29 

 FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30th, 1909. 



Receipts. 



September -'iO, balance in hand 



Subscriptions received by Treasurer.. 



Ditto paid direct to Bank 



Soiree Receipts 



Mr. Harvey, special for soiree 



£ s. 

 2 16 

 13 5 

 2 10 

 :J 19 



Expenditure. 



February. — Mr. Austen, Printing 



March. — Photographic Society 



Ray Society 



April. — Mr. Austen 



May. — Messrs. George and Co 



July. — Ditto 



Fire Insurance 



Soiree — 



Mr. Wilson 



Messrs. Court 



Messrs. Hobday 



Apparatus 



Postage of Notices, Etc 



Ditto Reports and Magazines.. 

 Balance in hand 



£22 15 S 1 



^22 15 S 



W. COZENS, 



Treasurer. 



METEOROLOQICAL NOTES FOR 1909. 



The past year in this district has been unusually wet, with a very dull and cold summer. March 

 was 3" colder thau the average, with about double the average amount of rain and half the usual sun- 

 shine. April and May were sunny months, but June, July, and September had in the aggregate about 

 150 hours less than the normal amount of sunshine and were many degrees colder than the average, but 

 the most noteworthy occurrence of the year was the terrible rainfall during the closing days of October. 

 I reproduce the record of Canterbury for the four days showing no less thau i\ inches of rainfall in 

 just over three days, but even this wa, exceeded at a few other places, as Margate .5-13, Brighton 5'14, 

 Ramsg;ate .514, and Dover -t-3fi. The following notes from the Bail]) News will give the best account 

 of the conditions of the country around Canterbury : — 



" With a rush almost equal to that of the bursting of a vast reservoir, the Kentish Stour 

 overflowed its banks. What a few days ago was a translucent stream babbling softly between the 

 hills, and glinting like a silver thread through the trees, is now a roaring current of dun-coloured 

 water that has spread itself over the country like an inland sea. 



'• Scenes of desolation unknown in this part for over a quarter of a century extend up and down 

 the valley for twenty miles. From -ishford to Canterbury and beyond to Sturry and Grove Ferry 

 the eye falls on a vast expanse of wave. Many streets in the City of Canterbury are under water. I 

 can hear the torrent as I write rushing under the bridge in the High Street, near the old West Gate, 

 and hissing through the narrow waterways — a thing almost unheard of in the Cathedral City. I 

 talked with many people, but not one of them could recall a visitation of such magnitude. 



" Not only is the central part of Canterbury flooded, but for miles on either side what appears to 

 be a newly created arm of the sea has isolated many villages and hamlets. Willesborough and the 

 other low-lying parts of Ashford are unapproachable except by boats and carts. Among the villages 

 that have been isolated and in some cases completely surrounded by water are Chartham, Starry, 

 Fordwich, Wye, Stodmarsh, and Grove Ferry. 



" The flood scenes witnessed in the valley were remarkable. The heavens were weeping for three 

 and a half days. In the night the wind swept down the valley with hurricane force. Trees were 

 uprooted, and" the torrent swept them clean through submerged hedges and fences. The damage to 

 farmsteads was enormous. Farmers lost many sheep — even horses were drowned in their stables. 



"At some places in Whitehall Meadows the water was 8 ft. deep. One of the first places to be 

 inaccessible was Holy Cross Schools, which had to be closed. 



" Then, gradually, as the water rose in the streets the imprisoned householders removed their 

 furniture to the upper storeys. The appearance of water several feet deep in the roadway and the 



