GAELIC SOCIETY.

Otago Witness, Issue 1905, 14 August 1890, Page 19

GAELIC SOCIETY.

The ninth annual gathering of the Gaelic Society of New Zealand was celebrated by a concert and .ball in tb,e Garrison Hall on the 25th ult. ' -'Atxratf 7.30 p.m. a number of pipers marched from the Octagon to the ball, where there bad assembled a large gathering, which had increased, considerably, when proceedings com" , menoed at 8 p.m. The attendance was large, aa it a'lwa'yß is on ' occasions suoh as these. The Rev. Dr. Stuart, chief of the society, occupied the chair, and was supported on hia left by Sir Rohert Stout, and on his right by Mr William Hutchison. A number of other chairs on the platform were occupied by fcha.prominenfc members of the society.

JSey. Dr ,Stuabt, v jn rißipg I( tp address the meeting, was received ,with applause, He was glad tp say that their society ( might now be regarded as firmly, 'rooted in the' country, of tbeir adoption, and, whatSvas better, in the' hearts of its people. , fie referred' to the 'entatuiasm 'which wan shown by the' members' of the society, 'and said he was sorry to' say that the chief was not entitled to such' praise. Of late 'years he had been coming short of his duty, and had been ' claiming that indulgence generally given to old age. The only thing he could promise was bis love and his occasional services.— (Ap lausr.) He could not help being proud of being a Celt, for the Celts were amongst tho oldest races on the planet. Their mission never was to establish a far-reacbiog dominion.' Their mission, nfifnras he understood their country, was to influence ot her nations, to infuse a strain of tbeir hot blood and their ardent nature iv those who opposed and conquered them. That was a noble thing to achieve, and that was, after nil, what the Celt had achieved. If they read history they would find that Mede and Parthian — great conquerors in their day— bad a strain of Celtic blood, and in.modern history it wag found that the Swisb, j the Welsh, the Irish, and the Scotch Highlanders ,were amongst the most resolute defenders of liberty.— (Applause) „Oo where they would, they would find that the Celt; might not be renowned for bis accumulation of wealth, but he was ever renowned for a nobler possession — an undying love of liberty, of his people, and of his God. — (Applause.) But it was not his place to address the meeting. By«and;bye 'they would 'have the foremost orator in the -country addressing them, and he could assure them that no one would .listen to his address with more pleasure than he would. Referring to the report, he must say that jt recounted goo.d work done. v , Jt went to the Home country and reminded them of wonderful changes ihafc had taken place an,d' were'takiug, place there, i Nothing so amazed him during his short visit at . Hqme'k'sj the work' of the Crofters' Commission. In' His Voung'days ihe landed ''proprietors were the* Kings of • the'oouri try. Now. the Crof jars' 1 Commission sat berk and there, and asked, the Duke of Argyle of the Marquis of Bveadalbahe ■'to hand over the rent rolls'to them, and they sat in judgment on them, with .the result that sometimes rents were reduced by 45 per cent.'and ; arrears^ wept away, altogether. He believed the , change, was necessary. ■ Girpumstances jequired it, and all honour tq the British Parliament for having courace to' appoint a J 'commission with such powers. There" was mow a better order of things prevailing, ,whiqh would never be arrested until w ( e go.t t just as mucjj^of, on earth as we had character ana intelligence to enjoy.— ' (Applatise.) ' • " " - The annual report, which was distributed throughout' the hall, was taken as read, as follows:—. . , . , . „.-..,, ' „ Your.CQmmittee,in. submitting their ninth annual .report .have every reason to feel gratified at the position still 'maintained by the society., lhe proceedlhg«'<6f ■th* year began with the annual gatherlug held in the Garrison Hall on the and| August,' pne,sl,dftd ,oy;er by the,chief, the Rev. Dr Stuart, and so' numerously ' attended as, to fully jusfify $he action Wthe c6mmlttee ; in securing the largest hall in the .'oltyfortheieccasidnn The^meetlng.wasrthe most •ucoessfnl, finanpiftlly.) and, otherwise,, that ( had yet taken place', and consequently ( 'it. was /.considered neaessary to seoure'the' iamS'hal! for the 'present gathering: The monthly- meetings were (held: regularlyJn .the Oddfellows/ Hajl, Stuart street, on the' first tV^nesday 63 eac^ month/and the attend* ance in every Instance was commensurate with the capacity of the building. The entertainment provided at .these; meetings was-qf, an, interesting and .elevating character, ' Besides the usual staple of .GaMfo,, Scbtoh, and English songs.