The Portland daily press., 1882-12-18
Children,s Cbristmas CI,,h.

iLg Play lOr MIN.
Childrens Christmas Club.
Saturday morning meeting Of the older
members of the Children's Chrstmss Club
was held in the Common Council room. Prem.
tiss Loring, Esq, presided There were pres
ent large mum Der of ladies and gentlemen
representing portion of the city churches.
An executive committee, consisting OF
Woodbury. s. Dana, ESQ.,, Rev. W. T Phelap
Misses Sargent and Spring was appointed 10
have charge of the work of the club, and to
lay out the work for the children.
Besides the executive committee it was yot-
ed to appoint an additional committee, con-
slsting of one person from each church and re-
ligious society and also one person from each
Sabbath school and day school in the city.
This committee was only partially filled up,
but as soon as the appointments are made at
list of the committee will be published.
In Reception Hall the chldren's meeting was
held at IL o'clock. Between one and two hum
dred children were present, including all ages.
The meeting was called to order by Mayor
Libby, who introduced Prentiss Loring, ESQ.
Mr.. LoriDg told the children the object is 10
establish club that shall, from year to year,
provide supper at Christmas time for the
poor children of the city and also present these
poor boys and girls with some toy or suitable
Christmas present. The children who belong
to the club will be expected to contribute for
this purpose some toy out of their home stock.
The poor children will understand that they
dio W 10 outerldlueu Dy tnOS6 WlOm fOrJnn6
has favored n )re than themselves. The aim
must be to give them welcome from the heart
and to show that the members of the club
want to do them good. Let all the boys and
girls, then, when they receive their guests, be
on their good behavior 1t is proposed to give
a supper at City Hall, on Thursday, December
18th. Tickets will be issued to all the deserv-
ing needy children in the city, who shall have
free admission and permission to eat as much
as they want. Many poor children will come
thinly clad and wearing ragged garments.
Members OF the club who have clothing to
spare are requested to bring il to the Associat-
ed Charities room next Saturday morning
Every member will pay annually ten cents as
fee for membership. 1t is expected that
each member will invite others to Join
Miss Sargent told the children that thew
must tell their young friends about the club
and increase the interest in working for il.
Two boys are to be appointed from each Sun
day school to act as messengers, who will run
errands on the day of the reception and assist
in other ways. Two boys and Two girls are to
DO appointed from each Sunday school to act
as receivers. They will take the ten cent
membership fee, and return to the same per-
son his or her card, of membership. These
can be obtained from the secretary. All the
children are to be at Reception Hall next
Saturday morning to attend another meeting
of the club
Mrs. Stevens and Miss Proctor addressed
the children, commencing their good work
A line was then formed and the boys and
girls in an ORDERLY manner passed in front OF
the secretary's desk, paying the ten cent fee
and receiving in return the card certificates of
membership. One hundred and fifty new
members were added.
The following resolutions were adopted;
Resoloed, That every Sunday school in town
should appoint at Sunday school on Dec. IT, two
That every Sunday school should appoint two
girls and TWO boy above thirteen years of age to
fill The office of receiver in tn If parish
Resoteed ThoI no begging shall be done by the
cluD buC that any person in the city wishing to
d AXE contributions OF none material may gl, e
information to the committee of receivers.
The receiver appointed by each Sunday
school Yesterday, will take names OF all CHI :
dren wishing to join the club. and will Obtain
tickets to distribute to subscribers.
Receivers meet at Council Chamber Thu s.
days at 4.30, to obtain tickets from the Secre-
tary.
Messengers meet at 430, Monday, at Recep-
ton Hail. when they must hand to Executive
Committee the names of officers appointed in
their Sunday schools.
Fred Arthur Dam, 50 Bramhall street, a
member of the Club, after half-past twelve
Sunday collected So 90 in ten cent contribu-
tions for the Christmas dinner Tor the poor
children.
So many persons ask what this club is, and
what its objects is, that want to tell them
what think it is, and 1 want every member
to read this over twice and see If am right.
Read it once for your head, and once for your
heart and see if it is what you really mean
when you call yourself member of the Chill
dren's Christmas Club.
Eighteen hundred and eighty-two years ago,
God sent from heaven the first Christmas gift.
That gift was a child and be brought in his
hand two precious treasures to leave upon the
earth In his right hand ''love for all people
and in his left, forgiveness for all sins'
That little child is no longer here, but in the
hearts of every child born since that first
Christmas Day are the two gifts he brought
We call them charity.
Charity means, then, love and forgiveness
and if we love people and forgive all unkind.
ness they have done us, or all wronsHthey have
done, our hearts often move us to give them
gifts as proofs of our love.
So we see true cha ity must mean gi wing from
the heart, and L think the members OF this
club mean to give from their hearts. Is there
lid, who sits down to a nice Christmas din
ner who can not make a sandwich, or save
a cooky or an apple, from his share for some
| child who has only crust of bread? No. Then
| let him become member OF the Children
| Christmas Club Do we give nothing to ou
| friends because we can not give grand gifts
| No: we give the best we can. "If we have Int
| tie, we give little: If we have much, we Civ,
| plenteOusly."
The motto of the club is, Freely ye have re
| ceived freely give,' and it means giving glad
| ly and cheerfully.
| One member of the club said last night, an,
mamma gays the best giving is giving seme
tning you'd like to keep; love my Lily bette
than anything 1 own; but m going TO tax
| her down and hope some sick child will &c
| her because she's such comfort. sBut l shall
| miss you dreadfully, Lily darling"
! A boy said, "When we first heard of th,
| Club, my father gave me dollar to give but
| when we found it was only ten cents to join
he said 1 might keep the rest There's jus
the jolliest set of Chinese puzzles that wan
| fearfulIy for eighty-fve cents, but I've abou
| decided to give that money to the committee
Another child said, "I'd bought all m,
Christmas presents and my money was al
gone, but grandma gave me ten cents 10 joil
| WITH and six cents to ride in the cars, caus
it's such long walk to the City Hall. Blu
you better believe walked; and I'm going t.
save every cent can earn to put with it, ant
if it isn't but fifteen cents I'll give it to thu
| Club fund.- ] want some money left over t.
put into the bank. so we can have Gu
treasury all the year round"
Isn't this the spirit of the Club? Is it to say
"I've got money in my tIn-bank, but dom
like to take it out. If l tta papa, he'll Civ
me some?" Is 1T to say, 81 want all my toy
myself, but I'll get lot of girls and we'll &
down TO owen q Moore's, aud Hudson's ant
Days, and ask them to give US some?"
think 1 hear you all shout mo; Gas you di
&C the Hall) but we'll tell our friends, old ant
young, what we are trying to do. Some c
them might be glad to give too, if they knew
We won't ask any body twice, because we wan
everything in that Hall to be given freely an
gladly. And if they ask us what they sha
| give, we'll say, sit doesn't make any diffel
ence what you give; when people need every
thing they are glad to have anything"
This is what think the Club means; am
right? h. O. ..