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(716) 482- 0300 -Phon.

(716) 288 - 5989 - Foi

miTf) TBG

ROYAL

TOUR

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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

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

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

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 . .

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

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

CHAPTER XII
FareweU to Sydney- Voyage to New Zealand-At Anekl^.^

CHAPTER XIII

CONTENTS

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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-

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

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

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<j his first
cruise on a man-of-war is the wondr dul rapidity v/ th
which this disagreeable business of lOfding is act om-
plished as compared with the time ociiupisJ vi the
merchant steamer. Thus, so soon as the lighters
were alongside and the chattering Arabs and blacks
began to hand in the coal, such of us as could do so
left the ship to avoid the coal-dust, stretched our legs
for a couple of hours or so on shore, and then re-
turned on board to find the ship cleaned up again,
as spick and span as ever, all signs of the recent be-
fouling removed. But, as everybody knows, on a
liner, where not nearly so many hands are available
for the cleaning up as on a man-of-war, the process
is longer, and it is well to keep off the vessel, if one
can, for a considerable time after the coaling is over,
more especially if one is arrayed in immaculate white
duck.

At Port Said, as is usual in Lower Egypt at this
season of the year, the climate was perfect when we
arrived. It is true that the rays of the sun fell hot
on the town out of the unflecked sky, but a cool
breeze was ever steadily blowing — the purest and
most bracing of breezes, bom as it was between the
undefiled seas and the pure dry deserts. Port Said
is a likely place to meet old friends for men who

PORT SAID

have dwelt at the outposts of the Empire, being as
it is a halting-place on the road to so many far
eastern and southern regions where the British flag
is flying.

One has had enough of Port Said, however, after
a very brief stay; though, if one's visits are far
apart, it is interesting to observe on each occasion
how the port has been steadily improving in all re-
spects under British administration. This once no-
torious cosmopoUtan sink of iniquity is sufficiently
cosmopolitan and wicked still, but it no longer
deserves its former evil reputation. The stranger
wandering about its streets at night no longer
runs so considerable a risk of being plundered and
assassinated. Port Said by night is probably as
safe as most parts of London. For it is now a very
well policed town, and nowhere will ;ou see a
smarter police than the well set-up, soldierly-looking
Fellahin, for whose high efficiency our British
officers are responsible.

At dawn on the 24th we left Port Said and pro-
ceeded to steam through the canal under the guidance
of a French pilot. I was familiar with this narrow
gateway to the East, having passed through it on
my way to several wars, and remembered that never
before this occasion had I traversed it on a mission
of peace.

All day we slowly steamed down the canal, ever an
interesting journey, dreary though is the scenery on

WITH THE ROYAL TOUR

either hand. For here oi e passes within a few yards
of men-of-war, troopers, and liners flying the flags
of all the civilised nations of the earth, and obtains
tha closest view of them. It is curious to observe
that when two vessels of different nationalities thus
meet in the canal the people on either stand and
stare silently at the passing foreigner, looking up and
down her with a critical air that is not flattering, and
betrays the international jealousy, dislike, or con-
tempt.

The Marconi spar on our mizen was a novelty
that evidently aroused considerable curiosity on some
vessels, and when the ' Juno,' on entering the canal,
conversed by wireless telegraphy with the ' St. George,'
which was halfway through it ahead of us, our
French pilot was amazed beyond measure. Among
other vessels that we passed there was one that
afforded a striking sign of the times. We noticed
that she flew a somewhat Mliar flag, and that

her name was painted or bows in strange

characters that we could not lead. She was a vessel
of the Maru Line, one of the two lines of ocean-going
steamers which the Japanese have recently esta-
blished. Officers and men were all Japanese, but
there was a sprinkling of Emopean passengers.
She had a very smart appearance, and those who
have travelled on these steamers speak highly of
them.

On the momin"' ^' the 26th we passed out of the

DOWN THE RED SEA

canal and entered the Gulf of Suez, down which we
steamed, with the barren sun-scorched mountains
of Africa and Arabia glowing as of molten copper on
our right and left, and under a sky that was ruddy
with the desert sands held in suspension by the hot
air. Then we went down the whole length of the
Bed Sea, for the most part of the way in a tempera-
ture uncomfortably sultry, and reached Aden in the
morning of March 31.

This voyage from Gibraltar to Aden was doubt-
less like any one of the hundreds of voyages made
by our men-of-war each year, but it was deeply
interesting to those of us to whom the experience
was new. Our eyes had been opened during our
voyage from Portsmouth to Gibraltar ; but it takes
some time for one to form anything like an adequate
idea of the work in one of our men-of-war — work
that runs so smoothly from long practice that one at
first fails to grasp the complexity and magnitude of
it. What a wonderful routine it is — the constant
bugle calls and the hoarse cries of the petty officers
summoning the men to one duty or another, followed
immediately by the tramping of hundreds of feet
hurrying to the appointed stations ; the frequent
drills ; the gunnery, small arms, torpedo, seamanship,
and other classes of instruction ; the inspections ; the
calls to general quarters ; the clearing of decks for
action ; and so forth. Then there is the firing practice :
thus after we left Gibraltar the two ships of the

c 2

WITH THE EOYAL TOUR

royal escort twice pat the targets overboard, once
near Port Said and again in the Bed Sea, and
steaming round them opened fire with all their guns,
from the 9-2 guns down to the Maxims ; while below
Suez we ran our torpedoes, making good practice at
the targets when moving at high speed. And again
there is that never-ceasing work of cleaning, polish-
ing, and painting of wood and metal that makes the
British man-of-war so much smarter than that of
any other navy.

There was a time, not long since, when, as
naval critics repeatedly pointed out, this spick-and-
span condition was obtained at the cost of something
far more important, when necessary drills were sub-
ordinated to the production of a needless spotlessness
and high polish. But this is no longer the case. Our
ships are still smarter than those of other nations,
but nothing is neglected that can make our men
efficient. Whatever will have to be done in the h^ or
of battle is diligently rehearsed in time of peace.
A British man-of-war in commission is certainly the
busiest of the world's ships ; and one soon realises
that of all this constant work there is none that is
not useful; work has not to be made in order to
find occupation for the men and maintain discipline.
There is more gunnery practice in our Navy than
in any other ; our blue-jackets do more drill in every-
thing that is essential than those of any Power, with
the possible exception of Germany. One cannot but

WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY

think that with all this constant and thorough prac-
tice we shall find in time of war that not only is our
Navy the more powerful, but that our crews will
prove themselves as of old the most efficient.

For the passenger a long sea voyage has always
been regarded as a blissful experience of perfect rest-
fulness. He is compelled to live the most regular of
lives in the purest of air, and the fact that there is
no post to bring him letters saves him from all the
distractions and worries of ordinary existence on
shore.

But one who has travelled on a ship provided
with wireless telegraphy apparatus realises with dread
that Signor Marconi has taken the first step towards
destroying the greatest charm of the ocean voyage
for us, and that in a few years' time, when every
liner will be provided with this fatal thing, she vill
have all the latest news and even private correspond-
ence wired to those on board from every headland,
and there will be no more peace at sea. The weary
man who now goes to sea for the benefit of his health
will know no rest ; the merchant will be daily
worried with the market quotations, the jaded states-
man on his sea holiday with the latest cornering or
escape of De Wet.

