The Chief Scout Talk

Taranaki Daily News, 1 August 1931, Page 9 (Supplement)

The Chief Scout Talk

AUSTRALIAN SCOUTING. (By Lt. Gen. 'Lord Baden-Powell, of Gil■well.)' One of the best Scout and Guide displays that I have ever attended was the rally held at Sydney, New South Wales, when 12,000 Rovers, Scouts. Cubs, Guides and Brownies entertained a vast crowd of spectators with displays of their work and play. . Here we saw signalling by deaf and dumb Scouts, rescue work, ambulance and first air work with stretcher drill,' gymnastic and Indian club displays', country dancing, bridge building, tent erection, garhes' of every kind, boomerang throwing, tracking, and indeed displays illustrating every side of Scout and Guide work, as good as, if not better than, any I have seen in the world. Then on the Sunday we had a great “Scouts’ Own” service on the Sydney cricket ground, conducted by the Archbishop and assisted by some 12,000 Scouts and Guides and *30,000 members of the general public. Yes, Sydney is a wonderful place for Scouting. BOTANY BAY. Do you know what are the Sydney Heads? They are two great bluffs or steep cliffs between, which lies the entrance to Sydney . Harbour. . As you come to them from the seaward yofi see a long line of cliffs which have an opening at this point, in which there! is apparently an ordinary small bay with cliffs all round it. That was what Captain Cook thought when he first sailed past the Golden Gate of San Francisco Bay, without knowing that it was the entrance to a great natural harbour. And he landed at another bay close by. This he named Botany Bay because of the wonderful variety of plants which grew there. At Botany Bay the first British settlement: was made and a convict prison established. But Captain Philip, who had charge of this soon discovered the splendid port which Lay close by. He found that if you sailed boldly into the bay between the bluffs it ran off into two creeks hidden behind the cliffs arid these creeks ran for some miles inland with many small creeks leading from them, among the low wooded hills around, and all of deep clear sea water. SYDNEY HARBOUR. So on this beautiful natural harbour the new settlement was. started,' and was named after Lord Sydney, who was at that time Secretary of State for the Colonies in England. Sydnpy is now a great city of over a million inhabitants and is spread over riiore than most cities of that population, so that, though the business part of it is much like that of any other modern town with its streets and public buildings, the part where people have their homes is spread about} on beautiful wooded

hills or along the shores of endless pretty creeks which make it a delightful place to live in. If you started in a boat to row round the harbour and rowed for 20 miles in a day it would take you a week to get round, and yet you would never be more than six miles away from, the centre, Yes, it is a marvellous place for Scouting, All round.the town and even in it are the wooded hil]s ttnd thick bush; while the harbour with its islands and creeks, and innumerable boats gives the finest field for sea scouting that I have ever seen. ■ Micky beggars these Sydney scouts. And they have made good use of their opportunities, too, for a finer lot of Scouts I have never seen anywhere.

THE BOOK OF NATURE. This is how the Governor of New .South Wales, who is also their Chief Scout,, wound up his address to the Scouts; “And don’t let us forget that Scouting is a game, a .preparation , for that other more intricate and more difficult game of life, As I have saidbefore to many of you, you epjoy unrivalled opportunities for playing your game here in Australia, a wonderful climate, a fascinating countryside arid a heritage of pioneering. Make the most of .your wonderful i chances, Jearn the lore of the bush, .the arts and. craffg. of the bushman. / Study your country, its trees and. flowers, its birds and animals, its rocks and soils. The book of nature lies open before you- Read it. The more you do so-the more interest-, ing it will become. There is no surer way of escaping boredom or of getting that true philosophy and understanding which will make yon a good and useful citizen of your great country,” ' Well, from what I saw of the Sydney Scouts, Hm Excellency will have no reason to be disappointed in his hopes for them.

