WOMEN IN PRINT

Evening Post, Volume CI, Issue 48, 25 February 1921, Page 9

WOMEN IN PRINT

. A meeting of three .societies, the work of which, has been carried on in unison by Separate committees of. ladies who attend to the various branches of activity, took place yesterday w ) lcn t j lp committees of the Ladies' Christian Association, the Levip. Pome, and the Alexandra. Homo met to consider matters ir. connection with the extension of the Ale-a.'idv.i, Horde and of the combined three, .societies iv general. The Hon. j- .G-. W. Aitken presided! Money .being an essential in extending "the work of any organisation, the .question of finance occupied an important plies in the discussions ,of the meeting, and Mrs. Oprkill brought forward a- resolution to the following effect :—"That the trustees be nuthpris.ird to form.ilate and proceed with a scheme to provide for tha extension .of t-ha Alexandra. Home/and its work." This was .carried. 'Ibe Mayoress (Mra. J. i l. Luke) proposed that arepresentative of t'fich society should be apj-riuted to the Finance Comniiliee. As at present "constituted,, the thy.cc .sociofcieji .or^opei-Jted- >r ..were, willing to co-opera to one with another where financial help yras jiesUed, J>.ut it. \vas possible that tins ?.rra.n.^enu!iit could bci carried out to the detriment of one or of-Usr of them. Representation, upon' ,tl,ie finance (VDjnniitt<» would, nafen aard all their interests. 'This was agreed to, and themeeting subsequently went into conjaiittee tr> consider various . matters in connection with tlie work of the three .organisations. .

The dance organised in aid of the returned soldiers' stall at the coming carnival, which will'_ be held at. the PonKonby Hall to-morrow evening, will bo a "Flannel Danca," where- . men may wear flannels, and tfie arrangements altogether will bo pleasantly informal. Tickets may be obtained .at the door, juiid it is hoped that those who sympathise with the object o£ the carnival, and wish to help make the' returned soldiers' .stall a great success, will attend, or send subscriptions to the. ball. . The stall, is being "run" on .vpleiidid lines, and excellent work is being done- by the ladies. It was found necessary to allot them an extra stall to provide- 'for t,hQ handsome gifts which will bej allocated by means' of competitions. * .

Another well-known resident of "VVel'lingtbii for nearly half a, cejitiiry, Mrs. Susitnnah Bjddell, passed away on the 24th instant in her 81st year. She 1 was the relict of the late air." Arthur Biddell, well known throughout -New Zealand to the older generation of hardware men in connection with the firm of Messrs. Briscae, M'Neil, and Co. The late j\lr. JJid'dell represented that fipn "on the road" for many years, and jvas later associated with Messrs. E. \V. Mills and Co. a-s manager.. The family possesses many interesting souvenirs of .Mr. Biddell's business trips, ; both at Jlonie as a- young man and in this country, when ijmcli of the travelling .was ,on horseback .or by" tho small steamers ■and coastalschooncrs of the period. The late. Mrs. Biddel! was a, typical Englishwoman, retaining to the last Old Country traditions and customs, and was much respected for her simple, kindly nature. The surviving members of the family are Mrs. Hji^h Dixpn, of Island Bay, a-nd Miss. : S. Biddell.

The first annual meeting of, the Civio Group, Women's National Couuqi], tflok place last night, wljen Mrs. de Castro, the retiring president, who is.leaving for Kuglaujl, presided and atldressed those present, urging most earnestly and-em-phatically the necessity lor union and co-operation among women. There was no good cause which womcu had at l^eart which they could, not carry oiit, it'vthey only orgaijised well, and had a true loyalty t<> their sex. 'Mrs. de Castro pointed out the advantages which would accrue to women .and'children if women only took a true and live interest in all that concerned; the less fortunate one.?, and worked" together to place women in positions where their voices and votes would be of importance iv carrying' out necßsaary reforms. A brief review of the work performed <by tlie group was interesting, and included the organising of meetings which dealt with the cost of living and food stuffs in particular. Excellent entertainments, had been given by the group to the A.N.S. sisters a.nd nurses who are situr ated in or near Wellington on Armistice Day, and also to-Mr. "Cairo" Bradley. Much work had been done towards the establishment'of a hostel for young women workers, but this had been postponed till the price of building was 'moderaied. The question of appointing officials (or the enusing year vyas postponed in order to give time for more nomination's. Good- wishes were given to Mrs. de Castro, who has been a most energetic and, successful worker for the group.

