand the noble Government buildings, there are many points in it tcom. which one can command a view over nearly the entire city and much of the surrounding country. Thus at night, from some of the open places, one beheld extended before one, forming a superb picture, the many illuminated streets and glittering triumphal arches ; the banks of the broad Ottawa and its long •16 WITH THE BOYAL TOUR bridges f eftoonad with ooloozed luitenui, the light being reflected by the two brightly flMhing fiJla which are formed by the two riven in front of the town, and so largely contribute to ita unique pictnres- queness ; the whole being crowned by the Parliament buildings, on the culminating bluit outlined in fire. As in every city we visited in Australasia, the school-children had their holiday, and were paraded at positions from which they could obtain an excellent view of the procession. On Parliament Hill four thousand school-children were collected, who sang *Qtoi Save the King' lustily as their Boyal High- nesses drove up, and also ' The Maple Leaf for ever,' that patriotic Canadian hymn which was ever ring- ing in our ears during the royal progress through the Dominion : In d»yt of yore From Britain*! shore Wolfe, the datintleM hero, eune And ij«nted firm Britamiia's flag On CuuuUk'i fair domain. There may it wave, our boMt, oar pride, And join in love together, The Thietle, Shamrook, Boee entwine The Maple Leaf for ever. The 2l8t was a day of interesting functions in Ottavra. A very imposing ceremony, that deeply moved the assembled people, of whom it is estimated that twenty thousand were present, was the unveiling by the Duke, while cannon thundered the royal salute, of the fine statue of Queen Victoria on Parlia- A PATHETIC INCIDENT 817 ment Hill, tk fitting site for a monument to the great Qoeen, commanding as it does so magnificent a view over the city, the rivers, and the plain. After this ceremony came the presentation of war medals to a nxwiber of men who had returned from South Africa. First, Lieutenant Edward Holland was presented with his Victoria Cross. It will be remembered that Lieutenant Holland, on November 7, 1900, in an engagement on the Eoomati Biver, kept the Boers off our 12-pounder8 with his Colt gun, and, when the Boers were close up to him, the horse being unable to draw the gun carriage, coolly tucked the Colt under his arm and galloped safely off with it. Among those who came up to receive his medal was Trooper MuUoy, who had been totally blinded by his wounds. He was led up by Lieutenant Holland, and the Duchess herself pinned on his medal. The Duchess, who was evidently deeply moved, spoke to him in a very kindly and sym- pathetic way, saying that she had heard often of him from her sister-in-law, the Duchess of Teck, who had seen him in hospital in South Africa, and she told him that she would let her sister know that he had recovered. It was a pathetic and moving incident, that went straight to the hearts of the assembled multitude. It was the talk of the city that day, and, if possible, still further endeared her Eoyal Highness to the Canadian people. On the foUoviring day, our last in Ottawa, the 818 WITH THE BOYAL TOUR royal p«ty wew •ntertftined by ux intewtting and ohwaoterutio exhibition of the lumbeni»n'« li!e on theOtUwABiver. Brightiunrfune»nd!re»h westerly wind favoured the w»ter holiday. Bleotrio trwni carried their Boyal Highneasee and other privileged perMns to the Chaudiire Bapide, where the waten of the here suddenly contracted Ottawa faU from a height of fifty feet. We were now in the true lumber- man's region. Vast numbers of logs floated on the river between the Unes of enclosing booms, while on the shore were piled mountains of planking. Every- thing around us spoke of Canada's great lumber industry and of the mighty forests of the Ottawa Valley. On the river banks were innumerable saw- mills worked by the inexhaustible water-power supplied by the falls. On the opposite bank of the river it was the same— timber and saw-mills everywhere, and the houses of the lumberman's quarter, the suburb of Hull, through which the Duke and Duchess had already driven and had there received a very hearty reception, the inhabitants, through their representatives, expressing their deep gratitude to Great Britain, which had given them financial assistance when it was sorely needed after the destructive fire of the previous year. The day's programme opened with our descent of the Chaudiire Falls on timber rafts. The lumber is floated from above down the artificial timber slides — timber-enclosed channels through which the water I ON THE TIMMR SLIDES AT OTTAWA. {From n ilincimj by .VtUon I'/ior.) A WATBB HOLTOAT 819 rashes— the cribs or rafts into which the lumber is pat together being jast broad enoagh to pass throagh the slides. The cribs, five in number, started from the foot of Oregon Street, a little distance above the fidls, where we all embarked, and the cribs pro- ceeded in procession down the river to the slides. As we entered the slides and began to plnnge rapidly downwards the scene was a carious and picturesque one. The slides were lined with spectators, and the small bridges under which we passed were also covered with people, who cheered as the cribs swept by them in succession, first with a smooth, though steep descent, then through broken water, where the rafts ran their bows under the combing waves. It was exhilarating to be thus swiftly borne down this succession of terraces of wildly rushing water, and visitors to Ottawa, if here at the right season, generally contrive to enjoy this experience. This, by the way, was not the right season. All the year's lumber rafts had already passed down the rapids, and the river was getting rather low. It is said that the raftsman's day is nearly over. A large raft needs so many men to maoage it that it is now cheaper to transport the lumber by train than by the rivers. This picturesque feature of old Canadian life is therefore likely shortly to disappear, like so many other picturesque things. One by one the cribs shot out of the slides into the smooth, broad river below the falls, and our red- 890 WITH THE ROYAL TOOK shirted, besashed, alouch-hatted voyageun, Indian and haU-bteedB many of them, scnUed the uniwieldy craft with their long oars to the right hmk of the river, where we were all transferred to aomewha* cranky canoeB, and, forming a large llotiBa, were paddled down stream by more red-shirted voyofturs of xhe Hudson's Bay Company, who sang Hieix boat songs as they plied their paddles. K»«r steamflrs and launches shrieked out their welcome from their steam whistles as we passed them, and we wtte accompanied by a doud of small craft of every description. On we went down the majestic gleaming river through the keen air ; past the city with its grand Parliament Hoose towering above it from the wooded bluff; past the mouth of the Bideau Biver where it falls into the Ottawa in a curtain-like cascade; past ramblmg Bideau Hall, wh«e the Duke and Duchess were staying as guests of the Govemor-Gteneral ; till we came to Bockcliffe, where we landed at the Ottawa Canoe Club-house. Here the royal party witnessed an exhibition of log-rolling, and a race of war canoes ; and then proceeded through the pleasant groves of Bock- cliflfe Park to a lumberman's camp, on a bluff that overlooked the green woodland. Here a typical lumberman's shanty— the log hut of our boyhood's romances— hud been built for their reception. The red-shirted shanty men felled a great pine, and A WATBB HOLIDAY 8S1 npidly divided it into lop, singing their tthanty songs the while, giving good proof of their skill as woodsmen. Pork and beans, true shanty fare, had been cooked in the hat to regale the visitors and show them how men live in the woods, Imt the hospiteble lamb«rmen had also prepared another more luxurious lunch for them m a neighboiuring marquee. The habitanta had arranged their welcome of the Duke and Duchess extremely well. At the completion of the proceedings one French- Canadian among the shanty men was called on for a speech, and a very amusing one he made in the broken English of the habitant. He explained that he had been asked to build a sh&nty for the ' King and Queen,' that he had done so with pleasure, and would do 80 again if occasion demanded it. In all seriousness, and in his own quaint fashion, he recounted his career for the information of the Duke. He told his audience that he had lost a fortune while contracting in the lumber business, but «yd not care a rap about that, as he was now working his debt gradually oflf as a shanty man. When he got too old to work he would go to England with his old wife and ask the King for a job. I think it was a jolly afternoon for all the visitors to the lumbermen's camp, and the light-hearted, simple- minded, hospitable shanty men had the satisfaction of knowing that their efforts to interest and amuse had been very successful. c Y 8^3 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR CHAPTEB XX 0« THI CAKADXAM PAOWIO EAILWAT-TH. OMAT WOODLAimS- SSa;^oi»a-oa«.a.y-th. ho«h.w.st MOTIKTM »OMCB— TM B«D MAN'S HOIIAM At midday on September 24 we left Ottawa, and the great raUway journey to the Pacific Coast began in earnest. Firtt, for thirteen hundred mUes. we traveUed through the region of forests and lakes, then for eight hundred mUes traversed the Western prairies, and, lastly, wound through the grand defiles of the Bocky Mountains, crossed the Great Divide, aad descended to the shore of the ocean. This trans-continental journey on the Canadiaaa Pacific RaUway is one of extraordinary interest, and caxriai one through some of the finest scenery in the world. It is difficult to understand why Engiish tourists visit the United States and neglect beautifal and romantic Canada, where they would be under their own flag and much more at home and more in .ympathy with the people than they can be in a foreign knd. At this autumnal season the climate is delicious, neither hot nor cold, and to breathe the keen pure air of these woodlands. THE CANADIAN PACIFIC BAILWAY 328 FMn«8, and mowituni is as exhiluatiog m a glass of champagne. I have made losg railway jonraeys in many parts of the world on so-called tr«iH$ de luxe, but have never experienced in travelling anything to approach in comfort this three thousand mile run across the American continent. In the roomy cars on this line one feels rather as if one were on board some luxurious ocean liner &an on a train. The train that carried us across the continent was made up in two sections. In the first, which preceded the other by about half an hour throughout the journey, were the Countess of Minto, the Govwnor- General's staff, the Premier and Lady Laurier, some of the royal suite and others. The journalists accompanying the tour were also in this section. In the second section— the speciaUy constructed train which I have described— were the Duke and Duchess and their suite. The Canadian Pacific Company had made admirable arrangements to ensure the comfort of everyone travelling in the two trains ; and, as an example of the thoroughness with which aM was done, I may mention that at every important stopping-place we received bundles of telegrams, which kept us well informed of every- thing that was going on in the world, including, of course, the latest war news from South Africa, and each detail of the contests between the • Shamrock ' and ' Columbia.' Ti „4 WITH THB BOtAL TODB The flnt rt^ of o« )ouiii.y «• • '°^:»^ h^. ™. bom Otfw. to Wuaipeg. •«o- *f7, h«,tod ma- of ™>dl«d-. WtAU, ta^ tor to Be.t«p«t of th.™y, a «r, Vo^ly cwmtry. Zmn man. or hon«. ot path, or »y ly of tamM. ^^*.T^ 1 ■;„» nttikwa we skirted the Ott»w» life. After leaTing Ottawa wo .^ Kver .mtil .m«t, the UtUe townAip. on the bank.. ^Ih their »w.mill. oM great pUe. of P^kMu.* Sing their tale of the immense lnmb«r ■"f'-^ »' rltrict. We traveUed on through the nj^H *d fonnd onrsei™ next mon«ng m a «Ud« "d loneUer land, but singularly beauWol w^ to melancholy beauty of endless tore-ts already ^roovered with autumnal tints: «. »ndul.tmg w^d. with frequent lakes girt by somto p^ ;Zle hoUows between the eweUmg hUb. ^ ^U at breakfast time at a typ.cal f»»t ^^ menrMissanabie. on the shores of Dog Lak*. r d atation of the Hudson's Bay Comj^.^ u- V, *,,«, are brooeht for shipment from the far t^ We ^re^wclose to towatershed between "^ZZn., ini. Lake 8ui«rior on the sou^ ^i Hudson's Bay to the north, a short portage h«e connecting the two waterways. . From Mis«m.bie we went on ag«n through to l„n«W woodlands until midday, when we rS-el to'nr^»^ore of mi.ht, Lake SupeHor, LAKE 8UPBRI0B 325 • the little brother of the sea,' as the IndiMM, with good reMOD, oftll th»t mighty expaiue cl water. The train sometimee skirted the thore, aometimee rounded the heads of deep gnlfa. and often cat straight through the rugged, far-projecting promon- tories. There was a wonderful grandeur in the scenery ; capee and hills, vales and islands were all densely wooded, and, as the wind was blowing hard under a clouded sky, quite a rough sea was running, the water tumbling grey and bleak, while every cape and island was fringed with the snowy foam of the breakers. Occasionally heavy rain squalls swept over the lake and the woods, intensifying ^e lonely wildness of the scene. Our luxurious palace train seemed in strange contrast to the wilderness through which we were travelling. It was after dark whoi we passed through the little settlements of Fort Arthur and Fort William. We saw little of the grand scenery of the Lake of the Woods, as we went through it at a very early hour ; and about midday on the 26th we reached our halting-place, Winnipeg, wkere we stayed until about ten at night, when we resumed our journey. We had now come to the end of the woodlands, and had entered the region of the great plains, the almost treeless prairies, and the vast wheat-producing districts. Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba — the chief post of that historical Hudson's Bay Company the 8S6 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB very name of which cftrriee » flavour of dd romance with it, and which, thongh bereft of ita ancient huge monopolies granted by Charlea I. to Prince Bnpert, is itiU the great far-trading company of the Arctic North— is a proaperons city of forty- five thousand inhabitants, lighted by electricity, with tramways in its streets, wooden sidewalks, and some fine buildings— a typical city of a new country (something like Buluwayo now is), interesting because of the rapidity of its growth and the energy of the men who made and dwell in it, but not for any other reason, and certainly not beautiful. The prairie city gave a hearty welcome to the Duke and Duchess, who, as they drove through the well- decorated streets, were received with loud acclama- tions by the crowds. We stayed here for a few hours only, but the programme of functions was, as usual, a full one, including the opening of the Manitoba University by the Duke, and, of course, as at every place we have visited since we left England, the presentation of medals and decora- tions to the men who had served in South Africa, and the school-children's demonstration of drilling and singing — the honouring of the men who had proved their loyalty and patriotism in war, and the object- lesson in these virtues to the coming generation. One of the triumphal arches erected by the civic authorities deserves mention, as it afforded an effective demonstration of the rapid growth of THE EMPIRE'S OBANARY 337 Muutoba'i staple industry— agriculture. This arch, one of the largest we had seen during the tour, represented a four-towered castle, and was entirely covered with wheat in the ear. 