Y.M.C.A. WORK.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXV, Issue 217, 10 September 1904, Page 3

V.M.C.A. WORK.

a. CANADL4N DELEGATE,

A large number of gentlemen interested in Christian work assembled at the Chamber of Commerce at 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon for the gurpose of welcoming to Auckland Mr D. A. Budg£, delegate from the V.M.C.A. of Canada. Mr Budge, who was introduced by Mr John Reid, an* heartily welcomed, said that in 1851 the V.M.C.A. was started in Canada, and also the United States. Now they had 1830 associations with 350,000 men as members. Thirty-six years ago their first building was raised, but now they had 480 of them at a total cost of 30,000.000 dollars. Last year alone CO new buildings were opened. That showed business men. were in the Y.M.CLA. movement. It was reaching o\it its influence to men of all classes, and tending towards the uplifting of city life. Anything that tended to make men better must be a great factor in a city's growth. There had been a great spread of the Y.M-C.A. movement amongst the employees on the railways of Canada, but unfortunately the' Sunday traffic on their railways was growing. When a man had to work on Sundays his family soon became careless about those things that make for righteousness. The Great Trunk Railway Corporation in the last seven years had put up 12 buildings on the line of route at divisional points for the V.M.C.A. members amongst its men. That had not been done out of interest in religious work, but because the manager found that better men made better servants, and better servants meant bigger dividends. The V.M.C.A. movement had also entered into college life, both in Canada and the United States. They had 05,000 members of the V.M.C.A. in the colleges, and it was also spreading to the high schools. Their organisation liad also entered the army and navy life both in Canada and the United States. They had 47 associations amongst the Indians of the North-west, and it had been taken up by many corporations outside of the railways. When capital became interested in the religious training of the workers, it was a good sign, and he believed the V.M.C.A. movement tended to bring capital and labour together. Their "progress was. lie believed, greatly due to the fact that they had the right men at the head ot affairs. There were 49 agents that gave the whole of tlteir time towards the success of the V.M.C.A. movement.

After having answered a number of questions on V.M.C.A. work, Mr Budge was accorded a hearty vote o thanks on the motion of the chairman. The officials and well-wishers of the V.M.C.A. gave Mr Budge a strong welcome in their rooms lasl evening. They took tea together, and afterwards repaired to a larger room and discussed methods of org-an.isa.tion. There was a very targe audience, almost exclusively made up of men, and including many leading business men and several church ministers. Mr Budge explained th« organisation, which had been found to make the V.M.C.A. work most profitable in Canada, and made his remarks clearer by diagrams of the different stages of deceniralisatioii. The scheme and its results were very lucidiy described. The essential feature was the employment of each member as an agent to use his influence nn seven days of the week by personal contact with his workmates and class mates to interest them in the work of the association. Central Committees ascertained the spheres of influence of the different members. and gave them special responsibilities in those spheres. The meetings of members, Mr Budge declared, were regarded merely as rallying places from which to .start forth on the expeditions. It was one thing to get the ear of a young man for half an hour nt a meeting, but it was a far grander tiling to have a young agent working at "the same bench influencing him for six days in the week. Important branches of the work were the training of Sunday-school teachers, and the opening up of roads back to the respective churches formerly attended by the newly-found members. The Y.M,C.A. was the handmaid of the churches. Mr Budge replied to questions, and was heartily thanked for his address.