CONCERN AT FINANCES

Chronicle (Levin), 3 April 1947, Page 4

CONCERN AT FINANCES

Scottish Society Loses £75 OnYear ' . The financial position of the Horowhenua Scottish Society was ihe oause of concein to menibers at their annual meeting last night. on the past year '5 working; the society had ari ex'cess of expenditure over income of £102 9s ld. This included £27 ,9s for the e?jpenses of the society's pipe bana in attending the Napier^ contests, all of which is reqoverable, The actual loss on the year's working was, therefore, £75. With a view to assisting the financial position it was decided to take three courses of- action. . Firstly, to approach the Levin Borough CQuncit fpr a donation of £50. It was pointed out that pipe bands in other centres were given iarge ' grants by local authorities, and were accorded , similar treatment to that given to municipal bands. It was said, as an instance, that the Manawata Highland Band received £175 from the Palmerston North City Council. The , Horowhenua band had received £6 qr £6 6s from the lqcal council, During the past year the band had paraded on 50 occasions. Secondly, to recommend the incoming committee to organise an annual Caledonian display un Levin with the object of raising funds. Thirdly, to inorease the annual subscription for gentlemen from 5s to 10s, for ladies from 2s 6d to 5s and for juniors from Is 6d to 2s 6d. 1 ....

The retiring chief, Mr. N. M. Thomson, in his annual report, commented as follows about fhe society's finances: "The financial position of the society remains strong, the year closirig with a oapital account (additional to the band uniform appeal fund) Qf £495 9s ld/ Of this sum, however, equipment amounts to, £300 8s ld, so that the actual eash in the capital account totals £195 ls. Although the capital account is healthy, nevertheless the society's income position is not so satisfactory. During the year just past there was an. excess of expenditure over income of £102 9s ld. "It will be recognised that in a society such as ours it is an exce.edingly difficult ma.tt.er to provide each year for a sufficient income to pay the normal outgoings. Eyery •year you'must expect your printing, advertisfng, secretary's _ honorarium, loss on inglesides and Christmas party, Pipe Major's honorarium, insurances,_ equipment replacements, rent, etc., to t.d.tal in the vicinity of £125. The only source of assured . income that the society has is the rnembers' subscriptions, totalling between £20 and £25 per annum, and it is therefore, the duty of the committee to endeavour to arrange functions which will produce an. additional . £100 or thereabouts. In. the past this extra income has been provided from dances, and this year, as in previous yearfc, eertain members of the committee wqrked arduously at dances, the object of which was to obtain a suffiqient income to pay the annual expenses. Unfortunately, with increased eompetition and increased cost of orchestras, the year's dances prqduced -a net return of only £25 14s 7d, and it is difficult to see how this ftgure can be expected to increase by the further £75, which is not only desirable but essentiai. it will be appreciated that if the cash in your capital account is only £195, and if you are going to make an annual loss each year of £75, it will be no time before the carefully accumulated res.erve of the society will have disappeared. I am satisfied that the answer to our prablem will not be found in more dances, but will have to be sought in .an annual appeal to the public, either for straight-out donations- qr to take the fprm of a display spoh-' -sored' by the society in Levin."