ANNUAL MEETING.

Colonist, Volume LI, Issue 12461, 10 February 1909, Page 2 (Supplement)

ANNUAL MEETING.

The annual' 'meeting of the Nelson Chamber of -Commerce took place at the rooms, ! Hardy street, on Saturday evening. Mr A. H. Bisley (the President) occupied the chair, and over thirty members were present. Messrs- H. F. West and F. Hurley were elected new members.

The balance-sheet, typewritten copies of which were circulated, disclosed a satisfactory state of affairs.

The receipts for the. year were:— £123 2s lOd (including a balance from last "year .of .£36 17s lld) /and the expenditure was £95 los 9d, leaving a credit balance of £27 7s ld. Members' subscriptions amounted to £85 2s sd, with £80 9s 2d' still outstanding. On the motion of Messrs Lock and Duncan the; balance-sheet was adopted.

The election of officers was then proceeded with. Mr H. R. Duncan, who had been .vice-President for the past two years and who had hitherto declined nomination for the presidency/was, on the motion of the Chairman and Mr H. Baigent, unanimously elected President. Mr T. A. H. Field was unanimously 'elected vice-President.

After a ballot the'following were elected to the Council of the Chamber: Messrs J. H. Cock, F. W. Hamilton, C. King, D. Edwards, A. .A. Lucas, A. H. Bisley, and H. Baigent. Messrs F. J. Ledger, E. E. Grove, W. J. Moffatt, P. Bond, T. A. Field, W. L. Kerr, F. W. Fairey, W. 'A. Roughton, and F. G. "Gibbs, with power' to aclci -fco -fclaeir* nninter/ were elected the Railway and Land Traffic Committee. Messrs W. W. Snodgrass, L. Frank E. Hooper, W. Rogers, T. Pettit, J. G. Mercer, arid T. Neale, with power to add to their number, were elected the Shipping and Produce Committee. Mr W. Rout, junr, was re-elected Auditor. Mr H. Baigent moved that the Chamber records its high appreciation of the services rendered by the late President (Mr A.H. Bisley) during his term of office. They all knew how he had worked in the interests bf the Chamber hy the great number of members he had brought forward, and by the formation of Committees in different parts of the province, which had done good work. . Mr H.'-R. Duncan, in seconding the motion said that Mr Bisley h"d worked hard for the Chamber. The number of members he had introduced was sufficient io show that he had the interests of the Chamber at heart. In succeeding Mr Bisley as President, he felt thptjie would be. comparatively speaking, a failure, but if he could only do half as well as Mr Bisley had done he would consider that he had served the Chamber well. There was certainly more life in the Chamber than when. Mr Bisley took office. He had brought forward a number of matters for the consideration of the Chamber, such as the establishment of telephones in outlying districts, new railway carriages, and other things/which had been accomplished. - • Mr F. W. Fairey, in speaking to the motion, said that before Mr Bisley took office the Chamber of \ Commerce had been looked upon by outsiders as a select body. Mr Bisley had done much to popularise the Chamber and make known its usefulness, and he was deserving of the best ' thanks of the district for the energy and enthusiasm he had displayed during .his term of office. The motion was carried unanimously, amidst loud applause: Mr Bisley expressed his sincere thanks for 'their kiridlv remarks, and said that as a councillor he would take the same interest in the Chamber as he had done in the past. The ramifications of the Chamber extended throughout the whole province, and the Committees were all working for the benefit of the district. On the motion of Messrs W. S. Hampson and C. King a hearty vote of thanks was accorded Mr J. Horns,bv for his gift of copies of the "Textile Mercury," which the- proposer said was a most useful paper. Before leaving the chair Mr Bisley said he wished to thank the Council for the assistance rendered him during the ,past year. They had held twelve or thirteen meetings, and he could not have wished to work with a better lot of men. The Railway and Land Traffic Committee had done good work and he especially mentioned Messrs F. I. Ledger and P. Bond in that connection. He also thanked the heads of. various Government Departments, mentioning Messrs F. W. Flanagan (Commissioner of Crown Lands), T. Edwards (Railway manager) and E. V. Senn (Chief Postmaster) who had readily supplied the Chamber with information when asked. It was a pleasure to work with such officers as these who were not bound up with red tape. He also desired to thank the corresponding Committees. While perhaps some had not been so active as they should like to have seen they had greatlyassisted in the advancement of the Chamber. He hoped the new President and incoming Council would pay great attention to these Committees. Une thing to be settled was the mode _ot management of these branches. . He thought they should be treated in a very liberal way and suggested that they should be allowed 75 per cent ot their own receipts to defray their expenses. The Press, too. were deserving of thanks for the liberal amount of space they had devoted to reports of the Chamber's proceedings.^ The newlt selected President (Mr H R. Duncan) thanked the members for electing him to the position, and. said they would acree that he was wise in declining office before, as Mr Bislev had been very successful during his terms of office. He hoped he would have the co-operation _ pf the Council, and would do his best m the interests of the Chamber. This concluded' the business.