'Fifteen years increase in Manitoba's wheat crops ' was the legend over its central archway, while two sheavea of wheat hung on the towers— one a small sheaf with the date 1886 beneath it, the other a sheaf nearly eight times as large, with the date 1901, the relative sizes of the sheaves shovring the increase of the wheat produce in the province from six milli(»is of bashels, fifteen years ago, to forty-five million bushek in the present year. The Duke, while replying to the addresses which were presented to him at the city hall, spoke of Winnipeg as the ' busy centre of what has become the great granary of the Empire'— very suggestive words to many of his hearers, who had often heard it strenuously maintained that Great Britain ought rightly to be able to rely on Canada al(me for her grain supply in time of war instead of remaining, as now, so largely dependent on foreign countries. There are vast tracts of fertile land still untilled in these western regions under the British flag. Camda is the nearest to us of our colonies, and the route to England should be a comparatively easy one to guard. Is it not the duty of the Imperial Gh>v«nment to encourage the agricultural progress of tiw Dcwiinion, even if it be by action which will 998 WITH THB BOYAL TOOB ; I 1 I i! : I •only offend oar Fre»-Tnd«-f0tiah wonhippMi. lo that •Qoogh kad may be bzought nndar oohhratioii to rapply oar needi ia time of natioiuJ danger? The two trame left Winnipeg on the night of the 26th, and now, havinR left behind as the region of the wooda and lakes, we spent two days in travell.ug across more than eight handred miles of prairie—* sometimea level and sometimes ondolating tableland, treeless, monotonous, and for great distances very lonely. Not long since this was all true prairie, deep in grass and flowers, where big game roamed in plenty, the honting-groands of the Indians ; bat now, to a large extent, more especially in the vicinity of the railway, the rich plains are cultivated, and one gazes from the train over leagues of wheat. There was but stubble to be seen as we went through, for the grain had ahready been harvested. We passed several little towns which had rapidly grown up by the railway side, each with its flour mills and grain elevators ; and the scattered farms of the breeders of cattle and suppliers of dairy produce ; for the land, where not under cultivation, nearly everywhere provides magnificent pasture. On the 27th the trains halted for a few hours at Begina, a little city of two thousand six hundred inhabitants, the capital of the North-West Terri- tories, and the headquarters of the North-West Mounted Police— an insignificant-looking place, but the seat of government of a territory larger than all RBOINA— CALGARY S99 £iirope oatoide Bnni*, oontroUing litU*-explorad ragurna of yet onexploitod waftlth CKtonding to the Arotk Circle. The Duke and Dnche« were welcomed with western heutinees. Thoe wm a Mtitfactory perfonnance of the uetial ceremonies, and then the traini poahed on again ; and the farther we progreeeed the more manifeat did it become to xu that we were at last in the Wild West of romance. We occasionally saw the Bed Man's wigwanos on the plain, and at every station we passed, Indians were collected, some of them painted, blanketed, and be-feathered in the style made familiar to us by the romances of oar yonth. For a considerable distance the prairie was perfectly flat, and, sprinkled as it had been in the night by a light snow, it often presented as it spread under the leaden sky exactly the appearance of a sea whitened by a passing squall. On the morning of the 28th we reached Calgary and stayed there until evening, for this was the most important place we were to pass until we reached Vancouver, and a most interesting pro- gramme had here been arranged for the reception and entertainment of their Royal Highnesses. We were now more than two thousand four hundred miles from Quebec, and had therefore completed the greater portion of our trans-continental journey. Calgary is a typical city of the prairies, and contains about six thousand inhabitants. It is the centre of MKXOCOPr HKMUTION TBT CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.0 I.I 1.25 ■ 45 ■ 23 |» ^^ Itt |U Itt ■ 1A u 140 12.0 ■ Klft i /APPLIED INA^OE Inc 16S3 East Main Strwt Roeh«t«r, Nw York 14609 USA (718) ♦« - 0300 - Pfion* (7t«) 2aa - Mes - Fm 880 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR a great stock-raising region, the chief source of snpply of the mining districts in the Rocky Moun- tains, and an important post of the North-West Mounted Police and of the Hudson's Bay Company. It is situated on an undulating grassy plateau hemmed in by low hills; the Bow River winds by it, affording a waterway for the lumber which is floated down from the timbered regions above. Built largely of the stone found in the neigh- bouring quarries, it presents a handsomer appearance than do most of these new western townships. Close by, to the south, is the large reserve of the Sarcee Indians, while other reserves, among them those of the Blackfeet and Stoney Indians, are not far distant, for which reason this was rightly chosen as the place at which the Indians should make their great demonstration and offer their homage to the Duke. Calgary is nearly 3,400 ft. above the sea, and we found the air pleasantly keen. On the arrival of the royal train, which was delayed by cattle on the line, the North-West Mounted Police were inspected by the Duke. Very smart they looked in their scarlet tunics, and mounted on the most serviceable of horses. Londoners at the last Jubilee had the opportunity of seeing these hard men of the prairies, who have ridden from their childhood, and whose training makes of them the most useful of soldiers in the South African campaign. There are but six hundred of these Mounted Police, NOBTH-WBST MOUNTED POLICE 381 of whom many are English gentlemen, to protect this immense territory, and most successfully does this wonderful corps make itself respected and maintain order among heterogeneous goWseekers and wild Indian tribes, from the mining camps of Yukon to the shores of Hudson's Bay. Over five hundred men who were either on the active list of the corps or who had once served in it went to South Africa to fight with Strathcona's Horse and the Canadian Mounted Eifles. Nearly two hundred officers and men, mostly belonging to the Mounted Police, received their medals from the Duke this day. After the distribution of medals the Duke and Duchess, escorted by the Mounted Police, proceeded to the Indian encampment, the Duchess driving, the Duke riding with his staff; and practicaUy the entire population of the city followed them, some by train, some driving, some walking, but the majority, including most of the women and children, scamper- ing fast in western fashion on horses and ponies. The Red Men who had come in to welcome the Duke had pitched their camp on a grassy height commano'ing a fine view of the prairie, the winding river, and the Uttle city. Hundreds of wigwams were scattered over the slopes. There were here collected about three thousand Indians, men, women, and children, many in the full national dress, with feathers on their heads and ochre-painted faces. It was by far the largest assembly of Indians which I 882 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR had ever been held in the country, and it is certain that the like will never be seen again. About eight hundred of the men were mounted, and presented a very picturesque appearance. In front of the marquee set apart for the Duke and Duchess and the members of the suite the head chiefe of the various tribes were ranged, fine-looking men, many of them with the aquiline features of their race, but with half-closed, cruel, and furtive eyes. Many wore their long hair plaited, some were in native dress, while others wore silk hats, soldiers' scarlet timics, and other incongruous attire. Those in the front row squatted on the ground rolled up in their blankets ; those behind were standing ; and, as they thus remained, dignified and patient, with imperturbable faces, rarely smiling, awaiting the opening of the ^reat 'pow-wow,' they brought one's Fenimore Cooper vividly back to mind. Those who were sitting passed from one tc another the calumet of peace, each taking a few puffs in turn, quite after the fashion of the romances beloved of one's boyhood ; but, alas, it was not the ornamented calumet of ' The Last of the Mohicans ' that they handed round, but an ordinary 10-cent. English brier pipe. Behind the chiefs were drawn up the mounted Indians, and there was a perpetual tinkling of the innumerable bells which were hung about the necks of their ever-restless steeds. The ' pow-wow ' opened with the reading aloud THE BED MAN'S HOMAGE SS8 to the Duke of the address presented by the Indian tribes of the North-West, and then, one by one, the chiefs came np to be presented to the Duke and Duchess and to shake hands with them. Their names, which were called out by the interpreter, had a ring of the old romance. There were White Pnp, Bnnning Babbit, Iron Shield, head chiefe of the Blackfeet ; Crop Ear Wolf and Day Chief, chiefs of the Blood Indians ; Bnnning Wolf, chief of the Piegans; Bull's Head, chief of the Sarcees ; and Jacob Bear's Paw, John Cheneka, and Jonas Big Stoney, head chiefs of the Stoneys ; but the two Cree chiefs bore the unromantic names of Joseph Samson and Mister Jim. Several of the chiefs ctood np before the Duke and at? ^resrrd him in their guttural but musical tongue, ampijtasising their speech with large and dignified gestures, and pausing between the short sentences while the interpreter translated their words into English. Some of the speeches grace- fully and eloquently expressed the loyalty of the tribes to their ' Father ' the King ; but the tenour of some was that the people wanted more food, more horses, and more land. This beseeching did not in th'- least degree indicate that the Indians are not otherwise than fairly treat n the reserves which have been set apart for them smce the white man has occupied their former hunting-grounds, and only showed that the system i ■}' 834 WITH THE BOTAL TOUR which hM made the Indian onr penuoner ' as alio, unfortunately, but unavoidably, converted him into somewhat of a beggar. As a matter of fact, some of the more intelligent Bed Men who have taken to farming on their reserves have become quite rich men; but the majority have an invincible repug- nance to work. Some of the speeches faintly recalled the eloquence of the heroes of Fenimore Cooper and ' Hiawatha ' ; but they lost a good deal when they were translated by the interpreter into what may be described as colloquial Yankee. White Pup, head chief of the Blackfeet, was the first to address the Duke. He produced the treaty which had been made between his people and the Great White Queen twenty-seven years ago, and asserted that the Indians would always observe it faithfully. I give a few examples of the Bed Man's oratory, the translation, of course, being that of the interpreter. These W3re the words of Bunning Wolf, chief of the Piegans: 'We want the Duke to see that we shall be as well treated in the future as we are now. I love cattle, bat I want more of them, and I want my body to have more weight, and I want bigger horses. We never get tired of living on this earth, and always try to get along as well as we can. We look to the Agent for what we want, and he always helps us straight.' Bull's Head, chief of the Sarcees, thus delivered I o 5 I THE BED MAN'S HOMAGE 88A himaell: 'I Mk the Duke to take pity on as. The Saroeee are yery glad that yon have come, and have been waiting for you. Take pity on our children, and see that they get a living. Yon have come a long way, wanting to know if the earth is any different here from what it is across the water. I have received this medal (showing it) from Commissioner Caird, and I am not ashamed of it. All oar people roand yoa now want to have lots of "grab " to make them happy before they start for home. The only thing that keeps as alive is having plenty of something to eat.' Jonas Big Stoney, a Stoney chief, thas addressed the Dake : ' Thoa art a great son of a great King. I, the chief of the Stoneys, representing them, welcome yoa this day, and I also feel that the land we are living in bids yoa welcome, and welcomes yoar illastrious wife. I feel fall of gratitade to yoa, and I desire that yoa will bear oar greetings to the great King, oar father. We hope that peace and prosper*' ttt'I continae as long as the heavens and the ea i 3, and in gratitade I again take yoar hand.' Bu. most eloqaent and the best-delivered speech of all was that of Joseph Samson, chief of the Crees, who paased several times to seize the Dake's hand and ahake it warmly. The other chiefs freqaently received his words with grants of applaase. • I am gratefal,* he said, ' to the Great Spirit on this occasion for this bright day that He has given as, and 886 WITH THE ROYAL TOUB for all that is blessed and peaceful. The sun above is row breaking through the clouds and gladdening us with his presence. This is the first time I have seen such a crowd of people mingling together in peace, and I am thanliiul. I am grateful to the Great Spirit that we live together under one flag and with one great law controlling us all. I am thankful to the Great Spirit on this occasion for the hoisting of this flag on yonder staff as a token of goodwill among men. Though we are a poor and feeble people our hearts are rejoiced at your arrival among us. Our fathers made peace with your Government, and we hope that peace will ever continue in the future. We want in every way to be at peace with the white man. We all send through you our greetings to ^he Great King, your illustrious father.' The boys and girls of the Indian Mission Schools were also present on this occasion, and one of the boys read out in English the address presented by his fellows to the Duke. The Indian children then sang ' God Save the King.' The Duke replied to the addresses at length in an excellent speech. Each sentence was translated by the interpreter to an Indian, who acted as herald and repeated the words in a loud voice to the crowd, the chiefs receiving some of the sentences with clappings of hands p-nd grunts of approval. The Duke told the chiefs that they should each receive a medal in commemoration of the day, and f INDIAN WAR DANCE 987 that he lud given orders th«t abondMice of food •honld be given to all the Indians before they set out for their homes. The ceremony concluded with a war dance, to the beating of drams, and tb manceuvring of the mounted Indians, who shouted their war-whoops as they charged on their bell-tinkling horses. In the afternoon there was a typical North- Western exhibition of rough-riding, buck-jumping, and so forth, unfortunately somewhat spoilt by the snow and hail which began to faU ; and in the evening we rejoined our luxurious train and continued our western progress to the Rockies. T WITH THE BOTAL TOUR i I CHAPTER XXI THK BOOKY MOVllTAIll*— THB QUAT DITIDI— TBI TBASBR RIVRk— BBITISB COLtmiU— TBB PACIflC OCKAK AOAIK — TAKCOCVIB CITY — FORIBT OIAMTf— ABOBIOIMKB AND AHUTK'H On reaching Calgary we had accomplished two thousand four hundred and thirty-six miles of our transcon. antal railway journey ; we had seen the melancholy heauty of the lone land of the woods and lakes, the suhlime immensity of the open prairies, and there lay before us the third and last stage of our long journey. Our train was now to wind for six hundred and forty-two miles through the gorges and over the passes of the Bocky Mountains and the coast ranges to Vancouver on the Pacific shore ; a route for which it has, I think, been rightly claimed that no railway journey of this length in the whole world presents such grand and varied scenery. We left Calgary on the ev«iing of September 28, but only to travel for about seventy miles to Banff, where we stayed for the _ t, it having been thus arranged in order that the Duke and Duchess might traverse the most beautiful part of the Bocky Moun- THE BOCKY MOUNTAINS 889 tein scenery by daylight on the morrow. On the return journey we travelled by night through the country that we had seen by day on the outward journey, so that we missed no portion of that pano- rama of snowy mountain, crag, gorge, and flood that nnroUs before the traveller who follows this marvellous highway. Even on that first evening we had a foretaste of the splendour of the mountains, for we entered the foot-hills shortly after leaving Calgary, ascending pleasant vales, with rushine f teams cleaving their way between the flat terraces of pasture that extend between the bordering heights— a more populous country apparently than any we had seen lately, for there