THE BOY SCOUTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16188, 25 September 1914, Page 7

THE BOY SCOUTS

By Scoutmaster. " Booutmaster" will be pleased to receive re.r ports ol parades uud other items of interest lot 3 insertion in tliis column. They should be lelt at '* the oilice ol the Otago Daily Times not inter than noon on Mondays, uud should bb uddreased to " Scoutmaster." All inquiries regarding local troops, etc., should = tic made to the .District Secretary, Hunetliu lioy teooutx. Box 312, 0.i J . 0., JJuncdiu. 8 Colonel M'Donald has conferred an .. honour upon the Dunedin Boy Scouts, and 0 upon the Dunedin West-Central Battalion 1. in particular. For the past two months the local scouts have been rendering assist- :• ance to the Defence Department, which > body has warmly praised the work of the ! * boys. Mow, However, the district is to receive something better than praise. The colonel, just prior to his departure, speakq ing to tlie district secretary, said that he , was so pleased with the work the Boy |j Scouts had done that 110 would like his soil to become a member of his (Chief , Scoutmaster Darracott's) battalion. This ' will prove a splendid incentive to the local t troops. To feel that one whose duty it is " to command large bodies of soldiers has ' placed ihis own son in the ranks of the a " Boy Scouts should make every scout have " a justifiable tinge of pride surge through his being. Of course, every troop cannot j have the colonel's son, much as they would like, yet there is much satisfaction in the ) fact tnat he is a member of the movement > in Dunedin. 1 trust that Colonel M'Donald ? may one day pay a visit of inspection to ; Dunedin's scouts. > The Dunedin West-Central Battalion ' had eight recruits last week, making the ' nuipber on the roll book exceed 100. There are now vacancies for only 12 more p boys, and these are in the No. 2 > (Maori Hill) Troop. In the meantime no - more boys can be admitted to the First, • Third, or Fourth Troops of the battalion. " Thursday several boys were exa- ' mined for the second-class badge, and on 1 Saturday two of them—Drummer Kenna , and Leader Divers—passed the final tests, \ and are now second-class scouts. There are several other members of the battalion i who are working on steadily, and who have nearly completed their examination. Chief Scoutmaster Holderness, of the Mornington Battalion, has very kindly promised to assist in the examination of candidates on Thursday evening next. Of course, the sooner every member becomes a seoond-class soout the sooner can a start be made on still more advanced work. The No. 1 Troop had an excellent muster last Friday evening, and some very good ■work was done by the scouts. Despite many counter-attractions, there were only about six boys who were not present, and that (speaks well for the keenness of the members of this troop. But the best ■parade of the four held last week was that at Maori Hill, where a number of new members were enthusiastically taught the rudiments of scouting by their more advanced companions. On Saturday the battalion paraded for field work at Roy s Gullv. The discipline was only fair at the "commencement of the parade, but it resumed - its usual standard before the scouts "were dismissed. The officers are highly delighted with the all-round prospects of" the battalion. The Mornington No. 3 and No. 4 Troops met last Tuesday week as usual. The attendance and discipline were both good. The recruits were instructed by Leader Earland; the tenderfeet were given instruction for their second-class badge by Assistant Scoutmaster Thomson; secondclass scouts were under the charge of Scoutmaster M'Gallum, who coached them in first-aid work; and. Chief Scoutmaster Holderness conducted the examination of candidates for the tenderfoot and secondclass badges, two scouts passing the former tests. The physical exercises were done by every member. Two ladies were present at this parade, and they expressed much pleasure at what they had seen during their visit, and evinced a desire to a,gain visit the troops at a later date. The Chief Scoutmaster is only too pleased to receive visitors who care to see the scouts at work. The second-class badge has been won by Scout Conway, of these troops. On Friday evening, at the parade of the No. .1 and No. 2 Troops, Mr Holderness again continued the examinations for badges. One of the scouts passed the tenderfoot tests, and there should be several who can obtain their second-class badge at the next weekly parade. Hie second troop had another new member. On Saturday a most enjoyable outing was held. The customary parades will be held this week. Just before the troopships, with the Otago contingent for the war on board, sailed, the following telegram was despatched by the local district secretary: — " Scoutmasters and Scouts wish you all the best of luck and a safe return. ' The movements of the men will be followed closely, I have no doubt, by most of the scoutmasters and Boy Scouts of Otago; more so because a number of the officers attached to local troops have gone with the force. I trust these latter especially may be spaced to return to relate to groups of wondering Scouts their adventures across the seas. While they are away it behoves all Scouts to so work I that, so far from letting the movement lose its good name, it may be said that Dunedin, and Otago too, has an invaluable , asset in the persons of its Boy Scouts. If every member of our organisation remembers his Scout's oath and motto, then we shall make such improvements in the next few' years as will give surprise to the most optimistic of our sympathisers. Therefore, Scouts, I urge you to "be prepared.'' I do not know how many Boy Scouts have noticed that the initial letters of onr motto, "Be prepared," are the initial letters of our Chief Scout's name. But such is the case, and it was, I believe, from the capital letters of his name that General Sir Robert Baden-Powell first thought of the now world-wide known motto "Be prepared." So, you see, the letters " 8.P." represent two very important subjects—our Chief Scout and our motto. KING'S STANDARD. ' The competition for the King's Standard for 1914 will close next Wednesday. The conditions are as under: — 1. The troop competing must, have paid its annual levy before September 1 last. 2. Each King's Scout must have been 1 re-examined in ambulance, marksman, and ' cyclist tests, as required by the badge ' regulations, on some date between April 1 , and September 30 of £his year. j 3. The King's Scouts in the competing i troop must have been inspected by the ' district commander some time during the month of September (this year), and the 1 number of King's Scouts who have com- 1 plied with condition No. 2 certified to by ] him as being bona fide members of the , troop on the date of inspection, and who ] were enrolled as members of the said , troop prior to April lof the present year, i The certificate and the application (which 1 must be sent through the district secre- 1 fcary) must reach the dominion secretary < not later than the 18th of next month. ' The troop having the greatest number ' of King s Scouts on the 30th of this month ( will be awarded the King's Standard for t the year. The troop will be known as the £ King's Troop " for that year, and the « scoutmaster and assistant scoutmaster will f receive medals awarded by the London I Council, England. 1 A troop must consist of 24 boys at least c but not more than 26 (including a sergeant and bugler) can be regarded as one troop I in Tvew Zealand. When more than this 5 n ' lm , er «e enrolled in a troop the V should be formed into a second troop with- I out delay. r ®