STRATFORD NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 230, 17 February 1913, Page 3

STRATFORD NEWS.

| (From Our Resident Reporter). STRATFORD A. & P. ASSOCIATION THE ANNUAL MEETING. The annual meeting of the A. & P. Association oil Saturday was attended by about forty members. Air. YV. P. Kirkwood (president) presided. 11l moving the adoption of the annual report (already published in the News) and the balance-sheet, the president said he did not expeet much criticism of tin; report or balance-sheet, judging- by the manner they were received by the general committee. The balance-sheet showed that the Association was now on a sound financial footing. The heavy work of the Association was done. The grounds had been made, and the necessary buildings and pens were there. When they considered the uphill work that had l'uul to be done, it must be admitted that the Association was in a splendid position. Prior to the inception of this Assciation, two very strong A. & I>. Associations had been in existence in Taranaki for a great many years, and for the Stratford Association to come in and hold its own as it had done was rcallv fln object lesson in what could be done' in this direction. The balance- j sheet showed a profit of £415 9s, but j the profit was really greater, for although they had been supposed to fiiance the erection of the members' stand, it had been necessary to to take £2OO from the general account. Eventually this money would be refunded to the general account from the election of further life members (whose numbers were limited to lifty). He had no doubt that the numbers required would be secured. The net return of £315 las from the show must be considered as very satisfactory, seeing that thev had one very wet day. The number of new members was increasing very satisfactorily, and they were now getting close to the "1000 mark' , set some time ago. Although some mem- I bers had resigned, owing to their leavir.<* the district, new members wore coming in fast, and he did not think it too optimistic to express the belief that in three years from now they would have have 1500 members. Membership was the (backbone of the Association, and he ! hoped that no opportunity would be I missed by any member of securing new ! members. The president continued that j there had been 30 meetings of the executive during the year, and the committeemen bad given a great deal of time to the affairs of the Association. The executive had not lost sight of the fart that the Association was not formed merely for the purpose of holding an annual show, and had from time to time brought forward projects for the benefit of agriculture generally. He hoped that< policy would continue. In conclusion,' i the president thanked members, the ex- 1 j ecutive and the general committee for I their unfailing courtesy to him as presi- j | dent and chairman, and for the great j energy that they had put into the ) ! Association, enabling it to he a success. He realised, as his predecessor bad re- J alised. that the whole of the work of j the Association could not devolve on > I the president alone, but must be done j by the members, and the general and; executive committees. It was only by j their united action that the Association | had been brought into its proud position i I to-day. ! Mr. E. Jackson seconded. I

In answer to Mr. Jackson, ilio pros!- 1 dent said there wore nearly two lum- I dred members' subscriptions si ill outstanding. Recently the secretary had collected about £IOO of these subscriptions. There were few outstanding entry fe< :. and these had not been ineluded in the balance-sheet. In answer to Mr. R. McK. Morison. tlie president said the items '"'plant and general £200."' included various lnisecllcaneous articles used in connection with the j show. Mr. A. Coleman suggested that in future (he balance-sheet should show separate profit, and loss accounts from j the annual show and the gymkhana. i He noticed that ill the profit and loss ] account there were items not connected at all with the show or the gymkana. such as rents, etc. The president said that these figures : could be shown without difficulty. Tt 1 was really a matter for the executive to decide. ELECTION 1 OE Mr. -T. D. Ilealv was elected president. Messr.-. Kirkwoocl and H. "Masters declined nomination, the former for business reasons and lack of time. Mr. HenlvV proposer and several supporters referred to him as a splendid worker on the executive, and as the man who originated the idea of forming the Association. Mr. TTcaly. reiurnin!r thanks, said he considered his election as president of this progressive association was indeed a great honor. He trusted the committee and the members would <rive him that, loyal support which had been accorded to Ins predecessors. "Messrs. Dingle and Kil l: wood, whose manner of parrying out the ■ resident's duties had set a very high standard for the incoming president to attain. Other officers were eler-t.ed:--Vice-presidents. the Mayor of StratfonL the member for the district (M" -T. H. Hind.

and the chairmen of (he '"ralford and AYhnngamoinona eonnty c j - 'ils (Messrs \V. Hathaway and A. Me: "th. respectively) : general committee. "Messrs. K. .lack- -i. C. .T.ickson. A. Slev R. Mc7\. Mori-in. S. M. Porritt. !! .lirle. -T. I'rake. K. Kelleher. .7. V,. ' mis, 7i. Musters. .7. Linn. A. h- 15- 'k Malono. E. lirocklcbank. AV Kirkwood, J. Sholter. .7. T. Belcher. P. ' !!. Mellow, lv Tichhon. J. thicker. .7. < Ikin. Mr. Thicker suggested t.l: •' the train from the north on sh'.w da.' : should be stopped at the grounds. The people in the country, inclndin™ manv member-, were ii]i in arms about it. Were it possible to detrain there, many farmers would be prepared to brim; their families and make a picnic of it. but this was impossible when tlicv had to travel in

