THE CHURCH ARMY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14712, 18 September 1918, Page 5

THE CHURCH ARMY.

CAPTAIN ALLEN'S VISIT TO GIS- ! BORNE.

The Church Army, 'campaign m, con-., nection wrtrh the providing? of- huts at the, front. .was commenced m Gisborne last night, when a most enjoyable ei>tertainm^nt 'was given- at 'the OperaHouae. The chair" was occupied by the Yen. Archdeacon J H.'«-- Williams, who gave a most interesting accoui't cf the work that was being done for the boys aty<the front. Apart from the loss incurred when- the .Germans a short time ago destroyed . a "largo number of the huts, a sum of £20,000 a week was required io2 carry on the good \york-"' that was being done. . A list of New -Zealand ' contributiona ' had been published m the paper on the previous evening; -no sum 'was 'set' down for this district, but when it was they hoped that it .would b'c "represented by..- a substantial amount. The speaker gave facts and figures to show the great work being I accomplished, by the Church Army, mid the. necessity there was for them to give all the assistance they could. He paid a tribute io the --Church Army. Letters appeared m the papers, he said, m praise of ttoh o u work done by the V.'M.C.A. and the .Salvation Army at the front, but voi-y little was heard about the work of the" Church Army. iThe people who asked about the Church jArmy Reen^ed- to he very badly {informed, and it was hard to understand how anyone could.be at the front and ■fail; ; to" find out that- there was such a. body as the Church Army. The • institutidii was founded ' about 35 years ago-^brtginally as a -missioif.of the working .people to the^ working people. Its activities included visiting, prisons^: refornmtoriesi workhouses, public homes, working mission vans, lantern missions, missions to seaside resorts, barracks, fruit-pickers,, hop-pickers and m& on, while .it established thrifib and benevolent funds and' other similar ■undertakings. Jt is distinctly a Church organisation and conducted with* the •approval, of the bishops and other Chur-ch ' authorities. \ Whatever other .people were able tp do the Church Arihy found • when the war started that it , could not claim tb carry on "business as ustihl." As 'a' matter* of faofc, at the.present' time, the 1 majorityVof ■ its ordinary activities are m abeyance — and^ al-,-niost the whole of its energies are being thrown' into war work: When he said it was hot a case of "business as usual" he did not "want to create the impression that- it was doing less than formerly —on the contrary it is doing vastly more. For ithe nine months immediately before the war the contributions, which came .largely from the poor, amounted -to £2!0,r .159, while for the nine months ending March last contributions totalled £834,280, but unfortunately the expenditure for the latter period amounted to £873,318. So that it was not a case of business as usual, but business about four times greater tha,u before the war, and all tho money- now rwei^ed was- spent m work" 'at the front! - (Ap/{)lause,).' Thej* heeded to carry on their work well over £1,000,000 a' year, or' more --than; £20,000 a week*., and yet ' they heard people saying that they had ■•-never'"heard of the Clnn'tli Aimy doing any^ thing. They had" more than 7CKD recreation huts, tents, and centres for soldiers and- sailors at home and- at the front in' France, Italy, Malta, :Egypt, Palestine, Macedonia, East Africa, Mesopotamia and India. During- Ahe German •'push- m the last" six month's" they ..-lost' one hats, and there Avere; still one hundred m the fire zone; Jpich hut icost £3pO to- build, and £5 a > week, jto mhintain. They would, he said, Viuderstand better what the cost of rnnjiing these huts was when he" told them that \writing paper aloile cost £15,000 a year, and- '-'newspapers '-.arid" .magazines £15,000. Sir 'William Robertson had such a high opinion of the Church : Army that he had stated that it was absolutely necessary that the huts destroyed should be replaced. Besides the huts they wti© xuiming kitchen carts, each of which cost £luoo to equip, and they also had a regular fleet vi VoO ambulance cars. In addition there were convalescent homes, hostels ior men who were waiting to oe fitted with artificial limbs, 'hostels for men dome on leave, a beautiful club m i.uondon and other' buildings. One hostel at a ■northern naval base had been erected' at '■ the ■ special roqriivst of the '.naval -authorities- so that it might -bo oi service to tho -5000 men who sometimes landed at the place. They'-.