"THE ARMY"

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 92, 20 April 1931, Page 9

"THE ARMY"

KECOED OF WOKK

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

THE MAYOR'S TRIBUTE

The strong ■ appeal the work o.E tho Salvation Army makes to tho public was seen in tho large and representative attendance at tho Town Hall yesterday afternoon, when, as part.of the Salvation Arm,>S ? Congress of 1931, a meeting was held when the Army's wcial work was reviewed. The Salvation Army knows neither creed nor nationality, and to its humanitarian and spiritual activities tribute was paid by several^public men. Tho Mayor' (Mr. G.: A. Troup) presided. There were also present Commissioner John Cunningham, Sir John and Lady Luke, Councillor W. T. Hildreth, Mr. P. Fraser, M.P., Mr. G. Petheriek, Col. G. F. C. Campbell (Auditor-Gene-ral), Rev. W. P. Laseelles, Mr. C. A. L. Treadwell, Mr. R. H. Nimnio, Mrs. A. M" Vicar, Mr. M. Cable, Mr. G. Hart, Councillor R. A. Wright, M.P., Sub-In-spector Lopdell and Mrs. Lopdell. Apologies were received from' Sir Henry Buckleton, Messrs. A. L. Hunt, D. A. Ewen, and E. P. Norman (Town Clerk). • Mr. Troup said that he was pleased that the last public occasion on which he met any largo number in the Town Hall should bo. a. meeting such as ho was presiding over. The first.meeting at which' he- presided a'ftcr becoming Mayor'of the city was- a Salvation Army meeting, and ho was glad indeed that his last meeting should be one connected with the Salvation Army. (Applause.) A READY RESPONSE. As Mayor, ho had reason to be thankfl—to U be very -grateful—to the Army and to its many, workers for help that he had received on many occasions. It had been his unfortunate lot to meet many difficult situations, people calling for help, and when he had made an appeal to various bodies he had met jwith v very ready response from the Salvation Army, which had rallied when he had called them and had stood behind him and supported him in his - work. Often he would have been in a difficult position without its assistance. He referred particularly to occasions when appeals had been made on behalf o± the unemployed, and also to the two occasions on which appeals had been made for earthquake relief. As far as unemployment was concerned, he was sorry that so little had been done for the women; but when an appeal was made, invariably the Salvation Army had helped: In connection with the ■earthquake'disasters, there had been a ready response and invaluable assistance" from the Army. On this occasion it was his pleasure to record that fact and to express thanks for the work that had been done. The work had: been the more valuable by reason of the fact that the Army was an organised, disciplined body of men and women. It.niade a big difference to anyone in authority when a body, stopped into the breach and did its work efficiently, and did it as though it was accustomed to it and it was part of its routine." The Salvation Army would always be a most valuable asset to Wellington-for that very reason. (Applause.) , Not only was the Army organised and disciplined, but it-had a compelling and controlling force which enabled it to do its work in an efficient manner. Behind the social work, which was a feature of its organisation, was the great spiritual force without, which no man or woman could stand to the work day after day, month after month, and year after year, aye, through the whole ot their lives, doing it in a way that commanded respect and attention. Mr Troup paid" a tribute to. the work of Commissioner Cunningham, a man entirely after his (the speaker's) own heart; full of common-sense, but with a heart big enough to take m the whole of Wellington, New Zealand, and a good bit'more. -(Applause.) He was a man of faith and strength, a man in whom the spirit of God was. _ . The Mayor also paid a tribute to the social wokers of. the Army Millions ;of sermons had been 'preached, and the various doctrines of Christianity had been examined; but he was not so sure that they had taken xk as tar -as_ the practical helping hand that had been extended and had drawn some jtroma low to a higher, level.' To his mind, the unanswerable argument for Christianity ■was this: if one could show the redeemed individual, it was evidence that no one could deny. Ho was prepared to testify that the Army was doing work in the slums, and was lifting men and helping them to lead good, useful lives. As long as that social redemptive worJc was done, there need never be any tear of- finances. " , •-,,.,.. Adjutant Hannah Coombs said thatthe Army was gathering precious .-jewels for the crown of Christ, and seemingly it went to tho rubbish to find precious iowcls Sho referred to tho work ot tho Army's maternity honies, the rescue homes, Police Court work, and other institutions, citing cases to show how tho Army -was administering the ".touch of the Master." . . WORK IN NEW ZEALAND. A review of tho work oi! the Salvation Army in Now Zealand was given by Lieut.-Col. Toonier, who said that tho Army first commenced work at Dunedin on Ist April, 1883. The Army was first misunderstood, misrepresented, and persecuted, but made* marvellous progress. By 1889 the ovangehstie work had spread into nearly every important'town. Tho'character of the work among the poor and outcast compelled the" establishment of its social work, particularly to help the Magdalene of tho street. Rescue homes wereestablished in Auckland, Wellington, Christchureh, and Dunedin, and from then onwards the progress jpf the social work was Tapid. The .publication of the founder's book, "In Darkest England," aroused the conscience of the Empiro and the world, and it was reflected by the establishment of maternity homes, and prison gate homes for men throughout New Zealand; and, again, by tho first home for orphan girls in Wellington, and by tho boys' home at Eltham. Shelters for men also became a necessity, and the present home at Buckle street was opened, followed by another at Auckland. "People's palaces" and hostels appeared later, and as these were commercial enterprises any profits from them were devoted to the maintenance of needy institutions. Tho next important move was the purchase in 1908 of Pakatoa and Roto Roa Islands in the Hauraki Gulf in response to a request from the Government to give effect to the Inebriates Act.' It was surely, a testimony to tho sobriety .of Now Zealand people that the- patients had fallen from 110 men T,nd 48 women to 49 men and 12 women. The number of homos of every kind steadily increased, and now the Army had rescue homes in eacli of the four largo centres, 12(5 girls having been received and helped during tho last twelve months. There were also six maternity homes, in which 500 children were born last year. Tho saddest feature was that many of the mothers were children themselves, nnd the Army had received them from twelve years of age. Nine orphanages were scattered throughout tho Dominion, 450 boys and girls being in the Army's r.irr. 3ii the boys' homes (here were farms, and

