INAUGURATION OF LODGE "TOTARA" A.0.D.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1391, 30 May 1883, Page 2

INAUGURATION OF LODGE "TOTARA" A.O.D.

The inauguration of the above lodge in Carterton took place on Monday evening in the Public Hall, under the supervision of .Bro, W. H, Bishop P.D.P., and Bro. G. P. Bates 1). P., and the following brethren of. the Stonehenge Lodge, Masterton:—Bros. Quick, CorbetVi Hathaway, : Bradford, Dairymple, Kibblewhite,/Hatch, Cullen, Blinkhorne, and Kaisenberg, The lodge was opened "-with the -initiation of 40 brethren,rthe foljowlng biing the firrt'' officers' elected':—Bro,' G.', M, Gardener'l.D,j Bro, C. H. CJiles Y.A.D,jßro.DiNichol ; Hon..Seo.j Bros. Levick and, Hunter, A.D.8.-; Bros, 0, Gardener and Mercer, V.A.8.; Bro. Barnard 1.G.; Bro. Foster 0.G. ; Bro, Pearce M.3.; Bros.

GrM/Gardener, Giles,; and T. Watson, ' Trusteeajßrp. Bey, Medical. Officer. • After the formal opening of the Lodge \ and installation of officers, the meeting ' was 'adjourned: until Monday evening r next at the Foresters' Hall,,where all s future meetings will take place. All \ who. had been present, with several c friends about the township, then sat ) down to a capital spread at Giles' ' Marquis of Normanby Hotel, turned, ' out in the best style of this well-known J house, to which full justice was done. ( the chair,' was occupied by'- Bro, J Gardener, : A,D. of, the rew Lodge, \ supported by the D.P, and P.D.P., the : vice chair being filled by Bro. Giles. The usual loyal toasts, Her Majesty's representative in this colony and the.' powers that legislate, for us were duly ' honored, followed by the Army, Navy, and Volunteers, the compliment being ! acknowledged on behalf of the latter body by Captain Bennett and Sergfc. ' Dalrymple. . The latter, the Secretary \ of the Stonehenge Lodge, Masturton, ; then proposed the Grand Lodge and : Board of Directors, taking, the opportunity to refer to the interest that Bro. ' Bishop had taken in Friendly Societies for the year past, and the energy and' ability he had displayed in promoting Druidism'in 1 New Zealand, v.He .urged-.; mpon the new Lodge that asihey had : made a good start, they should throw . their heart into their work, pointing, iout that the highest offices of the order were opened io every brother initiated into it. Bro, Bishop in returning thanks said he was proud to have his name coupled with the toast, •' and any exertions he had made on behalf of Friendly Societies was amply repaid by the recognition his services had received. The object of all the Societies was the Bame—the putting of mankind on- a better footing—and to effect this object he had acted, believing it was so, to the best of his ability. The Board of Directors were colonists, their head quarters in Melbourne, all prosperous men, of good business standing and repute, and the zeal they displayed in watching over the interests of the ordei throughout the colony deserved the best thanks of every brother. He had only recently returned from Melbourne, where ninety delegates had met—three from New Zealand—and their conference had been successful in advancing the interests of Druidism, through the information given to the several Lodges and the publio especially throughout New Zealand. Speaking 'of the' Druids he might Bay although comparatively recently introduced into New Zealand it was an old Order, having been inaugurated in 1781. They had Lodges in all parts of Great Britain, the United _ States, and Germany, numbered over 300,000 brethren, and were established on a firm basis, and might now fairly well rank with the older Orders of' Oddfellows and Foresters. The first Australian Druid Lodge was the Pioneer, started in Melbourne about nineteen years ago with forty members, and now they had a Grand Lodge both [in Melbourne and Sydney, and a Provincial Grand Lodge in Adelaide for Southern Australia. The number of members was 6848, and including that opened that evening there were 166 Lodges. The Grand Lodgo funds in Melbourne amount to between seven and eight thousand pounds, while those of the Australian 1 Lodges, including New Zealand, aggregated about .£25,000. Irrespective of I 1 New South .Wales and South Australia .the increaso of the funds for the past year showed a net profit of £5269. This accumulated capital tended to prove the'value of Friendly Societies, and was only one instance of many 1 that might be adduced, Tho Druids • (the youngest of these Societies) had paid in funeral benefits £3429, in sick 1 pay £1035, and for medical attend- [ ance £6061. If a comparatively small Society could expend these amounts, ' which specially benefited the working " classes, of whom these. Societies were chiefly composed, he could leavq it to 1 those present to judge what the older and stronger Societies gave. In regard to New Zealand, the first Druid Lodge—the Pioneer—had been started ' in Chrißtchurch some four years ago, and now there were forty-six Lodges, ] numbering 3500 members, in the 1 Colony. As .regarded the North Island, Lodges had beenscattered through ' the Wellington, Hawkes' Bay, and ' Auckland Districts, steps were being' taken to stare others in Wanganui, Palmerston, Hawera, and New Plymouth) > and in the visit he was now paying'he' hoped to see a Lodge started in "each 1 of these places before his return home. 1 These few remarks without his going into further details would show, who had joined the Lodge opened that. ' night that they had affiliated them--1 selves to an Order that was on a solid,- • basis, and quite able to run alone, one ' possessed of extensive funds that'were 1 well invested. • In Germany there' 1 1 were several Lodges, conducted in $$ 1 Teutonic tongue, under the-.: Grand? 1 Lodge of England,, while in 1 America t .Lodges were to be found not 'only : W : the leading but. also ••the towns, and, as he had before stated, showed the energy of' those who had interested themselves in advancing'the Order in New Zealand, and the .suc--1 cess that had attended their efforts. As ! regarded the Lodge that had been ■ opened that night it had been started under the most favorable auspices of 1 any country Lodge of which he had ever witnessed the opening ceremony, and he would urge upon the brethren the necessity of regularity. in attendance, and hoped they would all pull together as one man, and give ready obedience to and support their officers.' i If they did this he had little hesitation - in predicting a large amount of success i and usefulness for the' Lodge. In con? i junctionwjth their.D.P. Bro Bates, , he would only be too happy, as the s opportunity offered itself, to come up and render them what assistance, lay , in his power.—(Prolonged applause.( Bro. Bates next .proposed " Kindred s Societies," dwelling .upon the benefits t to be derived gram them, and urging s each, member? inihig Order to-work I with the energy and zeal that had i been • displaced by Bro.. Bishop... .The ; toast r was" coupled with the name of ; Bro. Gole, P.O.KV oil behaEof the ,' 'Foresters," and Bro. Fencham, N.G., , .onkhalf of tho Oddfellows, Bro. Gole, in returning thanks, on