Miss Annie Keasberry has been appointed' Deputy-Registrar of Marriages, Birth, and Deaths ,for the district of Wellington North. '

Mrs. Sprolit presided, at a well-attend-ed meeting of the. Stalls Comnjittee of the Citizen-Soldiers' Carnival, held' yesterday afternoon, at.the oflic? of the/ organiser, Mr. R. Hill. Th« principal business was the allotment of stalls for the big effort at the Town Hall These were decided, by ballot,, with one exception (the disabled soldiers' stajlj, which was gi\e!n the best position in the hall by the Community Ciu-b carnival •executive. Thie others lire : No. 1, eof t drinks arid'fruit, etc., the civic' group; No. .2, jumble.stall, the Catholic Ladies' Olubj' R.S.A.. Nos. 3 and 4, surprise packets and guessing competitions, Mts. Po-w;. No. 5, flower stall,. Garden. Circle, Proneer .Cuib; iso. 6, soldier*' yoca-tiooial stall; No. 7 (produce); Women's National Beserve for two days, thts remaining days to l>e. arranged for; No. 8 (sweets), Mns, jlaniptoii; Np. 9, Mrs. Pr«stoii, tlie W.C'.T.tJ., the Wellington Town-Plaai-ijing Asscoia4.i.oii, and other organisations; No. 10 (art and needlework], Mrs. Sprott.; No. 11 (competitions), Shand; No. 12 (paa'cels and j»st office), Mi'- B. CTiatfield. '■ Mrs. Luke (the jyiayoress) will be in charge •of the toiM'qom, which wjll \>e nndeliieii.th tlie. gallory, as usual. On© or two. of the staJls were not balloted for, by general consent, their special needs as regards position being top obvious to be overlooked. Of particular interest will bethe vocational soldiers' stall, which will be stoclfed with their work, some of which will be done each day at -the Town' IJall. A special appeal is jnado for flowers for- the flower stall, ■ ajid as the bazaar will ba held at a- time wrien flowers ajre not go plentiful, it is hoped that interested friends ftnd, partipulai'ly,: members of the Pioneer Olub, will rel--spond to the appeal,

The Anglican oongrpgation at Havelock North is losing Ca,non and Mrs. Luah, as they are leaving: for InvercaFgilj. whe-re the Canon will take over the dipcepe of Archdeacon Richards, now Bishop of Dunedin.

Mr. and Mrs. Birch (England) have trvken Mrs. A. Duncan's house in Mur-. phy-street during her absenco in England.

Mrs. A. Elder is visiting friends at Dannevirke.

Miss Matliieson, of Aiipfcland., is the guest of her aunt, Mrs. J. B. M^cEwan, Pipitea-street.

Among tlie visitors from Pa.]i)iers|.on Nortli to Wellington arc Mr. and Mrs. Lansley, also Miss Randolph.

j\liss Mason (Niipier) is visiting Mrs. Bavnicoat. .

JNlias Greta Ewen is expected to ralurn from an overseas tour b.y the Marama,

.A classic dance recital is to be given in the Concert Chamber on 28th February, in aid of the Citizen-Soldier Ganjival, by the- pupils of Mr. J. •Knoweley: The programme is a very vailed and interesting one. containing various natioual dances, Oriental, Russian, Irish, Dutch, Spanish, aijd .others. Pretty ballets will be given also, with solos, duets, etc.

