The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY OCTOBER 30,1883. THE FRIENDLY SOCIETIES ACT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1522, 30 October 1883, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY OCTOBER 30,1883. THE FRIENDLY SOCIETIES ACT.

The Friendly Societies Act, 1882, wag passed through both Houses without debate-merely as a matter of formand it is not surprising that a measure which, at the time it passed into law, received little or no consideration should prove to be a mistake in prac tice. The friendly societies of Masterton have united to denounce this measure, and they have invited their brethren throughout the colony to assist them in upsetting it, Should the lesult be a general expression of dissatisfaction it will be rather awkward for the Government because tho societies are strong enough in New Zealand, when a general election comes off, to turn out any Ministry, Apparently the Government and the Assembly legislated for the friendly societies without taking the ordinary precaution to ascertain their own views and wishes. The object was a good one, viz,. to protect their members from the possibility of financial reverses, but m cftecfc to it the RegistrarGeneral has managed to tread on the toes of those whom, no doubt, were to be benefited, Friendly societies regard the Government with some suspicion, They say; "You are running an

opposition to us with your Insurance offices, and your own officers work against us in order to obtain business." They assert, too, that Major Atkinson wishes to smother them wtih his compulsory _ Insurance Bill, and that the incapacity of the State for dabbling in Such matters has recently been demonstrated by tlio absolute break-down of the Industrial Branch of tlio Insurance' Department. Thoy say the societies themselves are quite capable of managing, their own affairs, and that'tlio interference of the Government lias simply done them harm, First, it has thrown a considerable amount of labor on their secretaries, which these officers are unwilling or unable to.c'ope with; and, secondly, the Government J has damned the societies by an unfair I actuarial report. Apparently the Act gives the Registrar-General an unlimited power to demand and enforce returns, He, faithful to his duty, exercises it, and the secretaries of the various Lodges, Courts, and' Tents are harassed by his requisitions. , Hitherto their duties have been light, and if they get into a muddle a district officer would come round, and, in a brotherly manner, put them straight again, Now the Registrar-General puts a pistol to thoir heads and demands their returns or their existence, We have seen.a copy of the returns demanded by tliifj. officer, and we should say that about five out of six of the secretaries of the friendly societies would find a difficulty in responding to them;' It would be as well for the Government i to look into this matter at once for they cannot afford to fall out with the Friendly Societies, Perhaps when Major Atkinson lias smoothed over the Auckland difficulty he might come up to Masterton and set himself right'with our Foresters, Oddfellows, Reclmbites, and Druids. Another remedy would be for the Registrar-General to find that his health required a sea-voyage, and for the Government to give him the customary twelve months leave of absence on full pay. Let him come back again like a giant refreshed after the general election is over, and it will bo time enough then to prosecute friendly societies for not sending in returns. The moral of the piece appears to bo that it is a mistake to pass a measure ■ into law without discussion. If the Government arid the House knew little or nothing about the working of friendly societies they should have let them alone,

Valuable building allotments at Pahiatua are ndvovtised for Bale by Mr W. E. Waters of Wellington, Mt j. H, Oorbett of Maatertou will supply particulars of these sections to intending purchasers, Owing to several performers being absent, and others not being able to keep their nppointinonis, tho entertainment .at Groytown last night had to bo postponed. 