ANCIENT ORDER OF FORESTERS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 3258, 6 March 1885, Page 3

ANCIENT ORDER OF FORESTERS.

Coubt Southern Cboss, Timabu. Wednesday, the 4th instant, being the twentieth anniversary of the above Court, was celebrated by a banquet held m the Foresters' Hall, to which about 80 of the members and friends sat down. Among those present were His Worship the Mayor, P.C.R. Bro J. Jackson (m the chair), supported by P.0.8.'s Bros B. Taylor and P. Lane, two of the founders of the Court, Bro B. Turnbull, M.H.8., Capt. Hainersley, T.V.A., and P.C.It. Bro Hill. The vice-chair was occupied by the 0.8., Bro H. Powell, supported by.P.O.E.'s Bros Sherratt, Proctor Lukcy and O'Bryan. The officers of the Court, comprising S.C.B. -Bro W. Clarke, B.W. Bro Arscott, J.W. Bro Farnell, S.B. Bro Hale, J.B. Bro Baker ; Treasurer P.C.B Bro Bennett, Secretary Bro Werry, Assistant Secretary P.C.E. Bro T. Harris, Minute Secretary Bro H. Whittaker, and many of the past officers were present. After the cloth was removed the Chairman, m his opening remarks, stated that he felt the honor of being m the position he held as Chairman, and thought the Chief Banger Bhould have occupied the place. He trusted the Court would be as successful m the future as m the past. He himself had been a Forester for 29 years, and felt proud of being a member of an Order that was united for the highest purposes of philanthropy and an Order that was second to none m the world. - It numbered m Great Britain at the present time over 600,000 membors/. Ho had much pleasuro m proposing the toast " The Queen," especially at the present time, when so many of our colonial brethren were showing their loyalty by offoring for service m the Soudan. The toast -was drunk enthusiastically. • Tho Chairman had much pleasure m proposing " Success to Court Southern Cross, as it was a toast m which all were interested. He had joined the Court 18 years ago, and would like to impress on all the importance of being members. He was pleased to see that the Court had funds to the amount of nearly £20 per member. How happy members should J'eel m knowing they were making provision for sickness and distress. With this toast he coupled the name of the Secretary, Bro Werry. The Secretary, Bro Werry, m responding said : — Mr Chairman, Brothers, and Gentlemen — In thanking you for the manner m which you have received this toast, it will naturally bo expected that I should recapitulate something of the doings, etc., of tho Court from its commencement. Time will not allow me to go very far into this matter, but 1 will endeavor to give you some idea of the institution with which we are connected. In looking back over the books, we find that the first preliminary , meeting- was . held on the 14th day of December, 1864, at: which eleven persons attended. Among these we see the names, of Bros Taylor and Lane. After a Chairman was appointed, we see the first resolution is proposed by Mr B. Taylor —"That it is desirable that a Foresters' Court be established, m Timaru."— -Carried unanimously. The second resolution, proposed by Mr Lane — " That a Committee be at once formed to carry out the above 1 resolution." — Carried. ,On this Committee we find the names of Messrs Taylor and Lane, and it is also seen that they were m attendance at every. . meeting of this Committee, till the opening of the Court on the 4th day of March, 1865, when ten members were initiated. The officers were elected, and Bros Taylor and Lane filled two offices m the first Executive of the Court. We also . see. that Bro iTonseca's name -was added , to the Comjmittee, but he. was not initiated till ,thb second me9tmg..of ,'the' (Jburt. . The first; balancesheet, for the quarter ended 30th, 1865, ! shows a balance to the credit , of the Court of £19 55., 'From this 'small, beginning, ;we at present' stand' one of the., mosj;' successful Courts m the , colony., We also find that Bros Taylor t and Lane 'jf ere due,attendent to the Court meetings, and filling the various offices with credit to themselves and to tn'e Court! generally, more especially duririg the first period of the Court's existence. i At the first! election of officers' after the opening night, we| see these two members • nominated for : the office of- S.'G.B., .resulting m the election' of Bro Lane. "However, on the first meeting after the election, Bro Lane, through working out of; town,; wwars r obliged ' to- resign, arid Bro Taylor wa&elected. • i We may also see m the early days of the Court that niany of the older members and past officers, who -we 'do no£ see amongst us very often at 'present/ had borne their share m the burden and; heat' of the day, and -are fully 'entitled' to; their rest at presents There were also troubles in' those early days, aa we find that just 12 months after the opening of: the Court 'one of the founders, also an "officer, was expelled for misappropriating the funds of the