Invercargill

New Zealand Tablet, 13 February 1913, Page 27

Invercargill

• ■'■■'.• ; (From our own correspondent.) At the final gathering in connection with the visit of the North Island M's.P. to Southland, Mr. T. D. A. Moffett, the president of the Invercargil-1 Chamber of Commerce, in returning thanks for the compliment bestowed on the province, said, en, ixxssant, that a previous speaker had given the Scotchmen all the credit of making Southland, but he reckoned that the Irishmen had quite as much to do with its progress, and had emerged from the drains and swamps with a legacy of rheumatism, but their descendants were to be found amongst the best settlers in the district. It is quite a long time since any extraordinary effort has been made here to raise funds to complete the inside decorations of our noble church. Familiarity with the rugged ' finish ' of the interior causes one to forget almost that it is not completed, and when the question of holding a carnival to raise funds was mentioned, it was enthusiastically taken up by one and all and the carnival is now nearly an accomplished fact. For some time past stall-holders and committee have been working with a will, and the fruit of their labor is to .be seen in the comprehensive assortment of valuable articles which have been donated from far and near. A gentleman, whose past success has made his name a household word, has been training the children and young people for some time past, and the numerous marches, spectacular displays, and continental .dances, which are being rehearsed, promise to make that portion of the fair very attractive, and it is expected will prove an irresistible draw. One of the features of the fair will be the tug-of-war, for which £4O is offered in prizes, and as already quite a number of teams have signified their intention of competing, it expected that there will be a highly interesting exhibition before the winners are declared. The King's Hall is undoubtedly the best in the Dominion for spectacular demonstrations, and all will be able to see the whole of the performances. The stalls are to represent different Continental nations, and will be found to be very attractive when the goods are displayed. Even at this early stage it is not out of place to mention the work that has been accomplished already-by the energetic secretaries John McNamara and Harry Searleand it is to be hoped that their final efforts will be rewarded by the most successful carnival ever held in InvercargiH.