Our Stratford Page

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 254, 26 April 1912, Page 3

Our Stratford Page

I Stratford, Thursday. TARANAKI PROVINCIAL SCOTTISH SOCIETY. FIRST ANNUAL MEETING. There was a very large attendance in, the Borough Council-Chambers on' Wednesday evening at the first annual meeting of the Taraanki Provincial Scottish Society. The gathering included a large number of ladies. Mr. W. L. Kennedy, the president, presided. INTERESTING REPORTS. _ The president expressed his gratification upon seeing such a splendid gather- < ing, and touched on various matters' which had occupied the attention of the executive and well-wishers since the society had been formed. The recollection of the first "Burns night" a few.months ago' was a pleasant memory, and from that time, he was pleased to say, ,the society had taken a grip of Scotsmen J wherever its objects had been explained.' The call for members had been largely I responded to. Much hard work had been' done by the executive, including the! ■ drafting of'-r'ules, in which they had had the assistance of a "brither Scot," who gave professional services as a labor of love. Armorial bearings had been de-, : signed. These were as yet without the 1 sanction of the Lyon. King .of Arms, but it was hoped to bring this about. - The design embodied the royal arms of Scot- j | land, and a representation of Mt. Egmont, surmounted by the thistle as a crest, and having a scroll with the motto "Dinna forget.". After, referring to the concert, supper, and dance to be held in Stratford on the night of Empire Day, Mr Kennedy referred to the admittance of lady members to the society at an annuai fee of a shilling, and recorded the fact that the ladies had formed such a powerful organisation under the direction of Mrs. Sangsfcer that the function on May 24 was bound to be a. great success. The president brought) up the matter of founding a Scottish scholarship, open to the children of Scottish descent attending Taranaki primary schools, or, as an alternative, the offering of prizes for the best essay on Scottish history, open to the same pupils. Mr. Kennedy sought also to impress on all members the real necessity for securing a strong membership, and urged each member to add a few more to the j roll. There was also necessity for each I district in which vice-presidents had bqen • appointed to hold their owri''"l'6cai".re-.! unions. The executive did not want the I members merely to join and pay their half-crowns, following this up by waiting for the Next Burns supper or social arranged by the executive or the, ladies, but for each member to do his part, and to remember the motto, "Dinna forget." He emphasised that this was hot. a Stratford Society, but a provincial.,society. Concluding, he endeavored to ! show the members how greatly they: were indebted to Mr. Henderson for his ' untiring energy and splendid work as I secretary. Only those in close touch { with the work could realise the vast 1 amount of hard work that had to be | done in the society's initial stages, or to I what capable hands it had fortunately been entrusted. | Mr. Henderson, tue secretary, and the organiser of the society, briefly touched [on the progress the, society.had. made, and called for even greater enthusiasm, so that every man and woman of Scotj tish descent in Taranaki would become a f t-member. The objects of the society, to j encourage benevolence, education, pro- [ mote Scottish literature, preserve . national customs, and promote music and j social intercourse, were deserving of all support by the members, for with apathetic members no executive could attain success. The proposal to found a I scholarship had been enthusiastically received, and he had no doubt that the movement would succeed. The society's efforts in regard to music had been coni fined to the formation of a pipe band, and the matter would be fully discussed I later. For furthering social intercourse, there was the big social, concert, and dance on May 24, when it was hoped there would be a big gathering from all parts of Taranaki. As for mutual help, Mr. Henderson outlined a scheme for obtaining employment for its members. The president and secretary were thanked for their interesting addresses. SCOTTISH SCHOLARSHIP. Mr. R. McK. Morison moved that the society affirm the principle that a Scottish scholarship be founded at an early date for. the benefit of children of Scotch descent attending the Taranaki primary schools, and that this be a recommendation to the executive. Mr..Morison said ■■ the position would have to be gone intq fully by the executive, who would do their utmost to bring the suggestion to a successful issue, realising that by founding the scholarship they would be securing the interest of the'rising generation of Scotsmen in this country. Mr. W. Hood seconded. "The president said the matter was a big one. The minimum scholarship would be £lO per annum, and to assure £lO a year a fairly large capital sum would have to be invested. But for the first year or two the £lO might well be subscribed by the members at the rate of a shilling each.—The motion was carried. On the motion of Mr. Douglas, it was decided to ask the executive to. i-istitute the- system of mutual help as outlined by the secretary. THE PIPERS. Mr. Anderson moved that the Taranaki Provincial Scottish Society offer to take over from the Taranaki Caledonian Pipe Bund its uniforms, etc., and that the society take steps to form a pipe Imnd under its auspices. He understood tint I-1 • ri ■ w re fourteen full uniforms, Willi but a -mail liability on them, this beinsr held by one of its members. Mr. Angus Mef.eod, a member of the hand, ni'd speaking on its behalf, said tin: member: w re not desirous of changing the name or constitution, but were dccidcdlv against such a proposal, for the band had been formed out of public subscription, and it was not fair to the subscribers to merge the band into any other organisation. But the members were willing at any time and at all times to give the society every assistance. Mr. Henderson said that the society had in its rules decided to form a pipe band, and would form one. Of course, .the most feasible way to do it would be to associate the existing band with the society. Mr. Anderson amended the motion to provide for the formation of a pipe band under the auspices of the society, and empowering the executive to make arrangements in the matter with the Taranaki Caledonian Pipe Band.—This was carried nem. con. MISCELLANY. A suggestion that a social hall for the use of members be provided in StratJ ford was made by Mr. I-I. Cameron, and referred to the executive.