Court. • We also find that the officere I '6f the Court at this date wore given to spdrti, as the minutes of ■one of -the meetings reads ! thtts— " Alost of the officers -we;- at J the Arowheriua 1 races, consequently thorp was no Court held. 1 ' The Court had also Joined r the fcl.F.' District, but from the minutes of meetings' and ■ correspond dence which ' place they had never' assimilated, and m the 1 latter part of the year 1867 stops were takeri for seceding therefrom, resulting 'in the Court standing on its bwhmeriis'. About this :time ißro Jacob Hill was appointed Secretary, and tho working' of the Court seemed to be more satisfactory. Bro Hill' was elected in' 1867, and held office about six years. • During this time many re-, forms took place, arid'members ' and funds kept gradually increasing.- We also ■ find work given to the Arbitration Committee, m appeals to them on various causes, resulting m 'severe reprimands', fines, and even - expqlsipns. > Bro Hill was succeeded by another good officer as Secretary, and one who had the welfare of the Court at heart, arid did his best for its continued progress, but strange as it may appear, popular officer and member though he was, tho vice of intemperance got such a hold on him that the'Ooiirt was obliged m its own interest to remove his name from the roll of members. From this time : the Court was 'not bo fdrttyiate m its Secretaries, although the funds £epti increasing and the Court iteadily projrening. Ido not mean

to say that these officers were all bad, but changes took place so often that it was very much against their doing their duty. I was elected to the post m 1879. With my services you are best acquainted j whether I am giving satisfaction or not is best known to you, but I have endeavored to do my best to each and every member of the Court. And now with a few remarks on the fnnds and number of members of the Court, and then I have done. It is pretty well known that small causes sometimes produce great effects. Ten m embers joined tho Court on the opening night (March 4th, 1865). On the first quarter's balance-sheet we find a credit balance of £19 ss. The number of members is not given. When Bro Hill took office, there wore about 50 members good on the books ; on his resigning office m 1872 there were 73 names on the roll. During this time the numbers had greatly fluctuated, as we find m 1869 107 names on the roll, but decreased to 73 m 1872. From this it will bo seen that the population of tho district was not very settled. From that date to 1876 there was • a steady increase of members, owing no. doubt to the Public Works. and Immigration schemes of Sir Julius Vogol being inaugurated and carried out. Two hundred and thirteen names are now seen on the roll. It kept stationary for a short time, when a reaction again took place, and it gradually decreased to 180 m 1879. From that edate to the present we have slowly increased to 240 members, ns tho balance-sheet for 1884 will show. We have not very definite particulars m regard to the funds till 1867, when we find the credit balance to the Court was £140. In 1869 we find £325 to the good, when the members decided to invest m the section of land we now hold, and erecting a hall, the price to be paid for the land boing £120. In 1872 we find the total worth of the Court to bo £613. From that date to the present, with increased value of land, saving from contributions, interest, etc., the Court is worth over £4000. Since 1867 wo have distributed m Bick relief £1349, m funeral donations £346, m medical exponses £2690. Some among you will remember the great fires m Tiniaru. We see sums of money voted to members who had lost ljeavily m those fires. Also m frequent cases^re find sums voted to members m distress, and not only to members, but also m various charitable cases — notably the shipping disasters : of 1882, when the Court and members subscribed the noble sum of £55 10s. Many members also subscribed privately to the fund. Another case calling for remark was m connection with an entertainment and concert on behalf of the widow and family of tho late Bro. Ellis. Gentlemen and brothers, by this time I suppose yonr patience will be getting exhausted, but for the present state of the Court or rather up to the end of 1884, 1 must refer you to tho balance sheet. I am pleased to state that we have several hon. membors, among them our esteemed representative for the district, Bro. R. Turnbull. I may also say that we have a Juvenile Court m connection with the Court, and are endeavoring to train our children to be good Foresters. Again I thank you for tho manner m which you have received this toast " Success to Court Southern Cross and my humble efforts as Secretary." Song — " Merry England," by P.C.R. Bro Harris. " The Army, Navy and Volunteers," proposed by the O.R. Bro Powell, coupled with the name of Captain Homeraley, T.V.A. Captain Hamersley, m responding, stated that whatever