The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1867-02-05 00:00:00

BLANDFORD WORKING MEN'S CLUB.
ANNUAL MEETING.

The twelfth annual meeting of the Blandford
Working Ilen's Club was held at the Club-house on
Friday evening last. There was a full etteadanoe
of membem The sale of papers sad periodioals was
kindly undertakso by Mr. T. U. Park. who at the
dome received the beet thanks of the meeting.

Mr. H. HODGES was unanimously skotea obak-
man, mid haring in • kw well-timed remarks
opesed eh* inesting, and Galled upon lb. morrearise,
Meows. Meikk and Curtis, to read their report,
wliesh was as follows

" As joint esonstaries we have mach pleasure in pre-
senting to you the twelfth annual report of the
illandford Working llm's Club, which, at SIM eight,
may not appear so favourable • one as last year's,
whisk showed the unpreeedented Wanes af
£2B 14e. 40. in favour of the club, but we belie, you
will find that the satiety is at present In • very
aourishing state, and in many respects more so
than last year. We sueceeded a moss indefatigable
seceMary who devoted • large portion of bin leisure time
to the interests of the nub, and beside. occupied • public
praline which enabled him to collect £34 for the
purehme of new books for the library, £l2 of which
remained to be expended lifter last annual meeting, sod
which your committee ham laid out to tho best of their
ability. The trine:wee' report will show that the
balenee this year in fevour of the slab I. reduced to
Ell 2.. 644 but we have had unusual expenses to
meet, which einount to £lB 14s. 9.1„ the items are two
gratuities of £3 3a. sad 46 6... improving the book cease
of the library and enclosing them with wire finnan,
fitted with locks and keys, Di 15s, printing 300
demiriptive eataingem of honks 438'. 8.1 ; Mr. Ripe for
painting IS.. and Cl 9.. Id. for • set of seven phyneal
geogreply maps and texmloook for the use of the mimes
clue. The club has unavoidally lost four of its honorary
subsertben, from baying the neighbourhood sad other
muse, whom sebaeriptions amounted to £4, but there
ai • now 25 honorary members to whom the hest thanks
of the club are doe. In the List year's report the
number of benrfit member, was gives as 122. it should
only bays been 9l, the remaining 31 (stint overlooked
by the aseretary) having left toward the end of the
year. The number of benefit members who at present
actually belong to the club is 100, and during the you
148 names have bees on the books. The library members
at proesate subscribing number it. We have had six
readings sad four lectures dining the year. All the
readings have been held in Own•Exclungs, and with
the esee_ption of the hut whim was sot quite no well
attended on account of the int:lemma, of the weather,
they were all crowded to the doors, and the club is
dainty indebted to those who on kindly wined at the
at the readings, of tenet much personal ineonvieme, and
elan to Mrs. Mends and the Glee Union for their very
valuable eerviors, grehaitowsly supplying no with mane
and singing of a alum rarely to be met with stanch
entertainmenta—(loud cheer.). In the early part of
lut year J. C. Buckmaster, Req., was sent by the
Science and Art Department of the Kensington
Museum to eadeavosr to establish Science Muses
among members of Use slab in connection with the
&pertinent, and gave a very cnoelleet lecture in the
Townhall in which he pointed out the great advantaus
to be gained, and the encouragement which the Council
on Education offered both to Umbers and taught.
Your committee considered this such an excellent
opportunity for improving the minds and developing
the talents of than monism who would avail them-
selves of it that they immediately took steps to form
a class in oonuection with your dub and ii. now in
full working order. under tie, able tuition of Mr. Jamas
Payne who bar consmeneed a physical geography elms
which meets two or three evenings every week in lb.
, library of the club, and numbers now about 90 member..
the only terms of admission being that each pupil isa
member of the club. Kr. Payne pained in • most
creditable manner • very dillieult examination in
physical geography at the Kensington Measure lest
November, obtaining • certificate after studying the
so' Pmet for • short time. On amount of his enema
the Science and Art Department paid half the cost of
the set of maps required by the class, and the publisher
Mao allowed 25 par tient. discount, so that you have now
in your pcsesssloa seven valuable nape, costing a little
over • quarter of their publi bed price. Other slums
might be formed, but the limited accommodation
at the club-home entirely preventc any steps being
taken in that direction at present. More commodious
premises are now more urgently needed than ever, and
your committee ham been on the look out during the
year for • large home, but no place hu offered at all
likely to suit. They would particularly desire to carry
out the sale of refreshments', tea, coffee, he., at • cheep
price, which from want of a proper room for the puree •
bale never succeeded, for there is little doubt that shoh •
eyetece.lf well managed would Induce many mom working
'n-n to join the club than at present belong toil, and some
who spend their evenings now at the public house, might
perhaps be Inclined to try the club house instead, and
so andd the workhouse for themselves and families. and
maintain the ohmmeter of • true British workman. Your
'enmities applied to Mr. Hodges to enlarge the permit
club home, and he most willingly promised to do so
provide/ he could pueblos a pea of land at the back
of the bows, the properly of Winchester College, bat
alter making applioatiou the college declined to sell it,
abd he has therefore been unable to make any incresee
In the accommodation. We have morn pleasure in
referring to the library, whisk now manias 843 care-
fully selected books, and whisth is quite • credit to the
dab. Siam Me book awn were ussiosed the library Is
used as a rimidiog room every 'Tuesday smiling, when
the render room is necapiod by the Penny Bank, and
the Illandford Friendly and the Befitting Operative
Societies dm hold their meetinp therm Before the
book eases were enclosed and put under lock and key,
books were sometimes missed by the manager, but now
a comet account is kept of every book issued, mod
fines imposed on thole keeping then beyond the ameilled
time, or retuning them injured. Daring the put
year from Feb. let MI6, to January 314, 1667. MO
books have been nosed from the library, which gives an
average weekly Woe all through the year oft wally 50
vole. In the last year's report it was AMP that the
library unstained altogether goo vols., bet after going
carefully through the whole of the books one by 011.,
and examining the connate of lea to ansooe them for
the descriptive catalogue, whilst, is now in cam we find
that at this time last year them were only 713 vols.,
and we have added 110 more this you, which makes •
total of 843 vole This dearorepasey arises from the fast
that the late secretary smoldered one book containing
several subjects as so many vols. This we presume 10114
done to facilitate the selection of boob according to
their contents and their arrangement in the temporary
catalogue. With the £l2 balance from the book fund,
your onamitlise punned 42 hooks from the Pure
Literature Society at half-peters, 61 books from pub-
Ushers and booluellers at reduced prima, and the remain-
ing 13 books were presented to the stub by friends. We
hope you will allow your oommltbse to expend a certain
sun every year in the pantheon of new books, saute
harems the vela', of the library, and keep up the taste
for reeding among the members, white has hareased so
moth during the lain two years. We auseot Mom oar
report without noticing the great attention which has
always been mid both by the manager and his wife to
the tunnel; of the deb, and a/so their forbearames
tewaid some of the juicr teembeis who have someintes
been rather boisterous and have net always shown the
mealy regard they ought to the feellep of othera In
easehision, we wish the club every miaow and hope
that year by year it will be ineremingly useful so the
working men of Blendford.*

