News of the Unions.

White Ribbon, Volume 13, Issue 165, 15 March 1909, Page 3

News of the Unions.

Correspondents are requested to make their

Reports as concise as possibh

BLENHEIM.

Our usual monthly nu*etiug was hold on March 2nd, at which there was a good attend-

ance of member*. Mrs. Fisher was appointed Superintendent of Drawing-room Meetings, and it was decided that the first should be held about the middle of April, at which an address would Is* given by Sister Catherine. Mrs. Brewer was appointed to aet a* Delegate at the Convention. At the conclusion of business two new mein tiers were welcomed to the l niou. At our February meeting Mrs. Parker was appointed Superintendent of the Medical Teiujterancc Department. HAMILTON. The monthly meeting of this l uion took the form of an “At Horn ■ ” at the residence of Mrs. Home, President, at which there was a large attendance. After devotional and opening exercises the President read an interesting paper on “ Womau’s Work,” which was much appreciated. Miss Dewar, from Auckland, gave an encouraging and helpful address. Both ladies expressed their thankfulness to (»od for the No-License victory obtained in Ohiuemuri elect<rate «nd in Auckland. Miss Henderson rendered a solo in a pleasing manner. The hostess provided dainty refreshments, after which five new memliers wire initiat'd Hearty votes of thanks to hostess, speaker, and vocalist, and the singing of the Doxolopv brought a profitable and enjoyable meeting to a close.

ONEHUMi A. Tlie monthly meeting was held on I uesday afternoon Tin* chair was taken by Mrs. D. D. Seott, Vice-President, in tin* absence of the President. There was a la rye attendance of iiieuiisTs. A sub-committee was firmed to arrange for a meeting of mothers and Whies to be held at an early date, w ith a view to starting a Cradle Roll. Mrs. Wilkinson, of Devon port, was appointed to represent the l nioii at the forthcoming Convention in Wellington. It was dee*ided to hold tin* lnefting* on the second Tuesday of the month instead of the first A special meeting was held in the Foresters Hall on Tuesday, the 2iul February. Mrs. Whtkin occupied the chair, and Miss Powell gave an address on the origin of the movement in America. The election of officers result**! as follows:—President, Mrs. l)e Wolfe. Yie;ePresidents, Meselanus Welkin and l>. lb Scott ; Secretary, Miss Watson; Assistant Secretary, Mrs. Hoskiny ; Treasurer, Mr-. Maracus Jones; Reporter to White Ribbon Mrs. J. W. Watts; Re*porter to t'hronirlr, Mrs. Craig. It was resolved to hold the* meetings on the first I uesday in the mouth in tin* Presbyterian Schoolroom. Four new nu inliers wa re initiated. MASTER TON. 'rio* usual monthly meeting was held ii Knox Hall on Tuesday, Mrs. L. Devoiiixirt, \ iee*President, was in the chair, Mrs. tJreen, President, 1m ing absent on account ot illn**ss. Re*v A. Hedge* gave a helpful address on the* Teinjie*ranee question, ami Airs. T. Miller read a paper on the effects of alcohol on children. Ill** meeting decided tee seiitl Mrs. L. Devoniiort as their l)e*l«*gate to the Convention to be helel at Wellington m xt we e k. The* numbe rs \ ted that h*tt* rs of sympathy be sent te. Mrs Kavanagh «»n lie r sad hiss, also to Me*selanie*s ( »r**e n and Mclyan <»n th**ir illness. AUCKLAND. The* first meeting of the war was he*ld in tlie* Alln-rt Street Hall, tin* President Mrs. I)» war in th** chair. Several matters of interest were* dealt with, au<l a number of letters were reael, one lie*ing from Mrs. Harrison be*e* who is tu>w in Ceylou. A very interesting ai*eonnt of the* w’ork done in Christehnirh during the last «*l«*< - tioil We*e k fr«>lU tile* pe ll eif Miss Robe rts was re ad and much appreciated by th"s< pre*se*nt. Tin* follow ing ine*e*tiug, helel »n February 24th, was maele* the* occasion <>f an intere*stir.g nie*nmriiel service t<» the* late* Miss Fraiie*es \N illard. There was a large attendants, the* Tresiehut Mrs. |)e war) occupying the* chair. Mrs. Hughes re-ad a beautiful p«ee*m on Miss \\ illard's life, written hv Mrs. Harrison Lee, ami the* President reael the* following e*xtru<t from a speerh of Mi— Willard “ H i i n't hound, in Hod s tlllir, to will. H> hurt tin Solar Mm on our si dr ; in hnrr tht II omrn on our sidr U'f hnrr (i t)/l on onr suit — and Hod i* a poicrr , and don't >jon fnryrt it If veeii want to carry away erne* single thought fr<»in her life eei> earth, le*t it Is* this : “ God is a peewer, and don’t you fe»rge*t it.” Mr. Robe*rt Fre*nch, an honorary meml**r eif the* \\ .C,T.I , spoke* on the* life and times and of many of the* barelships that Miss Willard bail to ce»ute*ud with, auel gave a description ot lu*r noble work for womankind. A brief account ot Miss Barteen’s weerk feer the* Maoris in the* North was given, and sympathy was expressed for MisBarton, w ho is now recovering fr<eiu an illness. The* recent ease* of cruelty te» a e*hilel at Whangarei was brought forward, and wTeat inelignation was expressed at the sentence, which was regarele*d as too lenient. Aftenoon te*a was served. Tht* proceedings we re interspersed with musical

