CANTERBURY CALEDONIAN SOCIETY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXI, Issue 7227, 29 April 1884, Page 5

CANTERBURY CALEDONIAN SOCIETY.

The annual meeting of the Canterbury Caledonian Society wos hold at Warner's Commercial Hotel last night. There was a very large attendance of members, and Dr M'Bean Stewart, the vice-President of the Society, took the chair. The Society's piper was in attendance, and played some reels and strathspeys as an opening to the proceedings. Apologies for non-attendance were read by the Chairman from Dr Guthrie, and Mr A. C. Wilson. After the Secretary had read the advertisement convening the meeting, and the minutes of the last annual meeting had been read and confirmed, he read the Directors' annual report, which is as follows :—" Your Directors have much pleasure in presenting the second annual balance-sheet, and beg to congratulate members on the financial success of tho pa3t year. Our annual gathering, as you will see, left us £34 to the good, and when you consider that the previous meeting was .£7O on the wrong side, we have every reason for congratulation. The Caledonian concert was more popular than the most sanguine expected; the results were cheering, and your Directors hope to see the concert in future one of the season's attractions in Canterbury. When Donald Dinnie arrived in our island, your Directors at once made arrangements for securing to Scotchmen in this neighbourhood an exhibition from the best exponent of Scottish athletic sports that has ever visited the Australasian Colonies. Your Directors regret that .their efforts did not meet with that degree of support which they anticipated, and the result of one of the* best days of Scotch sports in the Colony was a financial loss. After all we have the satisfaction of beginning the new year with .£lO6 to our credit. We have now 206 members on the roll. Messrs J. Anderson, jun., James Campbell, H. A. C. Pergusson, J. S. Gu:hrie, and A. C. Wilson retire from the directorate, but are eligible, and offer themselves for re-election. Mr G. H. Gordon having left the district causes another vacancy."

The following items of the balancesheet may prove of interest. A cash credit balance of .£lO6 13s 7d is shown, and the total assets of the Society are valued at £l9'S 17s sd. The takings at the annual gathering of ISB3 were over ,£3OO, and the receipts from the Caledonian concert .£94, the nett profits being some .£53. Some discussion took place with regard to certain payments, which several members thought were larger than they should be, and some explanation was demanded, in one or two instances, as to the reason for particular expenses. These, however, the Secretary showed had been incurred quite legitimately, and after some slight discussion upon these items, the accounts and balance-sheet were adopted as printed, on the motion of Mr J. D. Norman, seconded by Mr J. Campbell.

The next business was the election of new members, when the following seven gentlemen were admitted to the rights of membership : —Messrs J. W. Munro, J. Gray, D. Campbell, James Ollivier, James Pluck, A. Bla"ke, and Frederick Cross. Mr Sutherland said that they had now to consider the question of electing a President, and he did not think they could do better than re-elect their old President, Mr Peter Cunningham, who, although absent, would be back in New Zealand before the next sports, but who in the meantime had not forgotten their existence. He would propose Mr Cunningham for the office of President of the Society during the ensuing year. This proposal was seconded by Mr Eobinson, and briefly supported by the Chairman, who in putting the resolution, which was carried unanimously, said that they could not find a better man, and that they would do themselves credit by re-electing him. Mr P. Cunningham was therefore elected President for the year 1884-5. A ballot was taken, which resulted in the election of Messrs Watt and Campbell for the office of vice-Presidents, the other candidates being Drs Stewart and Guthrie. Six Directors retired this year by rotation in the ordinary manner, and the following gentlemen were elected to fill their places and serve on the directorate for the next three years—viz., Messrs P. Martin, E. Wallace, A. C. Wilson, G. Mackay, J. Anderson and H. A. C. Fergusson, some of the number being re-elected.

Dra Guthrie and M'Bean Stewart, Messrs Wallace, Grant and J. M'Gregor were elected a Committee to revise the rules of the Society. Certain correspondence which had passed between Mr A. M'Bae and the firm of Hilcote and Sons, Glasgow, with reference to a cup for the Society's sports, was read by the Chairman. This cup, which is valued at about .£35, has already been forwarded from London, and is expected to arrive in the Colony within a short period. A hearty and unanimous vote of thanks was proposed to the firm of Hilcote and Sons for their great liberality in presenting the Society with such a handsome trophy. Carried by acclamation. Mr M'Kay said that he had a little matter to bring before the meeting, which he thought would prove interesting to those present. Mr Watt had shown him a letter of the poet Burns, which he had brought with him to the meeting. He thought that it should be secured for the Society as the only relic of the greatest Scottish poet existing, as far as he knew, in these Colonies.

The precious letter, enclosed ia a glass case, was handed to the Chairman, who said that he quite agreed with the idea of purchasing it, especially as there was not the slightest doubt as to the authenticity of the epistle, and the price (.£10) at which it could be obtained was less than a third of what had been given for a similar letter a short while back, in Scotland. The document, which was read to the meeting, and passed around tb." room for critical examination is very nearly one hundred years old, and contains the poet's directions for forwarding his correspondence while away from home. It was unanimously resolved, on the motion of Mr Fergusson, himself an Ayrshire man, that the letter bo purchased forthwith from its present owner at the price named by liim to Mr Watt. The Chairman brought before the notice of the meeting the case of the boy Austin, who had lately saved a child'a life in the river Heathcote, and whose conduct had been specially mentioned by a Judge of the Supremo Court. One of the objects for which the Society existed was that they should take cognisance of such special acts of bravery and give medals for them. On the motion of Dr Thomas, the meeting unanimously resolved that a silver St Andrew's cross should be obtained for Austin, in recognition of the brave way in which he had risked his life to save that of the child.

Mr Norman said that he should take the opportunity of bringing under their notice the conduct of a member of their own Society—Mr M'Gregor, who had jumped from the port of a man-of-war in Lyttelton harbour, and rescued a child that had fallen overboard.

Mr J. Campbell explained that the matter had come before the Directors at their last meeting, that they had requested

Mr M'Gregor to make an application and forward particulars of tho whole circumstance, so that thoy might boo if thpy could recommend the giving of a medal in hie caso. The particulars hnd not been sent in, and thoy could not be placed before the meeting, which therefore could not deal with the matter.

It was unanimously agreed that another Caledonian concert Bimilar to that held last year should be given again this year. Tho health of tho President, Mr P. Cunningham, was proposed by Mr Clarke in a short speech, and drunk in the appropriate wine of tho country, with a hearty three cheers.

Mr Shanks then proposed votes of thanks to the following donors of cups, &c., to the Society :—Mr Struthers, the Lancaster Park Company, Messrs Urquhart, Strata, Coates and Co., Wynn-Williams, Petersen and Co., and Howo.

The cup prcßontcd by Mr Struthers, which had lately arrived in Christchurch, was upon the table, and is a handsome piece of plate. It goes South, to Macdonald, tho piper, who >von it at the last sports for his playing of marches. Mr Struthers briefly acknowledged the compliment, and said that as long as he could afford it in these hard times—(laughter) —he would continue to take an interest in the Caledonian Society in the same way as hitherto. (Applause.) Votes of thanks were then proposed to the following:—To Mr Warner, of the Commercial Hotel, who, as the Chairman remarked, had done a great deal for them "since he became a Mac;" to the Treasurer of the Society, Mr Sutherland; to Mr Watt, as one of last year's vice-Presi-dents ; to the Secretary, Mr Black ; and, finally, to the Chairman. The meeting then terminated.