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Taunton Courier. Bristol and Exeter Journal and Western Advertiser. Wednesday 20 Jan 1926
Page 7 Column 4
NORTH PETHERTON.
BUFFALOES ENTERTAINED. - The members of the recently-formed “Beam” Lodge of the Royal Antedeluvian Order of Buffaloes and a few friends spent a convivial evening at the Clarence Hotel on Thursday evening, when they were entertained at dinner by the landlord, Mr. CARTER. The Lodge, which only started about four months ago, has already 25 members. Following the repast, the guests enjoyed an excellent concert, those contributing to the programme being Messrs. J. B. SPENCER, COLLINS, A. H. CLARK, S. WILLIAMS, BOOBYER, and others. Mr. COLLINS was the pianist.
PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL. - A meeting of the Parochial Church Council was held on Tuesday last, the Vicar (the Rev. J. ADDY) presiding. - The Secretary (Mr. A. W. WATERJOHN) stated that the net sum of £37 12s 6d was obtained from the jumble sale held last year. - Mr. McCREATH reported that £13 16s 5d was the net sum from the whist drive. - The Treasurer (Mr. H. SHEPHERD) said the sum of £185 18s 3d had been collected for church expenses for the year, beginning with an adverse balance of £5 10s 7d, and ending with a balance in hand of about £3. This was considered very satisfactory. In addition, the special collections amounted to £29 7s 10d. - The Rural Dean, reporting on his official visit, stated that the church fabric and all its contents were in a high state of efficiency, and he was most pleased with all he saw, - Messrs. W. H. PALMER, McCREATH, DAVIS and HALL were appointed a Sub-Committee to determine the allocation of the proposed increase of the insurance of the church fabric, ornaments, and plate by an additional £5,000. - The Secretary (Mr. A. W. WATERJOHN) reported on the work done on repairs to the fabric, the organ, the church clock, also on the cost of these details and the upkeep of the church, salaries, and other expenses. - Mr. H. P. APTER, the representative of the Council on the proposed six days' missionary exhibition to be held at Bridgwater next June, gave an account of the arrangements being made by the General Committee at their various meetings at Bridgwater. The General Committee consists of the representatives of the various parishes in the Rural Deanery of Bridgwater. - It was unanimously decided, on the suggestion of the Secretary, that a social be held on Tuesday, January 19th, to include the members of the Parochial Church Council and all churchworkers, Choir, Sunday School teachers, sidesmen, and officers of the church. The social to take the form of a whist drive, songs, and dancing, the Refreshments Committee being the ladies of the Parochial Church Council.
CONSERVATIVE ENTHUSIAM.
CROWDED CONCERT MEETING.
MR. CROMPTON WOOD'S ADDRESS.
The George Hotel Assembly-room was packed to overflowing on Thursday evening, when an enjoyable concert meeting was held under the auspices of the North Petherton branch of the Bridgwater Division Conservative Association. A capital programme was contributed by a party of Bridgwater entertainers, and during the interval Mr. Crompton WOOD, M.P., who received a cordial reception, gave an address, in which he dealt with the problems affecting the country to-day, and explained the proposal of the Government for their solution. The programme included songs by Miss Millie EVETT, Miss MILLARD, Mrs. Aubrey DOWN, and Mr. Geo. WHITE; minuet, Miss Florence HOWE, Miss Ivy GILLARD, and Miss Margaret STOCKHAM; songs and dances, Miss Margaret STOCKHAM and Miss Millie EVETT; and a duet by Mr. George WHITE and Mr. Aubrey DOWN. During the evening Mrs. PRYCE MICHELL presented the clever little dancers with boxes of chocolates.