Ths adoption of the report was moved by M.
Heenan. monied by Hr. Leics.
The Cnerawin *ailed particular attention to
that part of it relaHng to the Mewl a0,t72"0"1
his great satisfaction *at so many had a • them-
selves of It during the past year. He also raked
as the szaellsat arrangements of Vie mow catalegas,
which reflected great credit on the escretaries. It
was fall and ezplicit, and so far sa he had been able
to sesertain, miry to be understood—(absers).

The mport was then unanimously adopted.
Tho Cl/LILIAN than called upon Mr. Elpr, the
treasurer of the club, to read his statmosat.
Bofors doing so, Mr. Bums said ho wished to
casks a few fiellltigl Sono primal might, on first
rionsidsraion, be inclined to conando that Ma club
was not in so prosperous a state Slit was last rear,
but be was able to prove it was batter off, for
athouch the bassos last year was S2B 116.
yet £l2 of that sum hammed solely to the book
fund, amnion the mesa club balsam was
£lll 34.1., this year the blame was all lb. fled.,
only tri 9a. 9d. los this last per. Tim toted
mosipas of the year 1886, omitting the £34 for books.
somentod to £9B lb. Bed, and this Par to
£97 lb. 34., whiob win only Xi 3.. Ism. He
considered that the books added to be club daring
the year were worth £2O at lasst sad cassidaring
the cheap rata at which they ware brought the dab
bad property worth considerably more than what
bad been oxpaaded. The books and bookcases bad
bean insured to the amount of £lllO. He also wished to
call attention to **that Miry hadapantdarbm tlas par
about £7 or mon in granitic' than in previous
years, five pinatas to lbs. Edwards, as two.
pima' to their late secretary. Mr. Eirpir thin nod
the financial statanamit :—Becripts—Balano• l hood,
£29 12s. bet; library lifornbone Babsseiptiono,
£2 55.; bloat Members' ditto, £lB Is. bed;
Honorary_ Members' ditto, 175,; barman Foie,
£1 74.; psnos and Ones, 19.. 80.; Root of
Rome; a ihe.; Raiding, and lictarsa, £24 0.. Bd.;
Sale of °Maoism, 12..; gab of Papers snd Barr-
Pm. £214.. id.—Total £lO9 13a 34.1. Pepsesits
Be.;—flrstaitaie, £lO Rost of Home, tit g Poor
aad other Rasa, LI tio. Bd.; Corponalos for Oven
Eschaor sad Town•holl, 119 7.. ; Tradsmis's