were frequent little villages and ranches ; and many horses, cattle, and sheep were grazing on the snow-sprinkled grass. We saw the anow^sapped summits of the Rockies towering above the foot-hi Is ; and then the mountains closed in on us, ever higher and steeper, as we entered the Gap, the ravine down which the Bow River rushes tumultuously from tlie high glaciers, forming a grand gateway into the Bocky Mountain region. It was datk when Ave came to the little village of Banfif. We were now 4,600 ft. above the sea level, but, late though the season, the weather was not cold, but deliciously cool and bracing. The following day's journey will live in the memories of us all. The Viceregal train, in which I 8 i 840 WITH THE ROYAL TODR the correspondenta had their comfortable quarters, started shortly after seven in the morning, preceding the royal train, as usual, by about half an hour. The air was pleasantly crisp after the night's frost ; there was not a cloud in the sky; the atmosphere was very clear, so that not an interesting feature of the scenery was lost to us ; and at the grander parts the journey was made at a slower rate for the benefit of the royal travellers. For league after league we ascended the valley of the Bow River, winding along its rugged sides on galleries that overhung the abysses down which the torrent thundered. The slopes of the mountain, where not absolutely precipitous, were on both sides clothed densely with firs, spruce, and cedar; at intervals there debouched into the main valley the yawning side ravines, and looking up these between the awful precipices and steep, sloping forests, we beheld, far above us, the vast solitudes of the pale snow-fields, the glaciers glittering green in the rocky gaps, and, still further back, towering above all, the gigantic peaks of the Great Divide. But that which gave the scenery its singular beauty, a character of its own that distinguished it from all other mountain scenery I have seen— whether in Alp or Himalay or Andes— was the wonderful richness, the literally dazzling gorgeousness, of the colouring. True, the pines and firs were of sombre green, the mountain crags for the most part grey, and grey, too, the THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 341 Btraight, penca-like dead firs that, branchless and leafless, in places crowded the hillsides with their stark legions; but their duhxess of hue accentuated, by the strong contrast, the exceeding brilliancy of all else. For the woods had felt the breath of the Indian sununer; and the massed foliage of the birch, maple, poplar, and various forms of bush that covered the vaUey bottoms and lower slopes of the mountains blazed in vivid scarlet and gold, purple and bronze ; while the turquoise blue of the sky, the emerald flash of the glaciers, and the white gleam of the snow and foaming waters added to the splendour of the scene. It was a fairy-land dream of colour that made one rejoice that one had eyes given one to behold and delight in all this glory. But it was not every- where that these bright tints gladdened the eye • we plunged occasionally into gloomy canons, and often the stupendous mountains that overhung our route were bare and precipitous, assuming awful forms. There was Castle Mountain, for example, of which we obtained a good view. On one side it is a sheer precipice of ochre-coloured rock. 6,000 ft in height, looking like a stronghold of some gigantic race stretching for eight miles with its huge, dis- tinctly defined towers, bastions, and battlements ; bnt on the other side it is a gradually sloping waste o crags and glaciers, forming, as it were, a Titanic glacis that descends to the Titanic fosse below-an 343 WITH THE ROYAL TOUB awful canon, with perpendioolar walls and a raging torrent thundering down its unexplored depths. After winding up the Bow Valley for forty miles, often on a very steep gradient, we at last oame to the Great Divide, and were at the summit of the Bockies, 5,296 ft. above the sea. On one side of us the streams flowed eastward to the Atlantic, on the other side westward to the Pacific. The Great Divide is, indeed, well named, seeing that it forms the watershed between the world's two great oceans for a distance of upwards of eight thousand miles — from the Arctic North to the Straits of Magellan. On the retuxa journey I sat on the cow-catcher of the engine as the train crossed the Divide and plunged rapidly down the eastern slope of the pass to Laggan. It is only from the cow-catcher that one can command a complete view of the scenery through which the train passes. Their Boyal High- nesses and some of the suite travelled in this exhila- rating fashion through some of the grander portions of our journey across the Rocky Mountains. We had now crossed the frontier, and were in British Columbia. We descended rapidly, and entered the Kicking Horse Pass, down which the Wapta Biver foams and thunders, and were in wilder scenery than any we had yet seen. The railway line seemed to hang perilously on the pre- cipitous mountain side, and in places one could look out of the carriage window sheer down for a thou- THE GREAT DIVIDE 348 sand feet at the torrent below. And when one looked upwards one saw, high above the ochre- coloured cliffs beyond the torrent, the vast white solitudes, glaciers and snow-fields that covered many hundreds of miles, and great peaks that have never been ascended, and are for the most part unattain- able. One knew that high up there stretched an untrodden region of unknown marvels. I believe that Mr. Whymper was then exploring some of these wilds. But it is not the expert Alpine climber only who can enjoy the grandeur of these mountains. There are now easy tracks to some of the finest scenery in the neighbourhood of the rail- way, to the recently discovered Takakkaw Falls, for example, where an enormous volume of water falls a sheer 2,000 ft. from a glacier-bound tarn. To those who like to do their travelling in com- fort this portion of the Eockies is to be recom- mended ; for at numerous places on the railway line are excellent hotels set amid the finest scenery— at Banff, Field, and Glacier House, for example; and the Canadian Pacific Bailway, that Pooh Bah among railway companies— which, in addition to ownmg the longest railway in the world, possesses hnes of ocean steamers, telegraphs, hotels, wharfs, acts as a land agent, and performs I know not how many other functions— also supplies skiUed Swiss guides to conduct the tourist through the mountains. 344 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR ! I ill I III I At lut, having emerged from a dark canon into the light of day, we followed the broad valley of the Colombia Biver and saw around ns those magnificent forests for which British Colmnbia is famed throogh- ont the world. The mountains were everywhere clothed with a giant growth of cedars, spruce, and pines; in places the broad, bare tracks of the avalanches cleaving through the dark green of the dense forest. The trees were of an extraordinary height, and grew so closely together that one wondered how they could all find sustenai -», thus crowding on the shallow soil of the hillside. And so on we travelled throughout the day, by the grand scenery, the fitting description of which would fill a volume, zigzagging by steep gradients over passes, threading the profound gorges, by mountain tarns, through leagues of forest, by the banks of splendid rivers. Some of the finest scenery was in the Selkirk Mountains, where the construction of the railway line was attended with extraordinary difficulty. The numerous huge torrents that rend the mountain sides had to be spanned by large bridges, and the frequent heavy avalanches necessitated the construc- tion in many places, and for long distances, cf massive and strong timber sheds, through whose dark tunnels the trains travel fully protected. Throughout the night the two trains joomeyed on, and on the next morning, September 80, we found ourselves on the bank of the broad Fraser i n FRA8BR BIVER 345 River; the old Caribboo road, the great highway of the country before the construction of the railroad, winding along the precipitous cliffs on the opposit^ side of the river: a once good cart road, but now neglected and for the most part crumbling away. It was recalled to our minds by the sights on its banks that the Fraser is famous all over the world for the multitude of its large sahnon (the output of turned salmon from this river last year amounting to about a million cases), and that gold is washed down from the mountains by its rapid waters ; for we passed the hydraulic monitors and the dredgers by which the white men extract the gold from the nver bed; while many Chinese were engaged, each on his own account, in washing gold after the more pnmitive fashion, and so, by untiring industry, eammg about a dollar a head a day. As for the salmon, we were above the points at which the colonists net the fish in their tens of thousands for exportation ; but we saw the encampments of the Indians, who spear the fish for their own consump- tion, and the framework structures on which the sahnon were suspended to dry. And gradually we descended to the lower coast belt, beautiful with its prodigal richness of ve^eta- tiOD. The forests of gigantic firs, spruce, and c°edar were stiu around us on the hillsides; but in the aUuvial vaUey bottoms there was a rank growth of bush, underwood, and fern glowing m varied it 1 ii 'it 846 WITH THE BOYAL TOUR antomnal tints, and, in places, clearings, with home- steads, fenced-in fields, orchards of ripe apples and other fruit. At last, at Port Moody, we came to tidal waters, the Head of Bnrrard Inlet ; once more we breathed the sweet salt air of the sea, and the Pacific Ocean, whose farthermost waters we were sailing about two months before, was again in front of us. From here we skirted the shores of the inlet, looking out on this beautiful land-locked harbour, with its undulating, densely timbered promontories, where the giant trees were reflected on the still blue water. Here and there undar the shade of the forests that fringed the beach were villages, saw-mills, piles of timber, evidence of the great lumber industry ; while on the broad water were lying at anchor British men-of-war, ocean liners, sailing ships, the vessels of the salmon fleet, the smaller craft of the sealers and fishermen. It was a fitting approach to the chief seapon of a great province of the Empire, and presented a spectacle that was very striking to us after our journey of over three thousand miles across the continent. Shortly before eleven our train reached Vancouver, and came to a ocandstill opposite the handsome building that is the eastern terminus of the Canadi' a Pacific Eailway. A delightful place did Vancouver appear to us that morning. This city could scarcely fail to be beautiful, set as it is amid winding blue waters and VANCOUVER CITY 317 forest-clad capes; but to us Englishmen who. since we left Quebec, had been travelling across vast inland tracts far from the sound and scent of the ocean, there was a peculiar charm in the scene before us. It was keenly refreshing thus of a Kidden to find ourselves by the sea once more, to feel the salt wind in our faces, to see the British menK)f.war and the merchantmen, all dressed with bmitmg. at anchor in the broad harbour; and when the royal train ran into the station shortly after the arrival of our own. it carried one's thoughts back to ones island home to see the British blue-jackets drawn up on the platform, with the band of his Majesty's ship • Warspite ' playing the National Anthem, while the guns of the warships fired a royal salute. Glorious weather had attended the royal progress since we left the eastern cities, and there was a cloudless sky above us during our stay in British Cohimbia ; but here, at the sea level, the air was softer and the temperature somewhat higher than it had been in the Eocky Mountains, and on the high plateaus. Extremes of winter cold and summer Heat are unknown on this beautiful coast, and the cimwte of Victoria has been compared with that of our South Devon health resorts. On this smmy day the bnghtly decorated streets of Vancouver looked very well m their holiday at«re. and hearty was the reception given by the weh-dressed crowds to the i m 848 WITH THE BOTAL TOUR 1 i:i|l Duke and DnchesB, whose popularity had gone before them, spread by the reports from the eastern cities. Standing as it doee on an undulating wooded peninsula, and nearly surrounded by water, Van- couver has indeed a splendid situation. As one wanders for the first time through the busy tho- roughfares one finds oneself frequently brought to a pause at street comers and in open places to admire the wonderful views that suddenly burst on one, extending far over blue waters, pine-clad shores, and the white peaks of the distant Rocki a The traveller who visits this fine city of twenty-six thousand inhabitants, with its broad, asphalted, electric-lit streets, its handsome public buildings and houses of business, many of which are con- structed of granite, and its pretty suburbs, to which the electric tramways carry the citizens after the day's work is over, cannot but be filled with astonish- ment when he remembers that Vancouver had no existence sixteen years ago, its site being then covered with dense forest. The origin of the city is due to the selection of this spot, in 1885, as the eastern terminus of the Canadian Pacific Eailway. In 1886, when Van- couver contained only six hundred inhabitants, it was u ;«jrly destroyed by fire, a-d every building now in ^y has risen since that date. And yet Van- couver looks as if it might be a century old ; it has VANCOUVBB CITY ,49 none of the ngliness of extreme youth, and it. suburbs. ^th then: pretty cottages embowered in flower. h»Te qmte an old-world appearance. The eve i.' nerer oflended here by those hideous corrupted. W)n .tore., dwellings, shanties, and even churches, that make the mushroom townships of some colonies notably South Africa, appear so sordid. That Van couver is thus beautiful is. of course, chiefly due to of good bmldmg stone, while even within sight of the city there is an almost exhaustless supply of timb«-it would be difficult to construct a rilly ugly house out of the richly coloured woods that a« here u«d for building purposes; but the charm that pervades Vancouver is not solely due to these -.ura. advantages ; for the energetic founaera of the city, influenced perchance by the loveliness of the STUToundingb. have displayed good taste and a keen sense of beauty iv. their architecture, whether it be m stone 0. wood. Vancouver has a very prosperous air . there are no poor here, the labourer makes his glt^^; '^^' ''"*" ' ''' ^' ^-« - «tn^e to As the terminus of the Trans-Continental Kail- way. the port from which the great hners comiecting tt^e East and West sail for Japan. China. Honf iiong. and Australia ; the centre from which the lumber, the fish, the minerals of British Colmnbia are earned to the uttermost parts of the world • the :i|H 800 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB fitting«ont place for the miners of the Klondike and other gddfields ; the principal harbonr of a Province whose immense natural resources are bat beginning to be developed, Vanconver cannot but oantinne to increase in prosperity, and the day may not be far distant when, as Qneen of the Pacific Coast, this seaport becomes the rival of San Francisco. Our visit to Vanconver was bnt a short one, for we arrived in the morning and left again the same evening; but, as throughout this rapid Canadian tour, there was a full programme arranged for their Boyal Highnesses. There was, of course, the usual presentation of South African decorations and medals ; but perhaps the feature of the day's doings was the visit of the Puke and Duchess to the Hastings Mill. There they followed the whole process of handling the lumber, from the hauling of the huge unshaped logs of fir and cedar out of the water down to the shipping of the dressed timber on the large ocean-going ships that lay alongside the wharf — a good exemplification of one of the three great industries of British Columbia. In the afternoon their Boyal Highnesses were driven round Stanley Park, which is at the head of the peninsula on wuich Vancouver stands — surely the fairest pleasure ground possessed by any city on this continent. Here the virgin forest is to be seen in all its natural grandeur, untouched by the axe of the woodman ; one might well imagine oneself to be TOBBST OIANTS ^, ««•. rid. . j^ ^djzr*. '""' *^' " " «0W8t doea not cov«r ti,. I ■ ^ '"'•■"^ P«.mont<« L rj '^"° "' "^ d'Kg'"'-! -.i«i..