CHRISTCHURCH BANDS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VI, Issue 1624, 29 April 1919, Page 3

CHRISTCHURCH BANDS.

AND PEACE CELEBRATIONS. CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSION. References to the attitude which brass bands in anil around Christebureh have taken up, in declining to assist in the Peaee Celebrations unless they are paid for their services, were made at the Christebureh City Council's meeting last evening. The council had before it a letter from the Lyttelton Marine Band, asking for payment for two municipal concerts which the band was unable to give owing to the influenza epidemic. It urged that the gratuitous war work which it had done should be'taken iuto i«onsideration. The Mayor (Mr H. Holland) suggested that, in view of the dam]) evenings and the sparse attendances at band concerts held in such circumstances, the council should cancel the remaining municipal engagements of all the bands concerned, and pay them in full. Cr A. Williams proposed that the council should pay the Lyttelton Band for the two missed concerts if it would (day in the Peace Celebrations. Cr J. A. Flesher, referring to the bands' attitude coucerning the celebrations, said that they ought to be a little public-spirited and help out the celebrations. They had taken up an attitude which one would not have expected of men who were working to laise funds for the establishment of a memorial to those of their comrades who had made the supreme sacrifice. Cr J. R. Hay ward said the council should not pay for services which had not been rendered, unless the bands were prepared to "make it up" in the Peace Celebrations. It was not usual for the council to pay for services which had not been rendered. Cr J. W. Beanland said that the council should decide either not to pay tiie amount, or else to pay it, without any stipulations at all. He did not like the idea of paying them and asking them to do something in return. The bands had entered into a contract which had not been carried out, and the question was simply whether they should be paid or not. Cr E. J. Howard pointed out that the bandsmen themselves received nothing for the municipal concerts, because the amount voted to them was not large enough to provide salaries for them. The amount went to keep up the bands. The council should not bargain with the bands, from which it had unpaid services. It was decided to pay the Lyttelton Band in full without requiring further services from it in the season.