FOR THE SAKE OF OTHERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14867, 19 December 1911, Page 5

FOR THE SAKE OF OTHERS.

SIR JOHN KIRK'S GREAT

WORK.

A CIVIC WELCOME.

Sm John Kirk, the well-known' London philanthropist * and the " Children's Friend," was tendered a civic reception at the Town Hafl yesterday morning by the Mayor of Auckland (Mr. C. J. Parr). A large number of citizens were present, including representatives of the Overseas Club and the Victoria League.

The Mayor said that whilst some men toiled for money and others fop ; honour, the distinguished visitor whom - they were welcoming that morning had spent a lifetime in working lor his fellow creatures. For many years he had' been personally interested in the work- that Sir John'was doing. Those who. know the conditions of the poor of London knew also what a mercy it was to have men like Sir John Kirk devoting - time and money to such a work. Personally he had more sympaClTy with the work of Sir John , than "with ; any . philanthropic institution in London, not even excluding that of the late Dr. Barnardo. Sir John worked on right lines in helping families to nnd lor themselves and "do lor themselves. The citizens of Auckland joined in thanking Sir John for a lifetime spent in this good work, and in wishing that he might long enjoy the honour the late King Edward had conferred upon him. (Applause.) The Mayor apologised for the unavoidable absence of the Mayoress, ; who, lie said, had always taken a great interest in the work of Sir John, (Ap- j plause.) Mr. G. J Garland (chairman of the I Auckland, Education Board), Mr. R. Tudehope (a member of the City Council), and the Hon. Geo. Fowlds (the latter as. one who had participated to some extent in the work of Sir John Kirk in Glasgow, over 30 years ago), also voiced the feeling of warm welcome to Sir John. Sir John Kirk, in acknowledging the re-, marks of the Mayor and the other speakers, spoke of his pleasure at the honour accorded him.-.He was glad to have had the opportunity of visiting Auckland, and of the kind welcome that' he had received honour which he con- i sidered, was shared by his many fellow i workers ongst the poor in that great, maze of humanity called London. He; was, proud that they , had sympathetic ; hearts and kind friends in the Colonies. < He had heard a, clergyman say only that .; morning that during his long residence in I New Zealand he had never known a child to .go to school without its break-1 fast. This, unfortunately was not the: case in London, where so many thousands of poor children needed the helping hand of charity to enable life to be at all lolerable for them; Ho had, ho said, been greatly encouraged by the warm reception that he had everywhere received; and these kind remarks of appreciation would greatly cheer those who were assisting him in .the' great work of uplifting the little ones. (Applause.) .A PUBLIC welcome. • GREETINGS FROM OVERSEAS, CLUB. • A further welcome was tendered to Sir John Kirk at a largely attended public meeting, held in the concert Hall in the Town Hall buildings, last evening, under the auspices of the local members of the Overseas Club. His Excellency the Governor (Lord Islington), president of the Overseas Club,, presided. Amongst others present were the Mayor and Mayoress (Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Parr), Mr. Arthur M. Myers, M.P., Hon. Geo. Fowlds, Dr. T. Hope 'Lewis, Captain Waters '(Clevedon), and several others. Representatives from the various local troops of the boy scouts formed a guard of honour to His Excellency, who is the patron of the, scouts' organisation. His Excellency, in his opening remarks, said he was pleased to preside over the first public meeting in the concert. hall especially as it was being held for such a purpose as that of welcoming Sir John Kirk. The name of their visitor, he said, had been identified with the Ragged School movement for upwards of .40 years, and it was a pleasure indeed to welcome one who- had done sudh good service in the great metropolis of tho Old Land. In New Zealand they were not confronted with the same destitution that prevailed in the Mother Country, but nevertheless they were accumulating year by year, problems which if left alone would soon develop into an aggravated and serious position. In population New Zealand was doing its share of beneficent work for • the poor and distressed, and those who were connected with the work of . these institutions would be able to appreciate the great work that Sir John Kirk had devoted so many years to. (Applause.) — The Mayor expressed his appreciation of tho great work that was being done in London among the poor children by Sir John Kirk, and speeches were made by Mr. Myers, Dr. Hope Lewis, Hon. Geo. Fowlds, and Mr. Horace Hunt. Sir John Kirk, in returning thanks, said that; many old scholars, who were now occupying important positions in different parts of the world, owed all : that they possessed to the Ragged-School, teachers. The efforts of the organisation, to which he was attached, made the maintenance of home and family associations its first and great concern. Care was taken that the family was not dispersed, and in this way the . movement was < doing a specially important work. He gave some interest- | ing details of tho work done by the orI ganisation .in feeding, clothing, and edui eating the poor children of London. Last ! year they distributed "no less than about ! 70,000 garments, whilst three winters ago 1 they supplied some 35,000 pairs of boots. {He spoke of the help received from a ; large army of men and women, who freely i gave their time to further the good work, and he also mentioned ' the help always received from the Royal Family, including King George, who a few months ago had contributed £1000 from some ! money received by him for charitable pur- ' poses. He spoke of the various features iof the work, and said that Mr. Horace Hunt would be pleased to forward to London any donations and articles of clothing that were ' contributed by Auckland . friends of the movement.

On the motion of Mr. Myers a hearty vote of thanks was tendered to the Governor for presiding. The proceedings terminated with the singing of " Rule Brittania," and the National Anthem.