The Rev. P. T. PRYCE MICHELL, who presided, in introducing Mr. Compton WOOD, made reference to the death of Mr. Frank MERCER, who, he said, had become one of their greatest friends and supporters in that district. He and Mr. MERCER had been identified together for many years, and he was a friend whose loss he felt very deeply. He asked that the meeting pass a very sincere vote of condolence with Mrs. MERCER and her son in the great and irreparable loss they had sustained through his death. At his invitation the audience stood in silence for a few moments. Proceeding, he referred tot he fact that he had relinquished the Chairmanship after 16 years, and stated that he was presiding that night owing to the inability of General NELSON to be present. He held, and would continue to hold the greatest admiration for Mr. Crompton WOOD, and also for Mr. Stanley BALDWIN. He did not think they could find a better man to follow than Mr. Crompton WOOD, who was a great supporter of Mr. BALDWIN.
Mr. Crompton WOOD at the outset said he wanted to join in that vote of sympathy with the widow and son of Mr. Frank MERCER. He met Mr. MERCER once, and he knew he was a straight man. He did not think any epitaph could be greater than that he was a straightforward Englishman.
PLEASURE OF POLITICS.
Proceeding, he said a member should represent the people he sat for in Parliament, whether he was on their side of politics or not, because he was their representatives until they turned him out – perhaps at the next election. The pleasure of politics was to get to know the people in the constituency, their lives and point of view. Lately, when he had been driving through North Petherton, he had wondered about those people there, whom he knew so little of. Therefore, he proposed that before his time of office in Parliament was over they would get to know him more. In that game of politics, he proceeded, it was rather important that they should try and clear their minds of the little interests they had, and look at politics from a bigger standpoint, because their's was the greatest Empire the world had ever known, and the people in that room were the heart of it.
He went on to speak on similar lines to the address which he gave at Enmore on Monday. Referring to the condition in industry, he said he would never agree to their working people getting less wages. That was the last thing the country would stand, but they would have to improve their methods of production, and, most unwillingly, they might have to work longer hours. That was the position in front of them at the present time.
BEE IN LIBERALS BONNET.
Referring to the parties in Parliament, he said the Liberal party was composed of some very able men, but the extraordinary thing was that they could not see that they must get away from absolute Free Trade. They said Free Trade saved England up till 1914, and he agreed that it did, but that was when conditions and wages abroad were the same as in this country. To-day, however, people abroad were working longer hours for less wages. That, in his mind, was the “bee in the bonnet” of the Liberal Party. Then at the head of that Party they had Mr. Lloyd GEORGE, who had brought in a land programme, which he believed was going to split that Party in twain. Mr. Lloyd GEORGE had the purse, and had said to his party, “You back up my land suggestions, or you aren't going to get my money.” That was going to rend his party in twain.
Then they had some able men in the Labour party, and they had that extraordinary mixture of extremists who would drag England down to the level of Russia, that left wing of the Labour party, which dragged the last Labour Government to destruction. There were those extremists and more moderates, and before many years he thought they would see a cleavage in the Labour party; they would see the extremists and moderates divide.
GOVERNMENT'S ELECTRICITY SCHEME.
Next they had the Conservative party and one of the greatest men the country had ever produced, Mr. Stanley BALDWIN. To know Mr. BALDWIN was to love and admire the man. His heart was with the working classes of the country, and if he could lay down his staff and retire, then as long as he could feel that he had done something to help forward the working people of this country he believed that he would feel content. Let them glance very briefly at the last year. All Governments(?) made mistakes, but there were two or three things which would stamp it out in history as having done something. He referred to pensions for widows and orphans, and the improved old age pensions. Dealing with the Government's electricity scheme, he said it would cheapen electricity, and consequently the costs of production. It was one of the biggest schemes they had had to tackle, and he did not think it would reduce the consumption of coal, because electricity must come from coal in this country. Alluding to the coal subsidy, and the Commission now sitting, he said they had paid a great price to have that Commission. They had given about 20 millions of their money so that that Commission should meet and find out who was right, the owners or the colliers. He thought the colliers had a great deal to be said for them, and it would never have done for them, as a nation, to have fought against the Labour Unions in the coal trade if they had(?) right on their side. They would soon know whether the owners or the miners were right, and he thought it was worth paying 20 millions for.
At the conclusion the Chairman expressed hearty thanks to Mr. Compton WOOD for his address, and cheers were given by the audience.