«.?c:.o'^^::— .^p«. cominandfl a ann^^ • . "^'** ''^e sea, «.owym<«mto.ome.„rC ' "" "» and^^":!;^;!! ' f'P-'"'"- 0' I»di„s, oUd .ilij 84; 859 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR World and the Old, tor om owinot but oondud* th«t it mnit be to lome •nciwit •migration torn An* to the north-weet of America that theee people owe their extraordinary reeemblttoe both in ieatwi and ititnre to the Japaneee. I saw one Indian in uniform who might weU have been unen for a Utile Jap poUeeman. There are many Japaneie in thie city, and white resident. My that often whenaman iedreeeed in European dotk-s they And it difficult, until they hear hit voice, to teU whether he i» a Jap or an aboriginal. The Chinese, too, are very much in evidence in Vancouver, and there is a yet uneolved quettion of alien Aiiatic labour which is troubUng the minds of the white inhabitants of British Columbia. It wUl be remembered that the enactments of the Provm- cial Government, by which it was intended to ex- elude or limit as far as possible the immigration o Asiatic labourers, were overruled by the Federal Parliament. At present the Chinaman who lands in British Columbia pays a poll tax of #50 only, a state of things which is very unsatisfactory to the white labourer. In the United States the Clnna- man's poll tax is ten times as heavy as that paid by his countrymen in British Columbia. But it is not so much the Chinaman as the more intelligent Japanese whose competition in the kbour market is regarded with the most apprehension in this country. It had been an enjoyable day in bright Vancouver, VOTAOB TO VICTOBIA SM and ftt night the Doke »nd Dnohen rad mite emUrkad on the 6,000-ton Uner ' Empreu of India,' one of the C«n»di»n Pacific Railway Company's fleet of Royal mail steamers that ply between Vancouver, Yokohama, and Hong Kong ; and we correspondents on the smaUer, but very comforteble, coasting pas- ■enger steamer 'Charmer' belonging to the same company, to crohj the Btraits of Georgia to Victoria on the island of Vanconver. the capital of British Columbia, a voyage of eighty.four miles. The •Empress of India ' was escorted across the straits by the cruisers • Amphion ' and ' Phaeton.' the sloop of war 'Cor.dor,' the destroyer • Sparrowhawk,' of our - dflc Squadron, and the Canadian cruiser ' Quadra ' Victoria was reached early on the foUowing morning, the royal yacht, as the liner had become for the nonce, heading the squadron with the Royal ensign flying at her main. And now wc had reached the westernmost point of our trans-ccntinental tour having travelled 3.162 miles from Quebec. On leaving Victoria we should be really homeward bound at last, our faces ever turned to the east until we reached old Portsmouth town. A A 854 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR ii'i III hi CHAPTER XXII VANCOUVKB ISLAND— VICTOBU—HOMBWABD BO0MD— BANFF AMD 118 8ULPBXIB 8PBIN08— THE MANITOBA WHEAT BBtT— A BECOBD HABVE8T— TOBONTO— THE ONTABIO MILITIA We had two full days in Victoria—a pleasant rest after the constant hurrying of the preceding fort- night. One would fain have stayed longer, for of all the cities that were visited in the course of this long royal progress the fair capital of British Columbia seems to me the one which the English- man would most gladly make his home. Victoria has often been described as being the most English city in Canada, and the visitor soon realises that this is indeed the case. In the first place, the percentage of British-bom among the inhabitants is large, and a considerable colony of British gentlefolk, including many retired naval and military officers, is settled in the beautiful environs of the city. The number of University men and public school boys to be met here is remarkable, all of course intensely loyal to the old country. I am told that 75 per cent, of the men who went from the island of Vancouver to fight in South Africa were VANCOnVBB ISLAND 355 bom in the Briddi Isles. The English ol«»cter of the socwty m the capital is also strengthened by the c«»t«,t pres«ice here of a large number of British officers of both Seryices ; for within an hour's walk of the city, and quickly attainable by the trams is B«imm.lt the British Nayal station, tho^ quart™, of our Pacific Squadron, with its barracks T^T doclyard ; while, since the construction of the formidable fortifications that protect this ^portent post, we here maintain a si^all force „ Boyal Engmeers and Garrison Artillery. The men of the garrison and also a detachment of men of the Boyd Horse ArtUlery who had disembarked he« on ttestayof thejr Boyal Highnesses to form escort! ^ guard, of honour and to line the route of the ^ession. I was pleasant for us Englishmen to s^ the famUiar umforms of the British soldier^ «oma us once more. Victoria is not only a bus^ place, a great emporium of trade, the distributing o«tre for British Columbia, but is ti^ a U.ouZ i^:^ r '"r '" "'"•'°-^° ^^'^ •• - "~ city on the western coast of the North American Continent does one find oneself amid a ^^y" Buch cultured people, British-bom and Cana^.^ "bether they be men of leisure, members oT^Te' ^ed professions, or engaged in business. In short, Victoria, as a place in which to make one's borne, presents many social and, I understand, e™ A A 3 '1' tf i m it 866 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR educational advantages. As might be expected, there are some excellent clubs in the city. The little city of twenty-five thousand inhabitants was well decorated by day and well illuminated by night, and gave the Duke and Duchess a loyal and hearty reception. I noticed, by the way, that there, as in other Canadian cities, among the bunting that was so lavishly displayed in the streets, the Stars and Stripes of the United States were not so conspicuous as they generally are in BritisL cities on every occasion of public rejoicing, a compliment which is not reciprocated in America, and was so singularly inappropriate on Mafeking and Ladysmith days, seeing how strongly pro-Boer and hostile to our policy in South Africa the bulk of the Americans are. Victoria, a little over half a century ago but a wooden fort of the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, is now a handsome little city, with broad streets of substantially built houses and public buildings, which, as elsewhere in the Dominion, dis- play a fine taste in their architectural features. The magnificent Parliament buildings, constructed of grey stone, would be worthy of the capital of an im- portant European Power. Some drives and walks which I took in the neigh- bourhood of the city during my stay gave me a full explanation of why this is a place so beloved of the British. The city, its suburbs, and its parks are all VICTORIA 857 contained on a many-inletted promontory that juts out into the smooth island-studded waters of the Straits of Juan de Fuca-a magnificent situation The country immediately outside the town is singu- larly beautiful, the undulating promontory being covered with woods of pine and fir and a lovely wild jungle of arbutus, roses, flowering bushes of many varieties, and English broom, which, since it was imported here, has spread all over the more open country, so that it is ablaze with golden blossom for a great portion of the year. In the spring an'i sum- mer there is an extraordinary abundance of beautiful wild flowers, and in the autumn aU the vegetation is aglow with tints vivid or meUow. Amid this pleasant hocage, skirting the little bays and headlands of the promontory, are scattered the delightful homes of the fortunate citizens of Victoria-the professional men, the merchants, the retired soldiers of the Empire. These country-houses are all built of wood most picturesque and comfortable in appearance, and of harmomous colouring-shades of red, terra-cotta, and dark oak predominating. Each house stands withm extensive grounds. Landscape gardening is made easy for one here. One has but to leave a portion of one's plot of land uncleared to have a Bweet wilderness of roses and evergreen bush and fem-grown rocky dells, with here and there perhaps, clumps of pine or cedar; but the carefully' laid-out gardens that immediately surromid most of 858 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR i! I, I thesemansions and cottages astonieh one by theirpro- fusion of bright flowers. Here one sees the geraniums, the sunflowers, the old-fashioned columbines, sweet- williams, and others with which we are so familiar, but far more luxuriant and fuller of blossom than they are at home. Never in the environs of any other city have I seen such a glory of flowers as sur- rounded each of these lovely homes. Many a one of these cosy wooden houses had quite an old English air, and the garden that surrounded it might have belonged to some old Elizabethan 'uansion. The wild vegetation, too, in which these little estates were set, had the luxuriance, not of the tropics — whose cloying sweetness often makes the exile sick for home — but of the tender north. It is this com- bination of rich wild country and old-fashioned English homes that makes the surroundings of Vic- toria so wholly delightful. They tell one, and I can quite believe it, that he who has stayed here awhile is so conquered by the charm of the country that if he leaves it he is com- pelled to return to it. Then how magnificent are the landscapes on which the possessors of thote pleasantest of homes look out, embracing broad waters, sinuous straits, timbered islands and capes, and, behind all, the mighty mountain ranges of the mainland, with their summits of eternal snow, the most conspicuous peak being Mount Baker, which, though a hundred miles away, is generally clearly VICTORIA 359 visible from here. When I saw this fine mountain It looked like a huge bell of delicate white suspended m mid air, for only its snowy dome gleaming in the sunlight was distinguishable, its lower slopes, where the snow was not lying, being invisible for distance. and blending with the blue of the sky. These waters form a splendid cruising ground for the yachtsman, and nearly everyone here keeps his Httle yacht or sailing boat, which in many cases lies at anchor at the bottom of his garden, and often in his own little sheltered inlet. Yachting can here be combined with ferand sport, the best of shooting and fishing, and even with exploration ; for there are vast tracts un- known to the white man which can b; approached from the lonely gulfs on the mainland. I have said enough to show how attractive a place is the capital of British Columbia. There is much even in the business of the city that is pic- turesque and fascinating-the lumbering with the shipment of the giant timber, the salmon fishing and canning industry, the trading of the Huds n's Bay Company, the departure and return o^ 9 Canadian fur-sealing fleet, of which this it .e headquarters, and the excitement of a gold-mimng centre, with the fitting out of the miners, the rushes to newly discovered fields in regions of whose possi- biUties so httle yet is known, the very island of Vancouver being mostly unexplored. A beautiful city, and, what is more, one in which there are no !/ 360 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR really poor people, and it is claimed for it that, 'pit capita, Victoria is the wealthiest city on the Pacific Coast.' Of the various ceremonies that filled np the two days of our stay in Victoria I need say nothing here, as they were much the same as those we have witnessed in many cities in the course of the tour. In the evening of October 2 their Boyal Highnesses embarked on the ' Empress of India,' and, escorted by the ships of the Pacific Squadron, that fine liner ateamed back to Vancouver. On the following morning the royal train and the viceregal train— the viceregal, as usual, preceding the royal train by about half an hour — started on their eastward journey, first to travel two thousand five hundred miles along the route by which we had come, and then, at North Bay, to leave the Canadian Pacific Bailway and, striking south into countries we had not yet visited, to follow the Grand Trunk and Intercolonial railway lines through Toronto, Niagara, and St. John, New Brunswick, to Halifax, Nova Scotia, there to rejoin the 'Ophir' and the two cruisers that composed her escort. As I have already, in an earlier chapter, described the outward journey, I need say little concerning the return journey to Toronto. While the Duke and some of the suite were engaged in a very successful shooting expedi- tion in the neighbourhood of Poplar Point (which taught the Canadians what Englishmen have long BANFF AND ITS SULPHUB 8PBTN08 861 nnce known, that his Royal Highness is an exceUent shot, ranking with the few very best in our country) tile Duchess and the rest of the party remained at JJanff, both the royal and viceregal trains making a halt of two days at this delightful summer pleasure resort. Her Royal Highness and her suite stayed at the large hotel owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway, and made excursions to the various points of mterest in the neighbourhood. At Banff we were reminded of the happy time we passed at Rotorua, in New Zealand, a few months before ; for here, too, the volcanic fires of the elder world still feebly bum beneath one's feet, and we were able to bathe in hot sulphur springs, to swim about the Basin, an open-air bath, where we floated luxuriously m water at the temperature of 90° F while that of the air above us was some degreed below freezing point. The invalids who frequent this place bathe in the Cave, a subterraneous bath of hot sulphurous water, where one finds oneself withm an extinct geyser with a small orifice in the rock roof above, through which the boiling water spouted centuries ago, when the geysers in this region were in full activity. Here, too, we visited the large corral, covering five hundred acres, wherein are preserved a number of buffalo, the last, it is said, of their ra^je, and some fine elks. One can here study the ways of these magnificent brutes, as they hve in a practically natural state, but if one is on M 863 WITH THE BOYAL TOUR foot it ii prudent not to get too near them. Two of the correspondents on our train had a aomewhat curiouB adventure. They were on foot within the reserve, and were observing and photographing the buffalo from the further side of the stout fence which separates the ground of the bufiEaloes from that of the elks. They were thus within the territory of the elk, and two of these mighty-antlered creatures attacked them from the rear while they, thinking themselves quite secure, were contemplating the buffiilo, and compelled them to clamber over the fence ; then the buffalo charged them and drove them back over the fence again into the elk preserve. I understand that they had to travel a quarter of a mile along the fence, sometimes on one side of it sometimes on the other, dodging the alternate asstolts of the elks and buffaloes, until they found themselves in safety outside the gate which released them from the corral. The two trains left Banff on the evening of October 6, and on the morning of the 8th reached Poplar Point, where the Duke was to rejoin us. At this little prairie settlement, which is in the centre of the Manitoba wheat belt, the Duchess was present at a very interesting exhibition of wheat threshing. The huge machine, which, burning wheat straw as fuel, works very economically, was drawn up by a traction engine to a gigantic pile of sheaved wheat, and astonished us aU by the rapidity with which it i I it z ». Ill ^ I 5 t- h III s o ? 