The ' Juno ' never omitted an opportunity of con-
versing with ship or shore by wireless telegraphy.
Thu \ vhen steaming down the Atlantic, we commu-
nicated with his Majesty's ship ' Andromeda,' which

WITH THE ROYAL TOUR

was at Gibraltar ; we called up Malta in the middle
of the night at nearly forty miles distance, and re-
ceived the latest news— somewhat alarming it was,
too — from China ; and while going through the Suez
Canal we kept up an animated conversation with the
' St. George.' But when one is travel ag down one
of the more frequented ocean high roads it is not
only by wireless telegraphy that one receives the
news of the world; thus, when we were in the
middle of the Red Sea we passed the Peninsular
and Oriental steamer ' India ' homeward bound, and
by means of her semaphore she gave us an account
of the defeat of Delarey's commando at Petersdorp.

CHAPTER III

Lira IN ADEN— ARBIVAL OF THE * OPHIR '— RBCBPTION OF SHE
DUKE AND DUCHESS BY THE POPULATION— A VISIT TO THE
TANKS— NATIVE REJOIGINOS- ACROSS THE ARABUM SEA

It was oppressively hot for the season of the year
when the ' Juno ' and the ' St. George ' came to an
anchor off Aden at a distance of about a mile and a
half from the shore. It was an uninviting-looking
place, indeed, as seen from the ship. We were
abreast of the western side of Steamer Point ; brown
utterly barren peaks towering above an equally barren
beach, with small red-roofed houses scattered over
the arid lower spurs of the hills, composed the picture
before us. It was the springtime, but few signs of
vernal freshness were to be discovered in this burnt-up
spot, and there was no verdure visible. The piled-
up volcanic crags were glowing as from internal fires,
and it looked as if it must be much hotter on land
than even it was on board, so that those who had
not visited Aden before felt little tempted to go on
shore. But those of us who hal had former ex-
perience of the place were aware that it is not nearly
80 unpleasant as one would judge it to be from the

«« WITH THE ROFAL TOUR

anchorage ; and we knew, moreover, that it is not un-
usual here to find it much cooler on land than in
one's ship, more especiaUy if the ship be a black-
pamt =d iron one, which is ever an eflfective store-
house of caloric under tropical suns, bottling it up
by day. and not allowing much of it to escape by
night, so that the land breeze that often blows here
after sunset has little effect tu cooling down the
cabins.

We had ample time to explore Aden and its
neighbourhood, for we awaited the • Ophir ' here for
SIX days, which were occupied on board these two
ever busy men-of-war in adjusting and cleaning
engines, painting the ships throughout, and so forth.
Aden has acquired a bad name; facetious stories are
told concerning it, in which it is made to compare
unfavourably with a still hotter place. But this
evil reputation is by no means deserved. I have
visited all the important ports down the length of
the Eed Sea and Gulf of Aden, and can conscien-
tiously assert that this is the most pleasant, or rather
the least unpleasant, of them all. As a matter of fact
for a great part of the year it is not uncomfortably
hot at Aden, and a fresh breeze is generally blovnng.
The hot season was now but commencing ; in truth,
the British played their last football match the day
before we came in, and had abandoned the vnnter
game for cricket. The young British officers and
officials-and the middle-aged ones, too, for the

LIFE IN ADEN

matter of that— here, as in other tropical stations,
exercise themselves energetically in various sports,
and consequently look fit and hard. I know of
stations not far from here, belonging to other Euro-
pean Powers, where the life of the white community
is far different, where officers engage in no sports,
but pass much of their time in lying on hammocks
and sipping absinthe, consequently waxing fat, slack,
nervous, and bad-tempered.

There are, indeed, many worse places than Aden.
With the officers of the garrison, the telegraph
officials, the merchants, and others the-'e is a suffi-
ciently large British society to make life agreeable,
and the fair sex forms quite a considerable propor-
tion of the community. There is a capital club, too,
conducted in the Indian style. The busy settlement
of Steamer Point, the Port of Aden, has a cheerful
appearance, and by means of sparing irrigation which
does not waste a drop of the fluid so precious here,
trees and flowers and even pleasant little groves
relieve the forlorn aspect of the land. But, despite
these attractions, I have only heard of one English-
man who ever lived here by choice. This was an
officer who had once been stationed here, and who,
on retiring from tlie service, returned to Aden, built
himself a bungalow, and passed the rest of his days
on this cinder heap. It is a healthy place for its
latitude, it is true, the climate being too hot and dry
to suit the average bacillus; but few will feel an

96 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR

inclination to follow the example of the above-men-
tioned officer.

Still, this formidable fortress of Aden is a very
interesting place to visit. It has been termed the
Indian Gibraltar, more appropriately than is asually
the case with these often forced comparative desig-
nations of towns and countries. This is the nearest
to England of the ports under the control of the
Indian Government ; and as soon as one steps
ashore here, on one's way to the East, one feels as
if one were breathing the Indian air once more, so
largely Indian is the aspect of the place. Most of
the familiar features of the Indian town are here —
the carts drawn by complaining camels or sleek
little oxen, the Sepoys of our Indian regiments, the
Parsee merchants, the crowds of Hindoos in the
dusty streets. The currency is Indian, and every
official receives his pay in the shape of so many
rupees per mensan. The Tommies in khaki have
the Indian tan on them, for it is from the East and
not the West that they have come hither ; it is
the custom, I believe, to keep homeward-going
regiments here for a year, to cool them down, as they
facetiously put it, and prepare them for the rigours
of the British winter.

But Aden is not wholly Indian, but a place of
various races which do not intermarry, the cheery
and wiry Somalis who have emigrated from the
opposite coast forming the bulk of the j^apulation,

UFE IN ADEN

while the more dignified Arabs, Yemeni and of other
tribes, are also very numerous. There are no less
than four thousand Jews in the town. It is a
civilised-looking place, with smart native police,
well-built houses, splendid macadamised roads ; and
it is curious to consider that this is a tiny territory
of a score square miles or so only, and that beyond
it lies the almost unknown, a land of wild fanatical
people and peril for the white men. Were one to
walk but a few miles inland, perhaps only to the
hills that one sees beyond the bay, one would be
carrying one's life in one's hand. Thib little
territory was the very first that was acquired
during the reign of Queen Victoria, and an
interesting and an important acquisition it has
proved to be; for not only is this the mighty
fortress and most important of coaling stations, but
under our rule it has become far the most prosperous
trading centre on the coast, the great emporium of
the trade between Arabia and Africa, the port to
which are brought the coffee and spices of Arabia,
its imports and exports being now estimated at about
six millions a year.