items; Mesdame-s Kasper ami Bethum* rendered solos, Mrs Clark U*ing pianist. DUNEDIN. Tlu mouthh ine*e*ting of tli»* \\ omen** ('liristian Tcinjieranee* l iih>ti was helel in the* \ .W.C A. rooms mi Tucselav, March 2nd, when the*re w e-* a large attenelanee. The chair was oe*cupieel hy tin* l'resielent, Mrs. N A. Davis. A re solution of coudoicnee was passed in memory of two late nieaiilsrs who have passed away in the* pe*rsousof M» -dame s Dohrmann ami J. N> il Dunedin who w i re* e -t* l ined mem tiers of tin* l niou. Ihe whole asse-inbU sHmm! in silence* as a mark of ivspeet. A letter was revived from Miss M<*(»e*orge accepting the* position of Superintendent of Seeial Purity work. Mrs. P»*te*r Die'k was appointed Supe rinte nde nt of Pe ace* and Arbitration. The third S inday in I>e*feml*er is to beheld as “ Fe*aoe Sunday ” all ove r tin* Dominion. Mrs. Blair was elected Superintendent of Non-A 1« «»h«»lie* Treatment of I)ise*ase. It was de'eieled to hold a <*onveTsa/ione in the* Hums' Hall m*xt month in honour of the* life* ami work of the* late’ Frames Willarel. A visit was reveived last month from Mrs. \e kroyd. of (vislHirne, whose* present** was mu< h appreciated. LEILDINU. A most suce e -sful, pleasant, and larg**lv atteneled W.C T. C. gar<h*n party was he*M at Mrs. I rost - re side lie - **. Friends from Kimbolton and Cheltenham we re* pre-ent. The* gathe*riug was be Id for tw o spi*eial purpose's —t<i commemorate tin* work of the* late* Mis- Frances \\ illard ami to we'leom*' tlu* R**v. P \\ . .Jones and Mr-. Jones bai'k from Waikato. Mi— S>rle\v preside*d and Miss Bray sang two -e>le»-, (In the* gue*sts be *i 11 it formally wdeoinesl back, Mr. Jon« - repli*sl and gave* a praethal addres- on No-Lic**n-e*. All tin* frie*ueis and supporte r- e»n the e*les toral roll were* urged tee vote fe»r the gentlemen • ill the Te*mpe tane*e* ticke t. At tlu* cleese* of the* meeting several lu*W inelliUrs We*re* received. Redreshine*nt- were* hatuleel rouml, and tin* inerting will Im* liMikeel liaek oil by those* present a- most enjoyable* and he lpful. Our monthly meeting was we*ll attended, Mi-s Sorlev, Pre*sieleut, giving a he*lpful address on “True Restfulness. ” Mrs. Crabbe*, of Kim1m elt e in, invited the mem tiers to an “ At Home*” on Tne-day, April tith, to In del a nutting in tlu* inte rest- of N<»-Lle*e*ll-e*. A e opy of tile* \\ HITE Rue BON i- tee lee* plae*e*el on the* talele* of the* Ladi* - Club. Resolved that t'l Im* donateel to tlu* World’s Missionary Fund and H>s. b» -pent in Te*nip* rane'e* and Purity Lite*rature*. NEW PLYMOUTH. It is a long time* since we have r»*porte'd ourselves to the Whitk Ribbon, but it has not be*eu feer want of aometliiug to re*pe»rt. Just be*feere* the election we* organised a larife* partv f»*r the* nmthers eef the nu*mbe*rs e>f tlu* Cradle Roll, alsjut 200 attending. Mr. Bruntuell gave* them a splendid address, and the little* girls who were trained tee -ing tlu* ae-tion seengs, especially the e-raelle ve r-c, diel their part well auel leeeekesl ve rx sweet. Franchise Day was ke*pt and w ill Im* re*jserte*el at Convention. (>ur annual nus*ting was lu*lel on Ileceraber Oth, and sheewed a fairly busy year in all departnie*nts, and particularly see in ce»uue*ctiou w ith the No-Licen-e* poll Mrs Brash was e*le*e*te*el President in place of Mr-, N. T. Maunde-r, who resigned; all tlu* <ethe*r ottiee*rs were re-dee*ted. The Frances Willard Day on February 17th was well attended, ami four new member* were initiated.