1 A good programme lias however been prepared for the following Monday, Tho usual meeting of the Phoenix Lodge was held last evening when the following officers were elected for the ensuing quarter: W.0.T., Bro Leonard; W.V.T. Bro Check; Sec. Bro Hornblow; Treas, Bro Carpenter; F.S., Bro -Stone; W.C, Bro Nay lor, sen.; W. M., Bro Falk; 10. Bro Naylor, jun.; 0.G.,' Bro Evenden, sen, Bro D. C, Cameron, G.W.S., will pay an official visit to tho Lodge on Wednesday, when a special meeting will be hold, Tliero was a largo uudienco In the Theatre lloynl last ovening to listen to tho very excellent concert organised by Mr Keisnnberg. Part 1 opened to the lively music of tho "Grand Duchess," played.corroctly and harmoniously by the String Baud. Mr E. B, Bell then made his first appearance in Masterton with " The l'nar of Ordors Gray," and. scored a decided success. Miss Nicol who followed with " When the Swallows homoward fly'' had a most enthusiasts reception, and in response to a vociferous encore gave" The Wishing Cap," Then came the gem of the programme a violin solo from Mr G, B, Allpresa, who, as is well-known, plays "first fiddle" in New Zealand. His performance on this occasion appeared to electrify his audience for though ho tried to excusti himself' from a reappearance, the house would listen to nothing else until he had obligingly responded to its wishes, Mr Rapp then sang with his customary skill " All that glitters is not gold," and in response to the inevitable encore gave "The Boatswain's Yarn." A charming solo and quartette followed in which Miss Nicol and Messrs Wickorson, Ball, and Ralph look part, after which Cecil Eiverton brought down the house by his artißtic rendering of "The Village Blacksmith," and the first part of the programme olosod with the celebrated Toy Symphony lyhich Mr Kcisenberg has recently organised. The children in their bright costumes and with their quaint instruments, made an exceedingly pretty tableaux,. and tho smoothness and correctness with which this piece went off, showed the skill of the juvenile musicians, and tho excellence of the teaching they had received. Part II commenced with an operatic selection from the Band, and a charming song "When Sparrows Build" from Miss Haybittle. Mr G, W, Dellar of Carterton, who possesses a very fine voice, then sang in excellent time and tune " The Scout." Mr G, E. Allpress again came on the stage with a solo from "II Trovatore," a masterpiece which evoked loud plaudits ftom the audience, Mr Wiokernoti's rendering of that beautiful ballad " Thou Art So Near," was received with marked favor, and Mr Black deserved all tho.applause ho obtained for his succeßßful rendering of a somewhat difficult song " Hybriaa the Cretan." The pert, piece, was a duet on two pianos, which' went very smoothly, Mr Keisenb'erg And: Miss Gray presiding at one, and Misses Oorbett and Galloway at the other. The comio song of the ovening then wound up Part 11. Mr Coker deserves great credit for his rendering of " Are you' there Mpriarty?" His make up was very appropriate, without being sensational, and he made all his points without any straining or exaggeration. It was almost difficult to believe that an amateur was on the stage, for an old professional could not have presented the piece with more finish. The audience testified their delight by a rapturous encore and in response to it Mr Coker gave" The Little Scrub," a song now tolerably familiar in Masterton, but one which sung as Mr Coker _ gives it does not weary by repetition.. A strong programme wound up with a dramatic sketch by Messrs Cecil Eiverton and Harry Tapperel, entitled-"A Good Night's Best," in which the impersonations were both clever and amusing. We must not forget to refer to one decided novelty, viz.: the introduction of a very beautiful instrument, "the zither," to a Masterton audience by Mr Langensiepen. The zither is regarded in Germany as one of tho sweetest and most expressive of musical instruments, and those who had the pleasure of listening to it were not disappointed in the expectations which they had formed of its melody,

_ Wo direct attention to Mr J. Tj Lovela' list of herbal remedies in another column.'. The next outgoing San Francisco mail doses on Saturday tiext, . The retail price of butcher's meat has. been raised one penny per lb in Dnnetlih in consequence of the impetus given to values by the frozen meat export. Mr P. H. Wood will sell on Saturday next at Carterton, forty pairs of assorted boots and other merohandiße. Mr Lee commenced the examination of the Greytown School yeatevday. ' Sam Mabapuka caused some amusement on Sunday by parading the Main-itraet Greytown, dressed in' a moßt elaborate fashion, having a bine serge blouse and kniokerbookers on with a tea cosey ornamented with a long blue feather on his head. < The Wellington Education Board meets to-morrow, The members of the Phoenix Lodge are invited to meet at the Temperance Hall to-morrow evening for the purpose of receiving Bro, Cameron G.W.S. The usual fortnightly meeting of the Loyal Masterton Lodge 1.0.0 F. takes place this evening. _ Messrs Lowes & lorns have »n attractive list of entries for their fortnightly stock sale, which lakes place in their Masterton yards to-morrow at 1 p.m. Mr. Sol Levy, an; old and highly respected