^reaulngs,? and "recitations; several gentlemen give assistance in the more intellectual portions- of -the programmes. Among these'speclal.mentiion may be made of Mr J. M'Gregor, who read several able papers on " Gaelic Proverbs " and one 011 " Douaobadn Ban " j',Dr Blair, who' delivered a lecture on "The Maisaoreof Gloncoe"; and Messrs J. M'Kenzie, M.HSR., W. N. Blair, J. G. S. Grant, John M'Do'naJd, and |Wm., ' Hutchison, who delivered ipeeoheß on a variety of topics relating to Celtic matters. .Other members contributed a few original Gaelic poems during the year. , ( s It being one of the chief objects of the society to ■ promote Friendship and mutual helpfulnen among the Highlanders assembling at theie meetings; it is pleasing to observe, that the latter were conducted ( ln lanoh a manner as, to preserve the most cordial unanimity among the members It is intended to 'make these" meetings still more interesting in the immediate future by the delivery of special leotures by eminent Celtic soholan on subjects of importance to Highlanders, .and thus advanoing another of the society's objects— viz , the t.tjudy of the Gaellp language and literature. As tending also In this direc'tlon, 'apart from their religious- value, your committee take 'pleasure in notifying the members and Highlanders generally of the continuance of the , Gaelic .sermons, still being delivered in one of the oity churches on the last Sunday of every month The, opportunity thus, afforded to Highlanders for meiting at public worship and hearing their mother tongue read and preached is & boon which ought to be taken advantage of and appreciated. > The Gaelic library continues to be a source of instruction and pleasure to such of the members at avail themselves of it ; and friends who have Celtio book*, perhaps valueless to themselves are invited to present such to the Gaelic Sooiety.by whord they win be appreciated i . The calls of benevolence have not been numerous during the year ; but no case has come under the notice of the committee without being responded to. and £7 were disbursed for this purpose. When the London dock labourers' strike was in progress a resolution was moved to aid the' cause of the labourers, but ere the next meeting the strike had, happily ended, and there was no further necessity for action ; The committeo have followed with interest the footsteps of the Crofters' Commission in the Highlands of Scotland, and rejoice at the Urge reduction In rent and arrears everywhere effected, evidencing .the existence of wrongs that ought to have been redressed long ago. It still remains for the crofts to be enlarged so as to furnish a reasonable means of sustenance to, the occupiers ; and your committee is of opinion that not until that Is done, and all the waste lands in the Highlands are under cultivation by Highlanders, in adequate areas, should they rest content, or permit themselves to be made the subjects of emigration or expatriation. It is with sorrow that the committee have to record the death of three gentlemen who were either members of the society or cl-sely connected therewith. Mr Robert M Cailum had not long .been a member when he was removed by the hand of death, but not before he had given promite of greatiusefulness, and was looked forward to as a probable officebearer. He was a prominent member of. and treasurer to, the committee that Initiated the Gaelics services, and his memory will be long cherished by those fien associated with him. Next came the unexpected death of Mr .Donald M'Gregor, of Southland, who was admittedly the founder of the Gaelic Society. An exoellent Celtio scholar, and an enthusiastic Highlander, he was respected and loved by a large circle of Highland friends, by whom he will be greatly missed. The society tent a letter of condolence to his widow. * And still more recently, Mr David Gray met hia;death by a Bad accident. He -was a piper of rare ability, and seldom if ever absent from the sooiety's annual gatherings, where hie frankness of character, manly deportment, and the excellenoe of hit playing' made him a general favourite,