The preparations that were made at Aden for the
welcoming of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall
and York to this westernmost port of the Indian
Empire do credit to the enterprise, the good taste,
and the loyalty of the native immunity. The
whole line of route along which their Koyal High-

WITH THE BOYAL TODB

neuM were to drire, from the landing-place, through
the settlenaent of Steamer Point where are the
butinesB-houMs of the merchants, to the Crater and
the Tanks— a distance of about five miles— had been
decorated in a simple but effective way quite in
harmony with the surroundings— the dazzling glare
of the sky above and the road below, the Oriental
buildings, and the picturesque crowds of Arabs,
Indianp, and Africans. Arches, constructed for the
most part of the green branches of date-palms and
stalks of maize, with the ears still unripe, crowned
with appropriate scrolls of welcome, and bright with
many-coloured flags, spanned the road at intervals.
Bunting, too, was waving from every public building,
from the merchants' stores, and from the bulk of the
private houses, while the route was bordered with
tricoloured poles from which the streamers were
flying gaily. It was soon made apparent to a visitor
that the whole native community was taking a keen
interest— an intelligent interest so far as the Indians
were concerned— in the royal visit, and that all were
ready to give an enthusiastic reception to their
Eoyal Highnesses. Even the Arabs and Somalis
were full of excited expectation, for they all knew
that it was the ' Son of the Emperor of India '
whom they were about to soe in their streets. The
population of Aden is a prosperous, well-ruled, and
happy one, and this condition is conducive to
loyalty.

ABBTVAL OP THE ' OPBIB '

Ag this ii the western outpost of India, it was
fitting that the Indian community should initiate
the plan of reception of the Duke and Duchess as far
as the civil population was concerned. The Parsees
are the wealthiest merchants of Aden, and they
promptly organised the welcome to be given by the
inhabitants as soon as it became known that the
' Ophir • would call here.

Punctually at the appointed time— seven o'clock
on Good Friday morning— the • Ophir ' arrived, the
Royal Standard flying at her main, at her fore the
flag of Trinity House, of which the Prince is Master.
The 'Juno,' the • St. George,' and the ' Racoon,' the
guardship lying ofif Aden, were manned and dressed,
and as the ' Ophir ' steamed by us to her anchorage,
about a mile to the eastward of the escort, the
•Juno's' twelve-pounders, the guns of the other
ships, and those of the battery on shore, thundered
out the Indian royal salute of thirty-one guns. The
stay of the ' Ophir ' at Aden was but a short one, for
we sailed that night. The Duke and Duchess landed
at the Prince of Wales Pier at four in the after-
noon. The landing-stage had been converted into
an extensive pavilion roofed with British flags, deco-
rated with palm branches, and carpeted with native
carpets. On either side were enclosures for the
privileged ladies and officers off duty and many of the
leading European inhabitants. Here also, lending
touches of bright colour to the black- or white-clad

WITH THE BOYAL TOUB

British throng, were native merchants, Parsees,
Hindoos, and Mohammedans, Farsee and Hindoo
ladies, and gorgeously robed Arab sheikhs of import-
ance, the saltans of Lahej and Fadhli being the
most conspicuous of the Arabian notables who had
come in to do honour to the son of the Emperor of
India.

As one looked out of this palm-sheltered en-
closure one saw on one side the blue sea rippling in
the breeze with all the merchant ships at anchor
gaily dressed with flags ; on the other side was the
guard of honour of the West Kent Kegiment, the
men in their white imiforms and helmets drawn up
in a double rank, with their tattered colours, to be
dipped to the ground in salute as the Duke and
Duchess passed. And behind the guard of honour
rose steep and rugged rocks of considerable height,
over all of which were perched in crowds, like sea
birds on a desert oceanic isle, a multitude of the
poorer natives — men, women, and children ; Arabs,
Somali, and Indians.

Before leaving the ' Ophir ' for the shore the Duke
distributed the South African medals among all the
blue-jackets and marines belonging to the ' Juno '
and ' St. George who had served in the South
African War.

While the boat was making her short voyage the
blue-jackets on the 'Eacoon* heartily cheered as
only sailors can, and from men-of-war and shore

RECEPTION OP THE DUKE AND DUCHESS 31

batteries the guns fired the royal salute. And then
the motley multitude of natives perched on the
rocks behind raised their voices in welcome accord-
ing to the fashion of their several races, some imitat-
ing our cheers, some raising hoarse shouts, others
shrilly ' luluing,' and many clapping their hands and
waving their arms. Theirs was indeed an enthu-
siastic welcome, curiously free from the usual Oriental
apathy.

I shall not describe again here the ceremony
of the reception, the addresses, the Duke's replies— as
usual, exactly meeting the occasion, and delivered
in that remarkably distinct voice, making itself
heard far through the crowd outside, which im-
pressed his listeners in every colony we visited.
The ceremony over, their Koyal Highnesses, accom-
panied by some of their suite, drove off to the
Tanks, the Aden troop of lancers forming their
guard of honour. As their Eoyal Highnesses
passed each imit the troops guarding the route
presented arms, and along all that rocky way the
natives were gathered to shout their welcome.
The carnage drove rapidly over the smooth hard
road that leads to the Tanks, for a considerable
distance skirting the shore. They passed the
sheltered bay which forms the dhow harbour, on
this day crowded with these picturesque craft, for
the most part flying the crescent flag of Turkey ;
then, turning to the right, left the sea to ascend

WITH THE EOYAL TOUB

the rocky pass that pierces the volcanic ridge ; and
as they reached the summit of that narrow defile,
and opened ont the weird scene that lies beyond
it, the gans of the saluting battery at the Crater
fired their salute. Often has the view from this
pass been described, but no description can convey
an adequate idea of its strange and almost uncanny
character. From here one looks down on the
crater of the extinct volcano, a cup formed by
bare volcanic crags furrowed with multitudinous
gullies. On the plain that forms the bottom of
the cup stands the old town of Aden, with its
teeming narrow-streeted Arab and Indian quarters
and its British cantonment beyond them. Were
it not for these habitations of man, one could
easily imagine oneself to be gazing at some burnt*
up hollow in the dead moon, so utterly and hope-
lessly lifeless are the riven peaks that surround
that bare plain. Their Boyal Highnesses drove
through the town, and were here received by the
people with the same enthusiasm that had marked
their reception at Steamer Point.

They visited those wonderful fifty ancient Tanks,
which are but the chasms of the mountain side
ingeniously dammed in, of various fantastic shapes,
and so fed by little conduits which follow the
irregularities of the crags that no rain that falls
on the hills is wasted, but must find its way into
one or other of these reservoirs. The Tanks are

A VISIT TO THE TANKS

now let out each year to the highest bidder, who
farms out the water to the natives. Of late it
had rained little. We found all the tanks empty
save one, at the bottom of which was a small
pool of green water. Near this pool a banyan
tree of considerable size contrives to support a
precarious existence, and it was then covered with
large yellow blossoms. The royal party drove
back in the cool of the evening to the landing-
stage, and, the cannon once more thundering out
salute, they re-embarked on the ' Ophir.'

