SAVAGE CLUB

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2771, 15 May 1916, Page 7

SAVAGE CLUB

LIEUT. STENHOUSE AND REV. MUL- ' LINEUX GUESTS OP H0N0UR..... The AVellington Savage Club's season opened 'on' Saturday'evening,' Mr. Marcus Marks .was-sworn is as Chief Savr age,, the ceremony being one of the peculiar rites of the club, the'details of which, were denied.the Press by the."clubfs cen : sor. Thereafter it was the Chiefs' pleasant duty to welcome two distinguished visitors, Lieut. Stenhouse, R.N.,' of ' the Antarctic ship Aurora, and .the Rev. M. Sluflirieux, of San. Francisco, now en route to'the front (and who captained an English Riigby team which visited' Australasia some yeafs'ago.- ..Lieut. Stenhouse during "the.evening gave a sketchy narra-tive-of the Aurora's strange and perilous eight m'oiiths''drift in an ice-pack, after being'wrenched away from shore fit Capo Evans : '(winter' headquarters). Lieut! Stenhouse told the most amazing things, of -hair-breadth escapes, by ice-floe and pack, of'ice-squeezes, and'the daily hunt for Adele penguins and seals. And' he casually" reminded his hearers that for a,great part of the time they lost both moon and blackness—but he related the fact as though he'had mislaid his'pocketrknife7 It'was on August.'6 of last year that they descried the uppermost rim of iold Sol over the- northern horizon. It was just a faint curve of hazy yellow, but what it meant to that little ship's company ivho could estimate. They cheered the sun, and drank its health. . Lieut. Stenhouse was given three ringing cheers at tho'conclusion of his remarks.

"The.Bev. Mr. .Mullineux related that he7was .doing mission work among the seamen of San. Francisco' .when the war broke out, arid like everyone of British bloodTwanted','%>: get into it." At last he..could stand .it.no longer,.and. went, to his Bishop and told him his wishes.-The Bishop said that ho looked to the Eev. Mi 7 Mullineux for the "finances of the mission..

'. "Will you let me go if I guarantee the finances of the Mission foT a year?" asked Mr. Mullinenx.' The Bishop agreed and by getting in a- little money and sacrificr ing his year's salary he managed it. Then he -went to Captain Stringer, of tho Moana, arid told him that he had no money, and that he must give him a job on board to enable him to get to New Zealand, and so he Tfas' shipped as a Eort of seaman-stoker. ■ '-'I don't regret the .experience a bit," said Mr..Mullineux."I thought I knew the. eailorman, : and I did, from the outside. Now, I know him from the inside!" (Applause.). One thing ho found he needed on board was a new dictionary,- as he could mot for a time understand .the language'of the stokehold; (Laughter.) Tho Rev., Mr. Mullineux 1»lieved it w,as spirit that was going to win the war, and referred in glowing terms to tho glorious spirit of Lieut. Stenhouse and his crew during their terrible osperience.! If they had-men in the trencliesand on their ships such a3 Lieut. Stenhouse lie did not think they could lose the war. He said that'ho had found on. his arrival that all tho clergymen wanted to go to the front, and he was the last to wish to step-over the heads of New Zealanders in this connection, so ho had asked to go in any capacity, and he had'been accepted for the Ambulance, and was txj go into camp on Wednesday next.

During the evening, the Chief Savage, in referring to the continuance of the korerps, said that tho club had contributed one hundred .of its members to the firing line, and, many others had sons and other relatives at the ;front. It had also contributed substantially to tho various patriotic funds, "and he-.urged that tho kore'ros inculcated a spirit of patriotism and love oi" country, and had a heartening 'effect both on those who were goin°out to serve and those whose boys were now serving their King r and countrySongs were contributed by Savages Leslie ■Hill, "W. W. Crawford, Sergt. E, A. Allwright, W. H.' G. Bennett, and Messrs. Sigurd L'estrup and Vf. Biirge. A capital orchestra, under Mr. H. M'Conrish, contributed materially towards the success of a notablo : evening.