WOMEN'S WORLD.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 60, 12 March 1926, Page 15

WOMEN'S WORLD.

SOCIAL JOTTINGS.

The Rev. E. R. Weeks and Mrs. Weeks, of Wellington, are visiting Auckland and are the guests of Mr. and Mrs. G. H. Wilson, Upland Road, Eemuera, during the Congregational Union Conference.

Amongst the visitors 6taying in Queenstown at the White Star Hotel, are Mr. and Mrs. G. L. Taylor, and Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Holdsworth, of Mount Eden.

Mrs. Grant Cowen and Mies P. -H. Dawson have returned to town after an enjoyable motor trip to Rotorua and Wairakei.

The Arts and Crafts Circle of the Auckland Lyceum Club will hold an open evening on Monday next when the president, Mrs. W. H. Parkes, will speak on "The Fisher Girls Mission in Scotland." Musical items will be given iby Mrs. Arthur Walton, and Miss McGruer.

A meeting of the Query Club was held in the Business Girls' Clubroom on Thursday when activities for the year were planned. The president, Miss JackEon, presided over an attendance of 35 members. Appeals for assistance were received from several quarters and those present agreed to do their utmost to render help to the various charitable and patriotic organisations. The members are hopeful of rendering good service during the present year and are looking forward keenly to a renewal of activities.

In the account of the "fashion tea" of the Auckland "Women's Zionist Society on Tuesday afternoon it was wrongly stated that £200 -was collected. Songs were given 'by Miss Minnie Kronfeld and Mrs. Knight, and a 'cello eolo by Miss Tiarks.

The Palestine Charity Ball, organised by Mrs. Alexander Pollick to raise funds for the stocking of stalls at the forthcoming Persian Garden, which is to be held in the interests of the Plunket Nurses in Palestine, took place at Dixieland Cabaret last evening. The function was a success in every way, between 700 and 800 dancers "being present. Mrs. Pollick was hostess-, and was ably assisted by other hardworkers in the deserving cause. Among those present were Mesdames Mendelsohn, Mitchell, Levene, Twohill, Emanuel, Schneidman, Free, Hastings, Sandham, Sowden, Louisson, Gaveghan, Tuck, Zakariah (Wellington), Roberts, and Misses Dye, Ross, Johnston, Pagni, Wilson, CDonnell, Feldman (2), Fabian and many others.

The twenty-first annual meeting of the Otago Victoria League -was held at the "Women's Club, Lady Sim presiding. It wag stated that there are -564 members of the league, 48 new ones haying been added during the year. Books and magazines have been forwarded to 17 centres during the year, and many letters of thanks have been received. The league has assisted in many social service efforts, including the "tea for lonely girls" given by the Y.W.OA. at Christmas time. Assistance was given also during the viaifc of the American fleet. The following, office-bearers for the year were elected:—President, Lady Sim; vice-presidents, Mesdames William Laidlaw, E, G. Reynolds, aud D. L. Theomin; secretary and treasurer, Mise Jackson; executive council, Mesdamea Eden Bowler, Frank Clapperton, Thomas Fergus, B. C. Haggitt, A. G. Melville, J. M. Ritchie, P. R. Sargood, Misses A. C. Anderson,Begg, Burton.Cooke, Downie Stewart, Sir William Sim, Hon. W. Downie Stewart, Hon. Sir John Sinclair] Hon. G. M. Thomson, P. R. Sargood, and J. C. Marshall; honorary auditor, W. T. Monkman; honorary librarian, Miss F Allan. WEDDIWG&. The marriaga was celebrated on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 3, at St. Stephen's Presbyterian Church, Ponsonby, of Miss Constance Mary Searle, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Searle, of Heme Bay, to Mr. Frank Gorman Bernard, elder eon of Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Bernard, of Raglan. The bride, who entered the church, on her father's arm, wore white brocaded satin and georgette, and an embroidered tulle veil and tiara of pearls. She was attended by Miss McGregor and Miss Phyllis Mackie, both being attired in heliotrope satin and carrying shower bouquets. Tie two little pages, Master Jack Searle and Master Alf Carson, were in white satin suite and heliotrope sashes. The bridegroom was attended by Mr. J. Lawton. of Raglan, the groomsman being Mr. Philip Searle, brother of the bride. After the ceremony the reception was held, when over 100 guests attended. The bride's mother received her guests in bla.ck silk marocain and black toque. Mrs. Bernard, mother of the bridegroom, wore a navy blue costume and picture hat. VALEDICTORY. A tribute wae paid to the matron of the Waikato Hospital, Miss E. A. Hogg, who has resigned to take up a post in Egypt* by the Minister of Health, the Hon. J. A. Young, when speaking at the opening of the new home for nurses yesterday. The Minister said he regretted to hear that Matron Hogg intended to take leave of New Zealand. She had served under the British Government, and during the strenuous days of the war had been loaned to the Italian Government to assist in the organisation of the nursing service of that nation. She had seen Bervice in many parts of the East, including Egypt and Constantinople. As a nurse she had earned an international reputation, and had recently received a call from the Egyptian Government, which, as a sense of duty, she had acceptedMatron Hogg would take away with her the best wishes of all, and the Waikato Hospital was the better for her stay and her experience. IMPERIAL QUESTIONS. The subject of the Imperial Conference was taken by the Rev. W. G. Monckton for his address before the members Of the Lyceum Club yesterday. Her Excellency Lady Alice Fergusson, Mrs. Hariland and Dame Clara Butt, were guests of honour and were welcomed warmly by the president, Mrs. W. H. •Parkea, who said that the objects of the club when formed, and indeed, a condition of their remaining a branch, of the Lyceum in London, was that they ehoold keep to the intellectual side of life. In his opening remarks the speaker reminded his hearers that the Greeks said that the most difficult thing -was the art of co-operation, the art by which men were enabled to live together, and it was because the Greeks had not learnt | this art that the Athenian Empire came j to crash, because they formed a plan first and then wanted all nations to come into their cut and dried plan. The British Empire has grown up itself, explained the speaker, developed by itself, and instead of being a cut *nd»

