RECHABITE SOIREE AND CONCERT.

Southland Times, Issue 3467, 1 August 1879, Page 2

RECHABITE SOIREE AND CONCERT.

c— The second annual, soiree and concerfcsof the Muriliiku Tent\Pf . the 1.6. R., took place last night in- the Temperance Hall. A large Dumber .of members sat down to tea, which was provided by Mr Kingsland, and done ample justice to. At the meeting which took place afterwards the 'hall was crowded; and the utmost interest and enthusiasm was evinced in the proceeding's. Mr Lennie, C.'R;.,; occupied the chair, and there were' ajssq. 'present on the platform the Revs. FaWrspn, Johnston, Ward, Mr Denniston, and Mr Brown (sed.) ; The Chairman, ' : in a brief introductory; address, spoke of the satisfactory condition of the Tent, and [pointed out the many advantages aocr.uihg v.the practice of total abstinence; & ;^- ■'• Mi- Brown fee.c.)-, read \t\}6 annual report, which showedi y "the,jT\en¥;to be in a very satisfactory condiMoiUi.'^There had been a net increase of 36 members ; during .the year, and only the- sum of £1 IG3 Sdylijad been paid t for <sickness,: wiiieh, ; the report went on to say, was very cpncjusive proof of the jgbod offecrts of temperance with regard to health, ' ;! ; ■ :■-.■■■<■'> ■■■ The Rev. Mr Ward, In an amusing and ; instructive speech, dw.elt upon the benefits of abstaining 1 froift intoxicating drinks. Intemperance caused a great deal of capital to be lost in .the way of labor, inasmuch as it ihcapacitated men 'from doing their fair snare of work, The Speaker ' based his remarks princip.allytuppn. the well-known proverb, "A stitch .in time saves nine." A great many v peopje /were too prone- to neglect the rents >in their, own and their neighbors' characters: till: it was. tqo, late to mend them. Too little nqtice was taken of small beginnings, 'but; they were often .yery serious in • their consequences, and this was especially (j;he case iq regard to drinking, * ' \ '." - ' l The Rev, ilr-Batei'SO^- next; spoke in and eloquent and impressive manner upon the influence which every individual member :of societv.exerjte.d uponhis fellows, which , extended even to the third and fourth.generation, l -Jntemperance;, was becoming a crying evil, .andijit ;bei'6ved- every one to do tJieir best to putit down. He could not speak too strongly upon thiajfuestion, for. iffc was ; a -matter. , \y jiich very seriously ; aitcc,tecjl :everyi one. :Jt was a /( lamen^b]e. ; ;f ac(r|ha^ ; som e of the inQstiCelebrated ißiea amo a^ j'i statesmenj-litterateurfj and diyinespiad been victims ; td -this baneiiil vide^ i<which^Jiad ; permeated every c'foss s of; societyl ; fie ap- , pealed- ip the audience touse' ! their'ihfluehcfe : in, • prompting- , temperate ; JHa'bits- r am oiigsi : ;)ilie peppjk.'. ( ; .^;- -: r ; ]^.'^ : Aii ;earpesJ; , jaml practiieat caress by; tte ;Rev>Mr J^nstpn'^oll^wed^^m \^ich he jspoke of the prevalence of Sunday trading inlnvercargill,<and said it was the duty of all. members ot Temperance Societies here to assist in puttipg it down. Mr Denniston, who- Was received -with applause, then rose;' and congratulated the meeting upon 4 'mustering' so strongly, which augured well for the success of the cause. It' was his opinion that the prospects of Temperance were becoming brighter year by year. Even the Church , of .England; amopgst 'whose members teetotalism. liafi long Been unfashionable, was moving in,, the .matter, and 'men ia.the' highest ranks of souiety-^bishops, canons, and deans-«-iind given in. their. adherence. One of the most' promising young stateslften in the Englisli Parliameut^— Sir Charles Dilke—- v/as a total abstainer'; but lie was sorry to fcay;t!iat he could 'not say the same of * the toagnates of 'lTew'^ZViiJand. a gooTd many of whom' seemed, to jtKirik. the business of drinking as of miiicn' importance' a3 that of ,T|T,ey were about' to tave a water, supply for^lnvercargill, anU7ieliadlleard'a r go^d niaD l^ grumble at the, cost of ( the , undertakiog, but he ( had told them that if the people would save' the money they spend in drinking what they^ didn't want, thej^ >wo|udx soon be is[q to "find enough to pay for whaii they

did want. (Great applause.) The speaKer concluded by expressing iiis intense, sympathy wit'i- the object o€ the meeting, and sat down, amidst loud applause. - The., proceedings, were enlivened by haniuny contributed by Midses Smith, Thomson, and AEj^srs Fuiili, and Hornsby, the latter bcing^^wice encore J. An efficient ' orchestra, . conducted by Mr West, also contribute! greatly to the pleasures of the evening. The meeting closed with the usual compliment to the chair.