I to town, and Ink'' eabs or cars hack to { the ni'oinid, carrvinu' all their 1 nfjp;siiro and backets. ITe knew lie was "ni» against, a sua jr." but. the Association nuist con.-idcr the country people as well as a few business people in (lie town. The president, in seconding pro forma, said the executive had given tlie matter full consideration. A siding would he retinired. anil this would eost, C2OO. Tlie time would eome. no doubt ver\ soon, when trains would have to he stopped there not only for passengers but also to detrain stock, ete. Mr. ITneker said that the trains stopped at tin' grounds for football ma telle-. This wa« denied. Mr. TTneker tlu-n said picnickers were allowed to detrain at the East End beach. Xcw Plnnonth. without a siding. Mr. Linn contended there was a siding there. The matter will go to the executive for consideration. Mr. Peterson moved that it be a recommendation to the general committee that the cattle pens he painted or tarred. In his opinion it was wasteful to leave tl'.em as at present. —Carried.

COMMITTEE MEETING. I ! At a genera! romiiiiitw mwl iiij subsequently, the following w.-re adilcil to the committee: H. K. Abraham. K. A. Osmond, J. StewiM'i, A. D.ivid. \V. 11. 11. Yount;. W. .1. Il.:t t'ihl\ n. Sinister. I l '. E. Dobson, T. Kirkwood, (I. S. llobbs, H. Good, 11. T. Twiss. E. Walter, B. Orr. W. Pettigrew, L. 11 ann, N. Sanson, J. ChristofTel, ]un. The president and Messrs. R. Masters, E. Jackson, W. P. Kirkwood, and R. Dingle were elected to make preliminary arrangements for the gymkhana.

STRAY PARAGRAPHS ill'. Aire Henderson, accountant with I Mr. Nowton King, at Stratford, for a few years past, and previously ledger-keeper, but more widely known as organiser and secretary of the Taranaki Provincial Scottish Society, has resigned his position here to take up the position of North Island representative of the "New Zealand Scott" journal, which made its successful appearance during the year in the interests of Scotsmen in New Zealand. All loyal Scots will be glad that Mr. Henderson lias been given this important work, but those in Taranaki -will regret in a measure, for it means his removal to Wellington and his retiring from the secretaryship of the Taranaki Scottisli Society. He has been a great enthusiast and the leader of the movcmovent, and in every Scottish gathering held under the auspices of the society have been reflected his own high ideals. Mr. Henderson leaves Mr. King's staff in about ii month's time.

' I have it on good authority that instructions have been given not to proceed with the additions to the Stratford Post Office, except to provide additional private letter-boxes. This will cause a flutter in local circles, and the Chamber of Commerce will probably get busy, for the present office is not at all commensurate with the needs of town and district. "Please send me a dinner-set as advertised in Daily News this morning."Telephone message received by Messrs. J. Masters & Son yesterday from an Inglewood client. They're great value, too. It may be mentioned at the same time | that the low prices quoted by this firm for groceries have brought many customers from the hundreds of Daily News readers in Central Taranaki.

BERNARD'S PICTURES-TO-NIGHT. Tin 1 now programme for presentation to-night includes a big Taranaki topical film, taken by the English Empire Films Company recently. Not, many of us are acquainted with modern cheese-making methods, and here is an opportunity of seeing the whole operation completed, right up to the shipping of the cheese to the great markets of the world, whence returns the cash or the merchandise which helps to keep New Zealand as an appreciable spot on the map. This film in itself should be a big draw, but it is not alone. There are three fine dramas. The first is the dramatisation of the fine old poem. "Curfew shall not ring to-night." Recall the lines of tho poem, and vou will sec the immense possibilities for a great picture. "St. George and the Dragon" is another exceptionally fine film." In it we are to bn treated In a Milano masterpiece. It is a gorgeous picture, wonderfully spectacular, being in fact quite a stupendous production. Several hundred performers fake part, and their costuming is a grand spectacle. The whole of the incident of this wellknown legend, including the actual killing of the dragon, are faithfully depicted, and the doughty deeds of England's patron saint lose nothing in the present film. Li "lit. drama is represented by. a pleasing Edison subject. '■The Little Artist of (lie Market," 'showing how an orphan boy ruse from obscurity and neglect into fjiinc and fortune. Another inteiesting film shows work in a I : nited States arsenal. and "Views of Livoran" are capitally shown. Then there is the overinterest in<r Gaumont Graphic and a series of fine comics.