The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-05-10
BY IHE DUKE OF York.
FIRST FEDERAL PARLIAMENT on
UNITED AUSTRALIA IS FOR
MALLY OPENED
GREAT CROWD AT MELBOURNE
IMPRESSIVE CEREMONIAL At.
TENDED THE LAUNCHING OBJ !
THE NEW CONFEDERATION
IT WAS A BRILLIANT SCENE

MELBOURNE, May s. The opening os
the first federal parliament which took
place at noon was a most IMPRESSIVE
ceremony. The capacity of the exhibf-i
tlon building, the scene of the ceremonv.
Is 1900 people, but the ava lab,e space
was taxed to the utmost. The decora-
IONS tIohs consisted OF regmental standards,
trophies of arms and floral festoons.
ne doors were opened to ticket hold
ers at y O'Clock this morning and bv II
O'Clock the aud torium was filed, except
the royal dais. This was located he
meath the great dome. 1t held a single
row of chairs, the largest, in the center.
peng surmounted by a small gold i'm
perial crown. The whole was Oyerbuns
with the royal standard In f.oat Of
the royal chair was small table on,
which was a telegraph key by which
the Duke of Cornwall and York was to
nasn the opening signal throughout the
commonwealth when the Union Jack was
TO be simultaneously raised in every set
tlement of the federation. The majority
Of the audience was composed of ladies'
mostly clad in mauve-coIored ostumes,
but, many of them were dressed IN
white. Brilliant, scattered groups OF
army and navy uniforms gave color to
the scene
Facing the dais was a slightly rails
ed platform, where seven rows of chairs
accommodated the members of the COM
monwealth parliament The lofty north
transept was devoted to the members of
the state parliament. East and west
OF the dais were grouped the ministerial
staffs. The remainder OF the hall and
the galleries were packed with a we'll
dressed. earnest, expectant crowd A
great orchestra enlivened the ante-merl-
dian hour with operate airs
The audience was a marvelously varied
n inc
white-wigged judges; speakers wigged
and gowned similar to the speaker OF
the British house of commons: British
and foreign military and naval uniforms;
bishops and clergy of many denomina-
tions in their respective canonlcals and
court uniforms, contrasted with khaki
clad colonial officers Surrounding an
was mass of civilian spectators of all
ages, the whole forming a memorable
spectacle.
OPENED BY THE DUKE.
The formal proceedings were begun az
il "a a. m, with the reading OF the proc
lamation summonlng the senate and repa
resentatives. Noon wa sgnaled by a
fanfare of trumpets by the military
! band outside. The royal party then enc
tered and was conducted to the dais. the
orchestra playing the national anthem.
The Duke of Cornwall and York wore an
admirals uniform with the ribD0u or
the Order of tb 3Garter The Duchess
Of Cornwall arc York and Lady Hope
toun. wife of Aes COVE, pr general. tbs
Earl of Hopetoun. and the ladies Of the
suite all wore black.
The duke, through Blackrod then
summoned the two houses In accordance
with the strict formula of the British
parliament and the members filed I'm.
The Hundredth Psalm was sung, with all
present standing and the Earl Of Hope
toun read a prayer after which the
Duke of Cornwall and York made a
lengthy address and declared parliament
open. In the course of his remarks he
referred to the wishes of the late queen.
Prolonged cheering greeted the con-
clusion of the speech, which was renew
ed when a telegram from King Edward
was read.
The members then took the oath and
subscribed their names to the roll. At
the conclusion of this ceremony, the
Earl of Hopetoun dismissed them to
their respective houses to elect officers.
The entire audience thereupon rose az
the first bars of the Halleluja were
played by the orchestra and the chorus
was sung by an opera company Rule
Brittania," followed and finally, the
whole assemblage joined In singing God
Save the King
A fresh blare Of trumpets followed, the
royal party retired and the ceremony
was over.