A VIRILE ASSOCIATION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9116, 16 June 1908, Page 4

A VIRILE ASSOCIATION.

"We are starting, as it were, a new Association," remarked a member of the General Commitee of the Masterton A. and P. Association at its meeting on Saturday afternoon, when a certain matter was under discussion, "and, therefore, we have decided to commence with a clean slate." This member wbs on the Finance Committee, and that Committee recom-

mended that defaulters to the amount of about £4O be struck off the list of membership of the Association. The General Committee unanimously approved of the suggestion, and coincidentally the recommendations of a Select Committee set, up to revise the rules were adopted. One of the new rules or additions, is that new members shall pay their subscription before they exercise any privileges whatever. Already the Association has decided that unless a member's current year subscription has been paid he shall not enjoy the usual Show privileges. This decision has been responsible for several resigna-tions-from short-sighted members, ; ( surely. How can the Association expect to carry on successfully when members-well-intentioned enough, no doubt—delay forwarding their subscriptions fot two, and even three years on end? Yearly "outstandings" soon aggregate a large sum, nnrl thoueh the General Committee..

has had to sacrifice a few members for the Association, in its efforts at financial reform, it is to be congratulated on its firm stand. Other alterations to the rules to be submitted to a general meeting of members on July Ist propose that no purchase of life-membership can be made. Hitherto a donor of £lO was a life member, but in future this honour is to be an honour, conferrable only for services rendered —another forward move. It is proposed also to increase the number of district representatives from thirteen to fifteen, and the number of general committee from twenty-four to thirty. These proposals have been considered necessary , through the recent influx of South Wairarapa members who have expressed a desire to take an active part in the work of the Association. A momentous step was decided upon by the General Committee, on Saturday with a suddenness that was almost awful. They decideJ to inform the Wairarapa P. and A. Society that the Association intended tu run its own Ram Fair in future. It was stated at the meeting that the South Wairarapa Society drew about £35 last year from the Fair, which was conducted almost wholly by members of the Masterton Association. The action seemed somewhat like throwing down the gauntlet to the Carterton Association, as a member pointed cut, Lut nevertheless it went through with a bang, and without, apparently, a pang. The Masterton Association is certainly moving.