Bunnythorpe Band of Hope.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 172, 24 January 1896, Page 2

Bunnythorpe Band of Hope.

o I Communicated.] On Wednesday evening last a very ! Z large and enthusiastic meeting was held ' in the Wesleyan Church in connection with the Bunnythorpe Band of ' Hope ; and Gospel Temperance Society. The Chairman, the Rev. W. Lee, in an address, said that the amount of money spent in drink in New Zealand during last year would siipply every man, woman, and child, in the colony. r mth.&:... 21b loaf of bread everyday for a year. ; The programme was contributed to as follows : — Temperance song, by a com- : pany; reading, Mr Eggleton ; duet; Miss ; Masters and Mr Andrew ; due^jMiss Little and Mr Nissen ; recitation,;. Mrs Smith; solo, Miss A. Masters! instrumental duet, Miss Little and Mr Eggleton; trio, Mr P. Nissen arid Misses F. and A. Dixon; company song, "Clear the way;" address, Mrs Little. 3?he following report of the work of the Society for the past year was read by the Secretary, Miss Dixon :— •* In placing before you thia our second report we feel there is every reason for thankfulness. It is sometimes said "Oh, it'is all very well while it is something fresh j but, wait aw bile, the interest will soon subside." But this certainly cannot be said of the Bunnythorpe Band of Hope. . It is over four years since our Society < started, and we rejoice in the fact .that to-night we can report most encouragingsigns of progress, most successful .; meetings, and greater interest than ever, both with old and young. But were ... this all, the chief object of our aim wotdd be lost. Our members' roll, which numbers two hundred and thirty-two j is increasing with every meeting, and here is tbe greatest reason for encourage- • ment— rit is a very rare thing to hold a . meeting without several signing the . pledge. The past year has been an especially eventful one, some of our leading men having joined our ranks f thus widening the circle Of influence .and strengthening our cause very considerably. We are very hopeful that others , will soon follow their example." ; ; ;When \- our last report was written,: we' were left quite without funds. Since that we raised £1 17s 8d by a coffee supper Held in December, 1894. The/ expenses aire —Pledge cards 4s, rent of ball ' 7s 6d, postage ls 2d, bannerettes and' new cords for banner — preparations for last Easter Demonstration - ss, leaving a balance of £1 in hand. It was decided at the last 7 committee meeting to give a tin of kerosene to the Church, seeing that our Society is purely undenominational and that we have the Church free of charge all the year. We thought this the least we could do. Owing to inclemency of the weather there was no Easter Demonstration last year. Circumstances permitting we hope to make it more enjoyable ths year than on the ptevions occasion. We have been exceedingly pleased during the year to see some of our young men coming forward and doing their part in the meetings^bnt there are still a good many who seem to forget that God has endowed them with talents which He expects them to^use, but which at present are lying idle; The common plea is " nervousness,''-and ; we don't doubt it is the truth, but if all who suffered from this complaint, were to keep in the back ground, there is one thing quite certain— there would' be' no Bunnythorpe Band of Hope meetings. It has been decided to have no recess this summer, but to keep right on witii the meetings. There will, however, be a great difficulty if we do not have more volunteers to assist. We appeal to those who, up to tbe present, have been listeners only, but who have the' ability to take some part in the meetings, to come and help us. We can assure them they will find a deeper interest in the cause and at the same time will be benefitting themselves. Some months ago it was thought advisable to enlarge the committee, and the following gentlemen were elected :— Messrs Little, Poole, Smith, Nissen, Eggleton, Gillies, C. Jansen (junr.), and Andrew. With such a strong and influential committee as we now have, surely we may expect that greater things than heretofore will be accomplished. Why has onr Band of Hope been such a pronounced success ? Is it not because God is with us in this great work, and tbat in every undertaking we seek His guidance, without which nothing is truly successful ? In conclusion we'would impress upon every member, old and yonng, the great importance of being true to their pledees, and using their influence in every possible way to extend the cause of Temperance. We are engaged in a great' battle, and while there must be unity in tbis vastly important matter there must, \ also, be individual effort, and the sooner this is realised and put into practice the sooner will the battle be won. ; Let us see to it that we do our part, so that when this glorious time does come the Bunnythorpe Band of Hope and Gospel Temperance Society shall have the Joy of knowing that they did; - somethin? towards gaining the victory:" .* ; A coffee •supper was provided by the wives of the committeemen. At the close of the meeting several leading settlers signed I the pledge. *