That evening a reception was held on the royal
yacht; and on shore, meanwhile, the entire native
population was taking holiday and admiring the
illuminations, for rows of coloured lanterns fes-
tooned the beach and the main streets. The
town was crowded, throughout the night, with
natives from outside, conspicuous among whom
were the Arabs forming the bodyguards of the
sultans and sheikhs who had come in to do
honour to the son of their Suzerain Overlord-
proud, wiry, wild-looking Bedouin, some riding
wonderfully beautiful horses of purest Arabian
breed, horses with which no king's ransom could
persuade them to part, and all with their sashes
stuck full of richly ornamented pistols and yata-
ghans. After dark a number of these picturesque
desert warriors joined in a wild Arab fantasia.
Taking each other's hands, they formed a line
c D

WITH THE BOYAL TOUR

right aoross the main street, and, marching up it
with rhythmical swayings of their arms and bodies,
shouted and sang extemporised psalms of praise,
in which they called on Allah and declared their
homage and welcome to the Duke. Though Aden
is a small and imimportant place when compared
with the dominions which we were about to visit,
the loyal and sincere welcome which their Boyal
Highnesses received here from all races and classes,
and the impression made by their personalities and
gracious manners on all who met them, augured
very favourably for the success of this tour.

After the reception on the 'Ophir' we all re-
turned to our respective ships, and before midnight
struck we had weighed anchor and were slowly
steaming out of the illuminated harbour into the
darkness of the Gulf beyond, to begin our voyage of
two thoustuid one hundred miles across the hot
Arabian Sea to our next port of call — Colombo. It
was now that tbe ' Juno ' and ' St. George ' began to
act as royal escort, and henceforward between port
and port the two men-of-war were always to be in
close attendance on the ' Ophir.' When outside the
harbour the three ships took up the positions which
they observed throughout the voyage to Colombo,
the ' Ophir ' leading, the ' Juno ' and < St. George '
steaming on her port and starboard quarter respec-
tively, each maintaining a distance of from half a
mile to a mile from tne ' Ophir.' The three ships

ACROSS THE ABABIAN SEA 35

thus fonned an isosceles triangle, of which the
' Ophir ' was the apex.

To vessels passing us at night and not knowing
who we were the squadron must have been a cause
of wonder, for rarely does a ship sail the seas
covered with such a blaze of light as did this mighty
• Ophir.* Along nearly her entire length ran the
two rows of electric lights illumining her uninter-
rupted line of double-storied, balconied, white deck
houses ; and the dazzling light streamed out, too, from
her large square window-like ports; so that she
looked like a street with the houses illuminated
within and without on some night of public rejoicing.
As one walked the deck of the ' Juno ' and gazed
out at the squadron— whether by day, when one
clearly saw that stately white-painted ship and the
two attending grim black-huUed men-of-war rapidly
traversing the smooth dark-sapphire waters of the
Arabian Sea, or in the moonless nights, when the
Southern Cross was raised in the heavens on our
right, a-nd the two men-of-war loomed dimly, their
regulation lights alone showing save for here and
there a gleaming through their smaU ports, as they
silently followed that long column of white light
which was the • Ophir '—the spectacle was a strangely
impressive one, appealing strongly to the imagina-
tion, and tending to keep ever in one's mind the
great significance of this cruise. When one pon-
dered on the import of it, on what may be the out-

t6 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR

come of it, one gued almost with awe at that silent
procession across the lonely seas of those fine ships,
which were carrying the heir of the great ocean
Empire the whole world over, that he might visit
our far-scattered dominions and the loyal peoples
who were eagerly waiting to welcome him in every
climate and under every constellation — a cruise of
forty thousand miles, in the course of which he was
to call at many a port on continent and isle, but not
at a single one over which the British flag does not
fly— long joumeyings from colony to colony that
the Duke might bear witness to them of Great
Britain's gratitude to our kinsmen beyond the seas
who nobly and loyally came to her succour in the
hour of danger, and whose sons went forth to fight
so bravely for their Sovereign 'uid the Empire;
and that he might give expressioii to the sympathy
of our free people with the national aspirations of
the free Australians. And, moreover, as the watch-
ing world fully realises, and as our enemies dread,
it was a tour likely to further much the consolidation
of the Empire and the permanent unity between the
peoples of British blood.

Those of us who had travelled much within the
tropics were agreed that never had we experienced
a heat so oppressive as that which prevailed during
the last three days of our voyage to Colombo. Not
that the thennometer indicated a very high tempera-
ture— 90° Fahrenheit was about our maximum, but

A0B08S THB ABABIAN SEA

the mercury used to attain that height on deck at
eight o'clock in the morning, and it was as hot by
night as by day. It was the dampness of the air,
the sticky clinging steaminess of the heat, that made
it so oppressive. With 120° in the shade (when
there was shade) in the dry Soudan, one used to feel
quite comfortable and evenfpund the climate bracing.
At this season, before the south-west monsoon
breaks, this is a windless gulf, with scarce a catspaw
to wrinkle the oily smoothness of the sea, and con-
sequently one does not see a single Arab dhow or
other sailing craft when making this voyage in the
early spring.

At dawn on April 12, the coast of Ceylon and
the harbour of Colombo lay before us, and as we
approached the land and the light strengthened we
saw a shore that looked deliciously green and beau-
tiful to us who for weeks had gazed only on the
barren seas and the still more barren rocks of
Arabia. Cocoa-nut and other palms fringed the
beach ; behind these were slopes of lush grass and
great trees. Here and there the dome of a temple
rose above the foliage. As we got still nearer we
passed through fleets of quaint little fishing cata-
marans. Then we steamed inside the great break-
water, and took up our berth within a short distance
of the • Ophir.' We could see before us the streets
of stately buildings in the town decorated with
bunting, and crowds of bright-clad natives were

WITH THE BOTAL TOUB

gathered on the beaoh and breakwater to look at
the royal yacht. The ' Highflyer ' and other ships
of the East India squadron were in the harbour,
and these, a transport which had disembarked Boer
prisoners, and all the merchantmen had dressed
ship, and long lines of coloured flags were waving
everywhere in the morning breeze.

■

CHAPTER IV

AT OOtOMBO— PBOSPamiTT OF CITLOM— JOUBMIT TO KAMDT—
TBI OBTLOM ▼OLUMTXU rOBOU— PBBUMTATIOM OF WAB
HBOALS — THB DCIBAB

Up to this stage of the royal progress the ' Ophir '
had visited no colony, having called only at the
fortresses of the Empire— Gibraltar, Malta, and
Aden — places in which our race is practically repre-
sented by our garrisons alone. But now, at last, in
Ceylon we found ourselves in a British colony ; not,
indeed, one like those gteA home-ruling colonies
which we were shortly to visit, where the men of
British blood compose the immense majority of the
population, the native element being of small
importance ; for in Ceylon a small minority of our
countrymen dominate several millions of natives.
But for all that, Ceylon is essentially a white man's
country. In this, the largest and most important of
our Crown Colonies, some six thousand men of
British blood are settled, and are engaged in planting
and in commerce. It is a colony of which we may
well be proud, for it was a splendid thing that these
men did, proving the pluck and energy of the breed,

iO WITH THE BOTAL TOUB

when the oofEee plftntationa were att«oked by the
deTMt»ting fungni, which all the effort! of loience
failed to exterminate, and the planter* were face to
face with rain. Bealiaing the position, they did not
give way to despair, though they saw all the fruits
of their enterprise vanishing. They diligently set
themselves to introduce the cultivation of other
products, and converted their now useless coffee
plantations into tea gardens, an experiment which
was rewarded with all the success it deserved, the
value of the tea now annually exported being between
three and four millions sterling. The planters also
cultivate cinchona, cacao, cardamoms; the produc-
tion of rice, the cocoa-nut palm, and cinnamon being
in the hands of the natives. So, because the planters
were men of grit, prosperous days have once more
come to Ceylon, and it does not astonish one who
has followed the developments of the island effected
by their energy, to learn that the planter volunteers,
who served by the side of our troops in South
Africa, did splendid work and won the admiration of
all who saw them in the field.