* From Our Resident Reporter. * * ■ * % Broadway North,, next Loan & Mercantile Agency Co. * * ' * *******************************

Mr. McLeod suggested that the sock'ty should endeavor to secure the services of a good dancing master in the district; that is, they should get in touch with a man and obtain employment for Mm. He put the snggestiou in the form of a recommendation to the committee, and it was adopted. Mr. R. McK. Morison ;, suggested,that this was a matter for the. local centres. The meeting placed on record its appreciation of the services of Mr. C. 11. ; . Groker, who had been of the greatest assistance in framing the society's rules. Votes' of thanks to the president and to the press (acknowledged by the' Daily News representative) concluded the busiI ness, after which Piper Angus McLeod gave some bagpipe music. Thjen, handing the pipes to Mr. Douglas for further manipulation, he took the platform and danced the eheauutribhas in capital style. DRUIDS' SOCIAL. j For two or three years past the Stratford Lodge of the United Ancient Order ) of Druids has conducted a series of I socials with conspicuous success. The opening social of the 1912 series was' held on Wednesday evening, but, owing to a combination of untoward circumstances, the attendance was small. It 1 was a wretched night, and many of the members were in camp with the Territorials. But those who did brave the j elements spent a delightful time. An! orchestra of seven instrumentalists, of whom the majority were Druids, played splendid music, and Mrs. Bianchi and Mr. Robertson played for extra dances. Mr. Twohill contributed a song and Mr. Sharroek a step-dance. A good supper] was provided, «nd the floor was good. I These socials .will be held fortnightly, and the orchestra will be a regular fea-1 ture. The instrumentation was as follows: —Mrs. C. Penn (piano), Miss Rogers (piano), Messrs. Rogers and P.enn (violins), O'Leary (flute), H. Burmester (cornet), and W. Everiss (bass). STRATFORD GUN CLUB. CHAMPIONSHIP OF TARANAKI. ! i __ ] The gim championship of Taranaki wasi decided to-day at Stratford, the meeting being conducted by the Stratford] Gun Club, whose management, led by | j Mr. G. D. Hunter, the secretary, left nothing to be desired. Mr: W. P. KirkI wood, the Mayor-elect of Stratford, ) J acted, as referee. The match was for i the best score in 21 birds. Thirty com- i J peted, the entrants hailing from various parts of Taranaki. All but eight retired after the, third round, leaving the follow- { ing in the running: N. Marsh, 0. J. Tuck, ? R. Lin», E. Kirk wood, H. Harrison, L. j Knuekey, and MeKeime. At the end of J the fourth round the positions were: J C. J. Tuck 13, N. Marsh 13, R. Linn 13, ' | H. Harrison 12, McKenzie 12, W. Greavr ' Til, E. Kirkwood 11, L. Knuckey 9. The I \ three leaders had to shoot oil for the j j best in three birds. All missed the first, > I but Tuck got his second and third, and | ! Linn hie second. Tuck therefore won the match and the championship of TaraI naki. He is a resident of Toko, and is j 1 a member of the Stratford Gun Club, as are the men who occupied the second I and third places. The clmmiponship meeting brings the Gun Club's season to a close. „! ! ' / ■ FOOTBALL. I The Stratford Football Club held a useful practice this afternoon, and some fairly good form was ehown, with some bad form intermixed. All ranks will now, if they are wise, get into hard training, for the fixtures commence on the first Thursday jn May. ( , ■ " '-fWJJ'fl* AN EXPLANATION. " It is due to the railway officials at Midhirst and to the guard on the'train on the night that a man was reported to have fallen or jumped from the mail train that an explanation should be made in regard to,the sentence in my paragraph to the effect that "surprise is expressed that the matter was .not reported -from one of the intermediate stations, instead of waiting until the train reached its destination." I am now informed that as soon as the mail train reached Midhirst the guard reported that a passenger had seen a man fall'off the train near the first, bridge .northward of Stratford..About three minutes later the stationmaster and two other railway officials, left On «i jigger with good lights ajuT searched the line right into Stratford borough, the stationinas-, ter, Mr. C. E. Seabright, personally, seeing that the search was a Complete one. They continued the hunt until-about 9.30 p.m., ; but found nothing, and returned home. Then Mr. Seabright advised Stratford that no trace could be found, and suggesting reporting the matter to the police.- This was done. These facts were not ascertainable in the safe quarter fnom which .the information contained in my report of the occurrence was drawn. ELECTION HUMOR. A good story "is going the rounds today which proves' the ready wit of at least one of the ladies who" were working at Wednesday's .poll. This lady was. seeing to it that all the electors on her list came to 'the poll, but at one house was faced with a poser. "I'd very much like to do down and give Mr." a vote," she said, "but I've had erysipelas in the fact, and don't, like going out on such a day." Now the canvasser was not working for Mr. X ■ at all, and she did not see why she should bring down an opponent, so she became most solicitous for the elector's welfare. "If I had had erysipelas in the. face,'" she ?aid kindly, "T would just wrap my face nicely in a shawl and keep warm, and I would not go out for anybody." This seemed good advice, and Mr. X lost a vote. BERNARD'S CRYSTAL PALACE. The incorporation of the' word "crystal" in the name of this fine entertain-, rnent is well conceived, for the picture.? are just about as clear as crystal. Some of our folks who have just "done" the cities tell us that in every way the picture presentation at His Majesty's is equal to the best. That, of course, is | the aim of the management. The present programme gives an effective combination of drama, humor, and nature. There is a complete change of style and subject in the film "Bear hunting on the ' Czar's estate," and alongside this sport the potting of fatted pheasants in (he English preserves must be voted tame. ] The success of the picture suggests that ' a Whangamomona pig hunt would provide a god cinematograph series. "The Judge's Story" is an appealing picture " that holds the attention from first to - last. The "star" picture is "Rob Roy," 1 described as a play that will live for ever, It is decidedly good in all respects,

