SCOTTISH SOCIETY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIII, Issue 1, 27 April 1912, Page 5

SCOTTISH SOCIETY.

INTERESTING REPORTS. Following arc copies of reports lead at the annual meeting of the Scottish Society:— President! Ladies'and Gentlement,—lt gives mo great pleasure tq preside at tins, the first annual meeting of the iaranaki Provincial Scottish _ Society. it was necessary to have this meeting a this stage in order to get the Society put on a proper, footing. I am pleased to see that so many have responded to the notice, though it is not to be expected that thoso who live a long c.u>tance from Stratford could possibly be able to.attend. , „ . , The short time since the Society was formed has fully proved that its existence was justified, and is filling a long-felt i want among Scotsmen m Taranaki, though necessarily it is needed to go slow at first; keeping m view/ the objects contemplated—viz., social intercourse',• .education, benevolence, etc. „ . , , r The- recollection of the, last, ami first, IRp’ns, night, has remained as a. pleasant .memory to all who were privileged. toi present, and as an outcome tl|Qi Society has now, I am pleased to say, takj&n, a 'of whenpv.ejr its jainxs and: objects ■ hayii bhen explained, the response made to the'appeal for membership has been warmly responded to, though such a short 'time since circulars were sent out. There has been much hard work done bv.,your,.executive.-to get it over the iniiW stage. Rules have had to be formulated, and will be submitted to you tonight for your approval, l ie Society will ,he registered under the Incorporated Societies Act, 1908. ihe legal work pertaining thereto is being done • as a labour or love by an enthusiastic: “brither Scot. Jins step was deemed necessary by your executive in,.order that the Society, might have a, .proper; legal status. ‘ ; . Armorial bearings have been demgned, and sf block engraved for use of the Society, on its cards'- and stationery. Of course, these arms are as yet ,without tiie sanction of the Lyon King 01 Amis, but wu trust that the Society will be able financially to have this attended to in the future, so that their right cannot be disputed. The design, as you sec, embodies the. Royal Anns of Scotland, and on a chief a representation of Mount Eginont, indicative of our Taranaki Society, tho whole surmounted by a crest—v’z., a thistle flowered, and motto, “Dmna forget, underneath. As you Ipok at it you will call to mind tho land of your ancestors, and that we are 1 brithei.s all.” A statement will be submitter, to you showing the position of our membership up to the present. A strong committee has been set up to make all the necessary arrangement for the Scottish concert and ball to be held here on the 24th May ; (Empire night). Yom* executive have decided to admit ladies to membership at the nominal fee of Is, and as a result I am very pleased to sec that a strong ladies’ committee, under the able leadership of Mrs. Geo. Sangstor, has so enthusiastically taken the matter 0. ' the concert up, and I am sure there is no doubt now of its being a great success. ‘ ■ , , A suggestion has been made, a no on which I should like to have an expressiori of opinion from you—viz., the advisability of having a Taranaki Scottish Scholarship founded at an early date for the benefit of children ox Scottish'descent who are attending fjhe schools of Taranaki. Also, an alternate proposal as a stepp; ng-styne to a.schol- • arship, that a prize or prizes be given for the best essay on Scottish history, open to the same pupils. A handy text book for all children is one by Mrs. Oliphant—viz., a Children’s History of Scotland, Is 6d, published by Fisher TJnwin. I desire to take this opportunity to urge on all inembers the necessity of realising tho responsibility of securing a strong membership. If each member would strive to get a few to join there is little doubt but every Scotsman in Taranaki would become a member. There is another point that must nm be overlooked, and which was indicated by the secretary on Burns night in outlining the aims and objects of the Society, and that is the absolute necessity for each district where a vicepresident has been appointed, to strive r- to get local gatherings so that all • members may be, kept in touch with each other, and so get enthused that as a result the Society shall justify, indeed, its existence." We do not want you merely to pay your 2s 6d and sit down waiting for the next big social or Burns night, worked up by the executive and ladies, but we want yon to do your part from to-night: Rememboi i ,the motto: “Dinna forget.” This is not a Stratford Society, but provincial. In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity of saying how much I and the Society are indebted to the untiring energy of our worthy secretary, Mr. Henderson, for the splendid work he has done, and is doing. No one but those who are directly in touch with him realises what an amount of work the initial stages of this Society has caused/ and in what