3 a u z >- I: HI THE MANITOBA WHEAT BELT 868 dealt with it, thmhing and winnowing the great maw within a few minntea. It threw the separated •traw and chaff far from it, iponting them ont in a great fountain from the mouth of ita long flume. After thoroughly cleansing the wheat by the strong draught of ita fans it dropped the grain ready for the market mto the sacks beneath. The rain has to some extent dumaged the wheat crop in Canada, and a good deal of the grain may be of low grade ; but still it is estimated that the harvest of 1901 is the beet, by 27 per cent., that has ever been known m the country, and five times larger than it was in 1900, which was an exceptionally bad one. The following figures will convey some idea of the enormous quantities of grain that are produced on these rich plains : Sixty million bushels of wheat were awaiting conveyance to the coast, and for two months to come four hundred loaded trucks (each containing from one thousand to one thousand two hundred bushels of wheat) were to be carried daily over the Canadian Pacific Railway. No manure is used on these rich wheat-growing plains, and, large though the area under cultivation, there remain still vaster tracts of as good soil that have never yet been tilled. The Duke uttered a truth of vital importance to Great Britain when, in one of his speeches, he termed this region the granary of the Empire. Early that morning we reached North Bay on beautiful Lake Nipissing, and, leaving the Canadian 8M WITH THE ROYAL TOUR Pacific railway system, proceeded on the Grand Trunk line. We now entered a much more populous region than any we had yet visited, for at the frequent stations large crowds of well-dressed people were assembled, and at each stopping-place numbers of little school- children waved Union Jacks and maple leaves and sang the National Anthem and ' The Maple Leaf for Ever * very prettily. We reached Toronto on the morning of October 10, pnd left it on the evening of the 12th, so that we passed nearly two days in this, the Queen City of Canada, so grandly situated on Lake Ontario's shores. The welcome given here to the Duke and Duchess was worthy of the capital of the vast and rich Province of Ontario, the second city of Canada, with its two hundred and twenty thousand inhabitants almost exclusively of British stock, for this city is as Jiglo-Scixon and Protestant as Quebec is French .nd Boman Catholic ; and it was the heart of British-speaking Canada that spoke in Toronto when the myriads that crowded its broad and stately streets shouted their warm greeting to the personal repre- sentatives of the Empire and the political system of which they are so keenly proud. It was noticeable that in every colony we visited in the course of this tour the enthusiasm of the people ever waxed stronger — even as the rolling snowball gathers volume — during the progress of their Boyal Highnesses through the country. I was TORONTO S85 convinced, from much I heard and saw, that this royal tour, which has brought hme to Englishmen the patriotism and loyalty o' .he colonies, i as also opened the eyes of multitudes c ' colonials, d^'eUing in remote regions and never readu j I^rtiivh papers, to many things they did not understand before : to these royalty had seemed as something cold, severe, unap- proachable ; but now they associate it with gracious- ness and sympathy. The first reception of the Duke and Duchess as the royal train entered Toronto was peculiarly im- pressive and affecting, for the great welcome of the people burst on them with a startling suddenness. Out of the calm of the country outside the city the train rushed abruptly into a dense crowd of people, a roar of welcome, and a flood of sweet song. For there in the large open space facing the station a large multitude of enthusiastic people was collected under the waving bunting, filling all the available space. In front of them were massed some thousands of well-trained, prettily dressed school-children, who, so soon as the royal carriage was seen, waved the maple leaves and Union Jacks which they carried in their hands, and sang ' God Save the King * very harmoniously and impressively, following it with • The Maple Leaf ' and other patriotic songs. No- where during this tour have I seen better behaved, more kindly, and obviously loyal crowds than those which thronged the brilhantly decorated, and 866 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR 11 by night brilliantly illuminated, streets of Toronto during the stay of the Duke and Duchess in the well- named ' Queen City of Canada.' On the day following our arrival we were present at one of the most interesting reviews we had wit- nessed since we left England, and on a much larger scale than any other that was held in Canada during the royal visit. Eleven thousand men of the Ontario Militia marched past the Duke on Garrison Common, a beautiful spot overlooking Lake Ontario, but a somewhat confined ground for the manoeuvring of so large a force. To us Englishmen there was a home- like air about this review, for all these iroops wore the familiar uniform of the British Army, the scarlet tunics of our infantry of the Line, the uniforms of our Highlanders and Grenadiers, Hussars, Dragoons, and Artillerymen. Thoroughly British, too, looked the men themselves, while the titles of the various regi- ments had a familiar sound. For example, here are some, taken at random : The Princess Louise Dragoon Guards; the 7th Fusihers ; the Boyal Grenadiers; the 21st Essex Fusiliers ; the 48th Highlanders ; the Queen's Own Bifles, and the Argyll Light Lifantry. Many of these men, Uke numbers we had seen reviewed in Australia, had done good service in the South African war ; but here in Old Canada a review of the Militia is associated with stirring memories unknown in Australia — that continent without a battlefield. The Canadian Militia have fought THE ONTABIO MILITIA 357 stubbornly in defence of their country in many a war, and held their own against the troops of France and the United States. This very review was held on historic ground, for at one end of Garrison Com- mon stands the old fort which, in 1813, was so gallantly defended against the Americans under General Pike (who feU here) by the predecessors of the men who marched past the Duke that day Toronto was twice sacked by the Americans during the War of Independence, to be afterwards rewon by the loyahsts. Its citizens have always shed their blood freely for their country; a monument in the city recaUs the memory of the Torontans who fell when repelhng the Fenian raiders of 1866 ; and still true to her traditions, Toronto sent a large contin- gent of very serviceable men to South Africa when the war broke out. Misestimated that r >usand people witnessed this impressive review, ./nich was fortunately held m fine weather, but when the men marched by It was so hazy that they were not visible from the' grand stand until they were in front of it. Each regiment was seen to issue in a strangely ghostly fashion out of the mist, to pass by, and then to isappear again. After the Duke had inspected the troops his Eoyal Highness presented new colours to two regimentP- the Boyal Canadian Regiment of Infantry and tne Eoyal Dragoons. The presen- tation of colours to a regiment is always a most WITH THE ROYAL TOUR impressive spectacle, and the many thousands present who had never before witnessed the ceremony were evidently moved by the simple dignity of it. The Dake, addressing the officers of the two honoured regiments, said that it gave him especial pleasure to present colours to troops who had done such good service in South Africa. The marching past was ex- cellently done, and those of us who within the previous few months had seen reviews of colonial troops in every important possession of Great Britain agreed that the Canadian Militia is a very good representa- tive of the Empire's widely scattered Volunteer forces. How considerable are those forces, how efficient and eager for active service in defence of Great Britain the men, is but fully realised by few Englishmen and by still fewer foreigners. At the conclusion of the review the Duke distributed war medab to the men who had returned from South Africa, and pinned a well-earned Victoria Cross on the breast of Major Cockbum. Among the recipients of the medal was Miss Eussell, who went out to South Africa as a nursing sister. I remember seeing her in Wynberg Hospital, to which she was first sent on her arrival in Capetown, and many wounded officers who were there at that early period of the war have grateful and pleasant memories of the kindly and beautiful Canauian girl who tended them BO well during their sufferings. Toronto is one of those many cities of which BEAUTY OP THE 'QUEEN CITY' 369 we caught but a glimpse on this tour, and then had to huny on again; but it was a glimpse tiiat made one fain to stay longer in the -Queen fnf ,^ ? '''^"* ^* *«"^- ^°^ i* « indeed a splendid city, and here, as elsewhere in Canada, the public buildmgs-simple but beautiful and grand in then: architecture, though of modem construction- have an o d-world charm about them ; the extensive and stately university buildings, for example, sur- rounded by groves and spacious lawns and gardens gazing at which one could well fancy oneself within one of our ancient university cities. fifi 370 WITH THil ROYAL TOUR CHAPTER XXIII TBBOUOB OMTABIO— LONDOK— THE OABDEN OF CANADA— FALLS OF MUOABA— BAXILTON — TBK LAKE OF THE THOUSAND ISLANDS— ST. JOHN, NEW BEUNSWICK Since we landed in Canada we had travelled fast and far, paying flying visits to many cities, resting but seldom ; but the last ten days of the Canadian tour w^ere certainly the busiest and most bustling of all, and the royal progress through the Empire finished with a rush indeed, allowing little leisure, across the Provinces of Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. On we hurried, save at the three capitals spending not a whole day anywhere; at intervals of a few hours visiting cities or townships of more or less importance, at each of which a more or less extensive programme of receptions, addresses, demonstrations, laying of foundation-stones, and so forth had been arranged for their Eoyal Highnesses. For it was not now with us as it was when we were traversing the vast lonely central regions of the continent, vrith great distances separating the settle- ments of man ; we were travelling through the most densely populated and prosperous portions of the THROUGH ONTARIO 871 Dominion and at every few miles during the progx^ss of the royal tram we passed some station with a dense crowd of cheering, flag-waving people collected on tne platform. What crowds those were, pleasant indeed to look on. well-dressed, good-natured, enthusiastically loyal people-fine-looking men. pretty, rosy children, and fajr women. There they always were at station after station m their hmidreds or thousands, or even tens of thousands, according to the size of the place- practically its entire population-always with the sweetly smgmg little school-children paraded in their best frocks in the front ranks of the crowd At many of these places the people thus stood in the ram, patiently waiting merely to catch a moment's ghmpse of the Duke and Duchess as the train swept by without stopping, and by their demonstration to express the loyalty of their true British hearts • for of course, it was only at a certain number of piaces' that a stoppage could be made, else the tour would have lasted for another six months. All the con- Biderable towns had striven their utmost to have the honour of entertaining their Eoyal Highnesses, many This portion of the tour opened with a zigzag 727 on the Grand Trunk Eailway through some of the pleasantest parts of the Province of Ontario It was only through a comparatively small comer of B B 2 872 WITH THE BOYAL TOUR it that we travelled, for the province is about the size of France ; but that comer, known as the Penin- sula of Ontario, washed by the waters of Lakes Huron, Eric and Ontario, not only contains some of the world's grandest scenery, but is also the most fertile, highly cultivated, and populous region of all Canada. The Indian word Ontario signifies 'a pleasant prospect of trees and woods,' and that indeed well describes the country, for wherever it is not cultivated it is undulating bocage, watered by many streams and studded with beautiful lakes ; the folia ge, as we passed through the land, glowing with the tints of the Indian summer, all the richer at times for the thin autumnal haze that seemed to lend a glamour as of some dim fairy-land to all this glory of gold, scarlet, and purple that covered the maples, larches, poplars, sumach, and other trees and bushes of this wondrous woodland. We left Toronto in the morning of October 12, and this day's journey was a good example of the triumphal progress that characterised this p^^rtion of the tour. We were due at Niagara that evening ; but the train first carried us for a hundred and twenty miles in the opposite direction, to London, in the south-west of the peninsula, so that their Boyal Highnesses might visit the cities in that extreme comer of the province. We traversed the most densely populated country we had seen since we left England. We passed through a succession of LONDON 9n cheenng crowds and bright groups of singing school- ;hildren at the frequent towns and villages ; and it was aU so British-looking. Of our own country seemed the men. the women, the rosy children. The Mihtiamer who lined the station platforms wore the scarlet tunics and the helmets of our infantry So too, was it with the policemen : I had noticed in some parts of Canada that these were attired some- what after the fashion of the New York police, but m Ontano they wear the exact uniform of our London constables, and like them are stalwart and couri;eous. Here, hard by the frontier of the United States, there appears to be less inclination to follow American models than in any other part of Canada • there 18 a clinging to the old comitry methods even to the details of official imiform. In no portion of the Empire can a community be found more ardently loyal to Great Britain than is the dense population of the Ontario Peninsula. The names of many of the places we passed this day showed how their Bntish founders clung to old home associations. There was Stratford, for example, on a river called the Avon, with its every street bearing the name of one of Shakespeare's heroes. And then, at midday, when we came to our westernmost point, the City of London, on a little stiver I'hames. in a large County of Middlesex, we found ourselves walking through streets and crossing bndges named after those of our own old London 374 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR There were Piccadilly, St. James's Street, Oxford Street, PalKMall, Cheapside, a Blackfriars Bridge, and a Covent Garden Market which in many ways bore a singular resemblance to our own. London is a prosperous, cheerful-looking city of forty thousand inhabitants, and in its Covent Garden Market one can form a good idea of the varied produce of the surrounding country, for London is the centre of one of the richest agricultural districts in the world, and this portion of the Ontario Peninsula is rightly termed ' the Garden of Canada.' It was, indeed, a magnificent country through which we passed that day. Between the belts of gloriously coloured autumnal woodlands were richly cultivated expanses, very British in app&iDi ace, recalling bits of Devon and Kent. In the enclosed fields was a variety of crops, extensive vineyards covered the gentle slopes, and there were orchards of apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries, chestnuts, walnuts, and other fruit. It is from this district that Great Britain obtains m'ioh of its best Canadian fruit, and of peaches alone upwards of a million baskets are annually exported from here. And so we travelled on by farms and orchards, and green fields and settlements of happy and industrious people until the evening, when we came to our night's stopping place, Niagara on the Lake, a pleasant little pleasure resort at the point where the Niagara river flows into Lake Ontario. The PALLS OP NIAGARA 376 following day wm spent by all in visiting that wonder of the world, Niagara. I am told that many people are disappointed when they first see Niagara ; but I fail to understand this. My first sight of the great river pouring over the Horse Shoe Falls into the abyss of