The Sabbath Hour

Northern Advocate, 11 May 1940, Page 10

The Sabbath Hour

In view of tomorrow being Mother’s Day, the following, prepared by the Whangarei League of Mothers, is timely:

The League of Mothers is an undenominational movement inaugurated by the Lady Alice Fergusson. The Objects, The three central objects of the League of Mothers are: 1. —To uphold the Sanctity of Mariage. 2. —To help Parents to realise the greatness of their responsibility and the power of their influence in forming the character of the child. 3. —To establish, wherever not already existing, a Fellowship of Mothers who will strive for high ideals in the Home and seek to lead their families to purity of life and steadfastness of character. The aim of the League, therefore, is to gather as members, any mothers, church-going or otherwise, who are desirous of helping their children to grow in strength and wisdom and beauty of character. There is no doubt that the present time of unrest and turmoil of mind calls for united effort, that a way of life may be found leading to peace and goodwill; and here is a work in which women may take a lead. The strength of the Nation lies in the Home; and the strength of the Home is to be found in the Mother, who is, or should be, the main influence in a young child’s life. Power of Prayer. Surely each individual Mother, according to her light, earnestly desires that good may be the portion of her children; such earnest desire is in itself a form of prayer, and “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”

Unity in prayer, .as in all things, means added power, and in the League of Mothers a common prayer is used. Think, then, of thousands of women banded together with one aim, one prayer, for the enlightenment and uplift and good of the coming generation.

The League of Mothers is an Association of Mothers who have at heart the .moral and spiritual development of their children, and who desire to bring them up to be true lovers of God and good citizens of the Empire. The general scheme on which the League works is as follows: Branches are formed in different districts. The members of a branch meet periodically, say once a month, when selected speakers give addresses on all subjects of interest to mothers in connection with the upbringing of their children .and the strengthening of home influences. The addresses include such subjects as character training, religious training, health and home nursing, and anything connected with the duties of a wife or mother, or with the welfare of children, whether moral, spiritual, or physical. Lord Bledisloe’s Testimony. We cannot do better than recall passages from a speech which Lord Bledisloe, when Governor-General, delivered to a mass meeting of the League of Mothers in the Town Hall, Wellington, on July 7. 1931:

.“What claim have I,” asked Lord Eledisloe. “to speak to mothers? If I have any drim at all, it is based upon what 1 owe to my own mother. In a worldly sense I owe her nothing. She came of an old Scottish stock which was not blessed (or shall I say cursed) with this world’s riches. But all that I prize the most in life is a heritage from her. Even now, although she died 45 years ago, I find myself judging human conduct and human aspirations from the standpoint of what she would have considered right.

“The land and institutions of this country are what the Mother Country, through her pioneers, has made them. The people of this country are destined to be in physique, character, and ideals what the mothers of the country choose to make them. If the nation’s mothers are behindhand, through lack of courage, energy, or personal conviction, in fulfilling the highest duties of motherhood, the nation’s sons and daughters will suffer, in contrast .and in competition with those in other countries where the spiritual urge of motherhood is more conspicuous in moulding the nation’s destinies. The personnel, the environment, the ingrained nobility and the inspiring traditions of this sun-kissed land are all favourable to making New Zealand the Britain of the Southern Hemisphere, radiating out to other less favoured nations, as did Britain in days gone by, an example and a standard of character and achievement which all may envy and imitate, but none excel. The foundations of Britain’s greatness were laid in the homes of her people, and it is the woman—the wife and the mother —who makes the home. Detachment from home, home ties and home interests is a regrettable characteristic of all classes of modern society, and detracts materially from the sweetness of life and its cherished memories. There could be few more worthy ambitions of a good mother than to make the home, however humble, attractive to its inmates and calculated, in its beauty, its cleanliness, and its congenial surroundings, to draw out all that is best and most lovable in their natures. It is not sufficient to ‘feed the brutes’ or to clothe the bairns. They must be provided also with the magnetism of a congenial environment, to which the family are instinctively and irresistibly drawn, and by which they hre led to realise, if not to confess, that ‘mid pleasures and “picture” palaces there’s no place like home.’ “Mothers, your power, if you will b.ut realise it, is greater far than that of Kings, Governors, or- Statesmen. As W. R. Wallace sings in his wellknown poem: They s.ay that man is mighty, He governs land and sea, He wields a mighty sceptre O’er lesser powers that be; But a mightier power and stronger Man from his throne has hurled, And the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world.”