dried plan, has dealt with every problem as it arose. Some call this "muddling through." If so, it has been peculiarly successful. Chamberlain said the other day that Englishmen must learn to think, and think in terms of Europe. If difficult for them, how much more difficult for us in New Zealand. The problems of our Empire are the problems of the world in miniature. It has ceased to be a group of colonies and become a group of sister nations living in the same home. For New Zealand and Australia, the eseence is the British Navy. We depend on British strength, nothingwe could do, nothing Australia could do, would defend our shores. The South African people are not chiefly dependent on the British Navy; we find their papers chiefly taken up with the colour problem. There are four classes, the white people, the negroes and Zulus, the imported coloured people and the Dutch and half-caste, each with its own language, church, and schools; each is really a separate nationality. In this we have the problem, that of uniting them. In Canada the great problem is the drift to the United States, in India it is the problem of, and interests of, Home rule. Imperial trade is one of the most difficult things we have to deal with. In New Zealand we are beginning secondary industries. If these are to prosper we must have British tariff walls. In the Commonwealth ten million shoes are made a year. Canada is building up so that she can make things herself, and is urging higher and higher tariff walls to shut out English trade. We are faced with the problem how are we going to have secondary industries if we cannot sell to our own people. We depend on our primary products and we must take English goods in return. All these questions will come up before the Imperial Conference and the speaker made those present feel that these problems of Empire trading were only the problems of the larger world as well, and as difficult of solution, but he said that he knew Austin Chamberlain very well. When he was at the debating meetings at Cambridge, he handled some questions with consummate skill and he believed that it could be left to him. The Locarno Pact was an attempt to join in the union, discontented minorities and nations, who may try to upset the whole work and constitution of the League. The speaker then referred to a saying of a Roman historian that the reason the Empire fell wae that there was too few Romans, and referred to the unfortunate distinction that New Zealand had in maternal mortality. The maternal mortality of Uruguay was half New Zealand's, half in Denmark and less than half in the Netherlands. This was a serious problem. He also mentioned that the birth rate here was 21.4, and in Japan 38.7. The most important thing the epeaker impressed on those present, was the moral arid spiritual ■fact. "Noblesse Oblige" should be their motto. Eank and wealth were not given to people for their own aggrandisement, but for the honour of God and the • help of their nation. At the conclusion the speaker was warmly thanked on behalf of the members by the president. WILD LANDS. MISSION" FIELD WORK. A plaited Venice exists in the South Sea Islands, a city built in the sea, as was the palace of the Doges,' but a city of brown people and plaited fibre. This remarkable settlement was the subject of aome of the sketches shown on Wednesday afternoon in St. Mary's parish hall, Remuera, when the friends of the Melanesian Mission were invited to drink tea and inspect the work of Miss Hilda Broughton. Miss Broughton, who was briefly introduced by Major EL X 8. Robsoh, general secretary, was educated at the Leeds Art School, where she won a scholarship under South Kensington, and spent three years studying at Leeds. Some book illustration followed, in which she illustrated books for Lady Bell, who ia known as the authoress of the series of books "French Without Tears," etc. Lady Bell had published some books on old English children's songs and dances, for which Miss Broughton did the pictures. Mise Broughton has been secretary for Leeds mission work for sixteen years, and in 1923 came out to the mission fields herself. There, in between the ordinary work of the missions, she devotes herself to making water-colour sketches of the -different islands visited, the quaint churches, and especially the native flowers and plants, her special subject, and in which she is almost botanicaUy perfect. This is a great work, apart from the interest attaching to the views of the mission stations, because it has not been done previously, and the plants will pass away with the invasion of these lands by white inhabitants.

The plaited Venice, crowned by coconut palms, is one of the remarkable villages in the Solomons. It aroae became the bush people, who are very fierce, harried the shore folk and, tried to kill them out. To' sleep in some safety they carried rocks and stones and cast them into shallow -waters inside the reef at Malaita, and upon this they built 'with coTal lime till there •was a ground work, and then erected their brown fibre huts. Vegetation will prow in a night almost, explained Miss Broughton, and thus it was not long ■before they were green and crowned with huge coconut palms. Some islands are as large as two or three acres in eitent, and some only carry two or three huts, but all are densely populated. Other pictures depicted the riotous green of the islands, the round clumps rising from the eea, -verdant from shore to peak, the den-sely-wooded/ intensely green (headlands smiling down on emerald green seas and the white coral churches waiting for a miesioner, in one ease kept waiting for eighteen years, but not allowed to decay, loving native labour holding them a 9 trim and neat as when built.

Perhaps it wae the native plant form that was most interesting. These remarkable and beautiful flowers; ! which had been copied with such laving care> were strange to those who had not resided in the islands, like the drawing of end things aS a fishing ladder at Geta, Solomon Islands, erected in the shallow water, and which the natives uses to spear fish; so clear is the sea that the fish seem to lie on the -water, and are easy marks. Of the romance and tragedy of the islands the picture of the peace stones was a reminder. These were heaps of stones. at the entrance of a. village. Each visitor had to leave behind his weapone and come with stones in t eaca hand to show his peaceful intention, till large heaps formed at the gateway to a village. Theee signs of warfare are now coveted with silver and purple creepers, an emblem of the peace that "has spread from the teaching of the Gospel. The pictures are to be taken to England for exhibition *t the large gatherings in aid of missions.