PEACE AND WAS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15005, 29 May 1912, Page 4

PEACE AND WAS.

LECTURE IN THE TOWN HALL.

NO AGGRESSIVE SPIRIT.

The Town Hall was about half filled last evening when Lieutenant-General Sir R. Baden-Powell gave a lecture on his great hobbyscouting. His Excellency the Governor presided, and introduced the lecturer. The General was received most warmly by the audience, ; and especially by a number of boy scouts, who cheered him, gave a haka, and sang a scout's song. The lecturer had not very much to' say/ but it was pithy matter. He showed in a few words that New Zealand did hoc need the scouts in nearly the same degree as England, where boys were sluggish of mind, slow to learn, and poor of physique, and could not pick up the manliness in the schools and streets. Scouting was invented for them, to take them out of the slums, give them a little, fresh air, and teach them to see and think for.themselves and be independent. Without such a groundwork to put manliness into them, they would make but poor soldiers, well enough to look at on parade, perhaps, but useless in the field. But the New Zealander was different, being equipped with a sound body and an alert mind yet he would receive much good from the diecipu°' vHe wislied, he said, to make it clear that he was not urging an aggressive spirit. He spoke of soldiers, having in view the need to defend hearths and homes; arid the character that made; the finest foundation for a soldier was also tho most valuable in a citizen. He divided scouts into those employed in war and those who were busy with peaceful missions, and then gave, by means of lantern slides and cinematographic projections, illustrations of scouting in a great ?^^ J of C 0? "-, Ho showed pictures on the field of battle in the South African and Russo-Japanese 'wars, quoting incidents in his own. experience as a scout in the former campaign Among the great "peace scouts" he named Captain Dampier, Captain Cook, Dr. Livingstone, the famous Dr. Grenfell, who travels among the fishermen of Labrador • modern engineers, the ' constabulary of South Africa and the North-western mounted police of Canada, all explorers and huntsmen, and subjugators of wile country. Throughout his exemplifications ho pointed to the outstanding qualifications of all scouts—a sense of duty and of honour, the capacity to fend for one's self, and the application of observation and common-sense. • The lecture dealt also in a brief way with the sea scouts, and with the scout farms and communities, which have been established in England. The concluding pictures, shown, by the cinematograph, displayed a stirring scout drama, and a series of views of the huge parade of 35,000 ! scouts inspected by the King at Westminster last year. The lecture was found most interesting • and at its conclusion heartv cheers were again given for Sir Robert ißaden-Powell and also for the Governor and for the Mayor.