The Dominion. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1916. "A MAN'S LIFE AND GOOD SERVICE"

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2878, 16 September 1916, Page 8

The Dominion. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1916. "A MAN'S LIFE AND GOOD SERVICE"

"No Bishop in New Zealand is doing more important work than is the man who is-out there ministering to his brothers." This remark was made by Dr. Julius, Anglican Bishop of Christchurch, in the course of a speech at'a' farewell "social" recently given to one of his clergy : who was leaving for the front. The task of the military chaplain, •is a difficult and delicate one. The successful chaplain, must have a wise head and a big heart. He must also have a wide knowledge (if human nature and a capacity for seeing beneath the surface of things. .The average-British soldier.-is remarkably shy'in' matters of.religion. It is not easy to pierce'his armour ; ofy'reservej. and the fact',-that'the . chaplains, have found the way to his heart shows that thoy know their business and the best way of doing It. It is impossible to. give -an exact description ;o£ ;-a-; chaplain's ■work. Kcahhbfc' beitlefirfed : by rules • and regulations.-:-It. is-not. merely a matter of . parades and- preachings; His informal -duties-are. quite as important; and when once a ■wisea,nd sympathetic padre gains the confidence of his men it is impossible to over-estimate... the good he can. do. No one'can speak with greater authority' regarding the •moral influences at, work among our soldiers • than men • like Lord Kitchener and Lord French, both oi whom have expressed the highest ap-' preciation of the results which have been achieved. Shortly before bis death Lord Kitchener statcd'that be intended-.to ma;ke special reference in his next speech in the House of Lords 'to the splendid part' which the chaplains are'.playing in this great fight for right. Only a few days ago Lord French declared that the work which is being , done ■ by such _ institutions as - the Y.M.C.A. is- "little short of miraculous." He said the spiritual and ideal side of the British solder lias beon'developed, and he established a' conhectioii between this development and the '"'glorious pluck" which our troops have displayed in this war. The Y.M.C.A: deserves all the' praise that has been bestowed upon it, but its officers would bo. the first to bear testimony to the equally successful efforts being made by the Salvation Army and other religious - agencies to promote the well-being of the men who are fighting for us and our Empire. An interesting insight into tiio nature of the "ministry of tho trenches" is given in' a letter from the. Rev. _W; M'Lean, one of the Presbyterian chaplains in France, which we publish in another column. Mr. M'Lean tells us that by sharing in the general life of the trenches the chaplain is enabled to ostablish points of contact with the' men by means of which confidences are received which would otherwise never have been given. In his quiet moments the soldier has his thoughts about religion, however disinclined he-may' be to talk about .it.. The relations between the soldier and the padre are graphically described in a little' book entitled The Padre, written with a fine sense of humour by _ "Temporary Chaplain." The writer makes much fun of many parts of the war machine. Ho laughs at himself as well as at others, but he succeeds in drawing a living picture of "the padre's job," and gives some instructive glimpses into the soldier's heart. He writes : : -

. Once when I had said some prayers witli an Australian in a casualty' station and the demqu of iiervousnc>ii ami unrest liiid been cast out of the man—so elfectually cast out that the Sister ami the major could not but notice the change in him—the major announced in his genial, hearty way to the whole of tho mess, "J don't know what the devil the padre said to him, but it did him no end of goodsaved his life perhaps." He knew as well as I knew that it was nothing I had said to the Australian which proved effective, lie knew- that tho Australian and I had been praying to- Gnd. But lie wouldn't have said so for the world. What I attribute wholly to the intervention of per. sonal prayers he pretends to attribute to "walking around and saying a. cheery word or two."

Our men were at first quite puzzled by the open and public manner in which the French soldier attends to his,religious It is all done; so naturally and without ostentation. The example has tended to break down the'religious shyness of our soldiers. Tho bravery of the clergy at tho

frout has opened a door into fcho hearts of men who are always ready to admire pluck and self-sacrificc. The wonderful courage and endurante of the priest-soldiers of Franco have' won the admiration of the world. There are quite a number of clergymen in the British fighting ranks, and the chaplains are just as ready to accept all tho risks of war. Many of them have made the supreme sacrifice.. One was recently awarded the Victoria Cross. Tho padres are sharing in tho peril and the glory of the great British offensive on the Western front. Thoir only fault is "insubordination." One of tho war correspondents states that they are th-3 most_ insubordinate— the only, insubordinatemen in the army. They will not keep out of the frayi "when they are commanded to stay with tho field ambulances and dressing stations they keep turning up in the front-line,.trenches, and going with the men where they have no right to be.'' .The correspondent goes on to say that there arc many battalions in which the padre is known to be one of tho bravest officers of the lot, 'and there are too many battalions which havono padre now. Chaplains and soldiers are fighting with the same high courage for the same great cause. Theyaro enduring the same hardships in the sapio cheerful spirit. ... A young soldier after enumerating some of his joys tnd sorrows remarks, "Anyhow its' a man's life and good service.' Tho chaplain may at times feel tired and suffer from bad. nerves, but he too can. console,himself with the thought that ; "itVa man's life, and good service."