THE CHRISTCHURCH CONVENTION.

White Ribbon, Volume 12, Issue 142, 15 March 1907, Page 1

THE CHRISTCHURCH CONVENTION.

Durir.g this, the Exhibition season tm ty of the Plains has naturally been the cho- n meeting-place of numlierless Conferences ami Conventions. None, however, should equal in importance and far-reaching effect the < 'on volition of the W.r.T.11. ; for were not a large proportion of the delegates mothers j*— the most influential class of adults in the Colony- and could not theii programme lawfully include any and every subject boaring nti the spiritual or mateiial well-being of the people ? In the cheerful, spacious, and tastefully decorated hall of the Caledonian Society did Convention assemble on the afternoon of February 13th, there to lie welcomed hy members of the local Union and friends, and entertained with speeches, music, and refreshments. Miss Roberts, the Christchurch President, occupied the chair, and first read an apology for absence, on account of sickness, from the Mayor, Sir John Hall, the veteran statesman who, in the House of Kepresentatives, so ably championed the cause of woman s enfranchisement. The State was represented hy the Hon Fowlds, Minister of Education, who -aid he regarded the work of the ( nion as Part ot the Educational System •t New Zealand. The Hon. G. J. Smith weleotned tin* delegates on behalf of the citizens of Christchurch. Bishop Julius voiced the welcome of his Church, and eulogised the thoroughness of the Union’s work. The Rev. J Mackenzie presented greetings from the Minister-.’ Association, while Mr. T. E. Taylor expressed the symj>athy of the other Temperance organisations of Christci urch. Our then Treasurer, and now Corresponding Secretary, Mrs Dohrmann, M.A., was asked to

speak on ladialf of the delegates, and at once evidenced the fact that wrestling with W.O.T.U. accounts had not transformed her into a mere calculating machine hy resj>onding in verse. (These verses w ill In* found in a futuie issue.) As had been anticipated, the attendance at

Convention was a record one, forty-nine m< iuber* answering the roll call. The days were hot, and the rattle of the electric cars heard through even the double walls and doors, made one long for the rubber-tired cars of Mrs C. F. (tilman’s forecast. But the

President kept her calmness and serenity through all and won high encomiums not only because ot the wide outlook of her Presidential address, hut also by reason of th*■ loving tact and consideration with which she guided the whole proceedings. No weak gentleness, however, character ised our chief officer. Few will forget the decisive way in which she dealt with culprits Unions that had not carried out the instructions of, or fultilled promises made at, the Greymouth Convention. Each was made acquainted w ith the nature and extent of its deficiencies, and given to understand that it was oxl**oted to redeem its honour. Obedience to the dictates of Convention was impressed upon the delegates as an essential virtue. The opportunity for educational work pro sonted by such a gathering of women from town and countiy was not lost sight of. Miss Roberts, in an informing paper, brought before our notice “The Changing Attitude of t-h« Medical Profession towards Alcohol.” After hearing that paper and the discussion thereon surely no woman then present can find excuse f«»r keeping alcohol in even her emergency medical cupboard. Mrs Page read a valuable paper on “ Women as Citizens.” Discussion followed, and resolutions were carried affirming the desirability of the adoption of such legislation and custom as will make The Woman and Mother a Potent Factor in the civic world—the larger home into which her children must one day enter. At this same evening meeting Miss Roberts seized the opportunity to speak on behalf of wives whose marriage, instead of endowing them, as the marriage service puts it, with all their husband's goods, had really left them without a sixpence they could

loyally call their own The legal economic equality of husband and wife was, the speaker claimed, the only remedy foi such suffereri, and the adoption of a resolution embodying thin idea made patent the opinion of the tn<>eting.

Arrangements had been made for a garden party on the Saturday afternoon, but welcome rain—so sorely needed by parched Canterbury —came in copious show r ers, and therefore in electric car or motor omnibus the delegates made their way to the Exhibition,and qu»fce a large party were entertained at tea in one of the famous “ Cherry * tea rooms. A long drive and entertainment at th" home ot one of our hospitable Kaiapoi members was the proposed programme for Wednesday In place thereof the postponed garden party itecame the function for the day, and train or drag conveyed the delegates and friends to “ Kiverlaw ” the charming grounds of the Hon. GJ. and Mrs Smith at Opawa A few hours spent in friendly chat, amid brilliant flower beds or under shady trees, brought a Convention U>th useful and harmonious to a close.