the acting being superb. The programme i has other pictures, all of a high order ]pf merit, The Elite Orchestra plays in-, cidental music. Matinee on Saturday at 2.30 p.m. On Monday next will he J screened Fergus' Hume's true-,tq-lif e story 1 "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," GENERAL NEWS. >* Despite the wintry weather there was a very fair attendance this afternoon at the garden party in Mr. Rawles' grounds, Opvmake road, arranged by the Primitive Methodist Church Bible class. Tennis and other games, and afternoon tea were the mainstay. One feeling prevalent amongst a very large section' of the crowd on Wednesday night was that Mr. McAllister was a man who could take a, beating—a good loser—and that his opponent was of the same sort of stuff. Mr. McAllister's word of thanks to his workers, his congratulations extended:, to : the Mayorelect, and his assurance that the contest would not prejudice their future relations as councilor and Mayor, drew forth loud cheering. Mr. Kirkwood was a generous victor, and even the extent of his triumph .and . the vociferous plaudits of his supporters, failed to bring a single boasting, ufigentlemanly or unsportsmanlike remark. .. ..'. .■;'.; Pricking the card, or ticking off the .names o! voters, is not always satisfactory. Many a Candidate who, on'the' showing' of his committee, is a "bird'' for a seat, has been defeated, But on Wednesday, shortly after the poll closed, Kirkwood's workers reckoned they had about 490 -votes to 210. That was not very far out, either.- ''