At our last monthly meeting the President and Sf-eretarv r«*jm»rt***l having visited Waitara and r«*nrgaiii*'*d the Union there, with Mrs. Cleave, M i's ivhv, and Mrs. K. Hay ley a* President, ♦Sceretsrv, and Treasurer resjnvtivelv. <iR» VMOUTM. Tlie monthly meeting of the Union was held on F* -briiary Jrd. when lh**re was a good attendanee of lneinliers. It Was divided to po*tpom* tin* tea meeting at the Sailors’ Host. It was also resolvnl to invite the Hon. J. A Millar to afternoon tea in tin* Rest when he visit* tin* town. At the reipiest of a iimnUr of Westport friends, who desire to form a braurh, the following w ere appointed to attend Mesdanies Raskin, Hansen, Mason, and Mills Mesdanies < laskin, Hansen, Mason, and Mills returned l*y tin* A rah ura from Westport, where they formed a liraneh of the I nion. The Helena tea had fim* weather and enjoyed their trip I ll* \Ve*tport Union has deeidial to work for a ♦Sailors 11 < *t, w hieh is hadly needed. NAPIER, A nn etimr was held in St. Paul s Sehoolrootn under the auspice*, of the Union to commemorate the death of Mi*> Frances Willard on February 17th, I S ‘.*V Mi's. Oldham was in the chair. The Rev. A. U. La wry d liwred a short address. He said Mis* Willard ranked high among the most fitted women of whom many had Invii l 'lind ill tin* Mi tlmdist Uliureii. She lieeann* a mo*t successful teaeln r and a public speaker of repute in both the < tld W orld and tin* New. H'*r first lecture on •• I'll*' New Chivalry ’’ touched a high keynote, with which her wliole life harmonised She took a leading part in the Tempera ric crusade, and was President of tin* World s Women’s Christian I’em pern nee Union. She work d m conjunction with Lady Henry Somerset and other Hritish reform workers, aiming at the hastening of the da\ when the w**al < t all should he tin* care of each. I’he li *\. ,T. Pattisou, of Waipukurau spoke on the recent No-Lie. US'* poll, and rone-ratulated Ins hearers on the substantial increase of votes. There were many things in the outlook tocheer the Temperance workers in New X ■alai.d. Referring to tin* three-fifths majority, lie noted that tie* Napier p«*ople did not indieve in i* as applied to their harbour poll. Why should it in* applied to tin* license issuer He contended that they should concentrate t heir efforts on instructing the youth of the Dominion about tin* evils of tin* use of alcohol, and getting such instruction in - trodmvd into the State school* of New Zealand. The Rev. J. K. Archer took three mottoes suggested by Miss Willard's autobiography. The first was " Kvt ry/wx/y’ % lldr. The war with drink was woman s as well as man’s The second was *' huh t' hiti/l (Spm hour. leinpera nee workers should seek election on School Committees, get lectures given in the day schools, and secure representation on committees to manage the recreation of the jieople. The third was •* Ih> Y<>nr /Sts/." They should not want, to do something brilliant b« fore attempting to do auything. A collection w as taken up for the l.val work and the world’s missionary fund, which realised a substantial amount Arrangements were made for a Rind of Hope or L.T.L. tu la* opened at an early date. Votes of thanks to the speakers and afternoon tea brought the meeting to a close. On M irub :trd our usual monthly meeting was held. A was made with sewing for a sale of work next spring. Standing vote* of sympathy were passed with our member, Mrs. Clatworthv, on the death of her husband, and

with the familv of the late Mrs. Dohrmann, M.A. Mrs. Neal provided afternoon tea, and Miss O/unne, lately from California, sang with guitar accompaniment.

