AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 244, 15 October 1931, Page 6

AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION

A REDUCTION SUGGESTED MOTION DECISIVELY DEFEATED After full discussion the annual meeting of the Wanganui Automobile Assooeiation last night emphatically threw out a "notion that the membership fee should be reduced by half. , Notice of motion was given by Air k. V. Pearce that the rule governing the subscription should be changed to read that the subscription for 1931-32 should be 10s 6<« instead of £1 Is. He said that he did not know whethe the people knew in the towns how hard the country was up against it, but it was ! difficult for many people in the country to find even one guinea. Such a i reduction in the subscription would help in keeping up the number of • members. Personally, he could not see I how all the money 'or the expenditure ! of the association was wanted. The j expenditure was excessive and would ! have to be reduced like everything | else. The country members should be j considered and the expenditure could | be curtailed quite easily. Seconding the motion. Mr J. R. : Franklin said hat by reducing the ■ subscriptions they could show their I members that they were trying to . do something to meet the position. He ! would have preferred to see the motion ! framed along the lines that for prompt I payment the subscription would be re- | dueed by half. The association would ! have great difficulty in raising the sub- i scription again if it were lowered. In ! the present crisis they should show I their members that they recognised ' the position and wen- trying to do something to assist them.

Mr J. H. tx. Hill thought the move

would be a mistake. There had not been a demand for a reduction. If their funds were good they should give greater benefits to their members, but should not curtail present benefits. Saying that he did not agree with Mr Pearce, the chairman, Mr D. McFarlane, stated that the service officer would have to go if the motion went through, and there was a lot of signposting to be done yet, although a great amount had been carried out. One member said that the balancesheet showed that the association had made donations amounting to £234 in the past year, and the chairman had explained earlier bi the meeting that such donations would not be likely to come before the association again. Dr. E. E. Porritt said th it if a ma® I could not pay more than 23d a week to | belong to the association then ho ■ should not have a car on the road at all. He further pointed out that the insurance was more than a guinea saved. | Mr Meuli endorsed the remarks of i the former speaker. ' They could not afford to play with | their accumulated funds at the present | time,, said Mr Robertshaw.

: Mr A. S. Burgess thought that to reI duce the expenditure of the association i by cutting down the income, and thn c i limit the activities of the association I would be a great mistake. Not only | in the Wanganui district but all ■ through the Island could be seen the • value of the association in the better j roads, sign posting and many other in: j pn.vements. The member would get | his guinea back two or three times a | year. I Mr F. Symes stated that the sub I s'-ription to the association saved him Io great deal in the year. I Replying, Mr Pearce said that it was • r<l. his object that the association should cut out any of the goud work that it was doing at the present time.

As far as he could see from the way the speeches had been going they wanted to go on spending money. That was what Wanganui was suffering from—too much spending of money iu tho past.

Tho motion was lost by a substantial majority.

ANNUAL MEETING HELD.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS. Over 70 members were present at the annual meeting of the Wanganui Automobile Association last night. Mr. D. M. McFarlane was the chairman. Ir moving the adoption of the annual report and balance-sheet. Mr. McFarlane said that as president he had been greatly indebted to the members of the executive for their very loyal support. The attendance at the meetings throughout the year had been very good and there had been a great number of meetings outside the meeting noted on the balance-sheet The report and balaoee-slieet, previously published, were adopted. The election of officers resulted:—

President, Mr. 1). McFarlane (reelected); vice-president, Mr. A. S. Bur ges c (re-elected); executive, Messr; J Aylmer, N. R. Bain, H. Bayly, T. Di.c J. R. Franklin,- G. Meuli, E. M. Silk S. G. Whittali (re-elected) and Dr. H. G. Robertson; auditor, Mr. T, Ballingall.