tho policy of the British Government might be, the British Army and Navy would hold their reputation for bravery. In referring to the Volunteers, — especially the colonial ones — he said they wore showing their British pluck m offering their services at tho present crisis m the Soudan. Song— " Gallants of England," P.C.R. Bro Warrington. P.C.R. Bro. J. Hill, m proposing tho next toast — "The. Guests and Founders of the Order " — coupled with the names of P.O.R. Taylor and P.O.R. Lano, spoko. of tho many years he had worked with them m the past, and described some of the struggles they hud to contend with. Ho dwelt on the benefits to bo dorivodfrom Orders of this kind. Ho had very great pleasure m proposing the health of Bros R. Taylor and P. Lano, and could speak woll of tho manner m which they had fulfilled their duties as officors and membors of the Court. Bro P.C.R. Taylor (who may well bo styled tho Father of Forestry m Tiniaru) , m responding, thanked the brethern, and spoke of the early struggles m such a humorous manner as to cause general laughter among those present. P.C.R Bro Lane said he felt very pleased on once more coining among them, more especially as he had received such a cordial invitation from them after an absenco of seven years. In speaking of the early days and referring to what the Secretary had said about the first balance-sheet showing a balance to the good of £19, ho would go a little further back and show that the Court was opened with a debt of £19, • so that even m the first quarter they had done well. He himself, Bro Taylor and a few others had some hard struggles m those - old times, but they put their shoulder to tho wheel with the result now seen by the priated balance- sheet. He thanked them for the manner m which they had drunk his health. . Song— "When ; we were boys together," P.C.R. Bro Palliser. P.O.R. Warrington proposed—" Tho High Court of the Order," eulogising the; Executive Council and the permanent Secretary, Bro S. Shawcross, who had held office for over forty -years, and to whom he believed belonged the oredit of the "success of tho Order. .He coupled .with this toast tho name of P.C.R. Bro Burford. Bro Burford m responding quoted some statistics showing the progress of the Order, which was now the greatest of the affiliated Friendly Societies. He thanked them for tho manner m which they had drunk the toast. Song — "Tho Man at the -Door," Bro Owers. : .■•■■■. ! The toast — " Trade and Commerce " was "proposed by P.C.R. Bro Palliser, who coupled it with tho name of P.C.R. Bro Jackson, who ho said, hod been connected with tho trade of the district for a great number of years. ; Bro Jackson BOid he felt very much disappointed m the trade and- commerce of. this district at the present time, especially at tho small, amount of space required for tho exhibits at the Industrial ' Exhibition to bo held iti* Wellington. The fault was not with the district, but with ourselves for our laxity i ' "Tlie General Assembly" wa3 proposed byP.C.R. Bro O^Bryon,, and Bro Turnbull; m responding, spoke of tho self-denial and self -reliance shown 'by the members of the Court, and very much wished he could see those qualities .displayed more m public lifoi He desired to see the Government adopt a policy of self-reliance, but he was afraid there were too: many obstacles m the way of their doing Yo : as jet. : He" thanked them very! heartily for the manner m which they had drunk his health. : ' .. ; Song— "Colleen ßawn," Mr.Fogorty. , "Kindred Societies," proposed by P.0.Rl Bro Lukey, was responded to by Mr Ohristf mas on behalf of the-1.0.0.F., M.U., and hy Mr Glosson for the Druids. ; Song— "The Friars of Order Gray," Bro Warrington. ;. ■ ■:< •-■ • | . Toasts-!' Present Officers -of the Omirt.V proposed by iP.GvR. Bro Lane, with the C.R. and. Treasurer. > - The C.R., Bro Powellj m responding, said he felt very proud ta fill the post of Chief Ranger of- the Court, and while holding thi .office he would endeavor to .do his duty. He made a few rdmarks on the working of the Court* and thanked' them; for drinking his health. ■■•■., . . ■■■ •;■• ■:'<■• ' ■ ■ •. ■ The Treasurer, P;O.E. Bro Bennett, also thanked them for>.th'e honor <m coupling his name with the toast. • ■ ■ j '"Foresters Fire/ by P.O.E. Bro Lane, j "Past Officers," proposecLby Bro Palmer and responded to byP.C.R.'s Bros Hill and Pallisor. . '' "'•■■ : i Song-r" Red, ; Whit© and Blue," P.O.E.' BroßenshaWi' y^'. ■'•-<■' ■•' -ii; .'.-■■■ i l. " Success to Court ' Progress, St. Andrews,'' proposed by Seoretary Bro. Werry, coupled with the name of Bro. Upton of that Court. . ". Bro Upton responded-iand thanked them for .the pleasure he had m being with them this evening on behalf of Court Progress. '• - Song—" Where there's a will there's a way^' — Bro Harris. : "The Press," "The Caterer," and other toasts having been responded to, the gather-" ing was brought to a close by tHe einging of " God Save tho Queen."