KAIAPOI. We celebrated our IDtli anniversary hy holding a social on 24th February. There was a large attendance of visitors and friends. Tin* Assistant Secretary read the yearly reports, which showed some aggressive work done during the past year Encouraging reports were also read from Raugiora and W aikari Mrs. Richards, from Christchurch, gave an impressive and interesting address on “Personal Influence, from Home and Social Standpoints. taking as her text the wonderful influence of Frances Willard. Songs were given hy Mrs Wright and Misses I lay man and Klleu. Mrs. Pinfold spoke a few words and said farewell to the members of the Union. Mrs. Ward, who is leaving for a trip to England, was presented with tin* best wishes of the members for a happy and enjoyable journey. A resolution of sympathy with the family of flu* late M r I tohrmami was passed, all member* standing. Mrs. Pinfold pronounced tin* Benediction, after which refreshments were partaken of. WELLINGTON. A special gathering was held on February 11th to say “Rood-bye" to Miss Wilkinson, w iio lias been Treasurer to our Union for ten years, and who is leaving for a visit to the Homeland. Mrs. Roxall spoke of tlie good work done hy Miss Wilkinson, and on behalf of the l iiion presented her with a trave ling case and expressed the sincere good wishes of all Musical items were rendered by the Misses (lilbert, Amos, and Fyfe and a recitation by Miss llarvey. Afternoon tea was dispensed. An Executive meeting was afterwards held, and arrangements for the coming Convention decided upon. The reception of Delegates i* to take place in the Mayor’s room, Town Hall, on Wednesday afternoon, March 17th. TIMARU. Our first meeting of the year was held in the Sailors’ Rest on Fehrtta’y 7th. The attendance was fair ; we would like to see more active members. We regret that our President lias been laid aside for some time ; in her stead, Mrs. Rule occupied the chair. Mr. Stead reported a quiet month for January—loo sailors making I-Pi visits He requested new chairs for the Rest ; funds being available we were glad to comply. Mrs Xorrish was appointed our representative to the coming (’onveutioii.

On February 17tli a special Frances Willard evening was held, united with our annual social. A good attendance was recorded and new members nominated. Mrs. Rule read us a most inspiring address upon the noble life of our la-loved sister, Frances Willard. It is well to keep the memory of one so noble and good ever fresh. She should la* an impetus to us all to work without ceasing. The sailor.* in port attended our social meeting and were entertained by the ladies and friends. During the evening games were played, and songs given by Mrs. Valentine and Messrs. Douglas and Utiuru. The Misses Roberts played pianoforte solos.

We held the usual monthly meeting of our Union on Tuesday afternoon at the home of our former President, Mrs. F. Smith, North street, when seventeen ladies were present, two of whom were visitors. We were delighted to welcome Mr*. Goldsmith, of Waimate, who lias Ik*cii connected with the Union ever since its inauguration there. We were pleased, too, to see with us again Mrs. Rill*ert, a former memlier of *>ur society, who has lieen for some years in the Argentine. The chief feature of the afternoon was the reading of a paper sent by Miss Powell ami read by Mrs. Rule. It was thought *o good that members would like to procure extra copies. ASHBURTON. At our monthly meeting on February Oth there was a fair attendance, Mrs. \V. T. Lill presiding. A large amount of correspondence was received in connection with Hie forthcoming Convention and dealt with. It was decided that letters of sympitliv be sent to two memU-rs of the Union w ho are laid aside through illness. Resolved that a donation of Tl ls.be made to the Baring Square Trust Fund for use of schoolroom Mrs. A. Andrews reported a meeting held at. Winchmore on January 20th for the purpose of opening a branch of the Union in that district. Out* new member was initiated receiving a cordial welcome into the Union. Mrs. \\ Harding was appointed Assistant Treasurer in place of Mis* Keunington, resigned. The meeting closed with the singing of the I loxology. CHRISTCHURCH. At the fortnightly meeting on February IOMt two new members were initiated, and four members were elected to the Willard Club. A Superintendent of Work in connection with Narcotics was appointed, and it was resolved that the attention of the police l»e drawn to the necessity for more strict enforcement of the Juvenile Smoking Suppression Act Mrs. Whiteoiiibe was appointed Delegate to the annual < ’onveutioii.

A special meeting, which was largely attended, was held on February 17tli to commemorate the passing away of Miss Frances W iliard. The rooms were prettily decorated and a very interesting paper on our founder’s work and character was contributed by Miss (’muon, while Mrs. K W. Sheppard gave a number o f 1* ersonal reminiscences of her meeting with Miss Willard when acting as New Zealand Delegate to the World’s Convention in England. At the fortnightly meeting on February *24tli the principal subject for discussion was the Contagious Diseases Act. Mrs. Sheppard gave an address and proposed the following resolution, which was carried unanimously : “ That in the opinion of the members of the W.C.T U. action should at once be taken to memorialize the New Zealand Rovernmeut on the question of the repeal of the CM). Act. The members consider that although this Act has not l*een in operation for many years, and is practically a dead letter, the fact of it lieing still on the Statute Book of the Dominion is a menace to society and an insult to the women of New Zealand.” Resolution? of sympathy ami appreciation were recorded in connection with the passing away of Mrs. Dohrmann and of Mrs. Henderson, two of whose daughters are active workers for the Union ami the cause of Temperance.