FIRE BRIGADE'S WELCOME.

Bush Advocate, Volume XVII, Issue 65, 18 March 1905, Page 4

FIRE BRIGADE'S WELCOME.

The respresentative^ of the Dannevirke Fire Brigade who hare been com- : petilW, # at the annual demonstration at Dunedm* \ wjiere^ they distinguished themselves by winning the fire men event in record time, and gaining seconi place in the coupling practice for two men, returned home last night, and were met at the Bailway Station bytheEw> Brigade and Industrial Band and themembers.of the local Brigade, whomarched them, to the Brigade station,, followed by alargecpneourse of people. On fcrrival at the 1 station the team were lined up in front of the reel house where they were -addressed by the Mayor, .who in the courae of-his pemarts, said he was proud to welcome back the brave boys of the Brigade. They haftall seen by'thepapers that tifr Uam had won a first and* second priz* at the demons^itiori. The chief thinein this waf not the amount of money— although that to £37— but the glory they had brought to the town. Thejrhad succeeded. in advertising the town|£or now many were led to enquire about the place which could producer such a! fine team. He knew that before they left the team had been practicing almost night and day, and he isaid *21 credit to item for fctelir victory.' He had not dared to hope for such a good result, but of course he gave them his blessiDg before they went, and that no doubt accounted for their success. > After, referring to the fact that ihe Brigade had recently rendered a signal service to the Waipawa County Council by saving the Mafigatera bridge, the Mayor called: for three cheers for the Brigade wMdt were lustily given, followed by " three for Skipper and " three for th*Mayor." . Captain Drinkwater briefly responded, saying that they had gone to Dunedin to do their best, and they had done their best. What that meant might be judged, from the fact that against 69' Brigades they had only lost the Shield by I4>tfc of a second. His men had behaved* splendidly and he was quite' satisfied with what they, had done, but all the same they meant to have a try for the Shield another year. An adjournment was then made to> ;the social hall, where a spread had. been laid -for the entertainment of the guests. ' The chair was occupied by the Mayor, - and the Vice-chair by lieutenant Smith, ex-Captains Gilbert and Nuttall being amongst those present. The firsttoast was that of " Our Boys/* which was proposed in a neat and felicitous speech by the Mayor. Captain .Drinkwater, in responding^ said that going to a demonstration was no picnic. There was a lot of hard work attached to it, and he felt that his mea deserved jtheic victory, for they had beeii most assiduous in their practices and attentive to their duties. The Borough Councillors (coupled with tjie names of the Mayor and Cr Drinkwater) was the next toast proposed by Secretary Mills who, in doing so, referred in generous terms to the ready assistance which had always been given, to the Brigade by the City Fathers. The Mayor in responding,' said lie was pleased to be upresent at the Fire Brigade's function, because wheceeyer the Dannevirke boys had gone —whether to Africa, England, or Dunedin, they had always done the town credit, and he was glad to learn from their captain that on this occasion they had kept their heads clear and had behaved themselves like men. So far as the Council's treatment of the Brigadewas concerned- they must remember that the Council was not using its own moaey,. but whenever it was possible to hejp them he felt it his duty to do so, because the brigade was doing a great service to the community in saving property. He had been in the Council for seven years, two of which he had been Mayor. He had been approached by a number of people to allow himself to be nominated for a third term, and although he did not believe in any one individual monopolising the Mayoral chair there were certain reasons which might induce him to consent to seek office again. He liked the work, and he felt he had the capacity to do it, and further, there were certain works which had been commenced during his tenure of office whiclfe he would like to see completed before he retired. These were the abattoir, hospital, drainage scheme, and waterworks extension. All of these were now fairly under way, and after having commenced them and having all the details at his finger ends, he had a feeling that he would like to be at the head of affairs; when they were finished. In addition to this there was another matter to which, he must draw their attention. They had a good light in Dannevirke, but some people said that electric light was better. Personally, he did not think that it would be either better or cheaper for Dannevirke at the present time. He made this statement because he had been accused of working for an electric lighting syndicate. He was not working for a syndicate, but in vievr of future developments, he was keeping the electric light in mind. Neither was he seeking to block Mr Henderson in getting certain concessions from the Council. By all means he should have consideration* but nothing should be done that is detrimental to the interests of the ratepayers. He had his differences of opinion with some of his Councillors oh this point, but if they thought he was stubborn in refusing to sign the asrerment they must remember that he felfc he had a great responsibility, and that he must at all costs save the interests of the town. He would like to 3ee Mr Henderson get concessions to enable him to go ahead and make a success of his works, but the interests of the public must be protected. After stating that it was an open question whether he would again be a candidate for municipal honours, the Mayor concluded by wishing the Brigade all success in their future operations. (Applause.) Cr Drinkwater, in responding, said he endorsed every word that the Mayor had stated. If Mr Hies did become the Mayor of the town for another term he (Cr Drinkwater) felt sure he wo»ld carry out his dutie3 thoroughly. The following additional toasts were honoured during th© even-

~ing;~ M IT.F.B A." proposed byex-Capt. Nuttall; response, Capt. Drinkwator. "The Fire Brigade and Industrial <f* Sand," proposed, ty ex-Capt. Gilbert, 1 - responne, HEf Try«« "The Judges," -response, Messrs Snell and Duley. ~ '•Townspeople of Dannevirke," proposed by Capt. Drinkwater; response', Messrs "* M. and W. Henderson. ' " Sweetheart* -and Wives/ proposed by Foreman r Batten; response,. Mr Bamtield. "The* Caretaker and Wife," proposed by ex--Gurt. Gilbert; response, Caretaker McMillan. ' Songs were rendered by ex-Capt. - filbert, Firemen Hill, Wiltshire, Bat. , * ten, Thome, W. Hill, Hansard, Pawson, Bamfield, Bartlett, Murray, Brown, and ■. . Drew, and before the gathering dis- ■" persed Mr C. Baddeley in a few neatly pat sentences congratulated the team .upon the good work done in Dunedin.