EIRE BRIGADE DINNER.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 261, 2 October 1875, Page 2

EIRE BRIGADE DINNER.

The annual Fire Brigade dinner was held at the Masonic Hall L»t night, when about eighty were p^ent At seven o'clock the members of the central brigade met at the engine hou«e, and, accompanied by the Artillery Band, march d down to the Port where they were joined by the auxiliary Irigade, and a torch ight procession was I arr«ngid, which bad an exceedingly pretty effect as the whole force returned to town along t> c winding U&vea road, the light from the torches flashing upon the brass helmets and being reflected from the water, the tide at the time being at aboot half flood. Having promenaded the town, the procession baited finally at the Masonic Hall, and at half-past eight ihe members of the brigades in theie red I

7 ■"•v ' . 7'->7- 77: '"',;"•' 7 uaifa&as and;* nstnber ot visitors in the more •M-mh^a' conventional blapk costs eat down to one of the best public .dinners we h<va seen in Nelson, provided hy Mc Tregea, of the pomiawcial Hotel/ Tbe chair was occupied ,by Mr Bxrnicoat, * the DeoutySi»pCTi?tecdet.t,aQ4the^icaieiti;irby Mr J.. Fi Dod&n. The"%TC6Uent dinner having been disposed of, the more convivial part of the meeting commenced, the chairman proposing the usual loyal toa-ts, that of "the Queen" being mot heartily responded to. the whole of thoso assembled singing the National 7a othain >«/witfi: one conseat," Mr oakey accompany itjg On th£ piano:--The Vics-Chaibkak then proposed "« The Army, Navy, and Volunteers," which was .responds*! _t« by ( 'apratu Mabsham,, wbo said that it waw just twelve mon.t>*e since he bad assunaetl the. command of the^Vnluateers-'and he 'wished" to r tako the opportunity of returning thanks for the kin-lhessaudco he and . those under his command had invariably met with irom the whole con_ajant.y.7 *• .Under such circumsrances it wainotto be wondered at that the Vounteeca of Nelioa wera in ao efficient a state. .- ■. - c - , : -> ■% - The Viea-CHAiBMAs then proposed the .toast of the Superintendent and Proyinchl < ouncil. Jt wna true thac their d join had beeu pronounced, and that . they weraUbout. to die, but he. believe 1 thst in Nelaon at least they, would diV honorably, and when their last moment arrived he should like to fee the funeral jites administered decent'y. and respectably— say in the shape of a public' dinner, at , which' the servifiea they had rendered in their time might be fully recognised. ' _ The toast Was drunk with all the honors, intense amusement being created by the whole assemblage rising ai one man and sinking the good old song and chorus— which under existing circumstances was peculiarly appropriate-V A uid Lang Syne." Mr Sharp, M.P.C, returned thanks, and fk£ d'-ing co took occasion to refer to the g3n,tlcmanly and courteous manner iv whic V the meetings of the. CouncU had „bgea presided over by Mr, Barnicoat, the Speaker. He believed thac Ne'son had reason to be proud ot tbe minner in which th? de iter&ti >na of the Council had been conducted, which formed a sfcotig contrast tb the bear-ttardea scenes^ which had been witnessed in the Council 'Chambers, in some of the other provinces. The Chairman then proposed the "* Nels n Volunteer Mre Brigades. The loyal toasts he had previously given had had reference to the noble aud the gr at, and be now came to the «■• Nelson Fire Brigades." wh'cb, although ( in another sense prh&ps, were also noble and great. When he waa asked .60 take the chair it the dinner he had regarded it as his duty to do so as being tbe representative ot I the Superintendent, but hid he looked upon i it merely as a duty he might have evaded ii, I but he had accepted the position more as an j honor than as a duty. In Fn^lishraen, aa a rule, there was a deal- of public spirit which led them to give up much of their time to I public maters, but to be a member of a Fire ; Brigade such as that of Neison necessitated j more than a sacrifice of time; it required j courage, »n aptitude of resources, and othtsr qualities which wera lookei for in the soldier. AH.thoe the members of the- fire Brigade possessed in an eminent degree. There was , a great and durable building in England which was crowded with monuments erected to the memory of great men In one pare of tbat building there war to be fount a ntme' without n monument, but there were the words "If you search for his monument look around.' 