resident of Wellington died suddenly at Blenheim to-day, aged sixtyfour,. He was on a visit to a relative there His body will be . brought to Wellington for.interment. • The' Native Lands Court commenced its silting at Greytown yesterday. Judge Puckey and the Assessor jvera present. Judge McDonald will sit to-day. After the opening of the Court the natives of Masterton applied to' have their casos heard at Mastertun, but Mr Puckey said he would await the arrival of the Chief Judge before replying. Only a few succession orders were made, Messrs Muir & Dixon have prepared no less than eight exhibits of busies, phae tons and brakes for the Pastoral Show on Thursday next, and are likely to take a premier position as representatives of industrial arts iu this district, The official records of the Masterton P.M. Court are being conveyed from thj old Court building to the new one to-day, and the members of the local stalf are having a very busy time, Thursday next the Pastoral Show day is declared a public holiday in theßorough of Masterton. „ Tenders are called by the Masterton Borough Council for forming and metalling' five chains and thirty links of Nursery road. .The proprietors of the Bon Marche drapery and clothing warehouses, Messrs L. J. Hooper and Co., notify that on the Ist of November, the day of the Pastoral Show, thoir premises will be olosed from 12 o'clook to C o'clock Wo hear that it is the intontion of Mr G. R, Allpress to give an entertainment on the 9th inst,, (Prince of Wales' Birthday) at the Theatre Royal, Masterton/- on whioh occasion he will be assisted by several professional and amateur instrumentalists and vocalists from WellingJ6n, and also by the members of the Masterton Amateur Dramatio.Club. Messrs Lowes and lorns make some further additions to their stock sale for to-morrow, the list will now embrace some hundred head of cattle, three splendid bulls bred ai Te Ore Ore, some small lots of ewes and lambs, farm mare, some hack horses, saddles and bridles, buggy and harneas. Tlio judges for the Pastoral Show arrived by this morning's coach at Masterton from Napier and Wanganui. ' A concert in aid of the Wosleyan organ funcltook place at Peatherston on Monday eveniug last, the Oddfellows' hall being filled by a large and appreciative audience. The programme opened with a choice selection of tunes played by the Greytowi) Band. The principal vocalists wore MrS Shannon, Miss Toclter mid Messrs McLaren, and Hart Udy-. The instrumental selections were/well plnyed by Mrs Shannon, Mr Parker, and Mrs Cox, and a very enjoyable evening was spent, many of the pieces in the programme securing hearty encoros. Raw & Hare's 2s Gd tea unequalled for purity and flavor. Try it !—Advt. Rapp is Hare would remind runholde/s and farmors that they have just lauded 50 bales of woolpacks, 8 and lOlbs,, attached and detached tops, 45 bales corn sacks, ?2 doz. sheep shears in all the best brands, special, plates in sawing twines. The above they are selling at Wellington wholesale prioea. An inspection invited.—[Advt. | Visitors to Masterton from the Empire City are loud in their expressions of astonishment at the Splendid displays of drapers' and milliners' goods to be seen in the windows of our various business establishments, Mr 0. W. Schroder's, Hall of Commerce, receives special notice, and his i stock of Parisian and other spring novelties is pronounced by persons who have travelled in all the fashionable cities of the world to be the most rechtrcho, ever seen in a colonial store,—Advt, , How beautiful are some of the new pat terns in.prints and satceus, The nature pattens ore wonderfully faithful; somo of the leavos and flowers, but tor their repetition would almost baulk perception, and, at a little distance, persuade the eye that the birds, leaves, and fjowors aro actually specimens, or at least were skilfully painted on tko stuff by a master baud. We would specially oommend in this respect some elespfc, richly finished bordered French sateens, now showing at Te Aro House. The border is most artistic, consisting of birds, with outstretched wings, surroanded by a mass of lovely foliage and flowers, Anothor speciality is known as the" Heron" pattern cambric, a beautiful design, equally difficult to imagine or discribe. These should be at .'inspected, as the quantity is limited at Te Aro House. To onumorate all the styles in theso beautiful goods would take up too mush time and space, suffice to say that in English and French site,ens, bordered prints, fruit prints, chintz prints, zephyr clotbs, zephyr ginghams, checked abd plain sateens and cambrics, our season's importations are far and away the best and most varied ever xhi bited atTe Aro House, —Abvt,