Very beautiful did this green island of perennial
summer seem to us after the dry Arabian wastes on
which our eyes had recently been gazing. Colombo
itself, with its fine streets, stately buildings, and
lovely gardens, where tropical vegetation in its most
luxuriant form affords a grateful shade, is of Oriental
cities one of the most pleasant to look on. The city

AT OOLOICBO II

WM taking holiday, and newly the entixe population
of a handled and lixty.five thoneand waa in the
streete eager to welcome the son of their Sovereign
and hia consort. The town consequently preiented
a moet animated appearance, and even at an early
hour in the morning a large crowd waa collected
round the jetty at which their Boyal HighneMea
were to land— a picturesque crowd, Cingalese, Tamils,
Moormen, in raiment of all colours, from brightest
uoadet and blue and pink to mellow browns and
purples, but always pleasing to the eye and bar-
monious. Through the throngs walked with dig-
nified step the shaven yeUow-robed Buddhist priests.
The town had been decorated in the most complete
manner; the scheme of the decoration was ad-
mirable, and the effect was beautiful in the extreme.
It is doubtful whether any other city, even in the
gorgeous Orient, could have so arrayed itself. It
need scarcely be said that the aspect of any European
city in its most splendid holiday dress for some great
occasion would be sordid in comparison. The
tropical sunshine, the magnificent vegetation, the
great flowering trees, the character of the arohi-
tecture, the brilliant white or delicate terra-cotta tints
of the buildings, all lent themselves to the scheme of
decoration; but it was the marveUous imagination
and the perfect taste of the natives of the island to
which credit is chiefly due for the conversion of this
faur city into a veritable fairyland.

H WITH THB BOTAL TOUR

TIm streeta were lined with arched decorations
ooDttrocted of the young branchei of the oocoft-nnt
palm, of a beaatifal tender light green. Charao-
leriitic art;hefl or 'pandala' spanned the streets
at intervals. These were large light stmotores of
bamboo decorated with foliage, fruit, and flowers,
the lotus flower gleanung from many an arch. The
white painted pillars of the pavilion at the jetty
were surrounded with creepers, and every portion of
this edifice was covered with foliage, cocoa-nuts,
and other fruit, and flowers most tastefully arranged.
Bxmting, of course, was flying everywhere, and the
native banners with their quaint devices dr-^ped the
streets. One feature of the decorations was pecu-
liarly Cingalese. Thi& is a Buddhist country, and
grotesque Buddhist masks and images painted on
large sheets of cardboard bung from the ' pandab '
and the house walls, giving a weird character to the
streets.

As their i'oyal Highnesses drove through the
town to the station on their way to Eandy, all this
wealth of colour, not only in the decorations, but
in the raiment of the dense crowds, produced an
indescribably brilliant effect. The native crowd was
very well behaved, but its eagerness and enthusiasm
were extraordinary. The Cingalese are a contented,
amiable people, and are perhaps more wholly loy(»l
than most of the communities under our rule in tb'^
East, insomuch as they are for the most pan

JOURNEY TO KANDY 4|

Bttddhisto, and Buddhism it a creed that doe* not
know the fanaticism which sets up a barr^r of
hatred between the followers of some other relitjions
and ourselyes.

Early in the afternoon their Royal Highnesses
landed at the jetty, and took their seats within the
beautiful pavilion that had been prepared for their
reception. Punkahs waved above them, and behind
their scarlet-covered chairs stood two small native
boys clad in scarlet silk 'combers' and white silk
jackets, who swayed two great golden fans. Here V e
Duke received and replied to the numerous addresses.
With the bright uniforms of the European officers
and the gorgeousness of the dress of the native
notables the scene within that paviHon of verdure
and bright flowers was wonderfully picturesque,
while outside stood the men of the 9th Madras
Infantry, who formed the guard of honour, the eager
native crowd pressing closely behind them. It had
been arranged that the royal party should make no
stay in hot Colombo, but should proceed at once to
somewhat cooler Kandy, which is eighteen hundred
feet above the sea ; therefore as soon as the ceremony
of the reception had come to an end there was the
procession to the railway station, the escort being
formed by the Ceylon Mounted Infantry, a splendid-
looking body of men. These planter volunteers—
youug athletic Ei, ^lishmen of good family— volun-
teered, I believe, almost to a mi ' • service in

WITH THE BOYAL TOUB

South Africa. It need scarcely be said that they are
all good riders.

The decorations at the station were remarkably
effective, the grotesque Buddhist masks, images, and
banners combining with a profusion of fruit anr*
foliage to form a unique spectacle. Drawn
along the platform were two bands of weird-looking
creatures. The first was composed of Buddhist devil-
dancers, wearing the ingeniously hideous and horrible
masks that are employed at those strange ceremonies
to be witnessed here, as in that other Buddhist
country, fantastic Ladakh, at the extreme north of
British India. The other band was even more un-
canny to look at, consisting as it did of men wearing
magnificent costumes, and having yellow wigs on
their heads, and faces painted white and pink ; some
were attired as men, some as women, and they were
intended to represent the ancient kings and queens
of Sandy. As their Boyal Highnesses walked down
the platform to their saloon in the special train, little
girls sprinkled burnt rice before them, a ceremony
which is supposed to bring good luck.

The train occupied three hours in reaching Eandy.
Surely there is no lovelier railway journey in the
whole world than this. One looks out on the richest
tropical vegetation clothing hill and dale. Great
forest trees with exquisite blossoms of various
colours towered above the lower jungle growth.
Beautiful lianes festooned the branches. We passed

JOUBNBY TO EANDT

through miles of cocoa-nut groves, and there were
cleared glades in the forest where the yivid green of
the young rice covered the carefully irrigated soil.
We passed, too, plantations of tea and cocoa and
groves of bananas, while here and there were slow-
flowing rivere of red-brown water brinuning full,
washing the lush vegetation on either side, and broad
lagoons pakn-enciroled. We often commanded most
extensive and magnificent views, landscapes wonder-
ful in their colouring-rich green in the undulating
foreground, purple on the hills in the middle dis-
tance, and blue on the lofty far-off peaks. Showers
fell during the journey, the atmosphere was saturated
with moisture, and the sun shining through the thin
haze on the wet vegetation produced an effect that
called to mind some of Tinner's pictures. It looked
like some happy enchanted land.

