SHANNON.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 923, 16 September 1910, Page 2

SHANNON.

.Tho Presbyterian Churchwaswell filled , .oil Monday: evening,- when Dr. Gibb, ;of Wellington; in an interesting address, in which Scottish anecdotes were liberally interpolated, gave somo of his- ;im-. •. pressions. of in the : Motherland, and instituted"comparisons between her'.'arid'.-the Dominion.'" on thj»,• . erroneous belief* current, lii. this pountry that social conditions at Home would very largely consist ;of luxurious wealth . on- the' one hand' and grinding : poverty on the other, and slipwed how,'in his own experience; great advances had been.made .at Home in social conditions. He ; referred 5 to the narrow-minded "We ' are the .people" estimate which' most Ne\v Zealandcrs cherished of themselves. Th« Motherland was a country of great -politicians anil .'statesmen, .who: towered • over their' New Zealand . contemporaries, great preachers and thinkers. With regard to the state ;of the-drink traffic,, . were a long way ahead of the people at Home., Hei'gave incidents.:in, his own experience'of. the evil effects of the liquor .trade.at llome. 'As' far as. gambling .'was - concerned, the boot was on the other ' .foot: He gave statistics compiled by': tho ' Hev. J... J.. North. England had 50! race '. days, in the year. The probable average number of race', days. .in New Zealand ",yas 750, If New Zear4n'd'®a^lie. r siimeipbpula: ; ' .England' it would have. 1G,00(1 odd: race'', . 'days. in.i'tho. twelve : months.. The .Church;.. : at Home ; 'had'' a. greater. ' prestige .-.or; standing.: than it had in the Dominion, 1 ; • but. as:-far as. attendatfoe'-Kthe, external'; ;• ' tost) and., spiritual life " anil : aggressive- .. strength' -(the :internal-;.test), were; con-,' i cerned, - there was not. much •- to ;• choose between, them. The speaker ended;-"with an earnest appeal-to: .those present to support .their, churches, I ,their denominations,. and; their! ministers; Organisation in Church/matters, was no doubt effective." . to a certain, extent, but prayer, was the most efficient of, all Church -V influences. ; During .the'evening Misses iLahorig,.- As-,, quith, :E. : Staiisell, Hughes',, ;aad:/ Wick- • ' liffe, satig;''solos; Messrs. Lanovig- :arid- • Asquitß'contributed a duet, and Mr. G; H. Gibb gave a recitation; Tho funds raised are. to'be. devoted to .paying off, the Sunday School debt and obtaining . prizes for; the Sunday' School . children. ' Members, of the .Literary' and Debating 1 Society-gavei a reading of. '"Macbeth" on ■ Tuesday night in' the Druids" Hall. The . following':was the, caste Mr.' 0.-:H; Gibb. ; ("Macbeth"), - Airs. Barclay ("Ladv-Mac- ' ■' beth"), Mr. W.: Galland' ("Macduff"), Mrs. Pearce ("Lady Macduff"), Mr. W. H. Gunning. ("Malcolm"), Mr.; J. "E.;Tilling : ("Iloss"),. Mr. :W. Clayton ("Lennox"), * Mr. E. -Law ("Angus"), Mr. A. Mitchell ("Old Soward"), Misses Mickliffe, Tun- ; ning/and I,insell : ("The Witches"), Miss Asquithv ("Hecate"), Messrs. - Barclay,,; Esall, and others.The society will give . their final "social" .on September 27 whenthe local Savages—under- the - leadership of Toa G. ; H.'Gibb—will give a Jcorero., ' ■ Mr., Barclay, will ;movo :, next'.'Tuesday) night:' "That the present , system of dis-' ' posing of : Crown , lands by ballot is not in :the. best interests, of ' the Dominion.". 1 • Mr. C. B. Hobinson will)take,the negative.."-, A large audience assembled in the Druids' Hall on' Wednesday night when the children of-the loca,! Methodist Sun-. ' : day school; presented a'cantata, entitled "Soot .and -the Fairies." .The. following took the leading parts:—Miss Myrtle Tremewitii;'-"Queen: of;'theFairies"; Master: Allan Carter; "Fairy 1 Doctor" ter. Mer.wood, "Captain Soot"; Master W. Tremewan, t "Wag"; Master Munden, . "Doctor's Secretary"; Master vW - Quarrie, -"Boot-black"; Master C.. .Newth, "Baron ■ Hairbrush"; Master _L. Carter, ■ ".Tester.' Miss Laurvig officiated- at the piano. :During the latter part of. the . entertainment : Mesdames - Gibson, Swan- , nell, Miss Signal, -Messrs... A.- Eimmer, Yates, Dilk, and. Jenks. contributed items. . The Hev. Mr. Mairs presided. Tho sue- . cess of ihe.children's*.performance was largely due to Mrs.' Atv.Saunders, .'who . spent a-considerable amount'.of time and : care in training the little: performers. .