MILITARY
(Contd.)
escaped my memory. Months went by, and then I think it was Colonel Bertie, commanding the Royal Welch Fusiliers, who came to me and delivered a message from the men of his regiment. They said that although the General might have forgotten his promise; they had not forgotten it, and they begged that it might be fulfilled. They were already raising subscriptions, and they were particularly anxious that the matter should go forward.
"I felt then that there were no grounds for hesitating any longer, and went to the Colonial Office and to Mr. Chatham, the Director of Public Works, whom I am glad to see here to-day to show the interest he has taken in this matter, and I should like to take this public opportunity of saying to you that Mr. Chatham at once agreed that a cemetery should be reserved for the soldiers of the garrison of Hong Kong
670
"Well then, the soldiers came forward again, and they arranged among themselves to give monthly subscriptions, purely voluntary, in order that every poor fellow who died here in Hong Kong should have a fitting memorial raised to him. The soldiers then were anxious to give me a larger sum of money than I felt was wanted, yet the matter has gone on now, and funds have been paid in steadily month by month till finally we had a sufficient sum of money to enable us to put up a larger memorial, which would, as it were, mark the cemetery for all time, so long as it exists, as something reserved for us, the soldiers of the garrison of Hong Kong. Well, we went ahead with the matter, and we got as handsome a memorial as it was possible to get, but when we came to look over the accounts we found we had rather overstepped our bounds, upon which another institution that I am proud to say I am associated with, the Soldiers' Club, came forward and gave us a sum of $300 out of their own funds, to put us on our legs again. Now, ladies and gentlemen and soldiers of the garrison, you will not be surprised to hear me say that I am proud of being associated with these two things, the Soldiers Club, which contributed to this memorial, and our Soldiers' Grave, as we might call it, when you know that these two institutions have been carried out by the soldiers themselves without any outside help whatever."
Drum Major Kirkpatrick, R.W.F., stepped forward and after saluting His Excellency thanked him for his kind words and for the interest he had all along taken in the scheme.
The monument, which was then unveiled by His Excellency, is of Hong Kong granite, stands about 15 feet high, and is surmounted by a cross. On one side is the inscription "Sacred to the memory of soldiers who died in the service of their country. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori"; and on another, "This enclosure is reserved exclusively for the graves of soldiers who have died in Hong Kong." The other two sides of the monument are taken up by the names of soldiers of the garrison who died about that time, while here and in the North.
11
I have much pleasure to-day in publishing the name of the great soldier after whom Murray Barracks, Murray Parade Ground, and so forth, were named General Sir George Murray, G.C.B., G.C.H. former Master General of the Ordnance.
When previous reference was made in these articles to the commemoration of the name Murray in Hong Kong, some months ago, it was pointed out that nobody of that surname could be traced in the list of former military officers of higher rank who were connected with the Colony. I am indebted to a reader for unearthing an old reference to Sir George Murray, who had been Secretary for the Colonies for a time, and whose name was undoubtedly selected for the naming of Murray Battery and Murray Barracks both were built at the time he was head of the Ordnance