ST. MARY'S GUILD.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 803, 28 April 1910, Page 3

ST. MARY'S GUILD.

PHILANTHROPY ANI) THE STATE: There was an -unusually large gathering yesterday afternoon.in! the Diocesan Library, iwhejiTithe, annual' meeting of fit. Mary's Guild-was held. ' * . Tie, Bishop of Wellington' (Dr. Walfis), -who presided, said that the work - of' the/ guild had developed this last year in a most satisfactory "way, and when, they Jooked at the'record 'of the girls .who; had been' trained in the . home it; was'easy to see-that their going into the homo had been; a turning point in their lives., Mrs. >Wallis, president of . the guild, (read -the ,annual report. Most of the matters; mentioned, have been already■dealt "witE; fully, in these- columns, the. ■bazaar , to' raise funds, the enlargement of,the main home, the improvement of the water supply, 'and tho extension, of the -work of the, matron, Miss"Parlanc. Kegretful mention was made of the resignation of Miss Martin; who for six years had been connected witlf the guild, and-matron 'of the cottage home since it had. been built.. 'Miss .Underbill had. been .appointed': in.Jier, place, J find--.Miss'"Pannifer.; was third.'matron. ■ 'Appreciative mention was made- of Miss . Parlanfe's; exceedingly, .effective. .work both 'within and beyond rthe.-home.- 1 On,.the motion of Archdeacon Fanjcourt, seconded by the Rev. T. H. ■fiprott, t!ie report was adopted. Tho Rev. H. A. Kennedy, one of the forerunners of. the General Mission, made interesting,■■ though brief,"speech, taking, as'-his,text a ! recent '; book, on . Philanthropy and . the State, which had been written to show iiow little 'by. little the state has been taking over institutions that - were -formerly- managed l by private' individuals. ■He instanced -'education which '-. in Eng-, land until 1870 had entirely. a matter for. private. enterprise, > arid hospitals, which were, gradually .becoming publicly-owned institutions. In ever so' •many, departments of ■ life the State was - now- -taking care of the -- , more helpless of " its members,- and paying heed to their ways.' The question now was: Would there be anything for the private individual to do to ;carry "outXthb -gospelof: Christianity P , In New Zealand they tjad not,;.to; face : .,thc. great- mass. of. poverty arid suffering which had to he faced;by;..the'Church-in-England. : One of the Igreat-problems of life which the parish priest had to meet/was that of caring'not' only .for the spiritual: welfare" but for the 'bodily wants of. the community. What- would- be 'left for the individual to doaf the State were going to take, over- charitable agencies? ■ lie thought .there would always be directions, in which they I could turn their energies'.. The first:-way would be one in'which'churcli people had been' too. conspicuously. deficient'. There was need for them to take positioiis "on organisations, committees, and public • bodies. The State was apt to'deal with people only as machines, end forget l that they were really human beings. .He 'thought the recently-published suggestions for prison reform wore excellent, but it must not be forgotten that a. great deal depended 011 the spirit in which those reforms were carried out. The second way in which -individuals 'could render service was- by doing work supplementary to the work _of the State, and he . quoted as. an instance, tho Brabazon .Society at- Home,, whose members taught handicrafts and trades to the inmates of charitable 1 institutions, thus 'enabling them to earn ' their own living, or at the: least providing them with a'll object in life. . And then again there, would, always lw "room' for work amopg those of whom the State took lib account; for.instance, those'whoso. sins wero not crimes in 'the eyes'of the State, or wliose sins.might be legalised by the State, as was the case in some communities. The standard of tho morals of the State could never go beyond those of tho average man and woman, and so in this way there would always be opportunities for work for the Lord Jesus Christ: Referring to the . kind of work done by . St. : Mary's Home, Mr. Kennedy said that if there was any, work which required to . be done on a definitely: religious basis it was this, for those among whom, they worked required spiritual help if they were to be saved. It was: a work.that held greatpromise, for it-,was.,a great mistake to suppose that "tho casus in 'which ultimate success wits possible were very few.

The oldest.love-letter in the world dates from 3000, years ago, that is, before Athens was of any importance, or Home, about tho time when David and Solomon were kings.. It was found not long since engraved upon a tablet, after the manner of the days when records and accounts were kept on bricks. Its author .was a gentleman of, Babylonia, and it explains itself: "To my Bibi, Simil-Marduk—May Samtis and Marduk for my-happiness', .grant unto theo a long and ; prosperous life.. How art tho\l?- Do write to me! 'I havo.corao from Babylon, but I have not. found thee there. This has greatly grieved me. It is' absolutely necessary that thou shouldst come in. November. ' Mayosfc thou, for the love of me, live for ever!'.'

If you have a good set of teeth or nice' bead of hair, you take caro ofthem. Why not give the same attention to your eyes, and-have them tested? You will enjoy reading .'in long winter evenings, So clrirgo is made for testing ;your 6ight, and if glasses aro not required thev will not 'be recommended. Frank Shaw. Consulting Chemist-Optician,, Medical Hall, Manners Street, and the Cecil Buildings, Lambton ■ Quay.