NELSON ROTARY CLUB

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 27 January 1939, Page 8

NELSON ROTARY CLUB

ADDRESS BY QUEENSLANDER GOODWILL VISIT TO CHINA AND JAI’AN Rotarian R. J. Morris said the j Queens! a bowlers were pleased to, visit New Zealand and it was a pleasure! to attend the Nelson Rotary Club meeting. In Brisbane the Rotary Club gavel special attention to work for the underprivileged such as the crippled children. I for which work the Rotary Club had j made itself responsible. Christmas! camps at the seaside were held for! under-privileged children, and in many! ways Rotary tried to assist the less for- | tunate in life. Rotarian Morris said that Rotarian ! Angus Mitchell, who headed the Australian goodwill Rotary party to China j and Japan, would be attending the New! Zealand conference this year. He was' a man who gave his whole time in his 1 retirement to the work of Rotary. The speaker said that Chinese he bad! met on the goodwill mission had told j him that a war would develop, but it j had come sooner than they expected. | Chinese Rotarians had said that it I would not be long before they had to j fight for their freedom. At Canton they had visited the club which met on one of the river steamers which ran from Hong Kong to Canton. He well remembered the jolly time they had with the members all having some pet name. It was distressing to feel that an innocent and peace-loving people like the Chinese should have to fight in a war such as that now in progress. The goodwill party had also visited 1 Japan and attended fourteen different clubs. They appeared a kind-hearted docile people without any wish for fighting. The Japanese nation had made wonderful progress in recent years. Most of the Rotarians they met were well educated and could speak English. They appeared to know Australia well and could tell the Australians things about Australia that they did not know themselves. The extreme action of war at that time seemed impossible. llow- j ever that was war. At the present time the matter of defence was a subject in which all shou|d take an interest. It was only the strong man armed who could keep his house in 'order. It was only because of her weakness that Britain had had to put up with so much in recent months. From the Brisbane Club the speaker extended good wishes to the Nelson Club for a successful future. A vote cf thanks was carried on the motion of the president.