CALEDONIAN GATHERING.

Press, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5680, 1 December 1883, Page 3

CALEDONIAN GATHERING.

last night, St. Andrew's Day was jjgtfftated by a supper, which was at the Commercial Hotel, and was attended b_» about sixty gen--Qemen hailing from the "land o* •Cakes-" J 7 or some time past the Com- " -mitt- of the Caledonian Society have been .BtaJring preparations for the occasion, is hardly necessary to say were - attended with success. The catering, with -gia exception of two items—the haggis - ud tbe oat cakes—was placed in the : _-e_s of Mr Warner, and he performed his *ork to the pleasure of all concerned. Shortly after nine o'clock Mr Watt took '" _fca chair, and Dr Stewart the Vice-Chair, after grace had been deUvered, the "" _a_tp_ny, TO abide religiously to the biU-of-■fare.each took "a wee drappie of Miltos- - j)___. This was succeeded by Aberdeen jaat herrins and tatties, which were accom- ,. psny by a wee drappie of a similar beverage y totbatalready mentioned. The first "coorse" -, :<t___ted of "Btewed hens wi' puddock 1 stools. " minced coUops wi' sma'peas" and ""- "awieDonalo* GlenUvet/'andthe"second sf _oowse" was "Giggot o* mutton wi' red % -c___m* jelUe," and " stuffed Bubbly Jocks . toi-tit." The following dish was ihe one i. of the evening, and as the waiters carried . -fhe haggis its entrance was announced by .-rpiper McGregor, who played a lively tune j v on* the bagpipes, and the party cheered. . _Be haggis had been specially prepared by .' jlrs Stewart, tbe wife of the vice-chairman, r'ftst she had succeeded in pleasing aU shown by the hearty way in which it ..wis eaten. It was necessary to have -another wee Donal o' MUton-Duff," and "- -Qten came tiie grouse. This the Chairman ■ 't-t-_ated had come in the lonic from -~ gootland, together with a sprig of heather fj___i the Murray hills. But there was "'-__* one bird, and as the cover was lifted .aadthe grouse shown a roar of laughter ',' passed round the table at its small dimen- . ' toons. Two very appropriate lines had VT_ea selected, namely, , on theHieland Hills mair than three *" - month ago, brocht a* this gate in snaw. -'Though smaU, all tasted the deUcacy, .which doubtless reminded them of old and „r_b_ppy days. " Tatties,biled and chappit, bashed neeps" foUowed, and"neist If-came the Mitie Dunlop cheese an* oatj£*ea__, wi a mixtie-maxtie o' ingins, letS _h_ea,and a lot o' other green things," and *V* jist anither Donal to keep a* doon." The super was succeeded by toasts, songs, ahd -~_BM_-ions on the pipes by the piper and _aJ» by a string band. first toast on the programme was jl -hat of " Her Majesty the Queen," which _ ___ proposed by tiie Chairman and drunk v with musical honors, and was succeeded . _y" The Health of the Governor," also v proposed by the ______ During the - r time his Excellency had been in the colony _ Jhe had shown himself to be of active tern -perament, and wUling to work, and he (the 'T_-____-_an) hoped that he might have a tr?«Jger reign than his predecessor. *' The Cha____vn said that the next toast ._ - he had to propose was "Success to the Can- . __bury Caledonian Society". [Applause.] The Society iras started two years ago by -six-gentlemen, who met in the room belonging to Mr P. Cunningham. He was -sorry that "Mr Cunninghani and some of the six were absent. To him (the Chair--man} it wis veiy pleasant, and no doubt it was also tb Dr. Stewart, to see such a ,- Thumper house to-night. The Society, he _- thought, numbered over 200 members , [applause] and had anyone said twelve ~ mont-s ago that it would be such he have been laughed at. When the ___iety. was started the promoters were. * told that, they. were etarting it in _m entirely English community, and that it would not be a success. Just look - at the sports. Nothing succeeds Uke ' success, and last year's gathering proved to be a success. [Applause.] All had seen the programme for the 17th December, .and this guaranteed further success, it was the finest programme of sports for one - day's meeting that had been produced in ; _ew Zealand. Tha present gathering **._ft_- not only confined to Christchurch ig-ntiemen, but sbeir members came from .. ___ost every corner Of Canterbury. [Ap"f __-__. All hoped to see many more of _ the outside members coming to the gather- :_ ing. The Society had the nucleus of a , ~_y good Übrary, and before the next ' annual meeting it was hoped that the _S-riely would have a room of ite own in ,~ which to have friendly meetings. The -first concert under the auspices of the ;- Society was a great success, - and the . luthcoming Bports promised to be equaUy .-* successful, aa up to the present 110 entries been received for the handicaps. It !.;w_B very cheering to a new society to see ;; the members puttingtheir shoulders to the j/wheel, and thus giving encouragement and - __help. These social gatherings he hoped '■fwould be frequent, because without them the Society would not prosper. The r pir-ctors were arranging for a glee class, .-- aad when it was started they intended to - inaugurate monthly meetings, and he .hoped they would be weU supported. {Applause.] He concluded by proposing the toast, which was enthuraasticaUy ' ho_i_ed. Mr Boag had much pleasure in propo. "_ iag '• The health of the President (Mr - Cunningham)." [Hear, hear.] He spoke 'itt high terms of Mr Cunningham's qua - Ix_b_ The President was a man of whom ' they had reason to be proud. He was a credit to his country, and also to his adopted country. [Applause/] It was ■quite evident that Mr Cunningham buc-.-seeded in whatever he undertook, and it - was to his energies and perseverance „___' tiie Society owed a great deal •of its success. [Cheers.] He was also pendent of the A. and P. Association , — and the success attending -_i__emetropoHtan meeting was greatly * doe to him. He was respected and liked hyaUwho knew him, and highly spoken « by those who had heard of him. [Ap3_m_e.] * proposed the toast of "The -«_--___ Societies." Although this was the youngest yet it was not the smallest *o_ety in New Zealand, and as far as 'Canterbury was concerned he hoped its .Association would be able to render assis- _ *«_e to every similar Society in the pro- '- s** Wae Q necessary. He looked forward to the time when they would be visited by their friends in Dunedin, and felt ~ - s** Uiey would receive valuable help -ft-nthem. He wished kindred societies ' _T B ' BocceßS » an *' coupled the toast with waaame of Capt. Mclnryre. [Applause-] The CHAnutAK, at this stage, mentioned '«•* the Seci_t_ry had received a letter F"* the Otago Caledonian Society, st-t----«g that several of their members would - - ** p___it' at the Anniversary sports, in *_*-__ to the invitation sent them, and -* foald render assistance in the shape of - -Udging and otherwise. [Cheers.] * vS?* 8 " 1 hIcINTYSE, in respond__ig for the ™«ced societies, expressed his pleasure at , r ß ™? present at so large and'social a ■.„ €-*_»ring. He mentioned that for fifteen ; years he had been Treasurer of a similar ' -i ¥ -_f y " "WeUrngton, but tiirough the St® oE -*he President it nnfortanately __T eoll -« e d- Since he am. d in - _^_»__ )lob -*' Wenty-five years ago, * changes had taken place. If . these «_aal gatherings were held in ' would d_Ta fp__t dead wward advancing the country hi every *■»■■ LApifl-ose.] He had, therefore,