A correspondent sends in the fallowing letter from an, Auckland paper, with the request that it may be reprinted :^-j "Sir,—'God bless our soldiers ajid sailors, and keep them in. the hollow of His hand.' This was sent me on the third! day of February, 1921. It has been all tho world over, and one is asked to copy it and see what happens. It is said that all who pass it by "will meet with some misfortune, and that to send 'it to some married woman will ensure that on .the seventh day you will meet with some great joy. You are enjoined to send one the day you get the letter.- and .one each day until the seven days are up. Y.ou are asked not to break thei chain, as it started on Flanders field. I think it is time, this Flanders field letter was stopped. It is upsetting nervous, sick women who cannot answer the' thing, and think something -will happen to them if they don't. I had one poor soul come to hie .in this stale, and I told her to burn it. I don't object to a chain, letter to do some- good,"but i$ must have bean some one w^th the brains of an ass i-hat first put tliis round. We laugh- at the heathen for superstition, but the white raco does not come far behind.—l am, etc., Common Sense."

The wedding of Miss .Airini Pjerry, daughter of Mrs. .M. A. Perry, of "Ota-tai-a," Hawkes Bay, and granddaughter of .the late Mr. and Mrs.' G. P. Donnelly, to Mr. Jack Ormond, son of Mr. and Mrs. G. Ormond, of Wairba, grandson of the late Hon. J. D. Ormond, took place-at "Napier Cathedral, when the. Rev. F. A. Bennett performed the ceremony. The bride was given away by Mr. J. B. Coales, of Wellington, and wore an artistic gown of shell pink georgette and filet lace over white crepe de chine, the low.-waisted tunic being 'finished with a silver girdle and the. draped ekirt trimmed with filet insertion. The long tulje veil was held .in place with a coronet of orange blossoms, and ghe carried a bouquet of pale pink and whit.c flowers and maiden-hair fernMiss Mori'Perry and Miss Aira Ormood were the bridesmaids. They wors frocks of cornflower bine crepe de chine, made with plain 1 chemise corsages, and skir.ts having side panniers of grey georgette frills. .Their"-shoes and stockings were of grey, and their hats of grey georgette with pale pink posies. They carried bouquets of blue and lavender flowers-, and wore platinum .and diamond brooches, the gift? of the. bridegroom. Mr. Derek Perry was best man and Mr. Turi Carroll groomsman. The organist was Mr. Tombs. After the service Mrs. j?crry held a small wedding reception at "Otataia,'-' at which only the relatives of the bride and bridegroom were present; Later iii the. afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. Perry left for a trip in » motorcar which was the gift of the bridegroom to tho bride, who wore a travelling dress .of fawn silk stockinette embroidered with lavender,' and a lavender vel.our hat. Her gifts, \o the bridegroom were a gold cigarette ca.se and a diamond scarf pin.

An interesting fact mentioned in the last number of the Red Cross Bulletin, is that the first movement towards .organised voluntary work in relieving sufferings caused -by war or epidemic ■was made" by a Mr. Henry Dnnapt, s, citizen of Geneva, who chanced to witness the sufferings of the wounded after the Battle of Splfermo in. 1859. Ho was intensely .fffected by his. experience and de-voted himself, to ths caxijse ,of mercy in war, especially in the furtherance .'of two definite proposals; tine authorisation of voluntary corps or individuals to assist in the care of. the wounded, and, more important and far-reaching, the neutralisation, by international agreement, of all tjioso who were employed on the sole, duty qf attending the sick and wounded in war. .The. history of his efforts is most interesting, and the. success wjiich finally crowned, them should be an incentive to. those who arc inspired with ideas for the good of humanity,, and who hesitate to. promulgate.them because of .fear lest one person should be quite inadequate to §tart a big question or schenre in the world. It should ajso'be an answer to the large number of "What's the Good?" sort of people who hinder tho progress ,of many a. causo because they are afraid td "tackle humanity." Duriant was fortunate, after some straggling, in interesting some of his fellow citizens in Geneva in- hjs ideas, and as some of these were qualified by pos.itior and money to help a- committee was fprme.d. This unofficial, self-appointed, after a little private negotiations in various countries, issued invitations to various. Governments of Europe to a conference in Geneva to discuss Dunant's proposals. This bold move met with complete and deserved success, and the first of a number of. such conferences met in. 1863. An International Congress in 1864 produced the famous Convention of Geneva, the charter of t)he lied Cross, the covenant o£ mercy in war.