SOCIAL PROGRESS

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 189, 8 May 1931, Page 4

SOCIAL PROGRESS

Women’s League Meeting

INSPIRING ADDRESSES

The Seatoun branch of the Women’s Social Progress League held its annual meeting yesterday in the pavilion, Dundas Street,' a large number ot members being present. Miss M. McLean was in the chair. ~ Officers were elected as follow: 1 resident, Dr, Maisic Gow; secretary, Mrs. Matthews; treasurer, Mrs. O'Leary; committee, Mcsdames A. P. Smith, Edmond, Matheson, Duthie, Kcllow, Armstrong, and Miss Speedy.

What is Progress?

Two excellent addresses followed, the first being given by Miss Mary Richmond, whose fluency, personality and charm added to the quality ot her speech. Her subject was, “What is 1 regress. "I am going to begin my talk with a reference to Wordsworth,’ she said. “You all know he was a great, patriot as well as a great poet; he loved his country and grieved over her failures and mistakes. In the beginning of the French Revolution he sympathised strongly with the revolutionists, but the failure of the democratic movement and the rise of-Napoleon changed his mind, and he became strongly pro-Britisli, dreading the French influence and power. Wordsworth thinks that by the soul only the nations can be great and free. He thinks that progress begins in the individual and is a spiritual thing in its inception. “In the nineteenth century great men like Darwin and Herbert Spencer and many others seemed to regard progress as an automatic process of uplift. 1 rom chaos to cosmos, from atom to angel,, creating man cn route, was the resistless way of the universe. “Now the views of both scientists and philosophers have changed. Progress is by no means automatic and inevitable; retrogression, degradation, can anti do take place. Individuals and species, peoples and nations change, deteriorate and perish. There is a movement everywhere, but it may be up or down. We want to find out if possible what determines who- I ther things go up or down. ".What of ourselves and our cousin, Australia? Wc are none too well oft under democracy, and Australia, still more democratic than wc are, is torn by civil strife. In the past we have done extraordinarily well. What is the matter with the present, and what of the future? * “The time has come to face facts fairly and squarely. We shall not progress as a nation unless we moralise our politics. It the gOod. reasonable, honest people sit still and think the whole duty of man and woman consists in minding their own business they make a sad mistake. “I should like to quote Canon James s able and interesting address on Sunday, March 15. I read the report in ‘The Dominion’ after this paper was practically written. He said: ‘The truth seems to. be that the mind and character of the average citizen have not been found equal to the exacting demands which a system of universal suffrage makes upon him. If his civic conscience is informed, controlled and directed |iy ‘liigh ethical ideals and motives, good government must follow. The moral factor in political and economic questions must be dominant.’ “At all elections, municipal or general, ■it is the duty of every good citizen to vote, and to vote according to conscience. Miss Richmond continued. “What is killing democracy to-day is greed, selfishness. the policy of grab and grasp. We, small atoms as wo are, are the elements that determine whether democracy is to run down to chaos, or lift itself up to build the ideal state. Democracy will only-fail if we fail. If we arc hardy and advehturous. if wc all become learners and workers, willingly serviceable to others, doing our bit whatever it may be, with cheerful courage and independence, then democracy will go forward, progress will be actually automatic.”

Sacrifice and Service.

The next speaker, Mrs. J. R. Blair, who has so much at heart the welfare ol the young people, spoke most entertainingly on “Distinguished Women I Have Met?’ The first woman she mentioned was Donald in a Cameron, of San Francisco, who did such wonderful rescue work among Chinese girls. At Boston she met. the famous Dr. Alary Emerson, whose life work was devoted to students. Many other notable women <Vere mentioned. and she said that they all were governed by the wonderful spirit of sacrifice and service. Afternoon tea followed, and an intensely enjoyable' afternoon ended with votes of thanks to the speakers.