BOY SCOUTS

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 129, 27 November 1929, Page 13

BOY SCOUTS

WORK IN DOMINION

INCREASING MEMBERSHIP

The twenty-first annual meeting of the Dominion Boy Scouts' Council is being held in Christehureh to-day. The annual report to be presented states that there aft this y*ar 2352 second class, 570 first class, and 501 King Scouts, which is an increase of nearly 100 King Scouts as compared with last year. "There is no doubt," adds the report, "that a large' number of troops are now concentrating upon getting their boys through the first class and King Scout tests. It has been pleasing to note that the patrol system of training has been universally adopted, and as this is one of the primary principles in the Chief's training scheme for character-building, troop committees should encourage'all new seouters to adhere to the Chief's policy in this respect. The qualities of leadership and self-reliance are more likely to be inculcated in the growing lads if they are given opportunities to handle their patrols. SEA SCOUTS. "The work done in the Sea Scout branch of the movement during the last twelve months is decidedly encouraging. We now have. 410 boys enrolled in the Sea Scout section, an increase of 53 over last year. To meet a growing demand in accordance with local conditions, a junior branch of Sea Scouting has been instituted. These little chaps are called Sea Cubs, similar to their land brothers, the Wolf Cubs. Any boy desiring to attach himself to an existing Sea Scout company, with a view to becoming a Sea Scout, now has the opportunity to join up with it in the capacity of a Sea Cub. The finding of suitable officers for our Sea Scout companies, Boy Scout troops, and Wolf Cub packs is still a problem, but we are gradually overcoming the difficulty by giving senior boys of King Scout and first class standard an opportunity for advancement. Where this policy has been given effect to, -we find the units upon a solid footing, and even though all our boys may not prove successful, the results have justified the course taken. TROOP COMMITTEES. "In some quarters our troop committee system is not popular. It may seem all very well for a scout officer to contend that the troop committee must have no voice in his methods of training, but experience has proved that the parents of the boys who comprise the troop, and the public who subscribe the money for the funds, are entitled to a •voice in the training methods adopted by. the scout officers. Consideration must be given to the fact that a number of our officers in charge of troops are very young men—numbers of them not out of their 'teens—and these especially should welcome the advice of fathers of the boys, who are in many cases not only skilled tradesmen, but competent citizens who have made their mark. riNANCE. "We commenced our year with a credit balance of assets over liabilities amounting to £.3434 Is 4d, and ended with a credit of £3646 7s 3d, of which £2917 14s 7d is cash in current accounts in banks and on fixed deposit. We are again indebted to the Government for a subsidy of £1000, but regret to state that for the ensuing year this will not be available. The action of your finance committee in creating a reserve has been very favourably commented upon, the intention being to form a trust fund similar to those in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Australian States, with the object of eventually making Dominion Headquarters self-supporting financially. The loss of the Government subsidy for the coming year will throw us upon our own resources, and curtailment of expense in certain directions must be anticipated.