ROYAL RELIC GIFT.Princess Elizabeth’s most novel birthday present was one that revives memories of a, former princess of the same name. It is a specimen of the schoolwork of Princess Elizabeth, daughter of George HL, and her brother, Fredprick, Duke of York and Albany, in the form of copyrwriting in the bold, round hand of childhood, and a sum worked correctly by the Princess. Mr, E, A. B, Barnard, .(.he noted antiquary, of Cambridge, in 1928 broadcast an appeal against the destruction of old documents, He decided to present them to Princess Elizabeth, and they have been accepted by the Duchess qf York on her behalf. •*■ * ' “Is your new son-in-law a good provider?” ' ' “He can just about keep my daughter in gloves. I pay for everything else.” “Then he deceived you as to his circumstances.” “No. I remember he-merely asked for her hand.” • . ' • .* ; ■. •. • ' ABSORBED. . “This theory of governing children by appealing to. their repson''.isn’t?as it’s made out to be,” said a worried School teacher, “A youngster needs a good spanking once in a while.. “One of my- boys had skipped his" classes, deceived his mother, been found put, and caused much, unlipppiiiess all round, 1 took him aside, and we had a heart-to-heart talk, ' johnny sat -still, looking<at me intently. “I thought I was making, great headway. I .never saw: a child” who seemed so absorbed, even fascinated by my line of argument. But you never can tell. Just as I had reached the climax in my appeal to his better self, a light of discovery broke over Johnny’s face. “‘Please, teacher,’ he .said, eagerly, it's your lower jaw that moves, isn’t it? ” •:* • • THRIFT. The well-meaning village, worker was giving the old farm labourer some advice. “No man should ever spend more than two-thirds of his income,” he said, “To tell ’ee the truth, zir,” answered the staunch old veteran, “I ain’t much good at figures.” “Well, perhaps I can help you. Say you earn a pound a week —•” “But I doan’t. I earns thirty shillings.” ' “Then that makes it simple. Twothirds of thirty shillings is just a pound. You should never spend more than that.” The old boy beamed. “And no more I does!” he said. “Just a pound, and not a penny over, have I spent these last ten years.” “Excellent. Very sound sens' 1 . And how do you bank the balance?” “Bank it? I don’t'bank it. I gives it to the old woman to keep the house on.”

THE WISE OLD DOG. * There is-a true story of a wise old dog- living at a country house who, like, alt wise dogs,, made friends with the cook. The wood- stack was some distance from the house, and when, any kindling Wood was wanted the cook would tell the dog to fetch some sticks. He knew quite well what, she meant, .and used, to trot off'to the woodyard and bring back a stick? at. a time. . One day he was sent off on his errand, and came back with a wagging tail and an empty mouth, ' . .' • Cook sent him again, and yet again, but each time he caipe back ejflpty* mouthed, wagging his tail apologetically. Cook was first puzzled, and then angry, and, calling the dog ugly names, <Jrovp him.off on the same errand, determined that he should carry out her orders. Once more the old dog trotted away, and in a few minutes, he came ’ back with the hatchet dragging on the ground beside him. When he' reached the he dropped the Hatchet before cook, as if to say: “There’s no wood cut,, and if you want any you must go and .cut it!” ’ POINTS. ABOUT THE VEATHJER. ; Much of the weather lore of .the country man is coimecUd with the sun, moon and stars. A ring < halo round the sun or moon in fine weather indicates a.com’ ing change. The larger the. ring the nearer is the storm. "" - On a clear night, when tlje smaller stars are somewhat obscured, ' this held to be a certain sign of rain; Wbeni the stars twinkle more thaii usual, wind, followed by rain, is very likely, r The rising of tile sun . ani. moon shows weather signs. Any red or greenish colour at siiiirise is bail, If the moon on rising is pale, rain will fall during the night; should the lunar orb be reddish, fine weather is certain. Shades of red of gold at sunset are sure signs of a fine day on the morrow, while any silvery effect is not favourable. Certain animals give weather signa which are worth noting. When cows, which are usually placid, roam aboui the fields in a restless manner, rough weather'is ahead. J--A curious habit often noted, in th® case of pigs, is that<just before the coming of a strong wm<k they carry mouthfuls of straw, sticks, etc., into their sleeping places. •' Eheep are woitdgrful weather tellers. For many years shepherds hav® noticed that, when bad weather is approaching, the creatures huddle together and seem fidgety a good deal, In fixie, settled weather sheep will scatter over a wide area and lie down at some distance from one another. Fowls ecek the shelter of their houses hours before rain conies, On the other hand, ducks and geese wander tor some distance away from their sleeping nlaosa.