RANGIORA VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXV, Issue 9426, 29 May 1891, Page 2

RANGIORA VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADE.

ANNUAL MEETING, ■ • The seventeenth annual meeting, of the Rangiora Fire Brigade was held at thestation on Wednesday. There were twenty*] two members present, and Superintendent Smith occupied the chair],' The annual report, read by the Secretary,! Fireman Wilson, stated that the receipts of the No. 1 account amounted to .£lO9 IBs,' and the expenditure :to £57 18a, in* eluding the caretaker’s salary of £25, and) £l3 spent in improving the plant) re*j ceipts of the No. 2 account amounted t0£60. ; 13s 4d, £lB 18s being received as donations' for attending fires, and £2l 9a from am entertainment. The expenditure was £23] 10b 6d, leaving a credit-balance of £27 2» lOd. The out-going Committee suggested] that the state of the funds would permit of the new Committee taking the matter of new uniforms into consideration. The members of the Brigade had been ini efficient training daring the year, and had acquitted themselves creditably at compe*; titions, winning prizes both at Christ*' church and Rangiora. There had been! the largest number of fire alarms 1 during any one year of the Brigade’s existence, there having been eleven; bat the majority were of a minor character,' Acknowledgment was made of the fol* lowing donations in recognition of services at fires, viz., Mr J. M‘Dowell £5, Mrs Waterston £1 Is, Railway Department £lO, Mr E. R. Good £2 2a, and Messrs Moir and Co. £5 6s. There had been no alteration in the officers daring the year, and both officers and men were working most harmoniously. The Brigade had the full complement of men, and no difficulty was experienced in filling up vacancies.; The special thanks of the Brigade were due to Mr W. Taylor for his kindness in arranging and carrying out the entertainment in aid of the funds.

The report and accompanying balance* sheet were adopted. Firemen Wilson and Barrell, Foremen Harman and Wadey, Branchmen M'Crooken and Buckley were elected the Committee for the year, and Mr W. H. Foster was reelected Auditor. Certificates of threo years’ membership were presented to Branchmen M'Crocken, Firemen W. Wilson, A. Miller, W. Young, O. Du Moulin, H. L. Rodgers and J. M’Aleer. It was resolved to present Firemen Rogers with a long service (five years) medal. A vote of thanks was accorded to the outgoing Committee, and the Secretary was presented with an honorarium of £1 Is, in recognition of the excellent manner in which he had performed his duties. ,*' It was decided to draw up a record of all the competitions in which the Brigade had taken part. Congratulations and a hearty vote of thanks were extended to the teams which took part in the competition on the Queen’s Birthday holiday. Votes of thanks were' also accorded to the Auditor; to Fireman Wilson, for his services as delegate to the Fire Brigade Conference; to Engineer Reeve and Fireman Efford,_ for the improvements they had effected in the plant ;■ and to Superintendent Smith, for the preeminently satisfactory _ way in which ha had commanded the Brigade since he took office. Superintendent Smith signified a wish to be relieved from office, bnt the firemen would not hear of his services, being dispensed with. The question of taking up ambulance drill was introduced by Fireman Rogers, but, the hour being late, discussion on the proposal was deferred. It was decided to hold a social gathering in connection with the Brigade, and ft Committee was appointed to make arrangements. The Mayor (Mr B. R. Good), who entered the room shortly before the close of the meeting, complimented the Brigade upon its efficiency and good financial condition. The meeting then ended. At a meeting of the Committee, Fireman Wilson was re-elected Secretary.