BROTHERHOODS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 869, 16 July 1910, Page 13

BROTHERHOODS.

BRIGHT, BRIEF, BROTHERLY. [By E.0'.8.], . An exact definition of a term. is a most necessary commencement for. a descriptive article, when-the term, employed is responsible for many definitions, differing in degree, if not in kind. Brotherhood! The word may stand for a select' community largely composed of clergymen■; with such a meaning it' has- recently, been the subject of discussion in the. Anglican' Synod; or it may signify the whole collection of units comprised in humanity, as in the oft-quoted : phrase "Brotherhood of man." Between the narrower and the broader meanings comes.the definition intended for use in this article. "What is a Brotherhood?". ''A company of mon, united in a desire for mutual help, meeting on the broadest Christian plat-

form, and seeking as its-object all true social and .moral reform, and the establishment, on earthof the Kingdom of God." Such is the definition in the minds of tho promoters of the Wellington City Men's Brotherhood, shortly to be • inaugurated in' this city. Its roots will be fastened'in the Wellington '■ Central 'Mission (whose headquarters on Sunday are 'in the King's Theatre) but it- is anticipated its branches "will extend so. as to.pub even "the spreading chestnut tree" in the shade, while under their broad expanse may; gather all who desiro to foster the spirit of true . brotherliness and help in the making 'of a "new Wellington." - No light conception of brotherliness is in mind. -The late C..H. Spurgeon, was inquired for at his'" home one morning by a tramp. "Is my brother in?" said the tramp. ..Spurgeon came but, and the matt based an argnment for a breakfast on the universal brotherhood ot man. A good breakfast was given, and a three-penny-bit as., a parting gift. "Is that what you call treating your brother w;cllP" said the tramp, as somewhat ruefully ho viewed the small com. "Well,' my brother," replied Spurgeon, "when you have called on all your brethren, ami they have, treated you to the same extent, you will not have done so badly." '■' , In'this ease the.term* "brother" was. one to be conjured with, tossed in shuttlecock fashion as the sport; and joke of two balt.lcdore.ii in the spirit of pleasantry, but'the heavier meaning weighs on the mind in the contemplation of all tho ills that still oppress

'•'our brothers," of the wrongs that need resistance, within teach ot a call lor the strong to help the weak, and in the presence of a light of the' iutnre, .a star glimmer tracking from the great, horizon across the dark waters, and marking out a narrow pathway loading to the sunriso. , Such a movement as is contemplated for Wellington, is of too solid a character to. be' based merely on the vision; ary and ideal. It is more than . a "castle on air." Its architecture lies firmly embedded in practical experience. . It has faced the test of time and tornado, and to-day stands "foursquare to ev'ry wind that blows." The Central Hall in West Ham, London, jb the centre of the largest Brotherhood organisation in England, and is an architectural embodiment of the brotherhood idea. With its massive structure, broad-based, solid, it speaks of the strength of manhood, the firmness of character, the' combination of units to form a powerful organisation, that is the aim of the Brotherhood, whilst its tower points higher, as much as to say "Excelsior" to every man who sees it. The best-known Brotherhood is pelhaps that at Eastbrook, Bradford, under the control of the Wesleynn Central Mission Superintendent, I)ov. Herbert M. Neild, who, among the men, goes by the name of "No. ]~" or "The Working Man's Parson." The initials of the Brotherhood, E. 8., worn on the badge are as familiar in Bradford as were the Itoyal letters, E.E. The growth of tho organisation lias been phenomenal. A membership of 1000 was secured in four months: the--2000 limit was passed in nine months. At the end of twelve months, 2853 men had been enrolled;.while 3(120 was the number at the end' of two years. Though a photograph appears on this page of the ordinary gathering in the K.B. Hall on a Sunday -afternoon, no photograph ran give an adequate idea of the scenes that -are witnessed Suji-

day after Sunday. Men are as eager to enter-the building as to go into a football held, and the majority arc of tho working class. Those men feel that they have in the Brotherhood meeting Lhe very thing for which thy were, though.all unconsciously, calling, and their appreciation is heard in the hearty hand-clap that greets every telling remark ol the speaker.' "No. 1" has hed experience of the use of the hand in the Brotherhood. The badge of the Brotherhood shows two ' hands clasped, with the initials of the organisation above-. The handshake with "Mo. I," at the entrance of the hall, leads to tho remark: "The half-hour I have.spent on the top of the stops Sunday by Sunday, shaking hands with all and sundry, and laying hold of badgeless men with a view to membership, has', been one of intense' pleasure, and if the truth must be told, of stoical endurance. Working men do not shake hands breast high! In, their gladness they have one by one taken my hand'in a grip that has finally sent me hack to the vestry wondering how many fingers I had psft left,'- and concerning the applaut > at Iho 'ifttitiooii gathering he remarks.: "We owe much, in'the Brotherhood to the clapped hand