perpetual mist beneath fur surpassed anything I had expected. Of course it is indescribable. One might as well attempt by words to convey an idea of the vast un- earthly landscapes that one wanders through in the dreams of opium. On that bright day, with the sun's rays illumining the Falls with a strange pearly sheen, silvering the great veil of spray and glorifying the gorgeously tinted autxmmal vegetation on the shores, the scene was so exquisitely beautiful that there seemed nothing terrible in that stupendous plunge of water. One felt as if one were gazing at some scene in Paradise, where the majesty of vast- ness and the play of irresistible forces had no men- ace, as on earth. Dickens, most faithfully, as I now discovered, described the feelings of one who gazes on Niagara when he wrote in his 'American Notes ' : 'The first effect, and the enduring one- instant and lasting— of the tremendous spectacle was Peace. Peace of mind, tranquillity, calm recollections of the dead, great thoughts of eternal rest and happiness ; nothing of gloom or terror.' We saw it all that day— the Falls, the wonderful Gorge, through which the Eapids heave and whirl ; 876 WITH THE BOYAL TOU. th> Whirlpool — and the memory of it is as a dream of another world. On the morning of October 14 we resmned our journey, and the royal train skirted the northern shores of Lake Ontario from end to end, stopping sometimes for a few hours, sometimes for only a few minutes, at various towns, in each of which the inhabitants of this conspicuously loyal portion of the British Empire gave their Boyal Highnesses the most enthusiastic of welcomes. The first important place at which a halt was made was Hamilton, the ' Birmingham of Canada,' as its citizens call it, a city of fifty thousand inhabitants, beautifully situated on the shores of the lake, and in the very heart of the ' garden of Canada.' So rapid was the travelling during these final stages of the royal tour — receptions at cities, visits to points of interest, demonstrations, reviews follow- ing each other in quick succession — that it is im- possible to deal fully with the doings of that last busy week. October 15 was one of the most delightful days of the tour ; in the morning we reached Kingston, one of the most picturesque places we had seen, situated on the shore of the St. Lawrence at the point where that river issues from Lake Ontario, with its fortifications facing the opposite American shore. At this loyal old place, which for more than two hvmdred years has figured prominently in the romantic history of Canada, LAKE OP THE THOUSAND ISLANDS 877 their Roy*l Highnesses met with a splended recep- tion. As I have before pointed out, in Canada loyalty waxes stronger and becomes more demon- strative as one approaches the American border. The nearer they are to the frontier the more pro- nouncedly British are the British, and the more aggressively American are the Americans. At Kingston the Duke and Duchess, and the rest of the party, embarked on the fine passenger steamer ' Kingston,' and the day was passed in steaming down the St. Lawrence through the Lake of the Thousand Islands to Brockville. It was a delight- ful journey on that sunny, windy day. The steamer threaded its way among the innumerable islands— for there are a good many more than a thousand of them— of this, the favourite playground of North America. The wooden bungalows on many of the islands are really pretty, but the huge bam-like hotels and the pretentious palaces, and sham Nor- man castles of the American millionaires sadly disfigure some of the most picturesque spots in this charming archipelago. In the summer there is quite a large population of rich folk taking holiday on these islands, and the winding channels are thronged with steamers, sailing yachts, boats, canoes, and other pleasure craft. But we saw nothing of this happy summer crowd, every hotel and chalet was closed for the winter, and on most of the islands there were no people to be seen. 878 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR The son had set before we reached the farther end of the lake, and then for some miles we passed down an avenue of wooded islands that led to our destination, the town of Brockville. The inhabi- tants of Brockville had devised a unique scheme of illumination wherewith to welcome their Boyal Highnesses; for on every one of these islands they had ht great bonfires and were burning coloured lights ; and as we steamed down this lane of fire the islets on either side saluted the ship with fountains of rockets and other fireworks. As the night was very dark the effect was singularly beautiful. At Brockville we rejoined our train, and through- out the next day, October 16, travelled down the left bank of the St. Lawrence, crossing the river near Montreal by the mighty two-mile long Victoria Jubilee Bridge. At Chaudi6re, near Quebec, we left the Grand Trunk for the Government Inter- colonial line, and in the afternoon of the 17th reached St. John, the capital of New Brunswick. Here we stayed until the following morning, for during this portion of the tour the train came to a halt at night, and all our travelling was done by daylight. Of this flying visit to the great winter harbour on the Bay of Fundy one can say little. The pleasant city of steep streets of red-brick houses gave the Duke and Duchess a hearty welcome, as became a centre of ancient loyalty, and very comforting it ST. JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK 379 was to US once more to see the sea, the fishing schooners along the wharf, and to smell salt wind and tar. The geography books of childhood had made the Bay of Fundy a familiar name, and I well remember the very exaggerated accounts of its mighty tides and of its bore that impressed my boyish imagination ; but though there is no seventy- feet high tidal wave, as represented in the books, the falls of the St. John River, which were visited by the Duchess and some of the suite, are remarkable enough. At low water the river pours into the bay in a steep cascade, while at the flood the huge tide of the Bay of Fundy, piled up by the sudden narrowing of the channel, forms a bore, and the sea tumbles in a cascade up the river at the very point where, at the ebb, the river waters fell in the opposite direction. Hence this has been somewhat facetiously termed 'the reversible cascade,' which exactly describes it. So far as the bore is concerned there are many mightier in the world ; among others the Mascaret on the Seine, which at high spring tides, opposite the town of Caudebec, affords a magnificent spectacle. And so the royal train progressed, halting at this place and that so that the Duke should receive and reply to the addresses of the loyal people. On the morning of October 19 we reached Halifax, Nova Scotia, there to rejoin the • Ophir,' • Diadem,' and * Niobe.' The long Canadian tour had come to an 880 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR I end at last. I have travelled over most of the world's longest railway lines and in the most famous trains de luxe, but never had I heard of anyone being sorry to leave a train. And yet that is exactly what we all were, after having spent more than a month in one railway carriage and having travelled over nearly eight thousand miles. But the Canadian Pacific Railway is as no other railways. On this line, which traverses some of the finest scenery on the earth, the traveller experiences no weariness, so ex- cellent are the arrangements for his comfort. The company organised the royal tour through Canada in a perfect manner, and the undertaking was no light one. We travelled in the same carriages throughout, not only on the Canadian Pacific, but on the Grand Trunk and Intercolonial lines, the admirable servants of the Canadian Pacific Bailway always accompanying us. Never has there been so comfortable a railway journey. Often after some halt of a day or two at a large city we corre- spondents, returning to the train from the hotels at which we had been staying, used to congrattdate ourselves on having ' got home again.' In these luxurious cars we travelled in all 7,856 miles on the Canadian railways — that is, 5,788 miles on the Canadian Pacific Bailway, 1,214 miles on the Grand Trunk, and 854 miles on the Intercolonial. I 381 CHAPTER XXIV HALIFAX, NOVA 8C0TU— FABEWBLL TO CAKADA— ST. JOBN'S, MBWFOCNOLAND— THK FISHINQ FLEET— NEWFOUNDI.AND NAVAL BBSBBVE — A FINK SEND-OFF In dingy delightful Halifax, we felt that we were really nearing home at last, and, indeed, it is the nearest to us of North American harbours, being but a little over two thousand miles from Cape Clear. Halifax was delightful to us, even for the conserva- tive dinginess of its streets of wooden houses, reminding one of old seaports at home. Being the military as well as naval headquarters of the British in North America — for here we possess a Naval Yard of the first-class, and maintain what used to be our only garrison of troops in Canada until we fortified Esquimalt, in British Columbia— with some of our men-of-war always to be seen lying at anchor in its spacious harbour, and our soldiers and blue-jackets thronging its streets as they do at Chatham or Portsmouth, Halifax has, to the English- man, a very homelike air. British it looks, and British are all its old traditions, of which its citizens are so proud. For one hundred and fifty years and 883 WITH THE BOYAL TOUR more it has been a British military station ; it was our base daring our war against the revolting Americans, and since then year after year its formidable fortifications, crowned by the massive citadel, have been reconstructed and added to until it has now become one of the strongest of the world's fortresses. And being all this, Halifax could scarcely fail to be a very loyal city. It has ever been so, and that it remains as stanch as ever was shown by the reception which it gave to the Duke and Duchess. Some journals reached Halifax while we were there, containing extracts from articles which had appeared in French and Bussian papers, wherein it was stated that this royal tour had served to prove how utterly rotten and under- mined by the disloyalty of the colonies is the British Empire ; the Canadians, it is pointed out, beyond all others hating us and longing to a man to become free Yankees. This amused the people who read it, for, in Halifax, as throughout Canada, the man who would openly advocate annexation to the United States would have a very bad time of it. In fact it would be well if there were as small a pro- portion of pro-Boers in England as there is of annexationists in Canada. As things are now, annexation might for a time prove highly profitable to a large proportion of the citizens of Halifax. The prohibitive tariffs imposed by the United States, in their persistent hostility to Canada, have closed to HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA !383 the Dominion her natural and nearest market. The Canadian fishery industry suffers most from this international boycotting ; and now luckless Halifax, since the Spanish-American war and the introduc- tion into Puerto Bico of the American tariff, has been deprived of what was her principal market for her dried fish. But resisting all temptations to become Yankees, the Canadians, whether of British or French stock, are stubborn in their loyalty to Oreat Britain. The Canadians have made sacrifices for us, and there are things which we can do for Canada, and should do, if only in our own interests. As befitted a great naval and miUtary station, a review was the central ceremony of the Halifax celebrations. It was the last review of this long tour, and it was one of the most interesting. Of the eight thousand men who marched past the Duke a considerable proportion belonged to the Imperial forces, for, in addition to the local Militia — the Infantry in scarlet tunics, the kilted Highlanders, the Artillery, and smart Hussars of the Canadian Army — there was a strong Naval Brigade of marines and blue-jackets from the ' Ophir,* ' Diadem,' and ' Niobe * and the ships of the North America Squadron lying in the harbour, while the garrison supplied its contingent, made up of the 3rd Eoyal Canadian Begiment and men from the Eoyal Garrison Artillery and the Eoyal Engineers. After the march past the Duke presented new colours to the 66th 384 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB (Princess Louise's) Fusiliers, the old 1st Halifax County Militia, whose first colours had been pre* sented to it more than a hundred years ago by his Boyal Highness's great-grandfather, the Duke of Kent, at that time in command of the garrison of Halifax, to whom is due the commencement of the fortifications which now protect this the chief winter harbour of Canada. The proceedings closed with the presentation of war medals by the Duke to about one hundred and thirty Nova Scotians who had served in the South African war. All too short was our stay in old Halifax ; we had but one full day there, and, in the morning of October 21, we bade farewell to Canada. It was with regret we left it, but we took back with us very pleasant and grateful memories of the loyal old northern laud. But we had been wandering over the world for nearly eight months, and always as one approaches one's home the stronger becomes its magnetism, and the more anxious one is to get back to it. I think that to most of us who had followed this tour, England, even amid November fogs, seemed of all lands the most desirable one to be in. As I have said, everything at Halifax re- minded us of the old country, and in one respect we already felt that we had returned home ; for there in the harbour lay the ' Ophir ' and those two fine ships the ' Diadem ' and ' Niobe,' which had FABBWELL TO CANADA 88fi brought OS to these shores, and were to be our homes once more until we set foot in England. The 'Diadem,' as I saw her through the train window when we neared Halifax, appeared to me like some old familiar friend, a sight to fill one with pleasant anticipations of comrades' greetings. And well they looked from the shore, the stately • Diadem ' and her sister ship the ' Niobe,' the biggest British men-of-war that have ever visited these waters, so that they aroused much interest and admiration among the populations of Quebec, Halifax, and St. John's, Newfoundland. For some days we had enjoyed warm weather, with cloudless skies and fresh breezes ; but now there came a change, and it was as if venter had suddenly fallen on the land ; for as we steamed that morning out of the spacious harbour into the open sea, it was bitterly cold, and out of the leaden sky that hung over the leaden sea the snow fell steadily, partly obscuring the laud from our sight. We formed a stately procession as we passed through the heads, while the cannon thundered the royal salute ; for the ' Ophir ' was escorted out of Canadian waters by no fewer than ten of the King's warships - the ' Diadem ' and • Niobe,' of the royal escort, and eight ships of the North America Squadron— of which two, the 'Crescent,' flying the vice-admiral's flag, and the ' Proserpine,' accompanied her to St. John's. Our voyage to Newfoundland was across a smooth 886 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR sea, and when I came on deck, on the morning of Octoher 23, 1 found that i^e ' Diadem's ' anchor had just been let go within the sheltered harbour of St. John's. Many a picturesquely situated sea city have we visited in the course of this tour, bat I can re- member no prospect more charming than that which met my eyes when I first looked out from the anchorage that morning. The harbour, which is about a mile in length, is shut in by boldly rugged hills, treeless, but clothed with grass and scrub save where the peaks and cliffs are too precipitous. Looking back at the narrow opening through which we had passed, I noticed that it bore a singular resemblance to the entrance to Polperro harbour as seen from within, but, of course, on a larger scale. In its colouring and general aspect it was the scenery of the Cornish coast ; but when I turned to look at the town at the back of the bay I saw that it was utterly unlike any of our western ports. Save that the houses of the chief street — Water Street — have