The Dominion FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1929. THE LEAGUE OF MOTHERS

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 32, 1 November 1929, Page 10

The Dominion FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1929. THE LEAGUE OF MOTHERS

A simple but clear note is struck by the League of Mothers. Its quality is so single and direct that it cuts through the jangle and jazz of modern life to vibrate in the spirit. In a world that on the surface cares only for utility, a place has been found for ideals based on the Christian religion.

This simple but high conception is Lady Fergusson’s gift to New Zealand’s womanhood. It was fitting, therefore, that there assembled in the Town Hall on Wednesday a great gathering to make due acknowledgment to Her Excellency. She is leaving behind her a rich legacy, but one which her trained trustees can be expected to administer faithfully. It is difficult to explain to a world inclined to judge by concrete results just what the League stands for. Perhaps it is best to state first what it does not try to do. It does not try to restore the home bv gifts of blankets and coals and bread and rent orders. Nor does it propagandise in politics with resolutions and protests and plans. All that jungle of material benefits in which so many churches and organisations have lost their way all that it leaves What the League is concerned with is the spirit, the. thing which after all matters most. If it can minister to the spirit of the woman and mother, then all will be well with the home and the family. Blankets and coal are most essential, but the spirit or the soul or character —call it what you will—comes first of aIL There is nothing new in all this, but mundane hurry has over-laid it and it has rusted in disuse. It is as old as 1900 years ago, when the Son of Man said: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and all things will be added unto you.” The pledge of the League makes a simple but. direct appeal. The first promise is “to uphold the sanctity of marriage.”. From that follows the emphasis laid on parents’ responsibility and influence in forming the character of the child. And the mothers, joined together in a Fellowship or League, are. “to strive for high ideals in the home and seek to lead their families in purity of life and steadfastness of character.”

Why is there nothing trite or ordinary about this? Perhaps it is because we have got so far away from the old virtue of piety, from the simple verities, that they strike home with the force of a new idea. In simplicity lies the League’s power for good. Perhaps the inspiration behind Lady Alice’s movement is that moment, almost 100 years ago, when the Great Queen took her pledge before her cynical, pleasure-loving Prime Minister—“l will be good.” Her Excellency recognises that all things are born of the spirit. If her League can restore some of the spiritual and moral values we have lost, Lady Alice will have served New Zealand well. Nor can a better conclusion be made than her own, by quoting His Majesty the King: “The foundation of the nation’s glory is laid. in the, home; keep the family life pure and the national life remains unshaken.”