AUCKLAND CARNIVAL

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144852, 2 December 1915, Page 3

AUCKLAND CARNIVAL

.BRILLIANT RESULTS. OVER QUARTER OF A MILLION RAISED. The election of Mi's. R. F. Bollard, Queen of the South, as Queen of tho Auckland Patriotic Carnival, was secured by an aggregate contribution .rora her supporters to the Voumlcd Soldiers Fund of £.55,200 ss, representing 4.416,020 votes of threepence each. 1 lio following tabic shows the final result ot the polling in connection with the contest, the value of the contribution from cadi group, nnd its equivalent value (shillings and ponce, omitted) iu votes being shown in each case: —

The three country candidates receivcd 10,605,672 votes, •repre&euiing Lio2,560 ids, an average of 3.6oJ,ini votes each. The nine city candidates received 10,566,103 votes, representing bs 3d, an average of I,i7*J. 132 votes each. DETAILS OF THE LAST POLL. There has, been much specula Lion rcgaitling the number of votes that would be polled in support of each candidate at the hnal poll. The tcllov.i?.g tablo shows the actual number in each case;—

Only two alterations were made in tire relative order of the candidates by Monday’s poll. A comparison of the return published on Monday morning, the final return shows' that the • Soldiers Queen advanced from fifth to fourth position, .and tho Public Service Queen from eleventh to tenth position. Polling was commenced' at nine o’clock, continued until noon, after which no one was admitted to the offices. "Within an hour and a-half an announcement was made that the Queen of the South had secured the first position. An hour later, the final return had been completed. During 5T hours the carnival officers received <-£68,616 in cash, cheques, and money orders, and allotted 5,965,709 votes.

BIGGER TOTAL EXPECTED. Sir. Gunson was invited to express an opinion as to how this large fund of over ±*300,000 should be administered, and what system of expenditure should be adopted. Ho stated, however, that this was not an opportune lime to make any pronouncement on important matters or policy. ‘The carnival, although it had had-such an important and satisfactory result, represented only one branch of the activities of the Patriotic Association, and the completion of the carnival did not necessarily mean that the Patriotic Fund had reached its maximum. Much money would yet be received from various sources, and it was not unlikely that, when the fund finally closed, it would represent a total of £400,000. Ho was of opinion that that sum could ba obtained. SACRIFICE AND DEVOTION. THE CHAIRMAN’S TRIBUTE. “The carnival is happily over.” said Mr. George Elliot, .chairman of tho executive on Monday evening, “and the response has been magnificent and whole-hearted. Tho word ‘carnival is a 'misnomer, but as it had been used in other parts of New Zealand it was adopted hero. To say that the holding of a carnival was an excuse tor gaiety and abandon showed an utter misconception of the position. Not a single individual connected with it has felt, in the very slightest degree, gay. I am certain there has been more practical Christianity and self-sacrifice shown in connection with this so-called carnival in Auckland city and province during the past three months than has ever been shown before in their history. All sorts of rumours have been circu- < latcd that certain individuals were being paid, high salaries. These statements aro absolutely untrue. No one, with tho exception of a clerk and two typists in the carnival office, has rereceivod payment for services rendered, “ ‘This is no time for carnivals/ has been thundered forth. But what has be.en the result of tho carnival I* 1 Over 95 per cent, of the money, given lias gono through the carnival books in the shape of votes for tho queens. Figures do not lie, and these figures protfe that over 95 per cent, of tho pepole were in .favour of the carnival ami under o per cent, against it. I should be sorry to leave the wounded soldiers and tho dependants of the killed to the care of , that o per cent. “I am of opinion that had there been no carnival, no such amount as that obtained could ever have been collected. Tho carnival interested every section of tho community, and thousands of willing Workers wore enrobed under xho banners of tho various queens. The ladies who allowed themselves to be nominated as queens havo done noble work, and have earned tho admiration ; and esteem of over 95 per cent, of the ; population. Tho chairman, secretary, and committee of each group have made i enormous sacrifices, and havo simply ' slaved for the great and human© purpose. A wonderful spirit of devotion has been displayed by tho women of the .province, who Jiavo-unsparingly-concezi-;