Cut down In the prime of life, and leaving a widow and young family to mourn his loss, the sympathy of the committee is hereby expressed for them in tbeir sore bereavement. - ,i, The society's finances .are in a fairly prosperous condition considering that membership Is purely voluntary and members have not hitherto been •■dunned" for their annual subscriptions, but as oiroulnrs have b«en printed intended to remind members of tbeir liabilities, possibly more may be done in this direction' in the future. The sooiety commenced the financial year with a oredit bank balance of £31 15s lud. The income since then has beeu £30 19s lid, and the expenditure for all purposes £87 10s fld. leaving a credit balance now in the bank of £25 5s 3d. In concluding their report, the committee would once again urge upon all Highlanders to become members of the aooiety and help by tbeir influence and subscriptions in any good work that may demand their exertions. Mr William Hutchison said the duty assigned to him was to move the adoption of the report, which had been taken as read. That meant that they should read it for themselves, and be was sure that ab they did ho at the fireside their thoughts would wander back to the old country and auld lnng syue. Sir Walter Scott used to say that if he did not see tho heather once a year he would die. Some of them whose heads had whitened under the Southern Crf)Bßj he would dare Bay, at one time thought something of the sumo kind, but while ardent as ever in their lovo fur tho Highlands nnd Islands of Scotlaud, they had not only mauaged to live, but to enjoy life iv this land of their adoption, making their patriotism, he hoped, a stimulus to their children to do for this good land and large what their aucostry did for that little old country beyond the sea— teaching them to build up institutions here based upon freedom, brotherhood, aud culture. It was wonderful how changed the Highlands had become of late years. He did not mean the landscape ; he meant the .people. The grand old Bens stood fast as ever with a kindly pity in their" furrowed aud frozen fronts, but the whole thought and sentiment of the Highland population in its feudal relationship had undergone a complete revolution. The landed proprietor, whose will once was law, was now so powerless that none would do him reverence. Englishmen and Irishmen were, like the Apostle Paul, citizens of no mean country ; and he would be a poor specimen of the Scot,- "so true, in bonnet blue," who could not stand as a , brother, shoulder $o shoulder, with any of these, either at work or play. But while loyal to cosmopolitan comradeship,- the Scotsman always retained a warm corner in his heart for the land of his birth. No wonder I . Never were homes more dear or hearts more kind, or scenes more picturesque, , than could be found in these now sadly - depopulated straths and glens. The houses were ofcen rude enough,, but -from them had gone forth gallant men and noble women, pure as tho bloom ot the heather — gone forth to do their share of the world's work in every corner of the earth, After referring to Borne of .the characteristics of Scotsmen, the I speaker asked what it was that built up this I Highland — this Scottish — character ? His answer was : The air of the mountains, the mist coming down their sides, the waft of the peat reek across,, the lochs, the bracken on the moor, the bramble on the brae, , . • „ The heather bell, That blooms io rioh on Neidpath fell —all these bad inspiration in them ; the simple living, the song, the pibroch, and— let him say it even- .at the risk of bell, book, and candle of .presbytery and synod— the Shorter Catechism— that old terror of Scottish youths, but their best class book, for it taught them logic, induced a habit of exact thought, and was indeed a complete system of philosophy in itself. — (Applause.) . Mr John Maogeegoe, in seconding the adoption of .the report, remarked that it, showed an extremely healthy state of , matters in the sooiety. It was very satisfactory to note that ,the monthly, meetings were, kept up so regularly And were ad numerouslyattended. ;As far as he tjould gather from reports of other societies, he thought, he was quite safe in saying ,that, there was no other sooiety, even in the ojkj country, at which the attendance at, the ordinary periodical meetings was kept ttp so well as at the meetings of.ijihis sooiety.— (Applause.) „Why was that? It seemed .that the distance that separated them.from the dear old land and the kindly old .people they had left at Home appeared tp draw them closer together {in this remote .land, and that was no doubt what accounted for the fact that the Gaelic Sooiety of Now Zealand was flourishing and growing as .it was. It had become the fashion nowad«ys to laugh at and deride what people called the clannishness of the Highlanders, but he held that that clannishness meant kinship and brotherhood, and that being so every Highlander had reason to be proud that the feeling was maintained so strong in their hearts, at this distance from the old conn try, , Even patriotism nowadays had come to, be looked on askance, but patriotism was one, of the. noblest sentiments that could animate any people, axx<\ it would be a sorry day for a qountry ' when the bulk of its people came to consider that it , was, a sentiment unworthy of honour. ' Highlanders, however, would not allow their olannishness to interfere with their duties as colonists, but would ever be ready to do duty as countrymen of this free land.— (Applause.) The speaker went on to refer to the deaths, that, had occurred since their last meeting, and spoke of the good the society had been enabled to do in oases of neces- , sity in thair midst. In concluding his address i he mentioned the names of the seoretary (Mr Wm. M'Leod), Mr Duncan M'Laohlan, Rev, Dr Stuart, and the members of the managing committee, all of whom did their utmost to further the interests of the society, and he wonld ask the audience to accord them one and all a hearty vote of thank 3. The motion for the adoption of the report was carried netn. con., and the vote of thanks was carried by acclamation. Messrs Dugald M'LachliAN and John Macdonald addressed the meeting at length in Gaelic, referring to general topics. Sir Robket Stout was received with loud applause. He said he considered that it was nob the only business of the meeting to adopt reports, to listen to Scottish song, and to see Scottish dances. He thought these annual gatherings should be utilised for another purpose, and that purpose was to recall some memories and some recollections of trie old land. —(Applause.) It might be said that memory was after all one of bur greatest pleasures. As a Highlander who had written some beautiful poems had said, Sweet memories cling round old times and places: They fade not, bnt gather greater graces as the years

