A COLONIAL MONUMENT.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."]
SIR,—Your recent suggestion as to the erection of a monu- ment to our gallant Colonial soldiers who have fallen on the battlefield, has, I doubt not, been received with warm approval by all your readers. While thus suitably honouring the dead, may I venture to suggest that we should do some- thing to honour the living who may have survived the struggle in South Africa ? Why should not the Mother- country, at the close of the war, through the Government, offer a free passage to England and back to their homes to every Colonial soldier who has taken part in the war ? The chief object of their visit would be to attend a grand parade of all the troops returning from the campaign, to be held in Hyde Park or at Aldershot in the presence of her gracious Majesty. The parade might be made the opportunity of presenting colours to those Colonial regiments which have particularly distinguished themselves. Such a spectacle would not only be a deeply interesting and impressive one, but would visibly and most effectively demonstrate to the world the reality of that grand Imperial confederation which the Jubilee procession of 1t..397 but faintly adumbrated [The idea is an excellent one, but we fear the Colonial soldier's very natural desire will be to go home first. There should, however, most certainly be a presentation of colours to all the Colonial troops, and a splendid roll of honour will be inscribed on them. Take the ease of the Imperial Light Horse, composed of those Outlanders who we were told would not fight, but could only seek gold. No regiment has done nobler work or suffered more terribly than this gallant corps, of whom their Colonel might truly say in Nelson's words: "I had the happiness to command a band of brothers." Some day we hope and trust they will be able to have, in an armoury of their own at Johannesburg, a set of colours pre- sented by the Queen and bearing a record of fighting as striking as any of modern times.—ED. Spectator.]
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