Generosity Itself

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18584, 19 December 1934, Page 8

Generosity Itself

Dune’s Social Service ± f

Demands Efficiency

ALTHOUGH the Duke of Gloucester is generosity itself in aiding good causes, he insists that there shall bfe no waste in any of the institutions in which lie interests iiithSelf. He Hites things to be orderly, and carried out in a “soldier-like” manner, and though very far from, being a martinet, can Say very trenchant things when inefficiency comes under his notice. When the public sees the name of the Duke of Gloucester oh a subscription list, it may be sure that all the moneys subscribed will be well and usefully expended.

When Prince Henry crime of age, a leading newspaper referred to him as! “a young man of engaging personality, who would find his Way to the hearts of the people/’ and went on to say that he had reached manhood “a ( fine Englishman, fond of sport and the outdoor life.” A “fin'e Englishman ’ ’ is what Prince Henry most desired to be. The year of his majority was a very busy one, for besides performing his military duties he attended many public ceremonies. He has always taken a keen interest in hospitals, and has frequently been their unobtrusive friend. Indeed, the Duke has always been ready to h'elp a good cause by giving his patronage, presiding at meetings, and opening subscription lists. Such work has always been done Without ostentation, but, like all the members of the Koval Family, the Duke undertakes a; personal investigation to make snre that the money is being wisely spent in a good cause. A friend dubbed him “the Prince of Beggars” when he raised £15,000 in a few minutes fdr a favorite hospital. “Big Brother” Movement. His Royal is alive to the importance of youthful emigration, and is particularly interested in the “Big Brother” riiovOtrierit, of Which the Prince of Wales is the head. In. 1923 the Prince of Wales,mad'e a njoyc ing.appeal on behalf of . t ( ho Child Emigration 'Society, and. 12 months later the Duke of Gloucester spoke f,br the same good cause. Like his brother the Duke of ferk, Prince Henry is keenly interested in all movements connected with the welfare of lads of the working classes, and his speeches on this subject reveal hot only a sympathetic mind, biit also a real kntnVlbugb of a boy’s needs and the problems conribct'efl ' with the difficult period of adolescence. He is president of the National Association of Boys’ Ciubs, and, regularly inspects the v a rib bis ebVttrb'L “Every boy is a potential leaden Think big, arid act big,” 'he said when inspecting the Central Lads’ Club at Huddersfield in 1929. His interest in the younger people ' is shotrn by a conversation which took place when the Prince of Vales and lie happened fo be discuSsirig what they would do if they Were, riot princes. “I should go to sea,” Said the : Prince of Wales. “The Army for me,” said the Duke , of Gloucester. The Prince of Wales raised a quiz- j zical eyebrow. “The Army? Why, Fred, 1 am certain you would have , been much more successful as a broadcasting uncle. ■ “Uncle” To Hundieds. j The Duke does act as “uncle” to hundreds of boys, especially those ; who through unemployment are more or less stranded when they leave school. He makes many presents of boxing gloves, cricket bats, pads, and other gear for games to deserving ' clubs in poor districts, and many a lad enjoys a game of cricket through the Duke’s “uncle-like” qualities. For ] the same reason, the Duke of Glouees- j ter is interested in hospitals for crip- 3 pled children. In order to assist the j Royal National Orthopaedic, Hospital, ,1 he associated himself With it, and 1 worked hard on its behalf. i His Royal Highness remembers the 1 lathe and other tools with which his * brothers and' he experimented at j Sandringham, and is always pleased when he sees boys being taught h,ow to < use their hands. He mentioned the ! lathe when he visited the Central f

: Lads ’ Club at Huddersfield, stating that lie hopfed that the lads frould not try to drill holes in One another's hands, as he and 1 his brothers had almost succeeded in doing once or twice. ‘‘l hope you won't use that lathe I see there," he said, "for the purpose of watch-repairing. X remember that my eldest brother, the Prince of Wales, insisted that he could repair a watch for me once with the aid of a screwdriver and a hammer, though thfcr'6 PAs nothing thd matter with it beyond the fact that I had forgotten to wind it." In the kitchen of this club the Duke found pies being made, and asked Wi th a twinkle in his eye what became of the pies when they were Baked. He learned that there Aas to be a bonfire that flight find a pie-supper afterwards. , . "It looks to me as if that were one way of cutting the bonfire short," he said. Exceedingly Thofotigk His RojAl Highness is bxCeedihgly thorough in all that he undertakes. He was once approached by the secretary of a. newly-formed philanthropic soeift^—the tff whfch We compbsed ihoStly of Sbcial elirhbers who hoped for Royal recognition—asking for his patronage. . "Certainly,'' said the Prince, "but I shall first require a report of your SChbhie. and an aceofiit of your working ijkpbhsdS." The secretary gasped., He had been under the pleasant delusion that Royal patrons smiled on all good hilts', ah'fl hhkisd hp ipicstioiil‘ "I fear fee hav'e nothing on paper," he stammered. ‘ ‘ Well, w hen you have, sc'nd it to me aha I’ll go further into the mattfeV," AaS the tjilib't fhply. And that partichl&f sbeiety is still Without Royal patronage. His Royal Highness has taken an fetive interest in scientific work. lafly iii Starch, .l§2d, as pTehiaqpt of Ihfe fehbhhifh, fipd North Whies Council b'f the British Empire Cancer. Campaign, he inaugurated a Xiancafehire appeal at Manchester and Liverpool. Ho is keenly interested in the Edyhl Agficnithrfal fedcioty, and the Royhl Vefefih'hry College, and will be president for 1935 of the Hunters’ Improvement and National Light Horse Breeding Society. The Duke’s intefbht in farming was strongly in evidence id a speech which he made at the opening of the Royal Shoifr at Claremont. "I Spbnd most. ,of my life and get most of ihy fenjoyin’ent in the country, ’ ’ he said, "and so I feel more or IfeSs at home in meeting people engaged in agriculture* and in seeing something of their products. This is my first opportunity of meeting farmers in Australia, aid I aim glad to say that it will not bfe hiy laSt. “Backbone of Their - '< Country.” "Every country is ultimately dopendent upon fbdd products, and it is not too much to say thht the farmers form the backbone of their country. All the world over, agriculture has .Been passing through a lean time; but I think that we are beginning to recover from these depressing conditions, and I hope that farmers will be among the first to profit by the improvement. "They certainly deserve to do so, if only on account of this courage and resource with which they have faced adversity.''