The Opening of the Birmingham Town Hall

Feilding Star, Volume XI, Issue 110, 11 March 1890, Page 2

The Opening of the Birmingham Town Hall

The event which transpired at Birmingham on Friday last will deserve to be indicated by red letters whenever the history of that youthful, vigorous, and thriving township is recorded, as it may be said to have marked the inauguration of one of the absolute requirements*, of any ■place- worthy -of the name of settlement.No such township pan be complete till it possesses, as Birmingham now does, a house of *B«t and refreshment for the weary traveller, a store, a school, a post office, a blacksmith's shop, and last but not least, a building for holding meetings for social, sacred, and general purposes ; and that the Birmingham Town Hall is well adapted for gatherings of any such description was amply proved on Friday night when the opening concert and ball were held, as well as on "Sunday last, when the building was -used for Divine service. The trip last Friday afternoon in Mr Daw's special coach which had been chartered by the committee for conveying the Feilding performers at the entertainment and press representative was an exceedingly pleasant one, the monotony of the journey being occasionally broken by the strains of an accordeon, : with tambourine- and bones accompaniment. Nothing unusual took place on the road, till we neai'ed Major Moore's place, when a slight misunderstanding occurred among the horseflesh, one of the animals having got it into his head that he had had ''enough of it," and neither whip nor coaxing words were available in persuading the beast to go any further ; there was therefore no alternative but to unharness him, leave him on the road, and to 'finish the journey with the remaining ' trio, It was a rather unaccountable proceeding, for if anyone keeps good horses it is Mr Samuel Daw, and if anyone knows how to handle and use them well, and ' thus make- a trip pleasant to them as well I as to the. passengers, it is either Mr Daw himself or his popular representative,* Mr R. Sommerville, who was the driver on the present occasion. Just two-and-a-half hours after leaving Manchester Square found us opposite the door of " Lowes' Licensed Accommodation," more popularly known as "Birmingham Hotel," where an excellent repast was provided for us, to do justice to which the gradual rise into an entirely new and exhilarating atmosphere had properly prepared us. In this connection, it is due to Mr Lowes and his family to mention that they did all in their power to make' us comfortable, and this added much to the enjoyment of our visit. After tea an inspection was made of the hall, which is a very neat and well . arranged building of 64 x 24 feet with ticket lobby and. two ante .rooms in front, and stage and dressing rooms at the rear end. On this occasion the interior was tastefnlly decorated with native flora, and presented a very pretty appearance. The hall. is well seated, and provides for about 200 persons, space being left over the ; lobby and front rooms for a gallery whenever required. "Mr Bruce, M.H.R., presided at the concert, being introduced by Mr T. A. Bryce, who gave a brief account of the history of the scheme for building the haS, which had been floated by a limited liability company with an available capital of £1000, only £250 of which had been called up. The erection of the Hall was entrusted to Mr Gardiner, ot Palmerston, who is deserving of every praise for the workmanlike manner in which he fulfilled his work. Mr Brace then proceeded to say that the last meeting at which he presided there was one of a different character — viz., a meeting to provide funds to fence in a cemetery. In his opinion this was a needless thing, •'for those who were inside could not get out, and those who! were outside did not wish to get in." Mr Bruce referred to the evidence of progress shown by gatherings of that description, as only a few years ago the spot on which they were assembled was occupied by unbroken forest, and the enterprise and sturdy character of the pioneer settlers was sufficiently manifest in the remarkable change that had taken place in so short a time. From his knowledge of the colony that' was one of the best spots, in it, and the progress that had already been niade augured well for the future prosperity of the settlement. He spoke of the good effect of gatherings such as the present, where social intercourse was kept up and a loye for music cultivated, which could only _be followed with beneficial results. He said this would probably be the last time he would have the pleasure of addressing them as their representative in Parliament. • He heartily thanked his numerous friends for their staunch support, while he appreciated the manly opposition of his opponents. If he went into the House again, whatever district he represented his interests would not stop there, but would extend throughout the colony. The Concert was opened by an overture played by Mr Somerville (English concertina) and Mr Fowler (piano), which was re-demanded. Miss Grace, a Palmerston lady, gave | " Queen Mary's Prayer" in- a manner which was received with a round of applause. Mr Keen next faced the audience and gave them "Fifteen Shillings," which seemed to gratify everyone. The Misses Lowes sang the duet of " The ■ Lily and the Rose," which was exceedingly well rendered. Mr Lovejoy, who looked decidedly clerical in a coat some sizes too big for him, treated the audience to " The Parson and the Clerk." Mr Fowler advised those present to " Never Trouble Trouble." Mr Reading, brought forward " Thomas' Sewing Machine," which was amusingly rendered. Mr Gilbert rendered " Our Jack" with great taste; and the first part of the programme was concluded by a trio, " Canadian Boatmen," by Messrs Bosher Bros, and Tappin. Miss Shannon opened the second portion of the entertainment with a violin solo, " The Last Rose of Summer," which was vociferously encored, and responded to with the " Blue Bells of Scotland." This young lady has a great command-over her instrument and delighted her hearers with her performances. Her sister, Mrs Robert Mcßeth, played the piano, accompaniments. Mr Lovejoy followed with " Killaloe," and Miss Grace was warmly applauded for her song " Love on." Mr Somerville brought down the house by his rendition of " Auld Robin Gray" on the English concertina, and responded to an encore by playing " The Bells." This gentleman has a wonderful knowledge of the instrument, and his playing was worthy of praise. Mr Reading, for his rendering of '• Doqral ooral ooral lee," was encored, and in response gave the last two verses of that amusing dirty. Mr Lundon, in character, sang " Gone at tho Knees," and looked it as well Mr Gilbert followed with the " Skippers of St. Ives." Mr Keen was encored to the echo for his " Respects to McGinnis," and in response gave " Clara Nolan's Ball." Mr Fowler recited " How Beti stole the Butter," which convußled the audience. The entertainment was brought to a close by a farce, "Slocomb's Dorg," in which Messrs Keen, Fraser and Pringle took part. A ball was held after the concert and dancing was kept up energetically till daylight, the Misses Lowes, Mrß A. Mcßeth, and Messrs Somerville and Fowler kindly 'providing the music. ,