In the evening we reached Kandy, the beautiful
and interesting ancient capital of the island. After
further presentations of addresses, their Eoyal High-
nesses and the suite drove to the King's Pavilion, the
residence of the Governor in Eandy. Eandy was
decorated in the same lovely fashion as Colombo, and
here the people gave the Duke and Duchess quite as
enthusiastic a reception as did the inhabitants of the
seaport. In the evening, after dinner, there was a
•perahera' or procession of elephants before their
Eoyal Highnesses in the private grounds of the
pavilion. The traditional method of conducting this

WITH THE BOYAL TOUB

oeremony has been handed down from generation to
generation for ages, and many an ancient king of
Eandy has been honoured by his people with exactly
the same fantastic and picturesque performance that
we witnessed that night. Before the stately pillared
pavilion ^f pure white, and between the huge wide-
spreading forest trees that adorn these beautiful
grounds, the long procession slowly passed. It was
a dark night, but wild-looking men bearing great
torches marched with the procession and threw on it
and on the lower branches of the trees an uncertain
light that intensified the weirdness of the scene.
Two by two marched the great elephants, with their
magnificent trappings and howdahs. Cingalese in
various fantastic dresses, or nude save for their loin-
cloths, accompanied them. Parties of dancing men,
too, who whirled unceasingly round in strange
measures and with wild gestures, chanting and
clapping their hands; and at frequent intervals
throughout the length of the p^' ession marched the
musicians with their tomtom v and bagpipes, playing
that monotonous but often strangely impressive
music of the East which was quite in harmony with
this barbaric ceremony.

We certainly had a very bustling time during our
four days' stay in Ceylon. In a steaming, debilitating
climate, with a temperature of 94 degrees in tLe
shade from shortly after dawn until sunset, and with
the nights but little cooler, it was for the Duke and

THE CEYLON V0LUNT3BB POBOBS 47

Duchess of Cornwall and York one constant ronndof
journeying, receptions, and ceremonies, and for the
Duke the replying to a long succession of addresses.
It excited the admiration of all that their Boyal
Highnesses, despite the fatiguing nature of the
duties which they performed so graciously, ever
appeared fresh, unwearied, in the best of health, and
keenly interested in all they saw. The day after our
arrival. April 13, was one of the most crowded
with functions of the whole tour.

But I should like to dwell, because of their
poHtical import, on two of that day's spectacles.
The first of these was a most interesting ceremony,
which we were to see repeated on several occa^
Bions and in many lands, since one of the chief
objects of this tour was that the Heir to the Throne
should convey the gratitude of Great Britain to the
men from across the seas who fought for her. It
was on this afternoon that his Eoyal Highness pre-
sented the King's colours to the Ceylon Mounted
Infantry and distributed the South African medals
to such officers and men of the Ceylon Volunteers as
had served in the war. The presentation of colours
to a regiment is always an imposing ceremony, but
never has it appeared to me more impressive than on
that occasion. The beauty of the surroundings com-
bmed to make a spectacle quite unique. The
ceremony was periformed on the lawn fronting the
Kmg's Pavilion, where the Duke and Duchess were

48 WITH THE ROYAL TOUR

residing. A lovelier spot it would be difficult to
find. The numy-columned mansion, from the roof
down to the foot of the flight of steps that led from
the portico, gleamed pearl-white above the ruddy
earth. The lawn was of freshest green, and over it
wace scattered tropical bushes, graceful bamboos, and
huge trees, massive of trunk and towering high, their
far-spreading branches covered with richest foliage of
various tints, dark green being the prevalent hue,
and some of them bearing brilliant blossoms. But
these grand trees did not obstruct the view from the
pavilion, for between their trunks one looked down
over the lower hills and dales, a roUing sea of verdure,
backed by lofty purple cloud-capped peaks. All the
tones were soft and tender, the white pavilion alone
standing out a dazzling spot, in admirable contrast
to its setting. Once more was it forcibly brought to
my mind how much a red soil like that of Ceylon
enhances the beauty of natural scenery, and how
much, too, it lends itself to decorative and spectacular
effects. The enchanting beauty of the red streets of
Colombo and Kandy as we saw them, arched and
festooned with the tasteful delicate native decora-
tions, would be impossible of production in a city of
glaring-white dusty streets such as Aden.

The troops engaged in the ceremony were drawn
up facing the pavilion, the great trees and the far
mountains forming the background to the scene.
While the colours were being presented, dark

THE OBTLOK VOLTOITBBa TOBCBS 49
>"—«> of ol<md tolW OTO tho pMk. b,w„^ tk

We«Uy pou«-did not ««h «, but the^dZ^
of the he»v«« and the d^rtant stom. imwJw^
JT^ ^^-^r "« Bolennrity to the ZT^o
onnt the minor detafls of . ceremony mthTuch „
m«y « ^a,„. the troops fo™^ a^^^ ^
. hoUow .qnare, of which . deh«hment of thTDnk.

1 tdTt ?*"' ""'""^ "- ■'- *• ^
Bde, and detachments of the Planters Bin. p

«.d the Ceylon Mounted Infant^ ttX*. T
""" "^«™>^ 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:'^;

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

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.

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

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

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

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 <rf the prisoners ; their faces
often brightened as they saw him, as if they were

•I WITH THE BOIAL TOUB

nwrting » friend. A few of the priwner. wore
y«Uow pagguees round their hats. Thii, we wen
informed, was the diitrnguirfimg hedge of thoee of
the better edao«ted men, who h*d been appointed
to certain posts in the oamp, working ae clerks in
the offices, for example, or as surgeons in the
hospitals, for not a few of the Boer doctors, as will
be remembered, acted in the war in a manner
altogether mconsistent with the professions implied
by the Geneva Cross which they carried on their
sleeves, and so could not lay claim to its privileges
when captured. Knowing the Boers of old. I was
astomshed to observe how clean and decentiy
dressed most of the prisoners were. This was
parUy due to the fact that it was Sunday, and we
met them as they were flocking to church with
Bibles and Prayer-books in their hands, but largely
also to our insistence on their observing cleanly
habits as long as they remain in our hands
Nmnbers of the prisoners had to be fumigated on
then: arrival here. New clothes were served out to
them, but these they were with difficulty persuaded
to wear, so attached wew they to their dirty old
rags, m which they had fought us. The burghers
are quartered m long sheds roofed with galvanised
iron, each shed containing fifty-eight men. We
pasMd through several of these sheds, which are
cool and well ventilated ; there is no overcrowding.
I he prisoners arc, in short, hutted much ae our own

SOME OP THE BOBB LBADBB8 66

■oldien are in ft pennanent camp. We found many
of the priionen within the sheds, lyii^ cm their
p»Uet«, leading Bibles and religions works ; most ot
them were ready to chat with ns in a friendly way.
Boer officers are in control, and scmpulous cleanliness
18 observed. I need scarcely say that the prisoners
do their own cooking, washing, and so forth. They
are treated in ahnost every respect as our own soldiers
are; their rations are the same, and thes punishments
are practically the same if they are insubordinate.

