AN ENGLISHMANS WORD.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XII, Issue 239, 21 September 1922, Page 7

AN ENGLISHMANS WORD.

THE WAY OF PEACE. London, July 2. Sir R. Baden Powell, speaking in Paris:— “If the League of Nations or other world-representing body should decide to try internationally a revised form of education in this direction, they will find in the Boy Scout and Girl Guide scheme a method and machinery available as one which has already spread itself throughout the world. It contains the elements of training of the young people of both sexes towards peaceful citizenship in each country, and it already ranks as an international brotherhood across the world*— a brotherhood which recognises no difference of class or creed or country. It can involve no loss of virility, indeed. it gives rather a more general development and standard of it, since in place of soldierly virtues it holds up to the admiration and imitation of the boys the courage, self-reliance, resourcefulness, and other manly attributes of backwoodsmen, explorers, and seamen, in place of drill and formal exercises, it gives actual practice in the activities and adventures of thfcse heroes. In the place of emotional courage and of the heroism incidental to the heat of battle it encourages selfsacrificing service as their habit in every-day life. When we include in our outlook the co-operation of the Girl Guides, working in the same direction under the same ideals, with details suited to their sex. that is, the training of the future women and mothers of each nation in character and citizenship, we can realise something of the potentialities of our movement in the direction I suggest. We have already a membership of two millions about the world. This result, gained in the first lew years of their existence, holds enormous promise of wljat may be possible in the near future. Let our aim lx* consolidation at home and co-operation abroad. We have our brotherhood anil our definite joint ideals; keeping these paramount before us. we can not only show an example to others of goodwill and cooperation, but we have the great opportunity of being the pioneers in applying this principle in practice for helping to bring peace and prosperity on to a permanent footing among the great human family.’’