been rebuilt of brick since the great fire that de- stroyed half the city in 1892, the old-fashioned, dingy, but picturesque and cosy-looking capital of Newfoundland, which now contains over twenty- nine thousand inhabitants, is practically a town of wood. The wooden houses climb the steep hill in successive terraces, all painted in warm or tender colours — red, brown, green, grey, pink, blue, violet, the tints never harsh — the massive grey Boman ST. JOHN'S. NEWFOUNDLAND 887 Catholic Cathedral crowning all. The effect is won- derfuUy pleasing. It is a place that Turner would have loved to paint, either as it appeared that mom- mg, when the rays of the rising sun fell full on the houses, enriching the harmonious varied colouring which was, at the same time, softened to a delicat^ tender lovehness by the thin autumnal haze ; or at sunset, when the town stood out an indistinct mass of cold grey-blue, against a glowing background of ragged crimson clouds. Many cities that we had visited had been far more elaborately decorated than little St. John's but none, as seen from the water, had presented so bnght and pretty a display ; for all the streets and wharves were decked with an extraordinary profusion of buntmg, and as the houses rise in tiers one above the other up to the top of the ridge these myriads of flags shaking in the strong wind were all visible to us. At the furi;her end of the harbour, too. were closely packed together a great number of the famous fishmg schooners that catch the codfish on the Great Banks. One has often heard of a forest of masts and here was one indeed; dense as a pine forest in' Vancouver crowded the straight spars, capped, not with dark foliage swaying in the wind, but with bnght-coloured flags innumerable. The official landing of the Duke and Duchess was not to take place until the morning following our amval. so we correspondents were able to pass c c 2 M iiii ill i 388 WITH THE BOYAL TOUB that d»y in ■eeing ■ometbing ol the city and iti neighbourhood. It rained httd at intervli. .nd the wiad howled a. we wandered through the muddy rtteeU Mort of the founders of this colony came from our own West Country. "^^ *hey must have felt quite at home in the climate of Newfound^d. We visited the Fish Stores, where the dried cod are rtacked in huge quantities ready for P»ckmg and exportation to the various markets-BraziUim, West Indian, and European. Very interestmg I fo^j my visit to the fishing fleet. The fishermen had tiied themselves to come in from the Banks on that dav so that they could take part in the celebrations. It thus happened that a great fleet-there were quite five hundred of the Banks schooners-was coUected here, and the fishermen in their high sea- boots and stout jerseys crowded the narrow streets. Hardy, sturdy-looking men they were, "^uch i-e- Bembling our own East Coast fishermen who trawl on the Doggerbank, and. Uke them, a smiple and kindly people. Not only are they hard, courageous seamen, with their Uttle craft ever bravmg a dan- gerous sea in a rigorous climate, but they are also Leptionably handy even as sailors. It is the ambi- tion of each man to own his own schooner, and as a rule the boat of the Newfoundlander from truck to keel has been the work of his own hands. He has cut the trees L the forest, shaped the timbers, built his hull, made his spars and his sails, and in NEWFOUNDLANL> NAVAL RESERVE 889 many osms also rigged hia completed craft with ropes of hia own making. He waa an invaloable man in a man-of-war in the old days of sail and 'wooden wall;},' and the British press-gangs were often landed to find him out. Even in these days of steam and steel he is the sort of man we want for the British Navy. Last yei*r it was decided to form a Boyal Naval Beserve in Newfoundland, and the Governor, Sir H. E. M'Callnm, with Commodore Qiffard, of his Majesty's ship 'Charybdis,' made a tour of the island, and found that the proposition of the Go- vernment met with a ready response. The scheme involved a six months' training at sea and gunnery training on shore. Fifty young men, sealers and cod fishermen, were selected and taken for a winter cruise in the 'Charybdis.' We like to catch our man-of-war sailors young at home, and these were considerably older than the boys whom we recruit in the British Isles ; but being so handy and adapt- able, and sailors from their childhood, they learnt their new duties, as the Commodore reported, very quickly, and soon became proficient in gunnery. The Newfoundlanders are wholly of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic stock, and nowhere in the colonies is there a population more British in its appearance, manners, and sentiment. Living in this climate, so similar to our own, the people have the fresh complexions of our West Country men, and the hardy look of our 890 WITH THE BOYAL TOUR I deep-«M fishermen. In th*:: streets of St. John's I hes^ the familiar ao(»nts of our own West Coontry, of Scotland, and still morr f* (. ntly of Ireland ; bat nowhere could I detect tb A*r.^t ican accent, which is so pronounced in som [ 'iv' ■'. o' Canada, where the people, though true Bn.^sii »t Inort, are often de> cidedly Yankee in their sv/. o 1 1 . I ' at Newfoundland, the nearest to us of our 'io. »'b ' . a 'i tie over one thousand six hundrt 1 noilc ducant from the Irish coast, a stepping«stoi e, as r .^- s been termed, between the Old World aru the n. v has ever kept itself in much closer touch with the old country than with the mainland of America. It is an island in which the Englishman soon finds himself at home, and he cannot fail to love these people, among whose leading characteristics are an unaffected heartiness, kindliness, and hospitality. Why, may I ask, do not more British sportsmen and tourists visit this island, with its magnificent scenery, its splendid sport, and even its opportunities for exploration for the hardier traveller, seeing that a great portion of the interior is yet unknown : in- stead of spending their money in foreign countries which are the avowed enemies of our own ? If there is any portion of the British Empire absolutely loyal to the core it is this, the oldest of our colonies, the possession of which we have so often disputed with our foes, and the proud boast of whose inhabitants it is that, through all the varying fortunes of New- NEWFOUNDLANDS WELCOME 891 (oondland, since oar first attempts at its colonisation three centuries ago, the British flag has never ceased 10 fly here, if it were only over some small comer of the island where the stubborn fisher-folk were making their stand against the French until assistance should come to them from home. When compared with the stately cities of the rich provinces we had recently visited, St. John's is no doubt but a poor little place, the capital of a poor island whose resources have yet to be developed ; but its keen and loyal citizens were determined that St. John's should play its proper part and aot be outdone by the citiei^ of other colonies. They spared neither troubl'^ nor expense, and their city certainly contributed more than its share towards this world- wide welcome to the Duke during his progress through the various lands of which he will one day be the ruler. The result was admirable ; the decora- tions did credit :o the people; but the illumination of the harbour and city by night was, in ray opinion, the most effective and beautiful display of that description which we had seen during this tour. This was, of course, largely due to the configuration of the harbour, with its abrupt shores and steepiy sloping town, enabling one from the anchorage to include in one glance the entire mass of the illumina- tions, which formed an amphitheatre of light around one. The inhabitants had fully avoiled thems' Kes of these natural advantages. 393 WITH THE BOYAL TOUR In the first place the city itself was ablaze with light, the triumphal arches and pablic buildings with electricity, the wooden hpuses, terrace above terrace, with festoons of coloured lanterns; every window in the better buildings had within it a multitude of candles ranged on successive battens — an old-fashioned form of illumination that has welcomed the news of Trafalgar and Waterloo and many another victory, and is remarkably effective when it is carried out on an extensive scale. Even the houses of the poorest people had candles in their windows that night, and Chinese lanterns hanging outside. For hours, too, from every comer of the town the rockets soared, and the coloured fires illumined the clouds. And the forest of the fishing- smack masts that had been bright with flags by day was now hung with thousands of swaying lamps, producing, I think, the prettiest effect of all, while on every prominent height all round the bay there blazed a huge bonfire. In the course of the evening a great torchlight procession wound through the steep streets like some fiery serpent, and another long procession of illuminated fi ermen's dorys crossed the harbour to the ' Ophir.' The five war- ships, too, took their part in this general illumination, for they were all outlined in electricity, and their searchlights played on the sea and shore. I need say nothing here concerning the cere- monies connected with the reception. It was on a NEWFOUNDLAND'S WELCOME 393 morning o£ blustering wind, driving clouds, wd frequent showers that the Duke and Duchess landed, and the streets were crowded with people who had come in from all parts of the island to see their Boyal Highnesses. It ,yas the heartiest of recep- tions, and the Newfoundlanders, being so thoroughly British, know how to cheer, which is not ^;he case with the people in many parts of Canada. New- foundland cannot be a very lawless country, though the Orangemen and Eoman Catholics do engage in conflicts which have occasionally led to loss of life ; for I understand that in the whole island, which is considerably larger than Ireland, there are but about one hundred and twenty policemen. These constables, all sturdy Irishmen, together with the fifty naval reservists, had been collected from all parts to keep order in the capital during the royal visit. As their total was thus rather small, and as there are no local troops of any description in Newfoundland, blue-jackets and marines were landed from the warships to line the streets and to form guards of honom-. They had no difficulty, having such well-behaved, good-natured people to deal with, in keeping clear the route of the procession. The escort to the royal carriage consisted of but four policemen and two Newfoundlanders wearing the uniform of Strathcona's Korse, who had ser\'ed with that corps in South Africa. It was fitting that our oldest colony should be the one to 8M WITH THE ROYAL TOUR give the final welcome to the Duke and Dnchess after their long progress through Greater Britain, to give them the last send-off, and wish them Gkxl- speed as they set out on their homeward voyage. These were grateful duties to the people of New- foundland, who performed them zealously and well. 895 CHAPTER XXV HOMBWABD BOUND— rOO AND ICBBKBOS— VBETINO WITH THE CHANNEL 80UADBON— IN THE BNOUSH CHANNEL— POBTBHOUTH ONCB MOBB— TBH WELCOME HOME- THE PRINCE OP WALBS'S SPEECH AT THE OUILOHALL On October 26 the ' Ophir ' and her escort steamed out of St. John's harbour— homeward bound at last. We sailed shortly after dawn, so as to cross the fog-haunted Banks and the grounds most fre- quented by the fishing fleets before nightfall. His Majesty's ship ' Crescent ' accompanied us until we were well outside, and then, her crew having manned ship and given the ' Ophir ' , farewell cheer, she turned round and proceeded to steam back to Halifax, her guns firing a royal salute as she left us. The ' Diadem ' and ' Niobe ' now took up their duty of escorting the 'Ophir' across the Atlantic. As is usually the case in this region, there was a haze on the sea, and we had to cross the tracks of icebergs as well as fishing craft, so the precaution was taken to change our formation. Instead of the ships of the escort steaming as before, one on each quarter of the 'Ophir,' the 896 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR •Diadem* was ordeied to lead the way, maintaining a distance of one mile from the royal yacht, while the ' Niobe ' remained on the ' Ophir's * port quarter. To the ' Diadem,' therefore, was allotted the post of honour, her duty being to keep a sharp look-out for dangers. That very night, during the middle watch, we sighted, dimly looming through the haze, an iceberg right ahead of us. It was estimated to be one hundred feet in length and forty in height. The ' Diadem ' altered her course so that we passed it on the starboard side. She signalled a warning to the 'Ophir,' and throwing a searcl .light on the ice- berg revealed it to the following ships— a vague huge shape of pale green, having no appearance of solidity, but looking unsubstantial as some ghostly vapour. We crossed the Banks in fine weather, roll- ing gently on an oily swell ; but on our second day out wo encountered the first of a succession of gales that made our homeward voyage across the Atlantic somewhat uncomfortable. We were ever tumbling about in the heavy seas, rolhng to considerable angles, occasionally shipping masses of green water, our decks never dry. First the wind blew from the north-east ; but on October 28 it backed to the north-west, and blew harder than ever, raising a high, confused sea, which would have compelled small vessels to heave to, but through which these fine ships steamed in comparative comfort without reducing their speed. HOMEWARD BOUND mn It astonishes one who is making his first voyage in a man-of-war of this class to find how easy is her motion in a heavy sea, and how buoyantly she rides despite the weighty top-hamper of her armament. On the 29th the wind shifted again to the north- east and still blew hard. At midday we were about two hundred and seventy miles from the spot (fifty miles to the southward of Cape Clear) which had been appointed for our rendezvous with the Channel Squadron. The ' Ophir ' and • Niobe ' now reduced their speed to thirteen knots, while the ' Diadem ' was ordered to proceed in advance, at a speed of fifteen knots, until she either reached the rendezvous or got in touch by wireless telegraphy with one of the fleet. She was then to communicate to the Admiral that the • Ophir ' would arrive at the rendezvous at 9.30 on the following morning, and that all were well on board the royal yacht— news which, of course, would be carried on from ship to ship by wireless telegraphy to the nearest station on the Irish coast, and reach London long before the ' Ophir ' was even sighted. The ' Diadem ' with her Marconi instrument got into communication with his Majesty's ship ' Furious,' which happened to be the furthest to the westward of the fleet, at half-past four on the morning of the 30th, and stopped her engines to await the ' Ophir.' Shortly after dawn the battleships and cruisers were seen looming dimly 898 WITH THE BOYAL TOUR i in the thin morning haze, and at eight o'clock the ' Ophir/ having come np, steamed through the line of warships as their gnns fired a royal salute. The wind had now dropped, there was a hlne sky over- head, and the long ocean swell rolled smoothly, the wave crests no longer breaking into foam. No more beautiful autunm day could have been desired for the welcoming to British waters of the Duke and Duchess. And now the ships took up their respective positions, and, rolling gently in the swell, steamed towards the English Channel in columns of divisions in line ahead. We had the bulk of the Channel Fleet with us, only two out of the eight battleships being absent. Under the bright sunshine this powerful fleet, steaming in three parallel colunms — fourteen ships in all — presented a magnificent spectacle. The central column was composed of the 'Ophir' and the four cruisers that had in turn escorted the royal yacht throughout the tour across 33,000 miles of ocean — the ' Diadem,' ' Niobe, ' Juno,' and ' St. George.' It was the ' Juno ' that had been my home for those six months, and it was like meeting a dear old friend again to recognise the familiar cruiser with her two yellow funnels and fighting tops. The following was the order of this central column : first the 'Diadem,' in the post of honour, heading the escort, being a mile ahead of the ' Ophir,' and so leading the entire fleet ; then the ' Ophir,' and behind IN THE ENGLISH CHANNEL 399 her, in succession, the 'Niobe,' the 'Juno,' and the ' St. George." Of the two columns that flanked the •Juno* and her escorts, the starboard column was composed of the battleships 'Magnificent,' 'Prince George,' and ' Hannibal,' and the cruisers 'Arrogant ' and 'Furious; the port column of the battleships 'Majestic,' 'Mars,' and 'Jupiter,' and the cruiser 'Hyacinth.' Later on the cruisers 'Minerva' and 'Pactolus' joined us and took up a position at the rear of the port column, thus raising our number to sixteen ships. The fine weather that favoured our arrival in home waters did not endure long; for at dawn, on October 31, the wind rose again, blowing, I should say, a full gale from the east-north-east. We were off the Start when I came on deck at eight. It was blowing harder than at any time during our voyage across the Atlantic, and a heavy sea was running— the steep, short, breaking sea of the Channel, with occasional ugly rollers coming up that were of un- usual height for the narrow waters. The sky was overcast, having a stormy appearance that gave no promise of an early abating of the gale, and the scud was driving rapidly to the westward. As I looked back at the three parallel columns of men-of-war that foUowed the ' Diadem ' I saw that most of them were making much worse weather of it than either the 'Diadem' or the 'Niobe,' whose great length makes them well adapted to encounter the short ! 