as-well as .the 1 clasped hand. It has brought real heart-"-iuto the' meeting •without destroying its; true ■ reverence or in any way .interfering with the devotion and decorum "of. the services held in the hall earlier, and later in the day." -. 'One New Zealand visitor to EnstbrooLwrites his impressions:—"The first sight -of the 2000 men'who filled the hall on Sunday afternoon was most impressive. Curiosity on the part of the other sex to see it found an, illustration last. Sunday.' .'l've come all the way from Newcastle/' ■ pleaded a lady at the door. . .'I saw pictures of the Brotherhood, .and I wanted to see if it was a get-up or a reality.' 1 '■'■ 'You may havo a. peep for' a shilling; then,' was tho. teasing reply of the doorkeeper. But his'action.was more gracious than his word, for' he held the door slightly ajar,, .and''was rewarded as ho heard her exclaim with much omotion: 'Eh! : isn't' that graiid!'.".■ And' I could only express niyself in similar terms, when Mr. Neild appealed to me: .'A splendid sight, isn't-it?' he said, with pardonable pride; and again, as the .'great body 'of men rose to sing: 'Did you ever hear such a roll of song?' The extraordinary increases on the roll week by.week are due to the. enthusiasm of the'men themselves, who talk to their, fellow-workmen during the week about the Brotherhood with the ardour they ■used to display over such subjects as racing." Apart from the individual benefits do-, rived by the men through the Sunday afternoon meeting, the Brotherhood has

proved to be.a huge temperance movement; gambling has been diminished by it, and the life of the workshop has been wonderfully touched for good; but in the homo life, in tho creation of a new homo atmosphere, perhaps the finest result lias been seen. The scholars of one of tho 'council schools were asked by the teacher to write down the most wonderful thing that had' happened during tho month. Ono lassie wrote: "My daddie'has joined Eastbrook, and we have got a new daddie." the new daddie meant in this caso a new home, and ono sure sign of social has, been the continual flitting" on. the part of members into new and better homes. In England the movement has been nationalised and has its National Council, with Mr.' Vim. Ward as president. It's social development is scon in book clubs to encourage- the introduction of the best literature into the homes of the people; in thrift clubs, to assist the workingmail in his savings; arid in other ways, legion" in name. It is in this direction that special rmphasis is being laid, am] where tho religious'element is pre-' Jomiiiant, it is entirely of an unsectanan character. The method followed in tho formation or the Wellington Brotherhood has been borrowed from America.' The initial gathering of 25 men adopted the "contract system" of securing the first hundred members. About a hundred men were secured in throe weeks, pledged to attend— 'wet or dry, sunshine or rain" —a meeting for explanation and preparation, m the Herbert Street Hall, •U II a.m. on July 3. Over a hundred were present, in spite of wet weather. These wore formed into committees to prepare plans and frame a constitution, and in their meeting ~„ Wednesday last this was adopted. .Hans have been carefully laid, and the first hundred members a'i-; now seeking Ui get 300 by tho opening dav earlv in August, when the afternoon P.S.A. men s uieetiuEs will be ouiniiiei.\c&a.

» In the meantime, many of the factories and workshops.aro being visited, and tho missioncr of the Central Mission is seeking opportunity to lay the objects and aims of tho Brotherhood before as many men as lie can reachAt the Queen's Statue, in the tramwaj office, and Railway Workshops, in city foundries, etc., the movement will be briefly described, while the co-opera-tion of some, of tlib leading public citizens of. the nonunion is being secured for the afternoon addresses on questions social, moral, and religious. Much of the work of reformers at the present day is of a negative character; it is destructive rather than constructive. It aims to upset rather than to set up. The negative is only valuable as being preparatory for the positive, the energy, expended, if tho construe-' five work is not entered upon, is useless, and worse than .useless. In the Brotherhood organisations arc great potentialities for work of a constructive character, and maybe; the movement conveys the message to some that the .set time has come in Time's arrangement for the mind of the reformer to be concentrated on the positive and constructive, rather, on tho negative and destructive side.