GISBORNE ROWING CLUB.

Gisborne Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1558, 14 September 1905, Page 3

GISBORNE ROWING CLUB.

Tho 81st annual mooting of tho Gisborne Rowing Club was held in tbo Masonic Hotel last evening. There was a fair attendance of members. The report congratulated the olub on its continued prosperity. The. balance-sheet showed that tbo club commenced the season with a oredit balance of £22 Ss 61, that subscrip-

tions and entranoo fees amounted to £BB I 63, and tbat members themselves donated £25 6s 6d towards the cost of boats, trophies, and repairs. The committee thanked members for tbo generous manner in : which they had responded to the I reqnost for funds towards the cost of the new boats, and their liberality made the question of finance daring, the year an easy one. Other receipts brought the total amount received to £l4B 14s 6d. Thu total expenditure was £165. 2s lid. Of I this amount £B4 163 6d was tho oost of the two new boats, and £lO 9s was spent ia oars. Repairs to plant and shod I amounted to £25 Is lid. The assets were I put pown at £4BO 11s, aud the only liabilities were 82 unredeemed debentures £32, and the bank overdraft £ll 8s 51. During tho season the two new fours ordered from Messrs Edwards, of Melbourne, oame to hand, and added greatly to the olub’s plant. The incoming committee will have to face tho question of purchasing new soulis. Tho past season was markedly suooessful, and large j entries were received for all the trials. In the annual ..fixtures .against the Poverty Bay Rowing Club the junior, ten-stone, and youths’ crews were suooessful, and the senior orew were only defeated by a short length, after a hard fought raoc. The Napier Rowing Club visited Gisborne at Easter. Oar junior, ten-stone and youths’ crews were defeated by the visitors. The Napier senior orew did nob come up, and the senior crew accepted the offer of their, junior crew to row over the two mile ; course, the local drew winning. The Committee would not recommend the sending of fonr orews to Nadier next Easter unless there was absolute certainity that four orewß would be put on tha water to meet them ; and they would also strongly plaoe before members the advisability of either sending orewß to, or receiving visits from, other centres, with a view of gaining experience. Thanks were returned to the President (Mr A. F. Kennedy), Dr. Schumacher, Mr, W. J. Hennessy, and the deputy oaptain (Mr W. Johnson) for their kind donations of valuable trophies, also to Mr A. M. Ooleman for secretarial services. It was suggested that the smoke conoert for the presentation of trophies should be an annual fixture. The report concluded by impressing upon members the necessity for looking after their training and above all takiDg the greatest care of the plant. The report and balance-sheet were adopted, The election of officers resulted President, Mr A, F. Kennedy ; vice-presidents Messrs T. Adair, W. B. Common, J. J. Martin, W. B. Miller, W. G. Fraser, and J. A. Harding; secretary, Mr C. J. Hamilton ; captain, Mr A. D. Robinson ; deputy-captain, Mr J. S. Wauohop ; committee, Messrs Ooleman, Johnson, Adair, Swinnerton, Martin, and Nolan ; treasurer, Mr A. E. N. Smith; assistant treasurer, Mr P. Hamilton ; auditors, Messrs R, D. B. Robinson and L. B. Sherriff. The following new metnbetß were elected Messrs W. Fordyoe, P. Doyle, R. Hardy, G. Dines, G. Rowe, J. B. Leydon, L. McGonigal P. Ihode, A. | Coleman. It was left to the committee to arrange for offioers to represent the Olnb on the Hawke’s Bay centre, and recommend a delegate to the N.Z.A.R.A. A recommendation was also made lhat the committee appoint a selection committee for all club raoes.

I don’t know that any sentence passed on a self-confessed thief has ever caused so much public talk as the astounding leniency of the punishment inflicted on the young man Dawson who managed to purloin nearly £3ooo' of the facing Club’s money, and who was not guilty of embezzlement, but of the systematic falsification of ' the books of the club, an offenoe which of itself was formerly regarded by the Law as even more serious than that of defalcation. The whole thing is as mysterious as the voucher incident. The only explanation I can conceive of is that the judge must have been in a particularly compassionate mood that morning. But though it is admirable to temper justice with mercy there are other considerations which ought not to be altogether ignored. A . judge cannot rightly disregard what is due to Society. The morals of the public are largely -in his keeping. And a wise or a foolish sentence may make all .the difference in the standard of ethics which is adopted by a community. If an offender against the law be treated, with undeserved leniency the effect on' the' body politic cannot be otherwise than pernicious and demoralising. Many things have happened in Auckland of late which have been calculated to lower the code of public morality. It is all the more necessary, therefore, that when the opportunity occurs our judges should endeavour to inark their sense of the gravity of fraud and dishonesty by the passing of adequate sentences on those who are guilty of . a form of crime which unless checked by some such rigorous measures is likely to spread, and to be productive of immeasurable harm. — ‘Mercutio’ in New Zealand Herald. Ghefalo, who will be. remembered here as looping the loop in connection with Wirth’s Circus, has been seeking for a fresh sensation. He got on a charger belonging to George Wirth, ■which had been specially trained to deposit- on the grass everybody but George. He rode the brute in a procession,. and was dressed as Satan, with red cloak, crimson close-fitting body-clothes, horns on his head, and electric light streaming from his glazed eyes. The horse didn’t know what a spectacle it had on its back till the procession stopped in front of a big glass window, and then it saw what it was carrying. There was a terrified snort, and a devil whirled down the street with cowboy Captain McLeod in full pursuit with his lariat. Devil and horse were finally lassoed at the other end of Toowoomba, and brought homo iu triumph.