FOR THE WOUNDED.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 November 1915, Page 4

FOR THE WOUNDED.

RAILWAY PATRIOTIC CONCERT j. OVER .180 NETTED. | A number oi the stall' of the ITew Plymouth railway department have gone to the front, and they will probably be joined* by others in the future, but those wlio are remaining' at horns de-ire to play their part as effectively as possfhle. With this object a strong committee, led by .Messrs 8. G. Smith and W. W. Thomson, recently set out to organise a patriotic concert in aid of the Wounded Soldiers' Fund, and the result of theii efforts was a splendid entertainment at the Theatre Royal last night. There was a large audience, including the. lion. .1. A. llanan, Minister for (education), Mr. If, Okey, M,P, and the Mnytu* (Mr. C, il. Burgess), and the entci;t»,unment was highly successful. The receipts amounted to £!)S 10s 7d, and the expenses totalled approximately £l7, leaving over £Bl for the fund.

The progra'mme was a varied one. The New Plymouth Orchestral Union played the opening overture, and later in the, evening gave further excellent items, while the Citizens' Baud played patriotic airs. A descriptive inarch song, "Little Soldiers," by a number of pupils from the West End school, drew well-merited praise, and a song. «eenc, "L'p from Somerset," by the children, was particularly good. A squad of bov« from the Central School gave a splendid exhibition of physical drill, going through a .series of difficult exercises in a manner which reflected great credit on the youngsters. Miss Maude Peart appeared twice and sang charming solos. In each ease the audience insisted upon an encore. Miss I. Scott, 'Miss Laing, Mrs. \\ ilkes, Mr. F. Asher, and Mr. Day, contributed pleasing solos, while variety was lent to the programme by several excellent patriotic recitations bv Captain Allen. .Messrs L. Smith and W. Key infused a wealth of humor into the entertainment, with comic songs, and later on they appeared together in mirth-provoking ' skits, which greatly amused the audience. Mr. 0. H. Buckley (ex-champion cornet soloist of Australasia) contributed a efirifet sol#, which was greatly appreciated; vi&k: Mr. George played a plPusing >iolin. solo. The concert was brought lb a close with the National Anthem,, ding by the performers and the audience. The accompaniments were played ty lliss Beryl Hirst, .Miss Chotig, and Mr.' E. A. Golding, A feature of the entertainment was the beautiful decorations. The dress circle was dressed with ilagfe, whilst the stage presented an attractiva scheme of decoration. The hack seen" represented a train, in tile foreground was a complete signed apparatus, while •the flags and ferns were tastefully arranged to complete the picture. In adi dition to Messrs S. G. Smith and W. W. Thomson, those who carried out the arrangements included Messrs Key, Pratt, MeFarlane, Coutts, 'Glennie, Stubbs, Burroughs, Neill, Donohue, Lindrum, Peddie, Buddy, Connolly, Wakefield, Rich, Anderson, McMnmis, Matthews, Crokcr, and Nisbet.

Before the audience dispersed, Mr. Smith announced that Mrs. A. L. Parker, of Fitzroy, had donated to the committee two sections of land, of a total value of £4OO, and two dressingeases to be disposed of by art union. He expressed the hearty thanks of the committee for the generous donation, which he trusted would result in a further large sum of money being obtained for the benefit of the wounded soldiers.