AN IMPERIAL MISSION.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1523, 20 August 1912, Page 5

AN IMPERIAL MISSION.

ORIGIN OF THE OVERSEAS CLUB. CECJLimODES'S DREAM. ." Tin; Overseas Club is sJowly but surely gathering strength, and extending its sphere of operations to tho uttermost aids of Hie Empire. It is not only a patriotic club—it goes further than that. It seeks to become the-soul-of the Empire, and by promoting tho highest ideals in citizen ship to make the name and. .character of a Britisher—bo ho a native of Devon, Rhodesia, or tho Wairarann.— synonymous with that sturdy moral courage and high degree of honour which lias characterised the race. A member has to lie tho right .stamp. Be he blacksmith or prince, ho must be "clean,", loyal, and straight in all his doings. The local secretary (Captain Barclay) happened to be discussing, the club with a Wellington resident quite- recently, when the latter said: "But if I were a member, what would I get out of it?" ' The secretary retorted that he would never bo a member— ho was 'not tho type they' wanted. Next year Mr. Evelyn Wrench, world's .organiser for the .club, is to visit New Zealand and Australia. This year he is touring Canada find British Columbin. At his meeting in Victoria, 8.C., Mr. Wrench recounted the inception of tho idea of an Overseas. Club, dating it from an hour six years ago, when Karl Grey one of the trustees of Mr. Cecil Rhotfcs's will, showed him at Ottawa a -document written by that great at (he age of twenty-one, in which he dream-ed-of .devoting nny money ho.might leave behind him in promoting a vast secret' society for the keeping together of' the empire. Lord Northcliffe had grasped the importance of the. idea and hod opened to them the columns of (he Oversea Mail, and to-day their' numbers hod already reached the gigantic figure of over 00.000. In conversation with a press representative Mr. Wrench said that while on.his journey through Canada ho had found a Er.eatly increasing interest taken in the question of defence, both naval and military, and that the general opinion seemed to be that while it would be a mistake to contemplate a scheme consisting only of a cash... contribution being permanent, yet that'so long as Canada could not build ships or train men, the procuring' of, say, two battleships from tho admiralty would seem to be expedient for Eoine years to come. • ■ Naval- and military matters, however, ho stated, were not tho. main object of the Overseas Club. The binding together of the different portions of the Empire, the purifying of public lif?, and tho raising of the standards by which the social lifo of its communities are ruled offers ' its three, hundred and fifty branches a programme worthy of their most strenuous efforts. . ANNUAL REPORT.. The report to be presented at the first annual meeting of tho Wellington branch of tho Overseas Club, to bo held in the Sydney Street Schoolroom on Monday evening next, states:— "The Overseas Club, as such, camo into existence in London on August 27, 1910. The aim of the society is to keep a lofty conception of citizenship before its members. In tho course of a few months tho membership of the new society became so large, and the movement was found to be so widespread, the idea of forming local groups of members followed as a natural consequence. Many members were found lo be in Wellington, as, indeed, all over New Zealand. In the early part of the current year your committee took the opportunity as one of your vice-presidents, Mr. Von Haast, was proceeding to England, to avail itself of his services as delegate from the Wellington branch to confer with the London organiser on several points arising out of correspondence with tho London office, in order (hat your committee might act in conjunction with that oflico as far as practicable. • Our delegates will report on his return to (his country. Your committee lias had under consideration what steps might be taken to bring the members of the Overseas Club together, and in what direction their energies should be directed. There are various possibilities for good and effective

work, but until all the members of the local branch' can meet togothor and discuss a formal programme, your committee h«s deemed it wiser to mnko inquiries mid for some estimate of probabilities bei'oro submitting definite proposals. With the local'branches of the Victoria Kragut mid the Navy League already well estab. lished, it would seem a desirable thing to work together. The- need of a wider education on national, international, and Imperial subjects is obvious, and the Overseas Club can do good work-in that direction. All,that your committee has aimed at so fur is to lay the foundation for future doThe Overseas Club is one. 'i'life movement is to bo taken ierioufiy. Us aims are Empire wide, its methods tan bn educational in the broadest sense, and the way , to'do effective work is to recognise- our individual responsibility anil privilege as members of a great org.inisition, in the same spirit as that expressed by Dr. Gordon, better known to most of us out here as Ralph Connor, the author, ■In his recent message to New Zealand:"Would Mr. Allen (the well-knowu Auck> lander) be good enough to bring io m;r fellow.-eitizens of the Empire the wjum greetings of o son of the blood, who in a laud of cold ' frosts and storms, but of warm hearts, tries what ho can to build a bit of the ramparts that guard the fnr coasts and ports of the great Em pi'.a to which we are proud in Canada,, and you in New Zealand, lo belong." The local branch has it present on i(* list 200 members. There are many othsr names in Wellington given on an interim list furnished by the London office. Tlv>h members arc cordially invited to join the Wellington branch.. Your committee hns deemed , it but prudent to tnkc.no active steps on jines of development until the members of the, branch have had time nni oppprtnnity to seriously ; consider; the financial aspect of any suggested activity. To emulate other branches is a laudable, desire, but to be successful that emulation can only boon the lines of sclf-sacri-fice. and yonr committee eniuiot recommend any form of outside appeal for aiu sistnnce. ' The objects of the clubrfiro a sufficient , justification < for its existence,' and will continue to prove magnetic. The report is.signed by .Captain W.De R. Barclay (hon. secretary). An announcement of interest to hourcy holders'is inserted in to-day's issue, by Messrs. W.' J. Gaudiu and f-'en. conl anil grain merchants, of Ghuznee Street, city, and also at Kilbirnie. Three, 'properties suitable for sheep and dairy farms aro advertised for falo by. Jlefirs. "Dalgely. and Co., Ltd.,' for private sale. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. announce a sale of pedigree Jersey, cattle at Tattersall's Hr.wera, on Friday next. It is announced that the Mendelssohn. Scholarship for Composition, the most valuable musical prize in the United Kingdom, lias been awarded to Mr. Joseph Alan Tails. Mr. Taffs, who is twenty, years of age, was born and educated in North London. He has been for several years a student at the Royal Collt-go of Music. .The scholarship is of the. value of JCIOO ner annum, and is tenable- for not more than three years. The first scholar elected was Arthur (afterwards Sir Arthur]