THE RECHABITE ORDER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 277, 13 April 1911, Page 5

THE RECHABITE ORDER.

Mil. CHURCHILL VISITS AJSW ' PLYMOUTH. Mr. \y. U. Churchill, Past High Chief Ruler of the Rechabite Order, who came out to Australia with Mr. Phillipson, High Chief Ruler, to attend the fittietu anniversary of the Australian branch of the Order, arrived here from Wanganul yesterday afternoon, .accompanied, by Bro. W. J. Gaudin/ District Chief Ruler, 1.0. R., N.Z., Central District. On arrival, they were met by Bro. E. Chatterton, secretary of the local Tent. A visit was paid to St. Mary's Church, where the beautiful hatchments were inspected. The party wag then taken in charge by Mr. F. P. Corkiil, and shown through the Recreation Grounds. The officers of the local Tent entertained the visitors to tea at the Hygienic kiosk. Among 1 those present were Messrs. H. J. Okejv MJ?., and G. Tiscb, Mayor of New Ply* mouth. ; AN INTERESTING ADDRESS. There was a fair attendance at tfca n hiteley Hall at a quarter to seven laail night, when Mr. Churchill gave an ift- - teresting address. The Mayor presidei and there were also on the platform Mil! H. J. Okey, M.P., Bro. W. J. Gandia, District Chief Ruler, 1.0. F., Bro. C. H. Weston, District Chief Ranger, A.O.FBro. C. Tunbridge, District Secretary. A.0.F., Bro. H. T. Ainswoith, secretin Loyal Egmont Lodge,,> 1.0.0.F.. MJUw - Bro. B. J. Clarke, Chief Ruler, Unity. . Tent, New Plymouth. ' Mr. Tisch, in introducing the speaker. ■ cordially welcomed him to New Plymouth, and whilst expressing regret at' the shortness of his stay, was pleased * that the citizens of New Plymouth would have the opportunity of hearing him. He felt assured that the hall would have been packed but for the early hour at which the meeting was aeld.

Mr. Churchill gave an address that was most attentively listened to, and much regret was felt that the shortness of tune would not allow him to continue. .. He prefaced his remarks by stating that he was here to carry the good wishes, brotherly feeling and greeting from the Rechabites at Home to those in Australaaia. Before he left Home, his whole programme had been marked out, and up to the present every engagement had been kept to the hour. The Rechabite Order was one of many good sound friendly societies, and had been in the ' forefront practically since its in«eptiotL certainly during the past fifty ye*rs. He would claim that no other society was superior to theirs, but many were inferior. Besides being « strong, sound and solvent society, they were also a thorough-going, out-and-out aggressive total abstinence society. It was the conference of Friendly Societies at Home who had shaped the political aspeot of the Invalidity Bill as coming before the House of Commons at present. Some people considered the State was doing too much, and was interfering with friendly societies, but all wage-earners had to be considered, and although there were 10,000,000 members of the federated friendly societies, there were eight or nine millions of wage-eamerß who were not members/ partly through .their" ewa ' fault, and partly through misfortune. ( The Hon. Lloyd-George, he stated, had decided in frdming this Bill to work ■' through the friendly societies instead of ,* in opposition to them. This Bill allowed for a payment of 6s per week in case* of sickness or accident, partly provided by the worker, partly by the employer , ■ and the State. He considered it was a fine idea, as it would encourage thrift. The friendly societies who took this re- ' [ sponsibility would require to show that they were sound and well managed. This would probably eliminate a number of the "wild cat" species. The Rechabites and another society were the only orders solvent from an actuarial standpoint, and the Rechabites could pay 20s 1 2-3 d for every 20s they had promised to pay. This 1 2-Sd did not seem much, but it represented about £40,000. He then referred to the main principle of the Order, viz., every one who joined must sign a pledge of total abstinence. They had put in a lot of work in the propaganda of the Order, with the result that every year for the past twelve years their membership gains had been 20,000 per annum. They had helped considerably to put the present Government in power during the past three elections, as they had 100,000 voters ' pledged to support progress on temperance matters. In all, they had 535,000 members pledged teetotallers. He urged New Zealand strongly to work among the young people. In New Zealand the children required more careful training against the evils of intemperance than thev did in England, where in the big cities they not only saw but felt and suffered the poverty and wretchedness which came from drunken habits. He was pleased to state that in flngliwl during ten years their juvenile membership had more than doubled, and 70,000 had been transferred into adult lodges. This meant increased strength and solidity, and, moreover, prevented lapses. This was shown by the fact- * that twenty years ago the iapses were ten per cent, from all causes, and now they were only seven per cent. He also showed how total abstinence affected the vital statistics. During the past twenty years the death rate or ' Rechabite lodges had been never more than six and a quarter per 1000, whereas i among the Oddfellows (Manchester ! Unity) it was twelve and a quarter. Both lodgos drew their membership from' the same class of worker, but one was * total abstinence, the other was not, Total abstinence was also conducive to * longevity. A schedule prepared by the "i Board of Education at Home showed that the expectation of life for a male * of 20 years was as follows: Ordinary, . 40 years; for insurance, 41 years; Manchester Unity member, 41.8 years; ' Rechabites, 48.8 years. The total' ah- ' stainers thus had Beven years' more life to look forward to. incidentally, he ?• mentioned that the Board of Education had made it compulsory for all teachers to instruct the children, under a certain defined syllabus, that alcohol was an evil from a physiological point of view, inasmuch as it was bad for the '■ 'ibrain, for the muscles, the heart, and the stomach; also that it was T»dV«)m « the view of mental capacity, moral fibre, ■ * socially, and of the body politic. Then again, in regard to sickness, the avetage per member among the Rechabites was h nine days per year, and among the "i other lodges twelve days. This meant ,i that their 100,000 male workers were " able to perform 300,000 more days' pro- ■ - dnctive work. Temperance, therefore, extended its usefulness by lessening 'i sickness. He was exceedingly plen«e»t that the Xow Zealand Central District ' ,-5 was waking up and starting to work ' among the voung people. In conclusion, i he urged the people to come and join J the Order, as if they did not need the 1 benefits they could help with the social aspects. ;3 Mr. Okey, M.P., proposed a vote <M thanks to the speaker, and regrett d very much the .■>' h'< M Mr. C. H. Weston, or, behalf of the local Foresters,_ seconded the motion, .'i which was carried with Reclamation. A vote of thanks to the <'hnir tenninatcd the meeting. \ f