roll on. And he thought it would be said by anyone who would attempt to recall the old land that as memory on the one hand was fading, the recollections might be more dim, yet there might be more pleasure obtained from these recollections than was afforded by even the events of yesterday or to-day. What, then, might be the object of these annual gatherings ? If they could only spend a short time in thinking of the paßt,'whatf 'an -advantage and pleasure it would be to them. .They had heard of the heather, of the cottage by the mountain, of the stormy sea, of the hair-breadth escapes, of all the joys and pleasures' of their sohoolboy days, and if ' they would only spend half an hour in recalling them, he believed they would get great pleasure

to themselves and even great moral sustenance to their natures. And another object these gatherings might serve was to keep in remembrance the land of their birth, which they should never forget. — (Applause.) Sir Robert went on to refer ab length to the history of Scotland, and to the hardy characteristics of its people, their privations, and their endurances, which had resulted in their growing a race of noble men and women. If there were in this colony more difficulties, he said, such as were experienced by the people in Scotland many years ago, we should grow up a hardier race, and one that would have all its intellectual powers brought out. It was a recognised fact that if a fine race of men was to be produced they must have difficulties of nature to fight against, and the difficulties of tt.eir surroundings to cope with. Sir Robert concluded his remarks by making reference to the steady progress of the society. During the evening the following programme was carried out: — Gaelic song, Mr Neil M'Fadyen; song, Miss M. Morrison; Gaelic song, Miss C. Macdonald ; song, Mrs Lawrence ; Gaelic song, Mr Dun Munro ; Irish jig, Master M'Kechuie; song, Mr A. Patersou ; Gaelic song, Miss M. M'Fadyen ; sailor'a hornpipe, Master D. M'Kechnie; Scotch song, Mr A. Purves; violin solo, Mr A. Gray; Gaelic song, Mr Dan M'lnnes; Highland fliDg, Master W* Smith; Scotch song, Mrs James M'Donald; Gaelic song, Mr David M'Kinnon; dance, Mr J. D. S. Burb ; Scotch song, Mr Robert Clark ; Highland reel, four ladies and Highlanders in full costume; Scotch song, Mr James RoberfcBon; sword dance, Master A. Smith; Gaelic song, Mr N. M'Fadyen. The concert concluded with the singing of " Auld Lang Syne" by the audience.

The hall was afterwards cleared for daucing, and about 140 couples remained. The ball was kept rolling until an early hour this morning. Messrs Matheaon and Smith acted as M.C't*. Mr Robertsbaw's band contributed excellent music, and Mr Meyer, as caterer, afforded every satisfaction.