1 be might say thesameoffibefteiaoo Fire Brigade if a monument to them ' was required it was only necessary to look around and see the town in its present condition, and to remember that bat for ehe Brigade the hemes they saw might hate been burnt down time after, time. He had more than once had occasion when visiting the town toadm : re tha promptitude they displayed in turning out when the bell rung, and tbeir activity, discipline, and courage when at woik. Be conclude! by proposing the health of the Nelson Fire Brigades. The toast was drunk with all the honors, to the tune of *« Ring the bell* Watchman." , Captain Lightfoot . des'red to retnrn his 1 sincere thanks for the flattering manner ia which tbe toast hud been propose 1 and the enthusiasm with which it had be<n responded to. To meet at a dinner ihis year was an unexpected pleasure to ihem. as the money at their command w«s fully required for providing additional appiances in order to increase the usefulness ofthe Brigade, but the public bad generously stepped in and supplied the necessary funds, s*» that the attnud dinner should rot be allowed to lapse. He wished to sny how fully this was appreciated by the members of the Brig de, and could safely assert that the citizens might always rely upon thtir services bting given cheerfully and reidily. Ctrtatn Garrabd proposed "The Mayor ! and City Councillors." They had arduous I duties to perform and did ""them well, and he j believed it would be difficult to better those I at present in ofiice. No member of the Council being present the toast was not responded to. Mr Hunter Bhown proposed " The Insurance Companies," and said that he was glad to find thtt year by year they lyere displaying greater liberality towards the Bigade. He. hope t that their liberality would still fun her increase, and so stimulate the public on their part to render the utmost assistance in their power to so useful a body of men. Mr George Hodgson responded on -behalf of the Liverpool and London; Mr Edwards for tbe Sonth British; and Mr Scaifb for the Imperial and Standard. Mr Akersten proposed "The City and Trade of Nelson " He referred to the habit of calling tbe people of this province sleepy and wanting in energy, and in answer to this would remind the detractors of Nelson that she had been the first to raise coal and gold from the earth; the first to start a newspaper; the first to have a wa'er service. Rich in mineral resources, with a beautifully Sh; ltered Bay and magnificent cli-i ate, ('* -Amen" from a ship captain who -was present.) with abundance of timber well adapted for ship building purposes especially, and with a rise and fall of ti<*e r nderiqg the harbor the best fitted of all in New Zealand for a shipbuilding and repairing trade, the day must , tome whea Nelson would form one of tiie 9 e-lfchiest and most prosperous districts in tbe olony. Mr H. D. Jackson responded, referring to the improvement in the state of affairs th it had taken place within the last two years, and expressing the hope and the belief .that a still more prosperous time waa at hand. Mr Flahkr-Y proposed "The L»<"'e3," and Mr Tbueman returned thank?. Mr Cooksst proposed 'The.' Press," acknowledging the assistance that had -invariably been rendered to the Brigade by the local newspapers. He aho desired ree tgntse the obligations under which the Brigade lay to Messrs Dodson an I Jackson for the trouble tbey had tak< n .in raising the funds for providing the dinner at which they bad met that evening, and to the public for the li eral manner in which they had responded to the app aj. To Messrs Darby and ,Parmenter also the Brigade was deeply indebted for baying pot themselves to' the inconvenience some few months back of collecting subscriptions for the purpose of providing proper sppliam es for the Brigade. Mr B_.undei.i_ responded for the Press. Thia closed the list of toasts, but thepirty did not break up until after midnight, a most pleasant eveniog having been spent by all who were reseat. I