ST. MARY’S FINANCES

Taranaki Daily News, 22 April 1932, Page 10

ST. MARY’S FINANCES

PARISHIONERS’ ANNUAL MEETING.

APPRECIATION OF GUILD WORK.

At the annual meeting of the parishioners of St. Mary’s Church, Hawera, on Wednesday night, presided over by the vicar (the Rev. Whitby James) the honorary treasurer (Mr. F. E. Clarke) gave a summary of the church finances as shown in the balance-sheet, each account being taken separately. The offertories for the year totalled £489 Is 4d, said Mr. Clarke, and represented a drop of £25. A decrease of £3O was shown in subscriptions and if it had not been for a voluntary amount, of £3O from one subscriber the account would not have appeared at all favourable. A loss of £9 9s was shown on the printing and distribution of magazines. Donations amounting to £35 7s lOd were less than last year’s total, but this was not unexpected. The total receipts were £lOl7 4s 9d. On the payments side savings had been effected in wages and lighting, while £3B less than last year was spent on motor transport. The bank overdraft at March 31, 1931, was £4OO 4s 6d and it had increased to £462 0s 6d at March 31 of this year. The situation was better than at first anticipated, continued Mr, Clarke. The receipts averaged £l3 a week, he said, and, if this amount could be increased to, say, £lB per week and maintained at that figure church officials would look forward to the future with much less misgiving. Unfortunately the parish was burdened with properties which at present were a dead loss. Parish assets were shown at £6530 and its liabilities at £4370, an excess of assets over liabilities of £2159. . Referring, to property matters Mr. H. D. Caplen said that rents amounting to £72 had yet to be collected and there was every prospect of full settlement. The property account last year was placed in credit by reason of a flower show which yielded £164. He hoped that the show would maintain its previous high standard this year and that somewhere about the same amount would be realised. The vicar presented the report of the St. Mary’s Missionary Guild, which stated that eleven meetings were held during- the year with good attendances on each occasion. Collections totalled £79 2s 2d, which represented an increase of £2 12s on the previous 12 months, while donations amounting to £8 12s 6d also were received. Unfortunately the guild found it impossible to make the annual donation of £lO to the Maori Mission. A total, amount of £2O had been paid to the Board of Missions account of the 1931-32 quota and there was a balance remaining in hand of £27 3s. - The list of associated members had been revised and quite a number of new members had been enrolled.

Mr. James said that it would take a great 1 amount of initiative to attain this year’s quota for mission work. There had been drastic retrenchment everywhere, but he hoped every endeavour would be made and every-support given, to members of the missionary guild in the collections. Thanks were accorded the guild for its work and the report was adopted. .. The vicar, < who said his short residence in Hawera did not place him in a position to furnish an annual report, thanked the church officers and parishioners generally for their kindness and co-operation. He paid a tribute to the organist (Mr. Herbert Webb) and the Sunday school teachers and appealed for more assistance with the classes. The ladies’ Sewing Guild, he said, was an important branch of the church’s social life, and. he concluded with expressions of appreciation to the ladies who decorated the church and attended to the brasses and to the country people who performed similar services at their places of worship.

hawera high school.

BOARD SUPPORTS RESOLUTIONS. Several letters came, before the Hawera High School Board of Managers on Wednesday night. The. Wanganui Girls’ College Board of Governors wrote and the board decided to support -the following resolutions: (1) That the abolition of secondary school boards and the centralisation of control in Wellington is contrary to the best interests of secondary schools in the Dominion; and (2) that whilst realising, the necessity for economy a request be made that secondary school boards be permitted to consider in conference any proposed legislation that may affect them before it is introduced. Dealing with curtailments of the educational service proposed by the National Expenditure Commission, the New Zealand Technical School Teachers’ Association was given the board’s support in the following expressions of opinion: (1) That the retention of boards of managers was in the best interests of technical schools; (2) that the reduction of incidentals from 30 per cent, of salaries to 20 per cent, was unreasonably large; and (3) that any restrictions imposed on free places at secondary schools would increase the numbers of idle, unemployed boys and girls to their moral and intellectual detriment. It was agreed that technical schools, by the breadth of their curriculum in the day and evening classes, served almost every section of the community and an appeal was made to ensure that the opportunities of the schools for that service were not unwisely curtailed through an ex«ess of zeal for reduction in expenditure. Much of the expenditure on technical schools was of the nature of a social preservative. It was felt that education was being called on to make more than its fair share of sacrifice and it was submitted that a soulless economy, arising from temporary financial depression, should not be permitted to undermine .the foundation of what had been proved to be one of- the best educational systems in the world. • EUCHRE PARTY AT MOKOIA. The euchre party held on Friday at Mokoia was well attended, nearly 50 players taking part. Miss M. Cleaver won the ladies’ prize and Miss Bartlett the consolation. The men’s prize was won by Mr. S. Lander, and the consolation by Mr. I. G. Snieaton. Dancing to music supplied by Mr. Ray Wills was kept going until the early hours of the morning. ' ,