In reply, Mr. Botting said they must all feel very much flattered by the terms in which Colonel Hobhouse had referred to their Society. He felt that they might almost suggest to the Government that the questions of old age pensions and the financial position of friendly societies might be handed over to them to deal with. He might remind them of a remark made at the meeting, although having an M.P. present, perhaps he should not refer to it, that their Society got through more work in a day than the House of Commons did in a month. He considered they had at their Conference got through a good day's work. He would not give a long string of statistics, but he must mention that the Society had a membership of 19,600, had been in existence nearly 28 years, and during that time had paid to the nominees of deceased members just upon £300,000, made up chiefly of penny contributions. Such payments had been in many cases all that had stood between the widows and orphans and absolute destitution. In considering this, they must not forget his friend beside him, whose fertile brain had created the Society. They must all regret to learn of Mr. Asher's retirement from the Service through ill-health, and they would all hope that the release from official work would prove beneficial to him. He (Mr. Botting) hoped that so long as the Society existed the name of Mr. Asher would never be forgotten.
Mr. Asher was received very heartily. He said the proposal that such a society should be formed was regarded as the day dream of a sanguine mind, but it was something to reflect upon, the immense amount of good that had been done in the course of years. More practical help he could not imagine rendering to the fellows in the Service. He trusted that the work of that day's Conference might re-echo and redound to the credit of the Bristol meeting, and he desired, in thanking their Bristol friends, to couple with them the names of Mr. E.C. Taylor and the Reception Committee.
In proposing "The City and County of Bristol," Mr. Edward Bennett said that he had attended a great number of these banquets, and had had on several occasions to propose the toast of the particular town which was for the moment entertaining the Society. For this reason he was, perhaps, looked upon as a special pleader, and when he was praising a provincial city his tongue was thought to be in his cheek, and London was written on his heart. When Stella was told that Dean Swift had composed a poem, not in honour of her, but of Vanessa, she replied, with exquisite feminine amenity, that it was well known that the Dean could be eloquent over a broomstick. If he that night extolled Bristol above her other rivals, it would be said of him that he was a verbose individual, who had called in past years Leeds a beautiful and inspiring city, Liverpool a rising seaport, and Glasgow a town where urbanity and sweet reasonableness prevailed. It might be remembered of him that he had praised the Birmingham man for his childlike humility, and the Edinburgh man for his excessive modesty. It was his first visit to Bristol, and it was presumption on his part to speak on the subject at all. Silence was the better part when a man was situated as he was. There were some exquisite lines he learnt as a child which conveyed a deep moral lesson to all day trippers:—
There was a young lady of Sweden
She went by the slow train to Weedon,
When she arrived at Weedon Station she made no observation,
But returned by the slow train to Sweden.
That was what he ought to have done. His heart went out to that young lady, and he often had pondered whether it was disgust, astonishment, or admiration which had inspired her silence. There was a special reason why Civil Servants should be drawn to Bristol. Doubtless even the Bristol Chamber of Commerce was acquainted with the process known as "passing over"—many persons in that room had perhaps undergone the operation—and those who read the history of Bristol felt a pull at their heart strings when they realised the fact that she also had been "passed over" by younger and more pushful rivals. But the capable Civil Servant never admitted the justice of being passed over. In many instances he established his case, and he did not rest satisfied until he had retrieved his position, and in time caught up his quondam rivals. That, he took it, was the position of Bristol at the present time. She had relied too much on her ancient name, and had allowed mushroom places like Liverpool and Manchester to steal a march on her. She was coming to the front again; she had a glorious past, but she was going to have a brilliant future. He coupled with the toast the name of the High Sheriff. If he knew any evil of the High Sheriff he would not mention it that evening. He had still 24 hours to spend in Bristol, and a man could do a lot of evil as well as good in that time.
The High Sheriff made a short speech in reply to the toast.
Other good speeches followed.
The Post Office Cycling and Athletic Clubs have for some years past been in the habit of holding Sports at the County Ground in Bristol. These annual sports, having been held on Saturday afternoons, have usually been successful, and have attracted large crowds. In 1903, the sports, held on the 23rd May, attracted no fewer than nine thousand persons, owing to the unusual feature of motor cycle races having been arranged as a novelty—motor cycle racing not having been carried on in Bristol before. There were several competitors, and London as well as local men, took part in the motor cycle races. Unfortunately, the track, which had been made some sixteen years previously for ordinary cycle competitions, was not suitable for motor racing at great speed. In one of the heats Bailey, of Bristol, was leading Barnes, of London, a noted motor cyclist, and through some mishap at or soon after the moment of Barnes getting past Bailey, his machine having run rather wide on the track, got out of his command, and dashed into the fringe of sightseers who were lying on the bank to get the best point of view. The result was a fearful carnage, and ten or eleven people were carried away insensible and much injured. In the end, three poor boys died in the Hospital, and fortunately the seven or eight other people who were injured, slowly recovered from their concussions and contusions. At the inquest, the verdict was "Accidental Death."
On the 23rd December, 1903, shortly after five o'clock p.m., the civic supply of electricity in Bristol failed, and shops, business premises, and houses depending upon it for light, were plunged into darkness in all parts of the city. This was soon known to be due to a fire having broken out at Temple Back Generating Station, and the glare in the sky suggested that the outbreak had reached serious proportions. The Bristol Post Office has a full installation of electric light; and the failure could not have occurred at a more inconvenient time, as the pressure incidental to Christmas was being experienced. Fortunately, not only for the Post Office, but also for the general public, the large staff engaged in the interior of the building was able to cope with the extensive work before them practically without interruption, as throughout the whole of the department, gas is still laid on, and, beyond the shifting of one or two desks to within reasonable distance of gas jets, no inconvenience was caused after the burners and fittings—somewhat out of order through non-usage—were put to rights. The public hall, however, suffered most, as, when thus robbed of the electric light at one of the busiest periods of the evening, only scattered gas jets were available, and they had to be supplemented by lighted candles set at intervals around the semi-circular counter. Some of the candles were in primitive holders, stuck in blocks of wood, and plugged firmly with nails; others were even without these supports. The Counter Officers had, therefore, to work under difficulties; but they got through their manifold duties expeditiously. The greatest inconvenience was occasioned at St. James's Parish Hall, which was being temporarily used as a Post Office. Here, there was no gas service available, and when the electric lights "gave out," the staff had to scurry hither and thither to get illuminants, which took the form of postmen's lamps, table lamps, candles in improvised holders, and such few hurricane lamps as were procurable at the shops, in the general run on them. The electric light was fully restored in the evening of the next day. This fire recalls an occasion when at St. Martin's-le-Grand, the gas supply failed, and the largest Post Office business of the world was placed at a standstill. The officials, however, were equal to the emergency, and cartloads of candles were quickly obtained. The staff of carpenters employed on the building improvised receptacles, and the postal work was proceeded with, candles as they burnt out being replaced by men told off for the purpose. Some time afterwards, it was suggested that the stock of candles left over should be disposed of, but it was then found that these had been devoured by the innumerable rats which infest the old building.