CONCERT AND ENTERTAINMENT, I.O.O.F., M.U.

Globe, Volume III, Issue 236, 12 March 1875, Page 3

CONCERT AND ENTERTAINMENT, 1.0.0. F., M.U.

A concert and entertainment to inaugurate the ceremony of unveiling the portrait of P.P.C.S. Bro T. Abrahams, the founder of Oddfellowship in Canterbury, took place last Thursday in the Oddfellows' Hall. There was not a very large attendance, the majority being members of the order, who appeared in regalia. The first part of the programme consisted of an overture by Mr S. Schwartz's band; song, Mr J. Cliff; trio, Messrs Bell, Clark, and Dunlop; song, Mrs Barry; concertina solo. " Guillaume Tell," Miss L. Taylor; comic song; Mr S. Schwartz; song, Miss Ada S. Taylor; reading, " Specimen Bricks," Mr J. Yule, each item being pleasingly rendered, Miss L. Taylor coming in for a large share of applause for. the excellence of the solo given by her. After a short interval the members of the painting committee, accompanied by the officers of the lodge, appeared on the platform, preceding his Honor the Superintendent. Bro T. Napier, P.C.S. briefly introduced the Superintendent, Bro W. Rolleston. His Honor, who was received with loud applause, said that he had felt great pleasure in complying with the request of the committee, who had been instrumental in bringing them together that night for the purpose of unveiling the portrait of the father of Oddfellowship in the province. There was nothing more characteristic of an age or a people than in their choice of those they delighted to honor. The public places in London and in other large centres of population in the old country afforded striking instances of how the feelings of Englishmen have varied at different periods, and how little the heroes of an age might be regarded as such when viewed by the clearer and less prejudiced eyes of a later day. Trafalgar square must strike every observer with the feeling of incongruity, and yet each of the statues in that place were of men whom, in their day, the people delighted to honor. [Applause.! Bufc though the images which people set up, and the ideals which they placed before themselves of worth, might be very different, and though those who are worthy of admiration in the present age might not be idols of another, still, he felt it was a bad sign in either peoples or individuals when they ceased to hold and take means of recording their veneration; for pre-eminence j,n qualities worthy of admiration, [Ap-

plause.] They in their city had not, he was glad to say, been slow to show their appreciation of public or private worth. They could all recall instances where high character, devotion to the public service, and good citizenship had met with their due meed of praise at the hands of the public. For himself, he had always been g'ad for the most part to ioin in such manifestations. They were, as he had said, parts of our national life, and according as they had shown discrimination in their judgment of the real worth of those thej had honored, they had but done their duty to them, and had certainly lost none of their own self respect. [Applause.] He thought but little of men who possessed no veneration, and but little of those who were not in some degree hero-worshippers. If the man, whose picture he had been asked to unveil did occupy a less prominent position before the public than others who had received tributes of public respect, it was not because he had been less deserving of that respect. [Applause.] There were men placed in a prominent position by wealth, talents, and education, and had led their fellow men by the thousand influences which circumstances had placed at their disposal. There were others, quiet workers in the busy world, doing their duty naturally and zealously, having a firm belief in their common brotherhood with those around them, and manifesting it simply and unobtrusively in acts of self-denial and benevolence. To that class their friend and brother T. Abrahams belonged. As the founder here of a society which has for its object the relief of sickness and the alleviation of distress, Brother Abrahams had wrought a memorial for himself more enduring than any picture, statue, or monument, in the memory of all who now belonged or who should hereafter belong to the Manchester Unity. [Loud applause.] Arrived at an age far beyond that allotted to mankind—but whom he regretted to say was now laid upon a bed of sickness—Bro Abrahams still lived to see the result of his philanthropic efforts. His philanthropy had not been, if he might use the expression, of the easy arm-chair benevolent type. [Applause.] It was well known that Bro Abrahams was one of the early settlers in the province, and had come out in the Charlotte Jane, one of- the first four ships, and colonising in those days was not the comparatively easy matter it now was. It was then a great venture, and yet in the midst of his anxiety and trouble incident upon his voyage Mr Abrahams did not forget what was necessary to promote one of the leading ideas of his life, the institution of the society of Oddfellows. [Applause.] He was a man who had not intruded himself before the public, but had never forgotten his duty to those around him—[Applause]—and neither had he ever forgotten the spirit of enthusiasm which he had infused into the Manchester Unity. Bro Abrahams had been a good man, and he (the speaker) felt that those around him would join in that expression, and could never forget how heartily he had labored to advance the order to which he belonged. [Applause.] He had now great pleasure in unveiling the picture of Mr Abrahams, and hoped it would long be considered, not only by the order, but by the province generally, the memorial of a man who had worked quietly and unobtrusively in the interests of his fellow men for many years. [Loud applause.] His Honor then unveiled the picture, and said that he had much pleasure in handing it over to the officers of the lodge. Bro Clephane, G.M., said he had very great pleasure on the part of the officers and members of the lodge in accepting the picture of Bro Abrahams, the more so that he had been a good man and member of the order, and had instilled into his fellow members the great spirit of self-help. The remaining portion of the programme, consisting of songs, concertina solo, glee, and reading, was then proceeded with, and the entertainment closed with " God save the Queen." . It may be mentioned that both the painting and frame of the picture were executed in the province, and are creditable in every respect. During the evening there were three of the oldest Oddfellows in Canterbury in the room, Messrs R. Davis, Lissimum, and Garwood, who arrived in the province by the first four ships.