RECHABITE SOIREE AT MEANEE.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 19, Issue 1332, 25 May 1872, Page 2

RECHABITE SOIREE AT MEANEE.

The opportunity afforded by the holiday on the Queen's birthday was- taken by our friends the Re.ehabit.es of Meanee to celebrate the opening of the " Hope of Meanee Tent," 1.0. R, by a social tea meeting in Lever's Hall The attendance was large, all the Tents m the Province being well represented, hesLde-' a large number of visitors unconnected with the Order. The fine band of the N.R.Y., who had given their services, t headed a procession of the brotherhood aud which, with the bright uniform of the Band, the various colored scarfs of the 1.0. K., and the numerous nags borne by the juvenile?, presented a very gay appearance. The procession halted at Lever's Hall, where tea wax provided, to which between 200 and 300 sat down. The tables were furnished in admirable style by Brother J. R. Le\ er ; but owing to the large attendance, this portion of the proceedings occupied a considerable time. The tables having been removed, the chair was taken by Brother J, Wood, C.R. of the Hope of Meanee Tent, who briefly opened the proceedings. He said that as the evening's programme was a very heavy one, he would not detain rhe meeting by introductory remarks, but would call upon the gentleman wh<> was to open the proceedings with a song Song—Dr Hitchings : " Happy are we to-night. 1 ' The Rev. R. Taylor, P.C R , Rose of Sharon Tent, apologized for the absence of the Rev. H. B. Redstone, whose name appeared on the programme, but who, owing to ill-health, was unable to be present to-night. For his own part, he had not come prepared with a speech, and would not detain them long. The present meeting was to celebrate the opening of the Hope of Meanee Rechabite Tent—a branch of a society, the great principle of which was, total abstinence from all intoxicat ing liquors. When the fiist Tent of the Order was opened in Hawke's Bay, a little more than eighteen months ago, no one would have believed that in so short a time the principle would have made such rapid strides. There were now in this Province more than two hundred members, or more than half the number in the whole New Zealand Distiict. He was happy that the Order had made such progress in Hawke's Bay, and he would be happy it every Province in New Zealand could outnumber us here. As regarded the leading principle of the Order, no thing particularly new could be said to-night; but some of the old tilings were worthy of being repeated. It had long bum shown by the experience of thousands, that intoxicating drinks were unnecessary as beverages, and now we found that a very huge number of the leading medical men of Great Britain had condemned them as unnecessary as medicines, and had given their opinion, based on past experience that the medical profession had been greatly mistaken in pre>cribinir them as thev had done in sickness. He would be sorry to say, as some had said, that he would not take intoxicating liquor to save his life; if he believed it would have that effect he would be a very foolish man not to take it; but the difficulty would be to convince him that it would have that effect. He was not a bad specimen of a teetotaller himself, and it was now 22 years since he had tasted intoxicating liquor. He had intended to speak of the great social question of Uie Per-

missive Bill; but time would not permit of more than a very few remarks.. He had received a copy of the bill proposed for this Colony ; and he wished it could pass exactly as it stood. It was only right and proper that thecommunity should have a right to say whether they should or should not have public houses. Tn Waipav~a therewere rhree public-houses to 150 inhabitants, w,ho had never been consulted as to whether they desired them or not„ and many ot whom would like to see two or three out of the three abolished. A movement was on foot to get up a temperance hotel there, and part of his. business this evening was to bring the project before them that they might give their assistance. A few days since sixty £2 10s shares had been taken up in one evening, and he had no doubt that Reehabites in other parts of the Province would render equal assistance There was one other branch of the Older which might be established with great advantage —he alluded to the female Tents. If one of these Was opened in the Province, he would say to the ladies present, " Come and join our Order," for the subject of temperance was essentially a woman's question. Any other evil which produced effects similar to those of the drink traffic would be soon hunted from the land. He had read some time a<jo of a wild elephant in India which went from one village to another, killing men, women, and children, and in the course of a week had desttoyed thirty-one people. The natives, having organized a party, pursued the wild animal, and killed it, and in the same way (should we unite to drive the drink traffic from the laud. [Applaiioe ] Sonsc —"A man's a man for a' that" —A lady. Song—" Good-bye at the door " —Mr Gradwell Bong—"Co.rn.in 1 through the Rye"—■ A lady. Recitation—" Oriska" Mr Gradwel I Song—" The Jolly Young Wafer--1)1.-11 " Dr Hitchings Brother Levy, of the Excelsior Teat* said he was sure that nothing but a meeting of the 1.0. R. could have brought together such a gathering as. he had the pleasure ot seeing that evening. The Reehabites were called with truth an independent Order; they were so in common with other friendly societies in rendering a than independent of the ohaiity of his neighbor* when disabled by sickness or accident * but they were also independent in a special manner— independent of the peculiar snares and temptations besetting the path of the drunkard, independent of the wiles and allurements of the publican. Their wives and children were with them to-night, looking much more happy and pleasant than if thev were sitting at home wondering when their husbands would come, and in what state they would arrive. Brother Levy then sung a temperance ditty concerning one Joe Perkins, a reformed drunkard, and the audience joined in the chorus, "Rule Britannia," at the close of each verse. Being encored, he sang ** The Auction " Song—" Erin, the smile and the tear "—A lady. Song—" Far, far upon the sea " Mr Baldwin. The Rev. G. MoHICE then came forward to give a reading from " The Antiquary/' He prefaced it by the temark that if he had not been requested to read this particular piece he would seaicely have chosen it for a Rechahite meeting, as the opinions expressed by the old lady of whom he was about to read were rather at variance with the ideas of the Order. He did not, however, think any harm would he done, as the audience would bear in mind that the old lady in question was somewhat behind the age, and after the expressed opinions of all the eminent physicians of whom they had heard tonight, her individual opinion could not. have much weight. [Mr Morice then read the account of the Antiquary's bargain villi the fishwife. His life-like rendering of the shrill tanes and broad accent of the old woman weie highly applauded, and her eulogy on the virtues of " a dram " was productive of much mirth J Song—" The Cottage by the Sea , '-~ Akdv.