capable hands if lias the good fortune to be entrusted to. I am sure, ladies and gentlemen, that when the time comes we will remember the motto. Secretary: Ladles and Gentlemen.—As you are prooahly all aware, tno formation ox tins Society took place at a Burns supper held in tins town on 25th January last, At that function tiie' necessary executive was xormed to go on witu. cue project, and «o have called tins meeting in order to report to you what we have already done to organise tno Society on a good sound footing, and to confer with you as to future developments. Since tno 25th January wo have had several meetings of tlie committee, and 1 shall here detail as orielly us poss.ble tne results of our labours— Circulars have been sent all round Taranaki, putting bexore the notice Ui. the Scotch residents a snort account ci tne objects of the Society. We also inserted in the Press of tne province a notice inviting those interested to join tne Society. Our appeal, I am pleased to say, has met with a generous response, and all Scotchmen nave evinced an enthusiasm waicii is indeed very gratifying. However, 1 may say that u e look forward to more enthusiasm, and that of a practical kind. Our aim is to have every man and woman of Scotch birth or descent in Taranaki a member of this Society. I would ask all intending members to send their names into tne Secretary without delay, as tiie list of original members ■ closes on Ist June.

Tne objects' of the Society arc—benevolence, education, literature, national customs, music, and social intercourse—all good objects, ladies and gentlemen, and well worthy of your assistance. It will, of course, take us some time to put all our objects into effect, but the responsibility of the whole concern lies with the members, be the executive ever so good, nothing can bo attained witli an apathetic membership. The only objects wo have yet had time to consider very seriously have been education, music and social intercourse.

In the matter of educational assistance, tiic feeling of the executive, and also of all the members with whom J. have discussed the matter, is that a scholarship should bo set up as soon as possible, and wc intend to have a discussion on this matter to-night. To start a scholarship a fairly large capital sum is required, as only the interest derived from such sum must go to the cost of the scholarship.- 1 do not anticipate any serious obstacles in tho way of attaining this object, as a great deal of enthusiasm has made itself apparent. A proposal has also been made by some- members, that if the funds of the Society warrant the step a money prize shall be offered to school children’’for the best essay on some Scottish subject to be decided on. Our efforts in regard to mu sift, have been confined to the formation 'of :

pipe band in connection with this Society, and we are in communication with some of the members of the old Taranaki Pipe Band on this matter. I issued a special invitation to some of the members of that body to attend our meeting to-night, so as to _ have the benefit of their valuable advice, i trust our efforts will, be crowned with success, and that we shall have a good strong band going very soon. In the way of furthering social intercourse, a Scottish gathering is to 'he held in the Town Hall here on the ,evening of the 24th May. It is to take uio - form of a social concert and dance—tickets, gentlemen ss, ladies 2s 6d—and we trust that all the members of the Society will honour us with their attendance in order to make the function as great a success as possible. A Ladies’ Committee has been formed to assist in the arrangements for thp; gathering, and as they are all very enthusiastic, success is already assured. Tickets can be obtained at this meeting. A great deal of mutual help, may be done oy this Society, and I would suggest that we help our members to obtain employment, should they at any time be out of work; and the following illustration will explain how this idea can be carried out. Say one of our members in Inglewood is out of work, he at once communicates with the Society’s vice-president in that district, who would pass on his name to the secretary, and he would then circularise all the vice-presidents in tho province) and no doubt some employment would bo found. Of course, the applicant could apply direct to the secretary. Not only would this scheme be of benefit to the worker, but in an equal measure to members who arc employers, as they could advise the executive when they were in need of men, and possibly they could be supplied with a good man, who is a member of the Society. I hope you will discuss this matter among others to-night, and that you will give us your assistance in making the Society a real live force in this province, and I would also impress on you that this Society is provincial, add not for any particular part of Taranaki.