PAVING THE WAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3861, 13 March 1928, Page 76

PAVING THE WAY.

MISS MAUDE ROYDEN’S TOUR. MANAGER VISITS DUNEDIN. Miss M. Chave Collinson, honorary organising secretary for the British Commonwealth League, has been in Dunedin busily preparing for the arrival of Miss Maude Royden, the famous preacher, public speaker, and writer, who will visit the city for a brief season of two lectures, beginning on May 10. A successful meeting was held in the rooms of the Y.W.C.A., when a committee of prominent citizens was formed for the purpose of promoting the Interest of Otago people in the forthcoming tour. Miss Royden, who was described by Miss Sybil Thorndike as “ the woman with the golden voice,” is travelling under the auspices of the British Commonwealth League, an organisation with its headquarters in London, which has for its principal objects the promotion of mutual interest and understanding among the women of the Empire, and the encouragement of their interest in problems of equal citizenship, together with a better understanding of Britain’s foreign policy. Its sole New Zealand branch is in Wellington, but it is hoped that the visit of Miss Royden to the country will have the effect of stimulating enthusiasm among the people of the Dominion.

Miss Collison, who has been chosen as Miss Royden’s manager for the New Zealand and Australian tour, is herself an in teresting and distinctive personality. She holds an M.A. degree, and is a graduate of tlm universities of Sydney and Columbia (New York), and was the first woman organiser for the W.E.A, in Sydney, besides haying had the honour of carrying out special lecture work in the United States on behalf of the State Government of New York.

In discussing the career of Miss Royden as a lecturer, Miss Collison shed an interesting light on the recent publicity given to a move in America which had' as its object the prevention of Miss Rovden’s tour on the grounds that she was an*advocate of companionate marriage. “ I was informed by Miss Royden that the. statement that she supported companionate marriage could be given a most emphatic denial,” said Miss Collison. “ It was an absolute lie. Miss Royden takes rather the opposite view regardin o marriage. I might say that the result of this opposition to her /American tour was to increase the popularity of her lectures to an enormous extent. But we do not want that sort of publicity. It is not dignified or desirable.”

Discussing her own work, Miss Collison said that she had travelled extensively on tlte Continent and in the East. During her stay in India she came into contact with most of tlie leading social reformers and was greatly impressed with the im portance of Western people getting into closer touch with their Eastern sisters. They were fighting a very difficult oattle for the protection of their child girls trom organised vice, which was -being carried on under a system that was being gradually broken down by their persistent efforts. Sh e felt that the women of the West owed their sisters .of the East every possible support—that many of the circumstances surrounding women of the East were indescribable.

New Zealand is no longer governed from Downing street,” said Miss Collison. Australia and New Zealand both signed the Treaty of Versailles as nations, and from that fa’ct ,and a number of othei important incidents, have arisen developments in the direction of a joint formulation of Empire policy. The fact that women possess their basic citizens’ rights means that they should understand leadings and reactions of the Empire olicy which they partly help to control. More plainly, the women should understand what they are voting for and against. They sholld know the. policy of their country and what is best for it.”

On a recent Saturday was seen the unusual spectacle of a cat voluntarily swimming (says an exchange). The animal was on the bank of the Waipaoa River, opposite Te Karaka, and seeing some children bathing, took a header into the water and swam strongly to the other side