Inside the enclosed ground stood the mission house, and on a spot
commanding a view of almost the entire harbour was the flagstaff which
was now to display the flag hoisted with the authority of the Queen by
Commodore Erskine; and it was around this flagstaff that the troops were
drawn up in a hollow square, the men facing inwards, with the officers
to the front, and the Commodore and his suite standing with the
missionaries and Mr. Chester on the verandah of the mission house. The
native chiefs who had been on board the _Nelson_ were seated in a
picturesque group on the ground immediately in front of the Commodore;
and other natives and a few white spectators stood in a crowd at the
rear of the blue-jackets. The only representative of English women
present was Mrs. Lawes, wife of the Rev. W.G. Lawes, who was
accommodated with a chair, and sat near the Commodore and the officers
on either side of him.
Immediately the blue-jackets had landed they were marched up the hill
to the mission compound, but the marines remained upon the beach until
the Commodore landed, when they presented arms, and afterwards, with
bayonets fixed, marched with the band to join the bluejackets in front
of the mission house.
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