400 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR I heftd sea that was nizming, while their high freeboard forward, exceeding that of a battleship by nearly ten feet, tends to keep them dry. We were taking scarcely any spray on board, whereas the battleships and the smaller cruisers were constantly plunging their bows into the steep seas, which broke over them, enveloping them over their bridges, and some- times to the tops of their funnels, in sheets of white foam. The 'Ophir' seemed to be making good weather of it, though she, too, now and then, took a good deal of water over her bows. Throughout that wild morning the ships, having reduced their speed to eleven knots, steamed on against wind and sea. We passed but few vessels during our voyage from 8t. John's, but now that we were in the great sea thoroughfare there were plenty of ships always around us— mail steamers, sluggish tramps, and sailing vessels outward bound running under snug canvas. The wind increased in violence, and the sea was whiter with spindrift than we had yet seen it throughout the eight months' cruise; the smaller ships were constantly smothered; even the great battleships were occasionally shipping green seas, while the ' Ophir ' was pitching uncomfortably, and masses of water swept her decks. But it was beautiful to see how this splendid fleet was manoeuvred despite the heavy weather, each ship of the three columns preserving her station exactly. We were to have put into Portland until the 3 o z a> - K .i « 5 O o .5 z t 3 t- Ul E WELCOME HOME 40I following monung; bat wh«n we were off the BiU •t nuddfty Commodore Wiwlow considered it advis- »ble, in oonieqnenoe of the continuance of the bad weather, to proceed np Channel without .toppin« until we were under the ihelter of the Isle of Wight and he signalled to the Admiral to that effect We' accordingly steamed on. the ships passing through the narrow Needles chamiel in single line ahead: and this procession of sixteen fine ships in sinrie file niust have presented an imposing appearance to People lookmg from the shore. We anchored in Yarmouth Boads for the night and on the foUowing morning completed the voyag^ and came to an anchor off Spithead. The arrival of the 'Ophir' at Portsmouth, escorted for those iMt few miles of her long cruise by the • Juno ' and • St. George,' which had been her faithful com- pamons throughout the greater portion of the tour • ttie meeting of the Duke and Duchess with the Queen and their little children from whom they had been so long separated ; tiie enthusiastic welcome to EngUmd that was given to them by the old seaport and by tiie Empire's capital-in short, tixe whole story of that home-coming is fresh in the minds of every- one, and I will not repeat it here. At last the long historic tour of the heir to the British Crown over the world-encircling dominions that compose the Empure had come to its termination. It was a royal progress that had extended to the five "^ DD 1 4Q9 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB oontinenti, in the ooone of which wa had Muled all the great ooeans and travelled a diitanoe equal to nearly twice the circomlerenoe of the |^he. For this had been a journey of over forty-five thotuand milee, of which, roughly, thirty-throe thousand were accomplished by sea and twelve thousand by land. The royal progress was a splendid 8U0<»m ; an immense good to the Empire is certain to come of it ; and Britons, whether they be settlers in the dominions beyond the seas, or dwellers in the Uttle islands which were the cradle of the race, have reason indeed to be grateful to the Prince of Wales for the great patriotic service he has wrought in carrying out, with such tact and earnestness, the desire of the great Queen who has passed away. The over-sea Britons have taken to heart the many wise and sympathetic speeches spoken in the course of the tour, by a loyal Prince to his loyal peoples. As a fitting climax to that wonderful mission came the Prince of Wales's eloquent and statesmanlike peroration spoken in the Guildhall on December 5, when he and the Princess there partook of the traditional hospitality of the City and received its warm and loyal welcome. It was a speech full of valuable suggestions to us of the mother country, and as being an admirable summary of the objects of the tour, its results and ite lessons, I have thought it well to republish the Prince's words at the conclusion of THE PBINCB OP WALBS'S SPEECH m thit book; Md for this purpoM I h»Te rxu^e rue of th« • Morning Post ' report of the speech. In reply to the toMt of her M«je«tv Queen Alexandra, their Koyal Highnewes the Prince and PrinoeM of Walea and the other memberB of the Eoyal family-which had been proposed by the Lord Mayor- the Prince of Wales, who was received wi/h prolonged cheering, and whose speech was freqnently interrupted with the loud applause of the Rreat audience, said : ' My Lord Mayor, my Lords, Ladies, and GtutI* - men,-.In the name of the Queen and the other mwnbers of my family, and on behalf of the Princess and of myself, I thank you moat sincerely for your enthusiastic reception of this toast, proposed by you my Lord Mayor, m .uch kind and generous terms, lour feehng allusion to our recent long absence from our happy family circle gives expression to that sympathy which has been so universally extended to my dear parente. whether in times of joy or sorrow by the people of this country, and on which my dea^ mother felt she could reckon from the first days of her hfe among us. As to ourselves, we are deeply •ensible of the great honour done us on tiiis occasion, and our hearte are moved by the splendid reception wnich to-day has been accorded to us by the aijaionties and inhabitants of the City of London • and I desire to take this opportunity of expressing our deepest gratitude for the sympathetic interest 404 WITH THE BOYAL TOUB ■!. I "111 with which oar journey was followed by our fellow- conntrymen at home, and for the warm welcome with which we were greeted on our return. Yon, my Lord Mayor, were good enough to refer to his Majesty having marked onr home-coming by creating me Prince of Wales. I only hope that I may be worthy to hold that ancient and historic title, which was borne by my dear father for upwards of fifty- nine years. ' My Lord Mayor, you have attributed to us more credit than I think we deserve — for I feel that the debt of gratitude is not the nation's to us, but ours to the King and the Government for having made it possible for us to carry out, with every consideration for our comfort and convenience, our voyage, unique in its character, rich in the experience gained and in the memories of warm and affectionate greeting from the many races of his Majesty's subjects in his great Dominions beyond the Seas. And here, in the capital of our great Empire, I would repeat how profoundly touched and gratified both the jPrincess and I have been by the loyal affection and enthusiasm which invariably characterised the welcome extended to us throughout our long and memorable tour. ' It may interest you to know that we travelled over forty-five thousand miles, thirty-three thousand of which were by sea, and I think it is a matter on which all may feel proud that, with the exception of I'i .1 THE PBINCB OP WALES'S SPEECH 405 Port Said, we never set foot on any land where the l7^ •^«'i*\°o* fly- I^eaving England in the middle of March, we first touched at Gibraltar and Malta, where, as a sailor. I was proud to meet our two great Fleets-the Channel and the Mediter- ranean. Passing through the Suez Canal-that monument of the genius and courage of a gifted son of the great friendly nation across the Channel-we Altered at Aden the gateway of tiie East, and we stayed for a short time to enjoy the mirivalled scenery of Ceylon and that of the Malayan Peninsula, and the gorgeous displays of their native races, and to see m what happy contentment these various peoples hve and prosper mider British rule. Perhaps there was something stiU more striking in the fact that the government, and commerce, and every form of enter- pnse m these countries are under the leadership and dnrection of but a handful of our comitrymen. and we were able to realise the high qualities of the men who have won and who have kept for us that splendid position. r """ 'AustraUa saw the consummation of the great mission, which was the most immediate object of onr journey, and you can imagine the feelings of pnde with which I presided over the inauguration of the first Representative Assembly of the uew-born Australian Commonwealth, in whose hands are placed the destinies of tfiat great island-continent, ^mrmg the happy stay of many weeks in the different 406 WITH THE BOTAL TOUB States we wore able to gain an insight into ine working of the commercial, social, uid political institutions of which they justly boast, and to see something of the great progress which the country has already made and of its capabilities, while at the same time making the acquaintance of many of the warm-hearted and large-minded men to whose personality and energy so much of that progress is due. New Zealand afforded us a striking example of a vigorous, intelligent, and prosperous peo]^, living in the full enjoyment of free and libocal institutions, and where many interesting social experiments are being put to the test of experience. Here we also had the satisfaction of meeting large gatherings of the Maori people, once a brave and resolute foe, now peaceful and devoted subjects of the King. Tasmania, which in natural characteristics and climate r^ninded us of the old country, was visited when our faces were at length turned home- ward. Mauritius, with its beautiful tropical scenery, its classical, literary and historical associations, and its population gifted with all the charming characteristics of old France, was our first halting- place on our way to receive in Natal and Gape Col(»y a welcome remarkable in its warmth and enthusiasm, which appeared to be accentuated by the heavy trial of a long and grievous war under which they have suffered. To Canada was borne the message, already conveyed to Australia and New Zealand, of THE PBraOB OF WALES'S SPEECH 407 »»^by W g.ll„t «... In . jooruey fron, ^,W • "''™'"'"" " "« «<'""«' "a action we were ,MWed to eee «>metlu=g of C«»*M m^rtehless ««„ery, the rictoee, of it, L, ^ '"Tf^ I»"™««« 0' «'•» ™t «d parti; h- c«™«i fte efforts to weld into one community Mhng-phjoe w«, by the eiprea, d«rire of the King, Newfoundland, the oldest of onr colonies, «d t^ &. ™ted by his Majesty in 1860. The h„dy toon the cord«hty of which is still fresh in our memcanes. im^l''''' 'i ^-T "'^"^ ^ 'T^'^y ^y particular imp«^on denved from our journey. I should un- hesitatmgly place before all others that of loyalty to he Crown and of attechment to the old country It was, indeed, touching to hear the invariable ;:^rh:dr^"^' ^^^^ ^^^^ *^^ ^^^ °^ ^^^^^o never had been or were ever likely to be in these e^dences of a consciousness of strength, a conscious- ness of a true and Imng membership in the Empire ^e burdens and responsibihties of that membership. And were I to seek for the causes which havecreat^ and fostei-ed this spirit. I should venture to att^Lu^ 406 WITH THE B' fAL TOUR them in a very large degree to the life and example of oar late beloved Sovereign. It would be difficult to exaggerate the ugns of genuine sorrow for her loss, and of love for her memory, which we found among all races in the most remote districts which we visited. Besides this, may we not find another cause— the wise and just policy which in the last half century has been continuously maintained to- wards our colonies? As a result of the happy re- lations thus created between the mother country and her colonies, we have seen their spontaneous rally round the old flag in defence of the nation's honour in South Africa. I had ample opportunities to form some estimate of the military strength of Australia, New Zealaad, and Canada, having had the privilege of reviewing upwards of »xty thousand troops. Abundant and eaeel^t material is available, requiring only that moulc&ig into ihmpe which can be readily effected by the hands of capable and ex- perienced officers. I am anxious to refer to an ad- mirable movement which has takoi strong root in both Australia and New Zealuid, and that is the Cadet Corps. On several occasions I had the gratification of seeing march past several thousaiki cadets, armed and equipped, who, at the expense ot their respeetive Governments, are able to go thro^ a military course, and in some cases with an annual grant of jnac- tice ammunition. I will not presume, in these days of Army reform, to do more than call the attention THE PRINCE OF WALES'S SPEECH 409 of my friead the Saoretiury of Stote for War to this mtoresting fact. • To the diBtinguisIied representatives of the com- mercial int^ests of the Empire whom I have the pleasure of meeting here to^Iay I venture to allude to the impresMon which seemed generally to prevaU among their brethren across the seas, that the old country must wake up if she intends to maintain her old position of pre-eminence in her colonial trade agamst foreign competitors. No one who had the privilege of enjoying the experiences which we had dunng our tour could fail to be struck with one all- prevailing and pressing demand-the want of popu- lation. Even in the oldest of our colonies there were abundant signs of that need, boundless tracks of country yet unexplored, hidden mineral wealth calling for development, vast expanses of virgin soil ready to yield profitable crops to the settlers. And all this can be enjoyed unda conditions of healthy living Uberal laws, and free institutions, in exchange for the overcrowded cities and the almost hopeless struggle for existence which, alas ! too often is the lot of many m the old country. But one condition, and one only, is made by our colonial brethren, and that 18 : " Send us suitable emigrants." I would go further and appeal to my feUow-countxymen at home to' prove the strength of the attachment of the Mother- l^d to her children by sending to them only of her best. By this means we may still further strengthen. 410 WITH THS BOYAL TOUL (» at ail events para on oaimpairecl, that pride of race that unity of sentiiiMDt and purpose, that feeling of common loyalty and oUigation which knit to- gether and alone can maintain the integrity of our Empire.' FINIS l-BISTKT' UV BFomiiWOODK AMD CO. Lll)., NKW-HTHKirr iMJUi LOVDOil Mi.A Co. I I* 1 I A J ~^ A v/> 1/ 5, PACIFIC Route ofHte Rogal Tour. Brmah Empire ooloured rmd. dMai/ A Co, lamdim. -Km Art 4 riiiil ij