BAND OF HOPE COMPETITIONS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 826, 3 October 1916, Page 4

BAND OF HOPE COMPETITIONS.

OPENING NIGHT. The twenty-eighth annual musical jaiifl elocutionary competitions in; I connection with tin' Canterbury I Bawl <>f Hope l/iiiou were oj>ened ;liy the Mayor. Mr 11. Holland, in | it ho f'horal Hall last evening. Prior to' !the opening address, the president, Mr' I W. Goodman, made feeling reference to i 'the big casualty lists received (luring! jilie last few days, and the many homes jthat must be soirowing as a conse- i jqueneo. A motion of sympathy with all the bereaved ones was carired. Mr Ilollaml. in opening', said that a ! [vote of sympathy had just been carried I — and very properly, too—with the re-j [latives of those mentioned in the eas- i I unity lists. But what about those other! Casualty lists—those of the victims who j fell by'tho drink tralhV ? This war was! ■ going to be over iii a year or so—per | haps less—and the casualty lists that j I were being; published in the papers now! would ■•ease. But when would the ias .unity lists front drink cease.' .his! her!' he wished to make an announcement. A jgreal deal of anxiety was felt locally and elsewhere concerning the safety of the I.lth Reinforcement (now till days lout), since a Herman claim regarding 1 he sinking of a transport full of troops ! had 1 n published, lie therefore com municiated with Coneral Robin, and I Colonel Chaffey had since received a I telegram saying that there was no 'ground for anxiety with regard to the loth Reinforcement. Coming Lack to the contests, he said ihal the Hand of Hope was waging a tight against an enemy that died hard. lie was intensely disappointed at tinway the Dominion was behaving over the li(|Uor trallic. A few years before it was leading the work! in the battle for no license, and now I lie world was leading it. lie had read with disgust Hie lame ex.-uses made by members of Parliament in dealing u ith the n alter. It wis the 0.,e blot against the Knglish •arliameiit thai they had alb.wed 1 oo go into Cairo without lirsl cleaning ;i|. the place. The New Zealand I'arlia ment had introduced the no shouting laws as a little bit of favour to ih<- no license people, but lie doubted if it was doing much good. New Zealand had im posed practically no restrictions, and he was ashamed of the country in ; his r( . -pe.-t. Drinking was too familiar a thing with lis, and everyone knew that familiarity bred contempt. The programme for the evening con si.-leil of ui.-sil and instrumental i piano i. soli, recitat ions, a din logue, jaiid dumb bell display. The .judges jwere: Vocal and i n-t'rumenl aI, Mr A. i.\l. Owen: elocution and dialogue. Rev. I ■ I'. Knight; dumb bells. Mr Morrison.] The prize winners for last night will be' [announced to night.