WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14380, 25 November 1908, Page 3

WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION

ANNUAL MEETING; \ The j annual meeting of the Women's Christian Temperance Union; was held in tho Y.W.C.A. Rooms yesterday afternoon. Mrs Don presided, and there was a very large and fully representative gathering .of Jsdics. The meeting in a large measure took the form of a thanksgiving for the. successes achieved at the recent local option polls, and a feeling of enthusiasm thereover dominated largely tho spirit of the meeting. The.annual report read to'the meeting was as follows:— '■■■~ " In presenting the twenty-fourth' annual report of the Duncditi Women's Christian Temperance Union it is with great joy and thankfulness to God that we record the 1 fact that this year has marked'an epoch in the history of our branch. Never before has. 6uch keen interest and onthusiasm been shown in the work both by members and others, and never before have pur efforts met with such unqualified success. Every department reports wonderful / progress. Our membership- has. increased; ' our finances are buoyant; our social and religious work, etc., ha 6 accomplished much; and, above all, wo feel deeply grateful to God for the success- that attended our efforts at the recent local option poll. , " Meetings.—During the year we held 11 ordinary, 12 executive nine drawing-room, and about 20 public meetings, 14 of -which' were social gatherings for ..seamen at the Sailors' Rest. ' , " Membership.—Owing to tho untiring zeal and energy of Mrs J. Hoatloy and the ladies associated with her in -arranging the drawing-room meetings, we gained over 50 now members during the year, which makes our total membership larger' than ' it has ever been. Our union has sustained very heavy losses during tho year by the death of Mrs Ewing Mrs Logan, Mrs J. W; Jago, and Mrs Aitkcn, all of; whom have- borne the heat and burden of tho 'day/ and shall be missed-for their loving' Christian oouasol and willing help. •..:'.; • ■ " Finances.—As will be seen by our treasurer s report, our finances are in a flourishing condition. Donations have como in freely, As an evidence of the interest and enthusiasm shown in our work, at our last meeting our president read a fetter from Mrs M'Leod, Ohristchnrch, who is 97 years of age, and the. oldest member Of the union m the Dominion, enclosing the sum of 10s for our.fighting fund. Tho act that- during the year 337 writing pads bearing the motto of .the' union were sold is .sufficient evidence' of their growing popularity. It W as from the clever brain of our worthy president that the,idea of the badge bearing tho motto 'Strike out tho top lme, for God, home, and humanity,' cnamated. Who'can say bow many votes were won by_ this silent 'appeal,, or. how , a !'. 'W., s,l Sgc|tivcno ss may ret extend.) '• Sailors Rffit.-ir ro m the superintendants report ;yo„ will learn that tho" work at the; Sailor's Rest is very satisfying. Bible m &chools.-The union is in commumcation with Hie New Zealand Citizen's iTnTuZ* m Wt«»t«*' may be ol Mined from our local superintendent. At the monthly meeting hoW.'in August tho Jollowing resolution was carriecf unanimously:-' The Dunedin' W.0.T.U.. bclievingit to be highly desirable that the Holv Scriptures should be restored to the curriculuiri of the public schools of New Z&. land, expresses its approval' of 'the 'system advocated by the New Zealand'' Citizens' Bible-in-Stato-schools' League, the obiwt of which is to' socure that- end without disturbing the educational system of the country, while at' the same time''increasing its efficiency and popularity by remedying an acknowledged defect!' Letters 'were sent to the various candidates'for parliamentary honours, asking if thoy favoured the league's . platform, and replies have been received, the majority .of which are favourable. ' • . ' " Anniversary of meeting to celebrate the granting of the franchise to the women of New ZeaJnnd was held on October 9 in the Art Gallery Hall. - The chair was occupied by Mrs Dob, and the speakers were Rev. W. Saunders, who gave' ail interesting resume of the work gone through before this privilege was granted, and Mr H. D. Bedford, who spoke of the offect the women's vote had had on the progressive measures:passed by the' House, bevoral songs and recitations wore given durin>r the evening. "The Recent Foll.