OAMARU CALEDONIAN SOCIETY.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 15 October 1880, Page 2

OAMARU CALEDONIAN SOCIETY.

The annual meeting of members of the Oamaru Caledonian Society was held last evening, at the Criterion Hotel. The chair was occupied by Mr. D. Sutherland, President, and there were about twenty members present. r

Tiie minutes o! the last annual meeting having .been read and confirmed, The Secretary read the following report : In presenting their eleventh annual report, the directors of the Caledonian Society of Oamaru have every reason to he satisfied with the results of the year just ended. As usual, the jSfevv Year's gathering was held on the grounds of the North Otago Agricultural and.Pastoral Association, and the attendance of the public was larger than on any previous occasion. The entries were good, and the different events keenly contested. Your directors are of opinion that the gathering is one growing in popularity, and fully recognise the fact that, if characterised by good management, the public will not fail to patronise the game?, thus aJEbrd-. ing pleasure to themselves and satisfaction to the members qf the Society. Although there was sqch a, attendance at the gathering, everything passed off' without a hitch, and the utmost good feeling prevailed. For. this the thanks of your directors are due to all enoaged in the management of the games and to 1;lie public for the universal good feeling displayed. Instead of holding the supper and ball on the 2nd of January, as was the practice in former years, it was decided to hold a ball on the 26th of January, Burns' anniversary. Your directors have great pleasure in stating that the ball was a complete success. The thanks of the' Society are specially, due to. Mr. Jolin M'Lean, of Redcastle,' for the able and eloquent address which he delivered on tfyat occasion, and which was so favorably noticed by the Press throughout New Zealand, ' Although the Society started the yea? in debt, your directors have great pleasure in stating that all liabilities have been met, and a small surplus is in liand wherewith to begin the year ISSO-81. The number of members has been doubled, there bei,n,g navy nearly 200 on the roll; ancl the, success of the' Society has be : efl v-eny marked, notwithstanding the depression which has prevailed in the town during the past year. _ Your directors are impressed with the attention which the members of the various committees displayed in the carrying oi\t. Qf the games, and it must be a sov\roe qf gratification to those gentlemen to, know tha,t their IaIjQVS aye appreciated. The thanks, of Society are certainly due to the President, Mr. Duncan Sutherland, It is mainly owing to his energy anc\ enthusiasm, combined with his manliness and unflinching integrity, that the Caledonian Society has: aohieved such a season of prosperity.

One of the objects of the Society is toafford relief to suffering humanity. Keeping this in view, and finding that the funds would not permit of any further drain, it. was decided by the directors* to hold a Caledonian and to divide the prqceetjs equally between the Hospital and Benevolent Sooiety. The undertaking reoeived the hearty support of the public, and the result achieved was beyond expectation, The receipts amounted to LB3, and after all expenses had been be-, ducted, L 63 was divided between tl\e institutions. Had the liall l}aes Im'gar, considerably move have been received. The thanks af the Society are hereby heartily accorded t<s ail wh<? assisted at the entertainment.

The following recommendations to the incoming directors were carried at a meeting held on the 12th inst. : 1. That steps b,a taken for the purcha.se of a sui table piece of ground for holding tl;e annual games. 2: That a scholarship of pounds be established, to. be called the Oamaru Caledonian Scholarship. The Hon. Treasurer read the annual balance sheet, sho,wifig that the total receipts during the year amounted to ;L5.57 9a, of which 1486 a 17s was far the privileges?, &c., connected with the games, and L22112s was for members' subscriptions, &c. The total expenditure waS L 547 7s lOd. Thus there was a balance of L4O Is 2d with which to begin, the year. The Treasurer (Mr. Fleming) mentioned that there were a few sums ofltr standing, so that the balance to begin the year with wouM be a iittle over the sum mentioned ill, the bivlanoe sheet. ' " :

' Qn the motion of Mr. Martin, seconded by Mr. D. Kennedy, the report and balance sheet were adopted. The Chairman, in intimating that the time had arrived for the election of officebearers, expressed his gratification at the success of the year, and the thanks of the directors to all who had assisted in wording out so satisfactory a ressult, Mr. H. Aitkon, proposing a hearty vote of thanks to the Hon. Secretary and Hon. Treasurer (Messrs. R. L. Rule and N". Fleming), said the Society ganld nat do less than place qn record its apprecia-= tion af the manner in which their work had been performed. The success of the Society, was, niainlv attributable to the manner in which its executive officers had oarried oui their funofions.' They'xnighfc be good - direotors, but without a good Secretary and Treasurer to lead them, the Society could not be a success. : Mr.' Martin seconded the motion, and bore out what Mr. Aitken had said with ! regard to the labors of the Secretary and Treasurer.' \ The motion was carried. Messrs. Fleming and Rule briefly ach kupwledged the v compliment, quel ex-

pressed the pleasure it afforded them to do anything to further the interests of the Society; The following gentlemen were elected as directors, with power to add to their number :—Messrs. T>. Sutherland, W. Sutherland, E. 0. Smith, John M'Lean, T. Hall, D. Borrie, C. Tood, T. Henderson, R. Stalker, W. Murcott, W. Cruickshank, J. Martin, J. Sinclair, Wm. M'lntosh, H. Aitken, J, Mainland, R. Peattie, ST. Fleming, J. W. Humphrey, W. Newton, R. Wilson, R. L. Rule, D. Kennedy, T. Kennedy, D. Miller, W. Bee, J. Bee, L. Morton, A. Smillie, G. R. Taylor, J. Liddell, H. B. Hook, G. H. Gordon, J. Locke, and R. C. Liudsay. , . The Chairman, according to notice,-then moved that rule 6 should be altered to read as follows That the directors shall appoint immediately after their election from their number a Chief, two Chieftains, Honorary Treasurer, and Honorary Secretary." After a short discussion, the motion was allowed to lapse. The meeting terminated with a vote of thanks to the Chairman.

A meeting of the newly-elected directors was held immediately afterwards, Mr. D. Sutherland being in the chair. Mr. Fleming, in proposing that Mr. Duncan Sutherland be re-elected President, spoke of the energy, zeal, and ability displayed by that gentleman in the discharge of the duties of the office during the past two years, and said that Mr. Sutherland posseissed to an eminent degree all the qualifications to fit him for the position of President of a Caledonian Society. Mr. M'lntosh seconded the motion, which was carried amidst applause.' Mr. Sutherland thanked the meeting for having elected him, and said that his fellow citizens could not bestow upon him a greater honor or one that he more highly prized than that of selecting him as President of the Caledonion Society. He could assure them that he would, as heretofore, do all in his power to further the interests of the Society, which had , the largest measure of his sympathy. The following office-bearers were then elected :—Yice-President's, Messrs. D. Miller and T. Kennedy ; Hon. Treasurer, Mr, IST. Fleming (re-elected); Hon. Sec- | retary, Mr. R. L. Rule (re-elected) ; Auditors, Messrs. J. Laaka and J. Martin.

It was resolved, That, seeing Captain Morton has reported to the directors that the A,rtillery Band is defunct, ho be requested to hand over the musical instruments to Messrs. Sinclair and M'lntosh."

It was decided that the meetings of the directors should be held in the Criterion Hotel, and the meeting closed.