Bills, £4B 2s. lied.; Purchase of Books, £l4 fis. 10d.
—Tow, no lgs. gd. —This left a balance in hand
of £ll 2s. 6ed. Mr. Eiger concluded by referring
to the kiadnese of the e• (notaries, Mears, Meikle
and Curtis, in preasoting to the club the value in
books of the three guineas awarded them—(loud
chain).
The Treasurer's report, on the motion of Mr. C.
MILLARD, wooded by Mr. MULDLII, ass cordially
adopted.
Mr. Coins, after making • few remarks on the
state of the Anomie*, said that aotwithatanding they
had • less balance to show than last year in stook
and trade, sot. speak the club was about £l4 better
off.

oordial vote of tbanks was thee given to the
booorary members, and more especially to Maus.
Medd' and Curti&

Votes of thanks were also carried by soolasnation
to the seciretarias, treasurer, and other officers during
Lb. past year.
The CHAIRMAN said thrir next business WU the
election of °Mows.

On Use proposition Mr. E. B. Burn' seconded by
Mr. Lssca, Mr. Vex was unanimously re-elected
treasurer.

The CHAIRMAN said he regretted to find that their
late secretaries onuld not be prevailed upon to retain
offioe. Such being the owe perhaps some one present
would propose a person thought suitable. The offer
was Mien made to several present, but all declined,
when Mr. Mann, scripture reader, entered the room,
and tbe Chairman remarked "He WM the right man
in the nett plain." Mr. Mann and Mr. Minden
WM" eventually cheeses' joint seoretarisa

On Ow proposition of Mr. MaILL/L. ssoondsd by
Mr. LANCI • gratuity of t's was voted to Mr. and
Mrs.

Tbe neat question was as to whether any sem
ah old be voted to the °committee out of the balance
in band for the purchase of hooka. After some ono-
venation, in winch Mr. F. IL Swim called attention
to the advantages of soheicribisi to Undies library,
Mr. MIIIKLZ proposed and Mr. BAITLWITIODOOdird
proposition that the committee be empowered to
ezpead not more than in boas daring the yasr If
they... fit.

Mr. Courts, whilet fully recognising the
importance of keeping up the library, reminded
those petulant that they had not now • large fund in
hand. That they had lost honorary subscriptions to
the amount of £4. and that as they had.now • good
library, it might be as well to defer, pitchman( soy
more books for • timv. Haitbas proposed as an
amendment that the qoestion of purchasing hooky
stand over till coat year. On • show of bands, the
original proposition was carried by a good majority.

The CHAIRDILX maid their Dalt banners was
most important one, for on the electing of suitable
persona the oomenittee depended in a great measure
the 'gooses of the club. He wished theerfors to
impress upon them, and especially the younger
members, that only such parties sbouldibe proposed
es they believed would 000seisotiously disobargiv
the duties. They mast remember that the club was
. . . .

now pneceened of ioraeproparty, and it was the duty
of the oomutittee to see *Mooch property was taken
owe of. If be might be allowed to suggest, he woncl
is, that the.. who had previotudy been amenities*.
men and knew the duties, were those to wheat they
could entrust the welfare of the club with safety—
(oheers).

The peopos.g and seconding din/sabers was than
sntso.d into with nuns spirit. Sixteen were
nominated. The voting waa by ballot, and dm
following ware *lased :—Cartis, Daddisridgo, W.
110,4011, B:arthitt, Madam, Millard, G. Payne, H.
Hedges, T. Freke, & George.

A very beady vote of thanks was thee gives to
the °haircuts, and tbe ineethig erparated atter
singing the doxology.