much pleasure in hoping the kindred societies would take example from that Of Canterbury, and they would then progress ana prove a boon to all, as well as 8 . tchnwn; He -u_gt_t_d that the Society should reeerve some of its funds for the assistance of those Societies. which were unable to help themselves. [Cheers.] Dr. Stbwast said he had to propose tbe health of the "Sons of the Mist;" and related a story to show the appropriateness of the toast here. He saw round the table many typical sons of Scotland. [Loud laughter.] He saw around him men who by indomitable perseverance and determination had climbed the ladder of fame and wealth. He attributed their success to their early teaching—their reverence for the seventh day of the week; the best of books and a shorter Catechism. [Applause.] Scotchmen had distinguished themselves in. Uterature, art, medicine,' divinity, and science, and they were indebted to the careful, though perhaps not then appreciated, training of their parents. The doctor concluded with an anecdote Uluatrating the perseverance of Scotchmen. [Appl_use.] Mr Anderson proposed " Our Friends in the Mother country," and said that although it was thirty-three years since he left, his predUections were now as strong in that direction as they were th _. The other toasts were, "The Ladiee," proposed by Mr Williams, and acknowledged by Mr C. C. Duncan, and "The Press." Votes of thanks were accorded to Mrs Stewart, the Chairman and ViceChairman, and tbe compliments of the season were tendered to the Vice-Presi-dent, whose birthday was yesterday. Tbe proceedings terminated at midnight.