THE HOLIDAY.

Colonist, Volume XVII, Issue 1870, 2 February 1875, Page 3

THE HOLIDAY.

Yesteedat, being the thirty-fourth anniversary of the Province of Nelson, was observed as a holiday by the public generally. The banks, mercantile offices and stores were olosed, and business wbb entirely suspended. The weather was all that could have been wished, and the people were not slow to avail themselves of the opportunity afforded them for recreation and amusement. Fox Hill, the Sands, and the various other places of resort on such occasions, received the usual number of visitors.^ and, on the whole, tho holiday seamed to be enjoyed thoroughly by all classes of the community. The chief event of the day was

THE FRIENDLY SOCIETIES' FETE, which, as in previous years, was held in the Botanical Gardens. At half past nine o'clock in the morning, the Foresters, about 80 in number, preceded by the Artillery Band, marched in procession to the Oddfellows'" Hall, where they met the Oddfellows. The whole then formed two deep and marched up "Waimea-straet, along Nile-street, and thence to the Botanical Gardens. The sport did not begin till half-past eleven o'clock, but at eleven o'clock there were a large number of persons, both male and female of all ages and sizes, present. The number continued to grow until at noon there must have been between 1000 and 1500 of the public on the ground. The arrangements for carrying out the programme were excellent. A good band was in attendance^ and refreshments of every kind could be obtained. During the whole day there was only one mishap, and that was of a ooinpara(ively unimportttnt nature. Mr Sunbeam had a tent erected on the ground, and from this tent he dispensed his wares to the public. His wares consisted of fireworks. The father of all evil suggested to somebody that fireworks^ should not be allowed to lie idle on such an occasion, and somebody threw a lighted Chinese cracker into the establishment. In a remarkably short space of time Sunbeam was the chief actor in a grand pyrotechnic display—for they were cracking and fizzing nil around him—and moreover he was £5 out of pocket. Two gentlemen immediately went roun < with a hat for his benefit, and the amount ha had lost was very quickly subscribed and handed over to him. The various r ices, &c, as set forth below, were well contested, especially the Provincial Distance Championship, and the Champion Mile Race. The Girls' Kaee was the cause of much amusement, and the youi^ lady who won the prize certainly deserved it for the sr.'rih with which she kept the lead from beginning I o e^d. The sports were brought to an end shortly altar *ix o'clock, and at dusk there was a grand disp oy o-' fireworks (not accidental this lime), uuder the direction of Mr W. H. West. There were more spectators in the evening than during the day, ami*all were highly pleased with Mr West's contribution to their amusement. We must not forget to mention lhat the Nelson Amateur Gymnasts gave several very graceful performances, nor that the Artillery Band dispensed their sweet strains to the assembled hundreds at intervals. The following programme was gone through : -

Flat Race for Boys under 15 (200 yards)—l't prize, 7s 6d ; 2nd, 2s 6d.—Arnold, 1; Askew, 2. Seven entries. £ Friendly Society's Race (220 yards)— Set Framed Emblems: —.Torres, 1. Three entries.

.cnnoiems: —jones, i. iurec uiiui-iuo. Running Long Jump—lst prizo, 20s; 2nd, 10s. — tforgate (17ft 2in) 1; Arnold (16ft 4in) 2. Provincial Distance Championship (100, 200, 300, and 440 yards)—lst prize, 100s ; 2nd, 303.—Coppin, 1; Norgate, 2. Five er.tries. Boys' Race under 10.— E. Trask, 1. Boys' Flat Race—Prize 2s 6d. —Arnold, 1. Three-legged Race (100 yards)—lst prize, 15s ; 2nd, 7s 6d. —Russ and Russ, 1. Flat Race for Q-irls under 14, once round the course—prize, New Trimmed Hat.—There _ were eight entries for this event, and each of the girls at starting, seemed bent on carrying off the hat. They

all did the entire distance, but Miss Sutherley, a diminutive lady in a black dress, took the lead, kept it and won pretty easily, notwithstanding that one of her opponents had, it was said, been in training for a month. Champion Mile Eace—lst prize, £6; 2nd, 2 ; the third to save his stake.—A very handsome silver cup presented by the licensed victuallers also to be given to the dinner, provided the distance was run in less than five minutes. The cup j o be won by the same person two consecutive years. There were six competitors for this prize, viz: Messrs Moran, Jone% H. Lines, Batt, Kelling, and A. Lines. Immediately the pistol was fired Jones startad off

with the lead which he kept for the next quarter mile, i but it wan evident then that he had put on too fast i a pace at first, and was consequently gradually being i overtaken by Moran whom he had left nearly twenty i yards behind. Before the half-mile had been run, i Moran was leading, with Jones second. Moran kept his position well, although Jones pushed the paoe towards the finish, and won by about twenty yards. Jones came in second and H. Lines third. Moran's time was 4min. 4foecs., and Jones's 4min. 57seos. Running Hi«h Jump.—l prize, 20s; 2nd, sare stakes.—Russ and Newport were the only competitors, and the former, having performed sft, won. Flat Rare (or Boys under 16 (220yd*).—1st prize, 10b ; 2nd, ss—Kitchen 1; Membrey 2. Feats on Horizontal Bar. —Ist prize 40a; 2nd 20s —Downs 1; Armstrong and Lloyd divided the

second priz-. Hurdle Eaoe for Men (440 yds).—lst prize 40s; 2nd 20s —F. Russ 1; A. Russ 2. Four entries. Old Man's Race, over 50 (once round course). — Prize 20s —Arnold 1. R. Burn also ran. Chicken in the Pot —Ist prize 15b ; 2nd 7s 6d— Lines 1; Taylor and Snow divided for second. Running High Jump (extra event). —Arnold I sft 3|in, 1; tf. Rues sft 3in, 2. , At noon a silver raeda'l was presented by the ) Foresiers to Bro. W. Harley. i Brother O. Jeffokd, Chief Ranger of Court Robin Hood, spoke as followB: Trie pleasing duty devolves on me of presenting a medal to Brother William Harley, who for several years has acted as Secretary to the Trustees with credit to himself and advantage to the Order. Addressing Brother Hurley, he said : t It is with feelings of pride and pleasure that I now nrflsfint tou with this medal. Although its intrineic

value may not be great, I trust you will value it aa a token of our esteem. I hope too that this will prov* an incentive to the younger members of the Order to exert themselves and use their best endeavors to advance its interest. It may be long before they receive the reward of their labors, but this presentstion to-day will show them that the lime will come when their efforts will meet with the appreciation it deserves. The medal was then pinned on to Brother Harley'e breast. It bore the following, inscription—" A,O.F. Presented to Brother W. 0. Harley, by the members of Court Robin Hood, No. 3930, for valuable services as Secretary to the Truß^eeß. Nelson, February Ist, 1875." . Brother Hablet replied as follows: Officers and Brothers,—lt is with sincere pleasure that I accept your very kind testimonial, which is all the more grateful to me as it was wholly unexpected. It has ever been my endeavor to fulfil the duties allotted tome to the best of my abilility, and to promote the interests of our Court, not only because I am a member but because I feel it to be so highly beneficial to the community ; and it has the great pride of being in a very flourishing condition, in faot it rivals any friendly Bociety in the world. 3?ore»fce», I thank you