BOY SCOUTS' PARADE

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 119, 16 November 1914, Page 3

BOY SCOUTS' PARADE

INTERESTING FUNCTION AT BROOKLYN. As a, result of the war Boy Scouts have come into prominence throughout the Empire, and considerable interest was taken in a parade held ,at Brooklyn on Saturday. The gathering was for the purpose of making presentations of the Royal Humane Society's certificates to Scouts J. Baldwin and E. W. PlattsMills for conspicuous bravery. About 100 scouts paraded, and included among those present were the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke), Councillor G. Frost, ScoutCommissioner E. S. Baldwin, DeputyCommissioner H. N. M'Leod, Chief Scout Inspector M'Farlane, District Commander Lawson, Lieutenant-Colonel Creswell (Christchurch), and members of the Executive Council. There was a large attendance of the general public. The visitors were received by the Mornington Scouts, and the ceremony took glace m the school grounds. ' Commissioner Baldwin briefly addressed the assembled scouts. He outlined the attributes of a gentleman, and said that so long as scouts obeyed the scout law they would be gentlemen. In addition to the presentation of the Humane Society's certificates, he announced that the Dresden Piano Company had presented the Dominion Boy Scouts with a fine Hawkes snapper drum, the ladies of Brooklyn had presented them with two flags, and unnamed admirers of the scout movement had provided a set of fifes. The presentation of the certificates was made by the Mayor, who stated that they had been gained for bravery in rescuing Scout Donaldson, who was nearly drowned in the Wainui Stream last Good Friday. He commended Scouts Baldwin and Platts-Mills for their noble achievenient, and spoke in very appreciative terms of the scout movement. The training was the most bene-" ficial a boy could receive, and he reminded the scouts that some day they might be called upon to step into the places of the soldiers now fighting to uphold all that was true and best for the welfare of the nation. The scouts were heartily cheered as they received their certificates. Councillor Frost handed to Commissioner Baldwin the Union Jack, New •Zealand Ensign, and drum and fifes. He felt sure, ho said, that they saw in the scouts the future soldiers of the Empire, and they would be well trained when they were called upon. He read a letter from the Brooklyn Volunteer Fire Brigade thanking the Brooklyn Scouts for the assistance they rendered at a recent fire in Brooklyn. The Commissioner acknowledged the gifts on behalf of the Dominion Boy Scouts, and at the same time he thanked the donors for their generosity. Colonel Creswell, after a short address, repeated Colonel Cossgrove's message to New Zealand scoute : " Observe the scout law each and every day, and then you wilj be good boys, good men, and good citizens." Dr. Platts-Mills responded ior her son, and Scoutmaster Maginnity responded for the Brooklyn Scouts. A message, signalled from * one troop to another, was handed to the Mayor, thanking him for his presence, and thanking the donors for their gift's. _ The scouts provided interesting physical drill and signalling displays, which were much appreciated.

An old-fashioned "Town and Gown" fight took place at Madison on the night of sth October last, according to the Springfield Republican. Students of the University of Wisconsin tried to throw 'a town boy in Lake Mendota, Madison, Wisconsin, mistaking him for a fellow student, and precipitated a street fight in which 300 students battled with as many citizens for hours. For another hour, the City Fire Department poured streams of water into the crowd without dispersing the fighters. Mr. C. R. Van Hiae, president of the University, gave bond for the four students arrested, and addressed the 1500 students who surrounded the Police Station, finally persuading them to return to their homes. Hundreds of windows, including nearly all in the Police Station, were broken.