-ha'd. a ui-anch for training men- to.' .go. on. the , land- and provision was made for cariiig ior the wives 'and children of soldiers and sailors, and girls wotking •at munition factories. He would- ask them two questions : What, had ibliey 1 done ,fbr the Church Army m the past?- and what were 1 they going to do uv the future? Nineteen out of twenty had so far donb nothing. He had done very: little himself, but 1 intended to 1 do a great deal more. Dealing Nvith. the support the Church Army ■'■ had received from New Zealand 'm the past he said the contributions were— ln 1914y less than £20; 1915, -nearly £60; 1916, £175, and m 1917, £755. For the last year of the war ; they had contributed J88653 17a 6d but -srhat was this, seeing that £20,000 was needed weekly. He trusted that Poverty Bay -would occupy- an honorable place ■ when the 1 subscriptions from here couid v be announced. Those who- had not brought anything with them that night could send in a slip of paper the iiim' they were prepared tot give.. (Ap^"plaiise.) He" hoped some- of them would meeti the- yicar- and/ take : : steps-- to see that oup support *of the Chiirch arhiyi was not going to bet a meofe flash m the pan; (Applause.) ; .;: -. '- .i-;.\, .■ -.. ■ At • a • later stiige Captain ' Allen supplemented the remarks, .giving s-"illustra-tioiis' of . the value of the church huts' to 'the men, at: the frpnt, and -pointing o^ut that" we.; shottjd do> all rwe cah for those who; ;are. • doing ': so -much foV us.- Cnptain Allen 'is a gifted elocutionist, who has .-been •; described as a worthy successor'of the famous Mcl: B. SpurrV He has a' quiet; and ; -unobtrusive; but- forceful style, and" sp6n-.4md the audience listen: ing. , with 'intense interest. He gave a large number of. recitations, there being usually three bracketed together. ' Iti was m- the- descriptive. poems, especially that :ho delighted ihe aSdietnce, while his'rfine I touch ; : of -humori' wJis l «na»rifested -m «such subjects as' "Jud. 'Browiiia's Account- of Rubenstein's Piano Playing," which was eiven with quite realistic effect- ". But from the moment he started off' with the stirring story of "Tlie Dauntless Three" until tho closing subject was concluded, he - had won and retained the wholehearted appreciation of the audience for •the merit of his contributions* N He, has the power of treating each subject with a distinct individuality, and giving jt that depth of feeling which each deserves, and his descriptive recitations 'were , moap graphic and deeply impres-" sive. There must have been many a heart-throb when hhre r recited the joyful lines "When the Boys Come Home'.*' -He did not spare himself at all m the number of items ho, gave, although he was suffering from a cold, and : gave eleven 'subjects, . every one of which was a fine feature m itself. Mrs. ,W. T. Drake, who ; assisted m the 'entertainment, was m splendid voice, , and gave great pleasure by the. excellent wav m .which she sang • during .. each half of ; the programme. Sha, was. enthusiastically encored each time: The Sflvasre Glub orchestra, Under- the cpnductorEbip of. Mr. M. L. Foster, contributed five selections m a way that was warmly." ap^ ipreclated, and- helped, to make -.up. a most enjoyable entertainment. ' Tl:e accomDaniments were played by th© Rev. H. Packe. The collection taken up was over £100, . and it is hoped other amounts will be received later. An effort is .to ; be made to form a committee with a View to keeping the needs of the ,Church Army before the public and obtaining regular contributions. j There should be a crowded aurjience ' at : ithe Patutahi Public Hall to-night, when Oaptaiiv Allen will begin 3iis>coimitfy visits. He will be assisted •at Patutahi by Mr. and Mrs. Drake and Miss McKenzie, and judging by the ex•loellence of the entertainment at -Qisrborne last night, people should be attracted to the hall from'- far "and near. : Makaraka will be ■visited"', to-iriidrrow jiight. Ot*>ko on 'the 20th, apd Motu qn