DR BARNARDO'S HOMES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14472, 15 March 1909, Page 5

DR BARNARDO'S HOMES

"Tllk CRY OF THE CHILDREN." The large crowd that last night wended ''<»■« ay to Ills Majesty s Theatre from tiro city cluirchos and quickly tilled to'overevery part of tho building bore striking testimony tl.o world-wide estimation in winch Ihe la to Dr Barnardo's held W ° C a,llons t!eslitn, « children is -)ll' fl. M. Thomson, M.l'., presided/ and said llu>) ; ucro there io show their sympathy v.nli one of l.lie gro;vlesb of thoso philanthropic ami Christian movements which wore characteristic of tho age. Dr liarnardo rested frcni his labours, but his woiks iiiKi followed him, and were bcin-i* camrd on now M t only throughout the Old Land, but throughout' the whoje British nmpire. Ilioy all wanted to eca a great regenerating movement, and Ilioy wottld only see it in so far as wo strovo lo realise ihe ideal of self-sacrifice as revealed in Cnrislianiiv.

Let'ore the lie v. \\. J. Havers addressed tho gathering, one of tho 10 hoys h 0 has brought with him from I<ondon gave as a cornet solo "Nearer my tied to 'J'hea" in a manner that was greatly appreciated. Mr Mayers in his short address succeeded giving a vivid and elTective picture of tile work being carried on at Dr l!arnarcio\s Humes will,out burdening bis hearers v.i:h am- .h v facts or statistics His method was lo'take several typical eases an,] display an enlarged photo of the child—prison-bbfii pn'lt-.ips, or a foundling— as it came to the workers' hands. In a few words he would sketch the touching, pathetic slory, ;u;<i ilkmi, hiniiii£ the picture round, he would proudly point to another, lowing what vho child had become 10 or 12 vL'iiis liitor under their care, 'the work, he said, was pre-eminently and distinctly a. Christian work, but it was entirely unseetariun. In trying io remove the catiscs of distress tiiey had to proceed at a snail's pate in England. They could not get the House of Lords to pass eveu the most modei-alc bills that, would lielp 'lie poor and needy. He maintained that their work was helping the wltolo Umpire. '.lino were-20.000 of their boys in Cwiada, and statistics notified that less than 2 per cent, of them had lapsed into evil ways. One of thorn was a member of the Australian l-Yderal Parliament, and had reeriitly collected £59 for tho Ilomcs from fellow M.l'.'s According to latest- advices there were about 8?.00 eliildren in their charge and 13C0 in the girls' village home, where Dr Knrnardo had been laid to rest. They wanted lo erect a hospital there as tho Australasian tribute to his memory. U was to coma in 100 beds, costing on an average about i!2;0, or a toi.i! of £23,0C0 for the whole building. Some £7500 had already been obiaintd, and he hoped to irroatly increase that alneunt before leaving New Zealand. It would lie delightful if they (Oithl have one or two beds over which I hoy (old,l place the i.ame of ' Hunedin. Tne collet-lions at all his meetings would £o to this fin:i.l. The boys, who led the singing of .hymns villi their bells, gave as a hand-bell solo au-;l chorus a licaic.iftd rendering of '' Aa pants the hart," from tho "Crucifixion." Mr Maui'.-, when announcing his meetings for the coming week, tinted that bo expects to he in Dunetlin on a return visit in about t. fortnight's time.