THE OTAGO A. AND P. SOCIETY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3595, 6 February 1923, Page 12

THE OTAGO A. AND P. SOCIETY.

APPEAL FOR PUBLIC SUPPORT. The proposal of the committee of the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society to dispose of Talnina Park with the view of securing more suitable showgrounds was withdrawn at the meeting of the society last night that was called to consider it. An alternative proposal, that an effort should be made to raise £IO,OOO by an appeal to the public to enable the society to be relieved of its financial obligations, was carried unanimously. The Agricultural and Pastoral Society is a body which has distinct claims upon the business community for support. By its Summer and Winter Shows it annually- attracts to the city great crowds of visitors, whose presence in Dunedin is associated with the expenditure of large sums of money in the shops and other business places and in the circulation of funds that directly or indirectly benefit the entire urban population. It is reasonable to suggest that the appeal whi#h the society has determined to make to the public for financial support to an extent sufficient to enable it to free itself from debt and to effect improvements to its property should meet with a liberal response. We have decided to open our columns to a fund with the object of assisting the society in this direction. This fund will be begun with a subscription of £250 from the Otago Daily Times and Witness Company. All subscriptions forwarded to us will be publicly acknowledged.