ENTERTAINMENTS AND MEETINGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12071, 15 September 1902, Page 6

ENTERTAINMENTS AND MEETINGS.

•■■ ■ « ■ | DIX'S GAIETY COMPANY. i The members of Mr. Dix's Company gave the usual change of programme at the City I Hall on .Saturday night. The eccentricities ! of Mr. Tom Woottwelt created much amuse- : tnent, the clever performer being warmly ap- ! plauded. Miss Alice Layton's ballad sing- | ing- ami the serio-comic contributions of Miss ; Olive Lenton came in for cordial appreci- ! ation. Other pleasing turns were provided I lv Messrs. George Dean, Tim Howard, Pied. I R'ivenhall, Miss Ethel Gwynne, and the other j artistes of the company. The pictures shown ,' by the Edisonograph were- also well liked. WHITE'S CIRCUS. I The matinee and evening performances at ; Worth's Circus on Saturday attracted a large number of amusement-seekers. The last ; three nights are announced, the season de- : finitely closing on Wednesday night. On i that occasion there will bo a benefit pro- . gramme, containing a specially long list of I attractions, and the performance will com- , mejico at a-quarter to eight. Also, on that : night Mr. James Howard, of the Howard | Brothers, will, by going into a .state' of trance, ! endeavour to reveal to inquirers the where- | abouts of mis.sing relatives and friends or lost I property. There will bo the usual matinee j on Wednesday afternoon. I ST. HILL'S CLUB SHOW. Tho animated picture exhibition being i given at Henuing's Bicycle Arcado by St. Hill's (.'tub Show drew large crowds on Saturday night. Tho excellent views depicting sporting events, and including the great Jc'fries-Fitzsimmons glove- right, were watched with great interest. WELCOME-HOME SOCIAL TO TROOPER TATTON. Oil Friday evening last, at Mrs. Hunter's Criterion Restaurant, Queen-street, the members of the Garrison Band entertained Trooper W. A. Tat ton at a smoke concert. Hon. Lieutenant L. W. Norrie occupied the chair. A very pleasant couple of hours were s|M>nt and several enjoyable vocal and instrumental items were provided. Trooper Tatton, who was a member of tho band before leaving for South Africa, lias rejoined. TEMPERANCE REFORM. In connection with the Sunday afternoon temperance meetings held in the Federal Hall, tho Rev. H. Kelly, M.A., yesterdaygave an address on " The Fundamental Principles of Temperance Reform." Mr. W. Spedding presided. Miss Alice Runnier sang a solo in her well-known pleasing stylo. The attendance was good. Mr. Kelly's main points were: (1) That strong drink is the cause of more than one-half the world's misery. Generals, police officers, and judges were quoted in support of that contention. But for the drink, said tho Lord Chief .Justice of England, nine prisons out of ten might bo closed. (2) That it was responsible for three-fourths of the world's poverty. (3) That ii was largely responsible for the world's insanity; some authorities stated two-thirds, others 35 per cent. ('+) Disease, Sir A. Clarke said that seven out of ©very ton in the hospitals under his care owed their ill-health to drink. The second principle was that the liquor traffic is economically indefensible, the lecturer referring in this connection to the loss to tho nation owing to the loss of time and inefficiency of so many workmen, and to the small amount of labour employed by the liquor traffic in comparison to ordnary beneficial trades. The revenue was sometimes spoken of. What would you think, said the lecturer, of a business man who. to collect a debt of £30, spent £50, which he contended was a fair estimate of the position of the revenue question. The third principle was that regulation had failed to protect the people from tho evils of the liquor traffic. New Zealand's increase per capita of the liquor traffic of 13s per head during the past five years was, he said, one proof of this position. Another principle was that the people havo a right to abolish any traffic which is proved injurious to the common well-being. Mr. Kelly held that people who talk of prohibition tyranny were talking without the book. The prohibition movement was a moral suasion movement. If the people decided to vote no-license, who were the tyrants" The people. Who do they tyrannise'.' The people. Why, it was like a man sitting down upon himself, which would be hard to do. Tho lecturer also spoko of the liquor traffic as a corrupter of political and social life, and said over and above all those questions were the great moral and religious ones involved, which it behoved every Christian man and woman to realise their responsibility respecting. PANMURE SCHOOL COMMITTEE. At the last ordinary meeting of the Panmure School Committee the inspector's report of the standard examinations recently hold at the school by Mr. D. Petrio, chief inspector, came up for consideration. The j report showed that there had only been thrco failures in the whole of the standavd exiuxduntious, and that the teaching had been efficient, comprehensive, and satisfactory. The committee congratulated the headmaster (Mr. T. L. May) upon the results obtained, It was decided to expend a portion of the funds in tarring, sanding, and improving the school grounds generally. The committee are looking forward to a promised visit from the architect of the Board of Education re alterations and improvements asked for to buildings and teacher's residence. THEOSOPHY. Last night in the Tlieosophical Society's Rooms, .Miss A. E. Davidson lectured to a large audience on '"The Mystery of Life and Death." Miss Davidson spoke of the recognition of the mystery of life by the science of both East and West, and compared their methods of seeking its solutiou. Western science, she said, sough* for it in the physical form, even invading the house of life, heedless of the torture caused, if only they might solve the mystery; while in the East, believing as St. Paul says, that man is the temple of the living God. and that in him dwells the spirit of God, who is the source and cause of all life, they search deep into the inner realms of their own being, feeling that there in their own heart lies the door of the Infinite through which they must pass to solve this mystery of life and death. An interesting discussion followed. Before the lecture, Mr. L. Kent gave a most artistic and expressive rendering of "Berceuse"' (Papini), as a violin solo. .