Among the prisoners we were pointed out several
bearing well-known nunes, members of the former
Volkstmad, Uwyers and others, and we saw one of
Paul Kroger's sons and a nephew of the slippery
De Wet. Some of the prisoners were very old men,
yrMe others were boys scarcely in their teens.
There were two hundred and fifty children, too. in
the camp; these had been captured with their
fathers, and were allowed to accompany them to
Ceylon, as they had no other relatives to look
after them. They attend school regularly, Dutch
teachers having been provided for them at the
expense of the Dutch South African Fund. We
pMsed a body of them trooping to school, looking as
happy as children can. The Boers have done a
good deal of work in this camp. We saw a large
recreation haU which they have constructed, roofed
^th matting, which is also used as a chapel and a
school, a large oblong bathing.place, which they

WITH THE B07AL TOUB

hvn dng oat and oemented. At w» pMsed it it
WM crowded with yonthi iplMhing ftbont ftnd Ungh'
ing merrily. Next we Tinted the well-ordered
hospital shedi, under the charge of Dutch and Boer
doctors. We found bat a hundred cases or so in
the hospitab, none of them serious, chiefly woonded
men and those recoTcring from enteric. The germs
of enteric were brought to the camp from South
Africa, but the vigorous measures that were here
taken soon stamped out the epidemic. Since the
establishment of the camp only eighty-four men
had died, nearly all from enteric, a small propor-
tion when one recalls the condition of many of these
men when they surrendered at Paardeberg. The
little stores which some of the Boers have set up,
and at which they are allowed to sell articles of
clothing and small luxuries, were of course closed,
the day being Sunday; but we saw the cooking
places and a good deal of the internal economy of
the camp. The prisoners appear proud of their
camp and of their work, and are evidently pleased
to show it to visitors who had not come to see them
out of idle curiosity ; not that permission to visit
the camp is readily given by the authorities. I
gathered, too, that the fact of Mr. Maxwell and my-
self having been in the war served as a passport to
their good-will. In one of the sheds were packing-
cases full of the curios ^likich the prisoners had
manufactured to while aw»y their time, as has ever

DISCIPLINARY BB0ULATI0N8 87

*h«on«tomo!w.jrpritonen»U the world over
^ewcnnoi were not foriale; but, m » oourteoni
Trwii^md officer, who insieted on hftying them nn-
pwked io that we could see them, explained to u«
they were to be gent to HoUandto be placed in lome
mueeum. The prisoner! have certainly displayed a
great ingenuity. Not haying tools, they made plane,
out of Uble-knives, saws out of barrel hoope, and
with the aid of theM and other similarly rough
msteuments they have manufactured out of ebony,
beef bones, and other material, a variety of articles
th*t display exceUent workmanship, such as inlaid
oabmetB, pipes, paper-knives, models of artillery, and
toy ox-wagons.

The foUowing facts connected with the disci-
phnary regulations of the camp may be of interest.
So as to prevent the possibility of the prisoners
bnbmg people outside to facilitate their escape, the
amount of cash in the camp is steictly limited to a
quarter of a rupee per man. But this by no means
^presents the limit of their purchasing' powerX
the pnsoners have received considerable smns from
heir fn«ids. These funds are deposited for them

27.000 rupees, and 74,000 rupees still remained to
then: «5co«nt; but they can draw their money
only withm the camp enclosure and in the form of
special 'good-fors,' notes printed by the Govern-
ment. on which it is explicitly stated that they are

II WITH THB BOTAL TOUB

ouziMit only withio Um «nolomire and pftjable ftl the
ofl&oe of th« olBoer in oharg» of the pnaoam of w«r.
Ontnde the encloenxe this ptper monej u TalneleM,
the Terj pntentetion of it would enmxe ureet ; and
oonieqnently it is of no qm to en eeoeped priicmer.
The bnrghert era allowed ■mall rationi oi ipiriti.
An officer is allowed three measTuree of spirite daily,
or beer if he prefers it, one glass of beer counting as
one glass of spirits. As showing what considerable
fnnds are at the disposition of some of the prisoners,
I may mention that a group of them have petitioned
that when the time comes to liberate them they
noay be permitted to charter a vessel to carry them
back to Sonth Africa, as they would rather not return
on our Government transports. If they like to
travel at their own expense instead of at that of the
British taxpayers, there is apparently no reason why
their taste should not be gratified. With regard to
the tale of the three grand pianos, by the way, the
Ck>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.

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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.

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

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

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

PORBION TRADE (3CMPETITI0N

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

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 ;

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

•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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

li'l'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

z
o

►-
o

>
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

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

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

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

WITH THE BOTAL TOUB

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

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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

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

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.

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

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

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

; i

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

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.

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

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 ^

— >,
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

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

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

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

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<MBy wintry acene.
Such WM our fkst view of the iaknd of Taemania,
and shortly after breakfast we entered a spacious land-
lodced bay where several ships, including some men-
of-war of the Anaferalian squadron, were lying at
anchor. Hobart, the ftur capi^ of the colony, was
fadng OS, and here, at aboat a mile's distance from the
shore, we took np our berth. We had seen in Austral-
asia a succession of the finest harbours in the world.
It would be difficult to pick betweea them and to say
which was the most beautiful ; but as far as the aspect
of a city, as seen from the sea, is con(»med, I thmlr
that Hobart must take the pafan. There before us,
gleaming in the thin wintry sunshine, was the
picturesque town covering the lower foothills, the
foliage of trees and green lawns mingling prettily
with the red-roofed houses ; while immediately behind,
ia strong contrast, still dark in its own misty shadow,
towered a grandly shaped mountain, lofty as Snow-
don, its slopes covered with dense forest until near
the summit, where the steep wastes were white with
snow up to the foot of a ptecipice of dark rocky
pillars— like the pipes of a gigantic organ— which
supported the bleak culminating peak. Truly Mount
Wellington forms as noble a background to a sea-
city as can be found in the world.

This was a tour of flying visits. Within a fort-
night we saw two or three Afferent countries

384

WITH THE ROYAL TOUB

sepanted from e«ch other by hundreds of leagues of
■e*. We remuaed in each long enough to know
that it was beMitifiil and full of interest, to feel that
we should like to see much more of it; but not
long enough to gather more than the most superficial
knowledge concerning it. Thus was it in Tasmania,
wherein we spent but four days, and saw but
Hobart, the pleasant capital, and a little of the
country in its immediate neighbourhood. But these
four days w&ce among the happiest we had spent
in Australasia : the Tasmanians saw to that. We
were in a comparatively old country for this part of
the world, long settled by our race. For Tasmania
is the second in age of the Australian colonies,
having been founded fourteen years after the eldest,
New South Wales ; while it was the first of all
to enjoy the privileges of self-government. More-
over, Tasmania can boast that she is the mother of
colonies; for what is now the State of Victoria,
with Melbourne, the Queen of Australasian cities, as
its capital, was first settled in 1835 by enterprising
Tasmanians who crossed Bass Straits to seek their
fortunes on the shores of the continent. Very
beautiful was the little we did see of the island, but
more so was what we did not see. The hospitable
people would have liked to take us inland as their
guests — to the forests of huge trees where the
valuable cabinet timber is hewn ; to the great high-
land lakes whose cool shores are becoming the