behalf of the Ancient Order Ofjsirs : . ters, felt pleasure in doing titfkiM remarks that had fallen; {iMfM, Bishop, as the Court 'Marquis* \M Jformanby had been society started in the seven years ago. He could, howeVei l , hardly dispute precedence with Bro. Fencbam, who had'been the mainstay in starting the Oddfellows' Lodge, Heart of Oak" shortly after, but he waa glad to see Bro.T.'Benuefct, who bad.;been:the ~ originator of the\- : Foresters' Court present. He congratulated the Druids on the successful start they, had, made.; : The Oddfellows had worked hahoVin = hand with the Foresters, and ho hoped the new Lodge would.do the same with both, - The older societies were willing to help the younger, and he believed from those who he bad ascertained had. jomed v Lodge that night that they'would be able .and willing to cooperate with them for their mutual- good and welfare. He saw many around him who had joihed'tte Druids that-night who" belonged to older 'societies, '. and 'he looked for their, co-operation.V; :'■ : ' ; Bro. ( Fencbam wasglad to see that the"Druid's had started, and hoped theif Lodge might prove a success.. He regretted joiniug ; th©l' Oddwhb- e joined the Totara Lodge would be sorry fordoing so. Bra. Gole briefly proposed the " Sister Lo'dges,"- feeling assured ...that if the brethren of each Lodge only faithfully carried .'out their duties, to-the Sister Lodges' the Druids', Order could, not but flourish in the district.;/ ; . ' Bro, Hathaway, in responding to the toast,- said he believed that he and every member of the Stonehenge Lodge had done their best to, advance their own and the Sister Lodges/ and they most heartily wished, the Totara Lodge every success. . -...,, , , The Chair proposed the health of the Lodge's medical attendant.■;.. ; .,, . , ; ',yBro, Bey acknowledged the compliment. The Chairman having proposed the health of Bro. Bates, iWj&hop testified to the warm made to start'the Lodge inaugurated that evening'. He was glad to be able to say a few words testifying to the efforts their worthy D.P. made to advanco the interests of the Order. . Bro. Bates expressed his warm acknowledgement for the way in which his health had been received, He had not the same ability—he could hardly hope to do as much for tho Order as his predecessor in office, Bro Bishop, had done, but whatever came in his power to do he. would do heartily, and at the ond of his term of office he \ should rest satisfied with what be had done in his own sphere, as they were with what Bro. Bishop had done in a more extended one. The "Press" was responded to /by \ Messrs Bridge and Gole, the "Ladies" ' had two able champions in Bros. Cross • and Gole, and Bro. Giles responded on behalf of bis mother to the toast of "Our Hostess." ■ The monotony of the"yabber-yabber," as our tlark brethren call it, was pleasantly relieved by songs'from \ several of those present, and. we must '■ not omit the excellent rendering of \ several pianoforte solos by Bro. Kaisenberg, the .organist-of Lodge Stone- ' henge. The meeting terminated with a corj. dial rendering of "Auld Lang Syne," and the. National Anthem. , We understand the members of Lodge Totara passed a unanimous | and cordial vote of thauks to the executive officers and brethren of the Stone- \ henge Lodge for their attendance to inaugurate the Carterton brnnch.