A BAND AND ITS SUBSIDY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 973, 14 November 1910, Page 4

A BAND AND ITS SUBSIDY.

SUNDAY CONCERTS.

The Central Mission Band is making a proposal to the City Council by way of overcoming a difficulty in connection with the terms of the annual subsidy. The corporation authorities recently informed the band that if it wished to receive the subsidy during tho coming year, it must give 8 open-air Sunday afternoon concerts, and five open-air week-day evening concerts. These are tho conditions on which the other subsidised bands—tho Tramway, Jupp's, Pipers, and Garrison—receivo the council's annual donation of iESO. Tho times and places are fixed by the corporation. The Central Mission Band has been allowed in the past to qualify for tho subsidy by giving week-day concerts. Its membors plead conscientious reasons against playing on Sundays for anything but religious or charitable objects, and thev now propose that the requisite eight Sunday concerts shall be given in the grounds of tho Hospital, and that collections shall be made in aid of .the Hospital funds. The Rev. E,. 0. Blamires explained the position yesterday afternoon at .the Men's Brotherhood meeting, and again at the Central Mission service in the evening. Ho stated that the band was out 240 times last year, and had helped nearly every charitablo movement in the city. Performances at tho Hospital had been given about onco in five weeks for several years, and the aid thus afforded had amounted, with the addition of the Government subsidy of 245. for overy pound, to ,£260 in the last fivo years. The band recently purchased new instruments, and they now felt that if tho corporation persisted in its new attitude, they would Ire seriously hampered, and would, in fact, he penalised for their conscientious convictions. - Each of tho two meetings, after hear-, ing Mr. Blamires's statement, passed a unanimous resolution expressing the hope that the hand's proposals would bo agreed to.