ARATAPU BAND OF HOPE.

Wairoa Bell, Volume V, Issue 192, 7 April 1893, Page 2

ARATAPU BAND OF HOPE.

The annual meeting of the above Society was held in the Aratapu Hall on Tuesday ©Tewing. There was & large attendance of

the public, insomuch that the Hall was well filled. The chair was occupied by the President of the Society’, who, in his opening remarks stated the drink bill of New South Wales for 1892 to have been £4,775,359 or a trifle over £4 per head for every man, woman and child in that colony. In ten years the people of N. S. Wales had swallowed £50,000,000 of liquors, an amount equal to the cost of all their railways. The Sydenham and Roslyn Licensing cases and the mission of Rev. L. M, Isitt were also referred to. Two of Sankey’’s melodies were sung during the evening and the following programme was gone through : —Songs. Mr C. Hay’les, ‘ A Boy’s Best Friend is His Mother’ ; Mr Sowter, ‘ He Wipes the Tear from every Eye’; Mr Webber, ‘The Farmer’s Boy ’ and an encore ; Duett, Misses Anderson, ‘Oh 1 I’m Blind ’; Piano duett, Messrs T. Campbell and A. Webb; Dialogue, blasters Game and Wordsworth. These two very young lads also gave a recitation each, and their performances added very much to the pleasure of the evening; Recitation, Mr G. Elliott; a recitation by Mabel Ashby, a very small girl, was good enough for a much older person. The Secretary, Mr A. Sowter, in giving his report referred to the difficulty which had been met in sustaining the programmes and made an appeal to parents for assistance. The Treasurer’s report, read by Mr T. Nield, showed a good balance in hand although only one collection had been made during the year. The accompaniments were played by’ Messrs T. Campbell. A. Webb and P. Nield. At the close of the public meeting the members of the Society’ were asked to remain behind to elect the officers for the coming year. The following were elected : —President, J. Stallworthy ; Vice-presidents Messrs T. Webb, J.P., and T. Nield ; Secretary, Mr A. Sowter ; Assistant Secretary, Miss L. Day’ ; Treasurer, Mr Nield; Committee, Mesdames Wordsworth, Day, Webb, Stall worthy and Mr Wordsworth.