A Gift to the Borough.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 12036, 1 December 1906, Page 6

A Gift to the Borough.

Last evening the Rev. E. W. Mathews, secretary of the British and Foreign Sailors' Society, presented tho town, through the Mayor, with a Nelson relic, in the shape ot' a plaque made from cupper of the famous old flagship Victory, i'here was only a sparse, but a representative attendance in the Council Chambers, where ihe presentation was made. The Mayor, in welcoming Mr Mathews to Wanganui, briefly referred to the aims of the Society and the object of Mr Mathews' visit 1 which was, by the sale of souvenirs, to- raise funds for the benefit of sailors, as well as to make the town a present. Mr Matthews, after a humorous reference to the titles which had been bestowed upon him — such as Admiral of the Sal\ation Nayy — then gave a sketch of the rise and progress of the Society, which was formed in 1814. At the end of the long period of hostilies which marked the beginning of last century many warships' crews were paid off and thousands of sailors were consequently homeless, and were fleeced right and left. The Government had to provide hulks for them to live in, as they had absolutely nowhere to go, aiia this after poete had been chanting their praises and acyilptors fixing their exploits in marble. The. British and Foreign Sailors' Society was formed to look after such men as these, to give them good accommodation, healthy amusement, and to act as a bank for their money, for the directors took the view that Jack had a body that needed looking after as well as a soul. Mr Mathews then showed the flag of the Society, hoisted on ships where services were conducted on Sundays, and related how these flag^were to be seen in all ports of the world, drawing sailors together. 1300 shipmasters flew tlic Society's burgee, and to them we owed much for fhc good work they were doing in the mercantile marine. Describius: his own call to the work, after having grown up as a sailor, Mr Mathews then showed a picture of the splendid Sailors' Palace in London, where-, thanks to the efforts of the Society, Jack ashore was well cared for. The first donation, he remarked, thai lie received towards that object was ten sovereigns from a widow whose son was i sailor, and from whom she had r-oi heard for ma»v months. Fearing he misfht have cot into bad ways, she determined to •-ive tbe money to some institution for looking after sailors, no used those ten sovereigns as a deposit on the purchase of a site, other contributions followed, and finally. throu<?h the HberaHtv of Mr Passmore Edwards, who promised ,£SOOO and ?ave ,£14.n00, the present fine bniMin" 1 ■"•as erpct"d. Mr MatVws t l^" montioiTA tivit some time ago Nelson's fla^ltip. the Victory. was run into by a German vesf.M. nnd so damaged Hint e^e bad to be narrlv WVon up. Tim Admiralty pave the Society a groat doal of tho onk timber P*d cornier including the nlank bearin<r tV irscrintion m <rold, "Fero*Nel=on died." from the cor-l-nit of th«» ship. Tbe pon^tions of the gift wore that the material was to be made 'rto articles to be usoi for the purpose of furthering a IcpowWere of martime matieTs. and +'"'s bad been done, at a cost of about .£2OOO. The

copper had been made into charms medals brooches, and other articles, and the oak had been made into shields. They were selling these articles, and making presents of many of them to various towns. Many of the shields were presented to schools fcr competition in essays on maritime matters, the writor of the best having his or her name borne on the shield for all time. Mr Mathews then concluded with a strong plea for our sailors, without whom there would be no Canada, Australia, or New Zealand as we saw those countries to-day. These colonies, he declared, were born on the day that Kelson died. In handing the plaque to tl 1 © Mayor, he did so pointing to Nelson's signal inscribed upon it, declaring that if ye did our Duty — our "bit of work" — we would always achieve Victory, for Victory and Duty were always inseparably linked together. He asked fcr the town's practical sympathy in his mission, promising that if he disposed of 1000 charms and other articles here he would ask hia directors to s?nrl out nr.otVr and still better gift to the town. He asked for sympathy for our sailors, for no investment would bring a better return tlv.'i help to make our sailors men of character and fit representatives of the virtues of our Empire. The Mayor, on beh-ilf of the town, thanked Mr Mathews and tho Society tor thair gift. The Council .would decide where it should be placed, and he trusted that the sight of the memento from tbe famous old ship would be an incentive to every man and woman in the town to do their duty. Mr J. T. Hogan, M.H.R., referred to the Victory stall at the Cliristchurch Exhibition, where many of tho articles referred to by Mr Mathews were on sale, and which he trusted would be visited by everyone who went there. Mr Mathews' mission especially deserved the support of New Zealaud, which was bound to become a maritime nation in the future, and he therefore hoped Mr Mathews 1 labours would be crowned with success.. Mr Mathews mentioned that the late Mr Seddon, before his death, had given his hearty support to his mission, and mentioned a tribute paid to that great Empire statesman in the placing of his picture as a frontispiece to the Victory Testament issued by the Society. Mr F. M. Spurdle, after a happy reference to the debt we owed our sailors, then moved a hearty vote of thanks to Mr Mathewh for his address. This was seconded by Cr Caiman, who asked for practical support for Mr Mathews' mission, and sad he would be pleased to second the Mayor in asking the Council to contribute something towards it. The motion waa carried by acclamation, after which those present inspected the articles brought by Mr Mathews, several purchases being made. Tho plaque, which is a very handsome piece of work, is about 12 inches in diameter. In the ccrtre is a rcpre&cntatioi' of the Victory bciu? towed to Gibraltar aft<jr Trafalgar, after the painting by Stansfield. This is encircled by a lifebuoy, on which is inscribed Nelson's famous signal, while behind all is an oldtime anchor, with the words "Nelson's Victory" on the stock, and "E.R. VII." on the flukes.

Mr Mathews addresses the boys at the Collegiate School at 9 o'clock on Monday morning. At 9.30 on the same morning he will address the scholars of the District High School and St. John's Infant School, at the former, while at 10.15 he will be at Queen's Park School, where the Wanjjanui Infant School pupils will also be ttsspmDled.

Mr W. Bruce, chairman of the School Committee, has kindly consented to take charge of a number of charms, medals, aDd brooches whicn will be sent here, and which will be on sale at his shop.