VICTORIA LEAGUE.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20819, 31 March 1933, Page 15

VICTORIA LEAGUE.

CANTERBURY BRANCH. AWNtfAt MEETING. The Canterbury branch of the Victoria League, which was founded in 1910, held its annual meeting in Jellicoe Hall, yesterday afternoon, the retiring president, Mrs E. G. Hogg, presiding, and with her on the platform were Mrs Deans, Mrs W. S. Bean, vice-presi-dents, and the secretary, Miss C. Gosset. Annual Report. The annual report and balancesheet were adopted. The report stated that the membership stood at 456, of which 76 were life members. Fifteen new members had been elected during the year. Memorial wreaths, the report continued, had been placed at the foot of Queen Victoria's statue in Victoria square on Empire Day and on May 29, to commemorate the men who fell in the South African War; also in front of the Cathedral on Anzac Day and Trafalgar Day. A contribution had been sent towards a Dominion wreath to be placed on the Cenotaph on Anzac Day, and towards the wreath from the Victoria Leagues throughout the Empire to be placed on Queen Victoria's memorial, outside Buckingham Palace, on Empire Day. A donation of £5 had been given towards the Returned Soldiers' Association Children's Christmas Tree, and a donation of £lO had been sent to the parent league in London. Members of the league had contributed £25 to maintain a Canterbury boy at Flock House. Members of the league-had helped at the street collection on Poppy I Day, and had taken charge of the book stall at the All Nations Fair j and of a produce stall for the; Young Women's Christian Association to help unemployed women and girls. No fewer than 2590 essays from 67 schools had been entered for the essays competition held in conjunction with the Navy League. Social activities had included an evening entertainment, which the combined Empire Societies had held to celebrate Empire Day, an at home given by Mrs J. Mowbray Tripp, a book and magazine party, for which the musical programme had beep arranged by Dr. T. Leslie Crooke, a visit to Sir R. Heaton Rhodes's home at Otahuna, and a garden party at Mrs Deans's home, Riccarton House. The league had ] extended hospitality of the English public school boys. The education report said that 163 links had been sent overseas and 125 links received from England. Junior associates directed by Miss Rose Tabart had made scrap books for back-country schools. Mrs R. H. Hennah reported that 1222 books magazines, and illustrated papers had been sent to back-block schools, isolated settlers, lighthouses, and to the Chatham Islands, and many letters of appreciation had been received. Mrs J. Mowbray Tripp, for the New Settlers' Committee, reported that the work of her committee had been chiefly confined to care of overseas girls who were already settled in iNew Zealand, and welfare work among educated workers in Canterbury.

Election of Officers. Officers wejre elected as follows: President, Mrs Deans; chairman, Mrs W. S. Bean, 0.8. E.: honorary treasurer, Mr J. D. Fairhurst; secretary, Miss Ci Gosset; vice-presi-dents, Sir R. Heaton Rhodes, Professor J. Macmillan Brown, *Mesdames Carey Hill, C. Chilton, M.8.E.; Elworthy, E. G. Hogg, J. F. Studholme, H. T. J. Thacker, J. B. Mowbray Tripp, and J. G. L. Vernon; committee, Mesdames Hugh Acland, Jack Anderson, J. H. Hail, G. Hanmer, R. Hennah, Lester, F. Scott, and D. G. Sullivan, Misses M. McOwen, E. Overton, N. Skoglund, Rose Tabart, and B. Bloxam; country representatives, Mrs Elworthy (Timaru) and Mrs Bernard Tripp (Timaru). The balance-sheet showed ' a credit balance, although there had been a small deficit on the year's work. President's Remarks. After thanking members for electing her president Mrs Deans welcomed back to Christchurch Mrs E. G. Hogg* Mrs W. S. Bean, and Mrs Hugh Acland, who had been visiting England. She expressed appreciation of thfe work done by the secretary, Miss C. Gosset, and she and Mrs Hogg expressed regret at the resignation from the honorary treasurership of Mr R. F. A. Macbean, who had done excellent work during the last five years. A vote of'thanks to Mr Macbean for his valuable help and a vote of sympathy with him in his ill-health was carried.

Mrs Deans hoped the league would continue to hplp others,, that a good supply of books and magazines would be forthcoming for distribution in the backblocks, and that members would this year, as in the past, help on Poppy Day. A Visit to Egypt. Mrs Hogg, who recently returned from a visit to Egypt and England, gav« a graphic description of Beni Suef, a typical upper Egyptian town which has a population of 60,000 — Egyptians, Arabs, Jews, Coptics, with a few Greeks and fewer British. The flat-roofed buildings, even the most ornate, had the appearance of dilapidation, and sometimes the lower storeys would be occupied and the top storey left unfinished. Sanitation was bad, the town wtis extremely ■ noisy, and dogs, which acted as scavengers, were numerous. Ninety-seven per cent, of the people of Egypt were illiterate, 75 per cent, of the children in Beni Suef died before they were five years old, and eye-trouble was a common complaint, providing unceasing work for the travelling ophthalmic hospital. The women of the poorer classes dressed in black, and on their heads each wore a cloth ring, on which she carried pitchers of water, vegetable;?, babies, and even bottles of beer! The people worked incredibly hard in the fields, which were well irrigated, for the cultivation of cotton. In the cotton mills in Beni Suef men worked from 5 a.m. till 8 p.m. for lOd a day, and work in the factories was eagerly sought, as it was better paid and less arduous than work in the fields. The British residents were mostly engaged in banks, or as managers and supervisors in the factories and cotton fields, or as teachers in the large Government schools. Conditions were difficult as all Government officials were Egyptian, and, to add to the difficulties, Friday was observed as the day of rest by the Egyptians, Saturday by the Jews, and Sunday by the Coptics, .who were Christians. Graduates from Oxford and Cambridge taught in the Government schools, and many of the well-to-do natives sent their bors $o England to be educated*

They were very good-looking, with brown eyes and dark skin. But the lot of a British girl who married into these families was deplorable. She was a pariah. Moreover, if a man said to his wife three times in the presence of witnesses, "You are divorced," she was divorced. Mrs Hogg said that at the time of her visit to Egypt, foreigners were very unpopular, chiefly because of the demand for the repayment in gold of a loan of £90,000,000, of which the Egyptian papers naively remarked, that only £54,000,000 had been received by the Government —a typical example of the leakage of funds in Egypt. Mrs W. S. Bean gave a short account of the annual meeting of the Victoria League, which she had attended in London. Her Royal Highness Princess Alice had presided, and each delegate was allowed to speak for five minutes on the work of her branch of the league. Delegates were present from all parts of the Empire. Afternoon Tea. Mrs Deans thanked Mrs Hogg and Mrs Bean for their addresses, after which tea was served.