OTAGO FARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2528, 27 August 1902, Page 10

OTAGO FARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION.

If the attendance be any criterion, the meeting of the Early Settlers' Association, held on Thursday was, with the exception of the historic gathering held on the occasion of the jubilee of the province, the most successful of the now fairly large number that have been held under the auspices of the as,oeiation. Seldom has the Victoria. Hall been so full ; certainly it has never been fuller than it was last evening. By J half-pa^ 7 all the chairs were filled, before i 8 tho standing room was all monopolised, ' at 8 disappointed " Identities " were returning "home unable to -get in. The warm, pleasant evening, the growing popularity of the gatherings, and the untiring work of the enthusiastic secretary were no doubt the chief factors iii bringing to tho- hall so great a cru=h For future gatherings a. larger hail fcciM aimobt imperative. The protfiamme presented to thore fortunate enough ' to gain admittance waa o& the name lines as

previous ones. There were musio and speeches, reminiscences of early days, pictures of the pioneers and of the city in its primitive state, the whole forming a pro^ gramme calculated to amuse, instruct, and! edify. Mr Donald Reid was in the chair, and filled it as perhaps the early settlera wish it to be filled. If not so fluent or so vigorous as in the days of the old Provin-i ciaJ Council, he has still the ability to givei an address that is homely, appropriate, andl instructive, and this is what the early settlers want.

When the gathering had settled down, and were- making themselves as comfortable as the circumstance would permit, tb.9 Chairman delivered his usual opening address. He said he was pleased to see such a large gathering there that night, although he regretted that they had not sufficients accommodation for those who had arrived. If the committee had known that theral would have been such a large meeting, they would have made an effort even under difficulties to get a larger hall. The meeting that night was mainly for the purpose of having a little social intercourse, and, thanks to the foresight and energy of the secretary and friends who had assisted him, of exhibiting some views of early Otago, as well aa some of the Old Country, which might also be interesting. He might mention that ife had been intended to hold a large gathering on the occasion set ap^art for the Coronation/ of their King. The unfortunate illness of his Majesty and the delay upset their ar» rengements, otherwise they would have, carried out the gathering, and they would have had a number of patriotic speeches, which would probably have tired them if they hadl been packed bo tightly as they were that night. — (Laughtor.) Fortunately, the King 1 had recovered, and was now in the best of health, for which they were all thankful. — • (Applause.) The Coronation had passed off most successfully amid the acclamations o£ the people ; and the war in South Africa had come to a close, and their late foes had been granted liberal and magnificent termsn of peace. They all hoped the Boers would now join with them in building-up a great Empire, to which in their inland country they could never by themselves have aftained. Hemmed in an they w^e, they could never have been anything but a comparatively insignificant people. la connection with the war and the. part their sons had taken in it, it must have been a> matter of gratitude and pride to the early pioneers to know that the men who went to the seat of war from all parts of their young 1 eclony in the earlier detachments were' chiefly composed of the sons of the early settlers, and that these lads who had been/ reared up in the rural districts and were accustomed to an oxitdoor life and riding on horseback, had displayed great courage and had acquitted themselves most creditably. — (Applause.) He would like to say to those lads who had returned that while it was a grand thing to be forward in fighting for freedom and liberty, and acting as a soldier, it was no le.«s creditable and honourable to take paTt in the glorious work of colonisation ; to settle down to their old occupations and assist in building up this 'part of their great Empire. To know the arts of war wa3, in the present state of society, unfortunately essential, but it was 'a far higher thing to know the arts of peace and to assist in the building up of what would prove to be the moral and material advancement of the people. — (Hear, hear.) He hoppd the young men would bear this in mind, and not be led to believe, that their old occupations were alow and trivial. He would now call on their old friend Mra Monson, who had been in Otago before ifc was a settlement, to give them some reminiscences of the p:u«t. / Mrs Monson then ascended the staee, receiving a kindly greeting from the audience as she did so, and favoured the meeting with a short paper concerning incidents which happened in the years 1846 or 1847, the speaker could not say exactly which, but it was before the arrivaf of the John Wiokcliffe. She told of a trip to Dunedin. when in fact there was no Dunedin, and the site was called the head of the river, when the journey had to be made in a whaleboat. and when the bush grew down on the hills on either side of the bay right to the water's edge. A broken oar and a head wind compelled them to walk bock to Koputai (Porb Chalmers) and her mother and the ladiea with her were the first wom^n to tackle the journey fhrough the hush. She told of the early experiences of th^ sandbanks of the harbour, of the Maoris and their attitude towards the early settlers, and other mattora i elating to the days when they were five years without a letter, and when one did arrive 5s postage was required for it. Mrs Monaon's paper was listened to very.appreciatively, and hearty applause was accorded her on its conclusion.

Miss Smaill >=anar tastpfully " We'd better bide a w^e," after which a series of views of Old Country scenes were thrown on ai screen, the lantern being worked by representatives from the New Zealand Bible Socirty. T^e pictures had been obtained by Mr Walter Blaekie on his recent trip Home, and ho acted as lecturer. The views, comprising mainly scones in Scotland, were generally very pretty, a few, however, resembling a magnified and balf-washed-oufc ink blot. But thp audience was good natured and did enjoy the explanations by Mr Blaekie. He was homely ; so were they, and the humorous interjections provided no end of fun.

There was an interval for refreshments, and, despite the crush, everyone seemed to receive attention. Then followed a song by Miss Finlay. and pictures of early Dunedin and the leading pioneers, hearty applause greeting the appe* ranee of the best known. Mr J. Wood explained clearly and intelligently. The programme was finished a little after 10 by the singing of "Auld Lang Syne," and the bulk of th-ft identies dispersed, a fairly large number remaining 1 , however, to enjoy the short dance afterwards held.

Complaints were mode at the Christchurchi Acclimatisation Society's meecing on Wednesday that poisoned wheat had been sown, about the Domain, and several doves had been destroyed by it.

Advice ao Mothers. — Are you broken in youf re«t by a sick child suffering with th« \ pain of cutting teeth? Go at once to a chemist and get a bottle of Mas "WiSßLOtr'a I Soothing Sieup. It will relieve the poo* sufferer immediately. It ia perfectly harmle«« and pleasant to taste, it produce* natural, quiet sleep, by relieving the child from P*ia, and the little cherub awakes " a« bright m • button." It »oothes the child, it •ofUna tn« gums, allays *11 pain, ieheve» wind, reginaU* 1 the bowels, and is the bwt-known renwdy tox \ dysentery and diarrhoea, whether »n«»e , fro " 1 teething or other c»u««s. Mr» Winaloirg I Soothing Syrup U »»ld by M«dicm« *•»!«■ i tT«zzwkoco»