the boys had tho opportunity of being trained as farmers. Putaruni, the largest homo, had over 2000 acres of land. Thero wore three prison gato or industrial homes, and shelters for homeless men in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin had mot a crying need during the last year, Tho prospect's indicated an increasing number of! cases for tho coming winter. "Eventide homes for elderly women, established, in Auckland and Wellington,] might bo regarded us the Army's latest effort to meet a great need. Over 00 per cent, of cases submitted to the inquiry department, which made inquiries for .'lost friends, were successful. The Salvation Army was glad to place its organisation at the service of tho Earthquako Relief Committee. Tho Army sent officers, broad supplies for immediate need;' it was appointed to receive and dispatch foodstuffs, and controlled the food depot. Mr. Troup stated that the £1000 received by Commissioner Cunningham from tho general had been given-to tho Mayor's relief fund. ACTIVITIES ELSEWHERE. Briefly reviewing the work of the Salvation' Army during tho last forty years, Commissioner Cunningham said that tho activities had developed greatly, and it was interesting "to note that last year 11,500,000 beds were supplied to men, and meals given to/ poor and hungry men totalled 24,500,000. Situations found for men out of work numbered 238,000, and temporary employment had been found for 214,000 men. Land colonies, which constituted one pf the best means of re-establishing ■men, had been founded. Men came to tho" Army broken down, and it had been found that, after a few weeks or months, in a land'colony a man had re-established himself as far as his health was concerned, at least. These colonies had been established in many parts of the world. Dealing with other branches of Army activity, he said that, last year the Army received into its,homes 3000 aged criminals. Work among women had started in a wonderful wavy-and to date 200,000 women had -.been taken into the rescue homes; 90 per cent, of the women, however, proved entirely satisfactory. The number of expectant mothers who entered maternity homes last year was 24,000, and the English Ministry of Health held the, opinion that the Army's maternity homes were the most up-to-date in London. In New Zealand last year, 450,000 beds and 1,200,000 meals were supplied. Appreciation of the services rendered to the city and. to. the Army, by the Mayor was expressed by Mr. C. A. L. Treadwell, who said that Mr. Troup would stand down/ from the Mayoral office with the gratitude of tho Salvation Army and the people for the work he had done nobly and well. Mr. R. H. Nimmo also spoke. Mr. Troup was accorded- a hearty vote of thanks. \ During the afternoon .musical items wore contributed by the Congress songster brigade and the Wellington Citadel Band. ~- \