-With.oiit appearing flattering to ourselves, we cannot refrainfrom mentioning the fact that the success recently recorded is in' no small measure duo to organisation of. our union. fhis has always stood out prominently. as one of the main features of our work-namely,i the removing of all temptation in the; way of strong drink. In recent campaigns tho union-has always been 'in'the thick of the fight,' but even more so'than formerly this year. Owing to increased resources wo have (mainly by tbe presence of our able and gifted president) mode ourselves responsible for several of the prominent phases. Our union, if not responsible for the idea of a children's precession, certainly (lid not a little towards bringing about that magnificent spectacular display, of which over 5000 women . and children formed part, and which will stand out as a landmark in tho history of. temperance reform, and, indeed, in the growth of our fair city. Women's meetings under tho auspices of our union were also quite a feature of the campaign, and in the other public meetings our women wero always to the fore. The increase in the no-license vote, which cannot be; appreciated to the full when set down in figures, shows what work has been going-'ori, and if as much enthusiasm is displayed in the next three years, if wo continue; steadfast in our prayers to God, nothing can stop us from ultimate success at the next poll. • Our union-came into existence through the earnest prayers of consecrated Christian women, and, followin E their example, all of our work is begun with prayer, consequently at the earnest request of our president a number of our union showed their earnestness in. the cause by beginning the eventful day by spending from 8 till' 9 0 clock in earnest .prayer., Believing that wo are t this great work labouring together with God, wo therefore rely upon Him for wisdom 'and power to accomplish His purpose." Mrs Don, the president of the union, briefly addressed the meeting. She referred to the splendid work lwing done at NorthEast Valley, whore a new branch had been established, As many as 56 members had joined at_ the opening meeting, and the membership had increased considerably since then. Under tho will of the late Mr Mitchell the Sailors' Rest had benefited to the extent* of £100. ', When thai money was obtained it was intended to thoroughly renovate the building and bring the institution right up tomato. .The balance sheet presented showed a credit balance of £26 4s. The election of office-bearers resulted as follows:-Presidcnt, Mrs N. A. Davis; secretary, Miss Simpson; treasurer, Mrs Evans; superintendent of Sailors' Rest, Mrs Pearson; superintendent of social work, Mrs Heatlcy; cradle roll, Miss Mazcngarb; Band 'of Hope work, Mrs D. Gain; reporter to White Ribbon, Mrs Hutton. At the conclusion of the meeting the President announced that there would be' a recess for two months, a holiday which would be deservedly enjoyed after the strenuous work of the past few months. Afternoon tea was dispensed during the afternoon, and two or three musical items and a recitation were' rendered by members of the union. RECOGNITION OP SERTICES. At an interval in the meeting Mrs Diok announced that she had a verv nleasant duty to perform, in the way of making a presentation to. their worthy president, Mrs Don. She had all along been closely associated with the strenuous work - that had produced such splendid results at the recent local option polls. They therefore considered that the only way to express their feelings of thankfulness towards their president was to present her with something tangible. Such a course was unprecedented in the annals of the union, but the recent success was also unprecedented in their history. It was, therefore, thought that it was most becoming that they should recognise in some way the efforts put- forward by their president.—(Applause). Mrs Don, in replying, said she did not know whether to express her. pleasure or her sorrow for the presentation made to her. They had banded together to work for "God. home, and humanity," and, therefore, if any one of thorn as individuals had been able to do anything in that direeticn it was just what they had undertaken to do. She had been t.hoir president iiovr for some years, but never bad there been a time in her life when' she had been so proud as during the last campaign. There were some of their members "who had worked nobly, and if she herself had ever dono anything it had been an effort united with the efforts of others. And it ..was her firm conviction that the successes they had participated in were all in answer, to prayer. Mrs Moyeo addressed a few words in praise of the labour* of the union's pre-

sidont. Mrs Don's work, she said, was from her heart, and they appreciated, it. She trusted «iu<l hoped that her work in the future would be as prolific as it had been in tho past. Mrs Kirkland, an ex-president of the union, md a member ever since its inception, endorsed what was said by the previous speakers', Mrs Don, she said, hail done her work with a practical enthusiasm. She possessed u faculty for active and long perseverance. ('Sod knew what their president had done for fSod, home, and humanity. Although their president was retiring from office this year her interest would still bo with them. The speaker concluded with an earnest appeal to all members of the union to continue- and 'further' the great, work which they were doing. She referred to the existence, of 1 a spirit of inertia that prevailed amongst some women who, at election times, failed completely-to take advantage of their franchise. She personally knew 10 women who had not exor-ois-ed their votes at tho recent local option poll, and one of them gavo as her reason that eho couldn't bo bothered voting. She would be glad to sec more young membarp joining the union. '''.'■'