HOBART

385

rammer health resorts of invalida from the sultrier
mainland, where the scenery is said to much
resemble that of Scotland, even to the appearance and
colouring of the foliage on the hills, and the aspect
of the boms, full of salmon and trout, that flow into
the lakes ; to the cultivated districts also, where the
rich crops are harvested, and where the cattle and
sheep graze on the splendid pastures that have been
grown from English grass seed ; to the pleasant land
of orchards, where, among other fruits, are produced
those fine apples which, exported as they are in ever-
increasing quantities in the ice chambers of the
merchant ships, are now so well known and esteemed
in Great Britain. There were friends, too, who
wished to take us to the goldfields and to the region
where the sapphires, topazes, and other precious
stones are mined. But, unfortunately, none of these
things were we able to see, for this was but an eight
months' tour throughout the scattered possessions of
Great Britain in the five continents, and that number
of years were all insufficient if one would know but
a httle of the wealth and beauty of these colonies.

The inhabitants of Hobart are justly proud of
their Mount Wellington, and visitors are expected
to ascend its slopes at least for some distance so as
to enjoy the magnificent views therefrom obtainable.
Consequently, one fine frosty morning, with a cloud-
less sky overhead, Mr. R. M. Johnson, the Registrar-
General of tLe colony, kindly drove some of us as

WITH THE BOTAL TOUB

high M the ouriage roftd ooald take xm, and from
this point we climbed the hillnde for some way by
footpaths which wound through the dense bath,
clambering over rooka, crawling under fallen trees,
or sometimes walking along their top, whMW they
spanned the galleys and bams. Though the thin
ice was crackling under our feet we were passing
through a richly green vegetation, fresh as if it
wope springtime and not mid-winter. Ferns of
various species, wild roses in blofnom, wattles,
evergreen bushes, and graceful tree ferns covered
the hillside in tangled luxuriance; lovely mosses
carpeted the moist soil and the fallen tree trunks :
while towering above this beautiful undergrowth
were the trees of this mountain forest — eucalypti for
the most part — whose tall straight trunks, for a
great height from the ground, threw out neither
branch nor foliage; and various forms of cabinet
wood — trees of which some seemed huge to us, but
which were small compared with the giants we should
have seen in the inner country, where the eucalyptus
attains a height of three hundred feet. And when
we came to open spaces in this forest we turned our
eyes from the rich vegetation about us to gaze with
admiration at the wonderful panorama that extended
beneath us. The scattered red-roofed town was at
our feet, and beyond it we could see, spreading to
an immense distance, a fair undulating country of
woodland and pasture with the blue water running

ON MOUNT WELUNOTON

987

deep into it in all directionB in a maze of winding
bays and sonndg. As we looked out on one side the
ocean formed our horizon, while nearer lay the long
Bmny Islard, and nearer still the gulfs and pro-
montories and tortuous straits of the deeply indented
coast line. As we looked out on the other side we
saw the broad Derwent Biver, a magnificent stream,
with the scenery of the Dart, winding from far
inland down its lovely valley until at last it opened
out, a noble estuary, to form the spacious harbour of
Hobart. It was the scenery of some of our South
Devon coast on a large scale. It is no wonder that
the yachtsmen of the Derwent Yacht Club boast of
this as being the yachtsman's paradise. I am vinth
them, now that I have seen that labyrinth of water-
ways spreading before me as I did that day, and
have also, on examining the chart, observed the
number of snug little harbours and anchorages that
line each strait and sound. One could cruise in a
small yacht for months within thirty miles of
Hobart, always sailing by beautiful scenery, and
each night lying at anchor in some new place. It
naturally follows that the inhabitants of Hobart,
being of British blood, are keen and skilful yachts-
men. There is a fine fleet of smart little yachts
here, and there are good sailors to handle them.

It was fine frosty weather during our stay in
Hobart, and the cool pure air was as bracing and
exhilarating as that of our own east coast in early

WITH THE BOTAL TOUB

I
I i

ipring. The peojde in these colonies kmented that
the Duke and Daehess were visiting their shoreB in
the nnfavonnble winter leaeon, when the ootintry
ii at iti wont. This may be lo, and I can well
imagine that the Tasmanisn coontryude must be
lovely in tpring ; but as the trees and bushes here
are nearly all evergreens, the country looks very
well even in winter. The climate, all the year round,
is well adapted to our race ; the rainfall is about the
same as in Great Britain, but there is more sunshTne;
while summer and winter are here more temperate
than at home, not exhibiting so great extremes of
either heat or cold. The otiicial landing of their
Boyal Highnesses in Hobart was on the morning
after our arrival, July 3. To quote the words of the
'Mercury,' the leading Hobart paper: 'The Duke
of Cornwall and York, whose mission to these States
was to seal their Federation, landed in Tasmania,
significantly enough, on the eve of the anniversary
of the Declaration of American Independence ! The
Duke's mission to Australia has been to confirm its
happy dependence on Great Britain.'

The three days we spent here were crowded with
the usual ceremonies. Suffice it to say that Tas-
mania and Hobart gave their Boyal Highnesses a
magnificent welcome ; and as for the decorations, it
was shown here, as it was in Melbourne and other
cities, that our kinsmen in the far South have
somehow developed an instinct for graceful and

I/)0-CHOPPINO HATCH 939

ingeoioM itnet dupUy unknown in the Old Country
in time of public rejoicing. There wm the uiual
■ehool-children's demonstration, six thousand well-
trained infante parading before the Duke and
Duchess to sing the National Anthem and • WhUe
Tasmania's isle rejoices,' in their sweet childish
Toices. And of course there was a review in the
Domain of Taemanian troops, followed by the
presentation by the Duke of medals to the troopers
who had returned from the South African war.
Tasmania's quota to the Empire's forces that took
part in that war was upwards of two per cent, of
her men of fighting age-a very fair contribution.

Its national sport is ever an interesting feature
of a country's life, and the 'chopping match'
we witnessed at Hobart, like the great Maori
ceremony at Rotorua, stands out as one of the most
striking and characteristic of the spectacles that
were prepared for the Duke and Duchess in the
course of this tour. It was organised by the
Australian Axemen's Association, whose represen-
tatives presented an address to the Duke, in the
course of which they assured him that 'though the
members of our association are but humble bush-
men. hvmg hard lives of toil in the lonely forests,
they are none the less loyal, and we have one and
aU looked forward to this your visit with keenest
pleasure, and rejoiced at the graciousness of our
noble King in sanctioning it; and we are doubly

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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

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

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

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

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

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;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.'

„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

•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

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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

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

o 5

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

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.

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

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

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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

848

WITH THE BOTAL TOUR

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

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

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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

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

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

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Ill ^
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III s
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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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

a> -

K .i

« 5

o .5
z t

3
t-
Ul

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

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
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PACIFIC

Route ofHte Rogal Tour.
Brmah Empire ooloured rmd.

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