A NOVEL INTRODUCTION.

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 23, 25 May 1929, Page 5

A NOVEL INTRODUCTION.

When the speaker was working m Sydney, at the church of St. Barna. has there was a portion, of the church roped off for the down and onts, andi the churchwardens were warned not to go nclnr these pecjpVei ,'with the plate. A frequent visitor t oi tins church was the late Henry Lawson, the poet. On one occasion the speaker had an experience with a person with every sign of being a Communist. This person waited after the service and the speaker thought he rmisik want to borrow money; hut marvellous to relate, it turned out that he wanted to give the speaker two pounds to help meet his expenses on a holiday. After a later service the speaker found a disturbances in progress in the churchyard and he waß told that his “Communist’* friend was running him down. Next morning the speaker read in the newspaper about an eccentric pai son who was in Sydney. On the fourth Sunday there was a parson in the) church, whose face much resembled that of the “Communist”, who was not in evidence. The speaker found the parson to be the Rev. Jasper Oakler who had masqueraded! for) tliree Sundays in a red tie and other insignia of the Communist. Air Caldcr told the speaker that he had run him down to tli G: other mm, and! the way they sparred, up to fight showed that his congregation wer e i fond of him. FINDING A JOB. Mr Calder had oome to Sydney to get an assistant, and* the speaker had come back with him. In 1920 there was difficulty in finding a suitable job for Air Calder, and it, was decided to start the Auckland City Aiission. A great many people came seeking assistance and Air Calder was kept busy ! putting in a word for criminals in i the Courts. Alisg Connolly had been j engaged as an assistant, and in 1.92'j • a deaconess was added to the staff. 1 In 1924 a suggestion was madia that the Aiission should eiulehvoml to make money for itself and as a result a secondhand shop had been started. It was rented for a. shilling a year from the City Council, and) eight ladies did the work of the shop. From its inception the; shop had given a return of £.50 a week .Recently the shop had boon resumed by the City Council, and the Aiission, had to shift to its own. promises, where marvellous toi relate, the re tint is greatly increased. There was a. hand) of ,‘IG women who spout their leisure in sewing garments for the-., shop. The shop was the general resort of the poor of Auckland, who weiro supplied with goods of all descriptions at normal prices. A soup kitchen had been run, hut this had now been turned into a medical clinic, which “was kept

stocked by leading druggists oi the city... NUMEROUS ACTIVITJES. Tbe Mission bad now taken over the men's shelter, where a thousand jnen are put up every night, ;md are. given supper and bieakrust. in tbo Auckland Hospital tne Mission started a library with ol> books, and) the number of books bad now increased to, SOCK). It very year a cniidren's camp was run at tne seaside, where a hundred children were entertained ter a week. The camp was run at small cost, because the bulk of tbe pro. visions were donated, and what money was required had lasi, year been supplied through tbo sale 01. silver ■paper, which was (collected by the hundredweight by children all oven the Auckland province. ‘‘Jasper’s Big Sisters” were ladies who lived jiib various parts of Auckland. At present prisoners did not receive pay during the first part of their sentence and their wives needed help. •This was given by tbe Big Sisters. Mr, Chandler then proceeded t f deal with his work among prisoners, and) diseased the causes of cirimc, ami its treatment. He dealt also with what is being douq at Auckland in tlio way of providing a. half-way house for discharged prisoners. A collection was taken up, and envelopes were distributed to expediate further contributions under the “penny a day” system. On behalf of those present the Bev. (1. T Beale thanked the Rev. Chandler for his address.