fcrated their energies upon the jvbr allotted to them, much of which t}ie sought themselves. The solo purpose c all this energy and-activity has beer not-so much to-put thoir queen .at th top of tho poll, although they all ha hoped for that, but to show their a| preoiation of tha. hero citizens who si .•standing with their- backs to th UEgoan Sea and ihsir faces towards th foo on those tuxapnel-swept hills a far-away QalEp«jk “Every man pud - every woman wit has had anything to do with this eat nival has come out of the ordeal . better man and better woman in th true sense of tue word. They mus have been, as Khava been, struck witi the true persons. - , sacrifice of all sort and conditions of people. This camiva has been a godsend to dozens c mothers who have hoys at the front for amongst tho most devoted worker have heen th? math era of New Zealami citizen soldiers. “There may have been excesses,” sail Mr. Elliot in conclusion. “In wbatbi; movement are there not.? But I, wtu have spent tho last three months h tho thick of tbs activity, know tha these excesses hure been few aid fa between.’* MRS. BOLLARD INTERVIEWED. The Carnival Queen, Mrs. R. F Bollard, is the wife of the member fa Raglan and daughter-in-law of tin former member for Eden, tho lato Mr John Bollard. Interviewed on Monda; , after the, result of the voting wai known, Mrs. Bollard expressed her ,ap preciation of tho situation. “1 feel greatly honoured at tha poai tion iu which I have been placed,” sak the new Queen. “I am especially prom for the honour of the South. ' Tin people of tho South worked very bare indeed, and the result is a credit ti them. My organiser, Mr. Harry 6a lies, worked grandly. He organised th< campaign most thoroughly and m : businesslike manner worthy of al praise. He closed his office and de voted his entire time to the work, an c for a busy man to do that is a greai deal. Mr. Gillies roused tho whole dip trict in my support. My home is ir. the Waikato—in Ufa Cambridge distriei —and there my candidature receive? most loyal support, as, indeed it die right through tho south' of tho, pro vince. “Apart altogether from the personal regard which I am proud to'claim a; having actuated the- people of the South, I feel sure that they have, all through the carnival, been imbued :by a patriotic spirit and a general desire to assist tho Auckland Province in raising an amount which should ensure the welfare of our wounded soldiers and their dependants. There can bo nq doubt hut that behind all their efforts was a great wave of enthusiasm for the nobie cause in -the interests of which .all the'queen candidates 1 stood.” ■ ; ANOTHER CANDIDATE’S VIEWS.! MOSTLY STRAIGHT-OUT GIVING, “It was my experience throughout the northern districts that when once ' the idea of _ raising money for our wounded soldiers taught on .the people became . tremendously enthusiastic, ’’ said Mrs. A. E. HM-ding, Queen of the North, on Monday. “Owing to.the scattered nature of tho country and the difficulties of communication, our organisation for tho effort should have been completed very much sooner tbanj in the city and southern districts. As a mutter of fact, we were the veiy last to make a start, hut the people wasted no time once they had begun. Everyone responded splendidly to the call foe money, and all sections of tho, community did their utmost; some of the poorer people, indeed, gave .to . the point of sacrifice, and their response Was a nobie one. The way they caraa forward and helped' was truly astonishing. It was most inspiring to go through the country districts and find how Die men had offered' their -lives and gene to the front. The-eld people: bad given up their well-earned _ test* and were doing tho farm work -in order to leave their,sons free to enl^t, 1 sad to provide for their dependents when they left. ’ - “Practically the whole of tha. amount subscribed,” - eontinnod Mrs. Harding, “is -the result, of straight-; out giving. A few small camrvala were held, but eve,u at theso direct giving was tho order of the; day. Art; unions really played a- very small part in raising the money, and much more would hare been subscribed if preparations had been made darlier. Be-, fove we started, tickets in support, of; the rity -'neons- bad flooded the north,; and wen-, disposed of in all. directions.: I am not complaining of this fact, but just mention it to show what a-«plon-*i did response tha north has'made.

Group. Value. Votes. South 55.200, , 4,416,020 Mrs. Bollard. North ..' 40,830 3,266.427 Mrs. Harding. East 36,530 2,923.125 Mrs. Porntt. V 2.326,760 Soldiers - 20.08-1 Mrs. "Wallingford, Wholesalers 2-1,630 1,071,140 Mrs. Parkcs. Professions 15,291 1,223.304 Mrs. Russell. L.V.A 14,201 1.136,082 Mrs. Bankart. 1,124,(324 .Retailers 14,050 ’ Mrs. Dawson. Sports - 10,30.8 824,689 Miss Gorrie. 718,099 Public Service Miss Bridges. 8.976 Labour , 8,315 665,212 Mrs, Gunsan. . Waitemata 7,110 o6S,o/4 Mrs. Aapier. Totals 264—547 21,163,765

Group. Value. £ s. (1. Votes, ... 24,020 10 6 1*921,642 North ... 12,612 11 3 17009,005 ... 11,942 13 6 955,414 ... 8,505 13 3 687,653 Wholesalers ... 3,549 17 9 283.091 .... 2,128 9 3 170,277 L.V.A ... 1,811 1 0 145,364 Retailors .... ... 2,5“2 10 0 '201,860 Snorts ... 2,189 16 9 1<o,1S7 Public Service 2,601 " 0 203,102 Labour ... 1,212 11 6 97.008 Waitcmata .... 1.307 2’ 0 111,768 Total ... .. £74,583 17 3 5,966,7-09