SCOUT MOVEMENT

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 64, 12 September 1942, Page 8

SCOUT MOVEMENT

IN WAR AND PEACE

HIGH VALUE OF IDEALS

The value of the ideals behind • the. Scouting movement, particularly in regard to post-war problems, was emphasised in speeches made at the annual meeting of the Dominion Council of the Boy Scouts Association of New Zealand yesterday afternoon. The principal speaker was the Governor-General, Sir Cyril Newall, whoj as Chief Scout, appealed for the widest possible support of the movement by parents and others, and stressed the importance of service such as that which the movement was giv- « ing< His Excellency was welcomed by the president of the association ( Sir James Grose), who referred to the increase of over 2500 Scouters in the past year, which brought the total number in New Zealand to almost 18,000. He dealt with the wide range of patriotic and general communal activity undertaken by Scouters, and said he did not think the magnitude of those efforts was fully appreciated by the public. The boys of today were the men of tomorrow, and after victory, the world would owe a great deal to the Scout movement. TIME OF OPPORTUNITY. The executive's annual report' emphasised that the war period had proved a time of opportunity. for the Scouts of former years, and paid a tribute to them for their response to the call. For the Scouts of today ample opportunities had been presented for them to engage in community service, and although New Zealand' had not come under fire, the. Scouts had done [everything that had been asked of them. The report referred to the difficulties of carrying on the.movement -under war conditions and made an appeal for other leaders to take the places of men called on for military service. An impressive account was given of! national service, activities undertaken by Scouts, and of other aspects of the movement. In moving the adoption of the annual report, the Dominion Chief - Commissioner (Mr. Hector Christie) dealt with the suppression of Scouting in the Axis.countries. Scouting had for

its sole aim the. building-up of selfreliant men, who alone were capable of sustained leadership. ■ It was true that in both Germany and Italy there was a conscientious search-for leaders, and that youth was given its chance, perhaps more so than in , democratic countries,, but in the Axis countries leadership was decided by intrigue, with no moral measuring, stick with Which to gauge men or their actions.A DANGER TO DICTATORS. It was precisely there that the totalitarian countries parted company with the Scout movement, whose sole aim was to build up the character of the individual to think for himself, to act for himself, and to take the widest view of social obligations. In'that lay the danger to men who had won their place through intrigue and, terror. The Scout movement,.lie said, sought to develop men who could take their place in a new world order based on the greatest possible measure ,of freedom for development of individuality, a freedom restricted by self-imposed discipline and a willingness to accept less in order that all might have some. The Scout movement was satisfied to be judged by its.past history and its present accomplishment. The work should be regarded as of national importance, and the leaders, except fit men. should be free to train the army of 18.000 boys under their control. ; Mr. D, A. Ewen, who seconded the adoption of the report, expressed the hope that parents, and others would realise the immense value of Scout training arid lend their support to the movement. . INSPIRING EXAMPLE. The High Commissioner for* /the United Kingdom, Sir Harry" Batterbee, said that at the outbreak of war the Scouts of Britain had adopted as their motto, "The Scouts are carrying on," and they had since done their best to live up to it: " They had set an, example of service and devotion to duty which had been an inspiration, not only to other young people in Britain, but .to the grown-ups as well. He was confident that if the same conditions ever prevailed in New Zealand, the Scouts of the Dominion would prove equally as worthy. Adding his congratulations on the activities and progress of the movement, the Acting Prime Minister (Mr. Sullivan) paid tribute to "a real living brotherhood of men with clean and honest ideals" . and to its ennobling effects. He also eulogised the ideal of international peace and good will fundamental in the movement. NEED FOR MORE LEADERS. His Excellency said. it had been an encouragement tor him to note the.enthusiasm and keenness of those in,the movement in New Zealand. The increase in membership reflected the highest credit on those concerned, and the need now was for more leaders in the movement. He urged people to come -forward and fill the gaps caused by Scout leaders going on active service. Citing the example of service set by Mr. Hector Christie, Miss Nancy Wilson, and Mr. J. H. Cooksey, to whom he had presented the Silver Wolf decoration, his Excellency said that service- when peace came would be just as important as it was in war. It was the duty of the nation to look after the children of today, not only to educate them, but to see that they had a chance of standing up to peacetime conditions, and the Scout movement did more in that direction than anything else he. knew of. They should be taught to live Christian lives, and be trained in loyalty, enterprise, and service, the meaning of discipline, and the capacity to do the .right thing. Mentioning that two New Zealand Scouts on active service had been awarded the Victoria Cross, his Excel-, lency said he hoped to see every child in New Zealand either a Scout, a Guide, a Cub, or a Brownie. The sooner that aim was realised, the better it would be for New Zealand and for the future generally. He again appealed to parents to take a greater interest in the movement and encourage their children to join it. "The results of the, past year are more than encouraging,"! his Excellency added, "but let us'not rest on the laurels of the past. Rather, let those results spur us on to still greater success in this great work, for New Zealand, for the Empire, and for all freedom-loving people." Giving his assurance that any help he could offer would be gladly given, his Excellency wished the movement every success in the coming year.