SCOUTING

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 6 September 1935, Page 6

SCOUTING

TALK BY DEPUTY CAMP CHIEF AT NELSON ROTARY CLUB LUNCHEON ■ SEVERAL LEADERS REQUIRED At the weekly luncheon of the Nelson Rotary Club, the speaker was the Rev. • D. Haultain,- who is Deputy Camp Chief of the "Boy, Scout movement in Nelson. In opening his address Mr Haultain ' said tfffi'f flie majority of Rotarians had ■ sons,-in whose welfare and well-being , they were Vitally interested, and in the • Boy Scouts they had a movement wTiicli , helped those boys on to a worthy man- • hood. He was grateful to individual ' Rotarians who had taken an interest in • the movement, and he was confident ' that the Rotary Club could help in • many ways. As an instance he stated . that before the slump, the Rotary Club ‘ in Melbourne had raised the magnificent ‘sum of £12,000 for scouting in Victoria, ; which had put scouting on its feet in that state. He was not suggesting that the Nelson' Club raise even £loo as now .limes were very different, but one way ’in which, the Rotary Club could help, . would be to appoint a delegate to the \ Nels'tfh Scout Executive. He could act -as a liaison officer of the Club, and at least keep members informed of scout , matters. ; The speaker paid a tribute to the District Commissioner, Dr. W. D. S. Johnston, who did a tremendous .amount of .work for scouting in this district. “In ;your midst,” said Mr Haultain, “you iliave several Scout groups, some strong, land, some languishing through want of -support or leadership. The task of .leading" troops generally falls on the younger members of the community, but ;if any Rotarian feels equal to the task, ■ • their are several troops who need efficient leaders.” If Rotarians had sons in the Boy 'Scouts, they would be very welcome on ■the troop committee. It was extremely !.difficult to get just the right men to ■ help the movement along, and they .would like business leaders and business • men to help in every way. The Scout was. sufficiently well known to merit the full support of every thinking man to-day. ;• The Scout movement was not a sub- ■ .stitute for the home, school or church. ;It certainly did a .great deal of good for the boys, but did not supplant the !‘influence of the,father and mother. Educationists realised the importance of scouting in teaching the boys to utilise their leisure hours in a most beneficial ; way, and supported/the movement whole- • heartedly. It was also not a military movement. The only two countries in ■the world which did not foster scouting ' .were Italy and Russia, where the youths •were given military training instead. . Scouting was essentially a peace move••.ment—in fact it was one of the greatest • influences-, in -the world to-day which was helping to cement the ties of international brotherhood and goodwill. At the recent Jamboree held in Melbourne as part of the Centenary celebrations, ' scouts from all over the world had assembled in a- spirit of comradeship to Jionour their Chief. Lord Baden-Powell.

One of the greatest attributes of Scouting was the way in which it developed leadership in a boy, continued the speaker. A great deal of the Scout work was of a competitive nature, and the patrol leaders were constantly exporting their patrols to do their best, in jan endeavour to come out on top in the ’troop 1 competitions. ' Wheit a. boy was given charge of a team he did not realise how his- training in leadership would prove greatly beneficial to him in later life. The movement also developed a, boy’s initiative, and the old Chief Scout, when laying down the Scout Laws, did not say, “You shall not do” so and so, but-that “you shall do it,” in a positive way. The Scout movement did not exclude any colour, class or creed, and its fundamental duty was to foster a 'spirit •of comradeship and fraternity among the boys of all nations. Mr Haultain concluded his talk by reading. items from the “Scout News” concerning some of the kindly duties performed by native Scouts in Africa. ... In: moving a vote of thanks to the Rev. Mr Haultain, Rotarian Keith •Walker said that he had been on the

committee of a city Scout group, and knew the good work the Scouts were doing. He said the movement was worthy of every assistance.