The Chronicle PUBLISHED DAILY. LEVIN SATURDAY, JULY 17, 1915.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 17 July 1915, Page 2

The Chronicle PUBLISHED DAILY. LEVIN SATURDAY, JULY 17, 1915.

NEW ZEALAxNJJ V'OLUXTEEU .SISTMIHOOD.

I'rom headquarters oi the .New ZeaJand Volunteer Sisters Movement (L'liiHtcliurcli) The Chronicle has received a synopsis ol the scheme ol the '■•xecutive of the association formed to organise the sisterhood. The object ol' the .Sisterhood is to organise bodies of sensible intelligent women to go abroad to nurse and tend the sick and wounded. These women will be between the ages of thirty and iii'ty and preferably bejtuvcen thirty-iive and lorty. So woman iincior thirty win become a member unless she is a trained nurse. No woman will >bo accepted unless passed as physically and organically sound by the honorary medical advisers ol tile Sisterhood. Tlie.se uojuen will be asked to give up one year ol their life for practically no payment aI, all. for the good of their race and their nation, and on the cairns of humanity alone. Maintenance will be provided, and a personal allowance to each woman of 10s per week only. A uniform will also be provided, transport to Jiuropoj and each woman will be insured against illness, accident and death. The movement generally will be a woman's movement. It is felt that throughout our national life there run great silent streams ol loving care and patient .sustained effort, of a desire and a striving to help the sick and wounded at home and aboard, of tender anxious endeavour to fulfil racial and national obligations, and these streams run perhaps most deeply and most silently in the hearts of the women of the community.

The volunteer sisters (always H'jJl act under the orders of registered nurses or medical officers. The term "sister" has been employed merely in a human sense, in the same way as it; is used -by deaconesses, nuns and others. The term "nurse" has a certain definite statutotry meaning, and ft was considered unj'air to the professional registered nurse to promote any wide and general use of the word for women who hare not the registered nurse's tejehnioal training and legal status. As stated before all members 111 uet be over thirty years ol age, oxcept trained nurses, and they may be married or unmarried. From the applicants only the very strongest and befit qualified will he selected. The honorary medical advisers are absolutely autocratic in this respect. On July 10th twenty-two members of the sisterhood were in the Trentham hospitals. 'Many of them have made great .financial and professional sacrifices 'in joining. At inventy-four hours'notice many of the women have given up permanent position worth £100 or £150 a. year to sign on at "10.? per week and found." The Christchurch contingents include three mental hospital nurses, a trained nurse from the Cashmere Sanatorium, afso the assistant matron from Te Ornnga Home, and other women holding im.portant and lucrative professional po-

eitious. Such ■women have been re- , leased readily ty their employere. and they have come with the utmost devotion and self-sacrifice. Difficulty, abnegation, har3" and unceasing service for practically no pay at all, these are the allurements that are acting now on the hearts of our women.

The pledge signed by the sisterhood is as follows:— "We, the undersigned, gladly and freely offer one year, or more, of our lives for the service at home or abroad, of nursing and tending sick and -wounded, and we promise to obey cheerfully and readily all orders given us by those in authority, and we hereby express our willingness to do all nccessnry work of any nature or kind whatsoever. We also promise to do our utmost, individually and collectively,. to maintain the good health, good cheer and good temper of the group we are placed in. "We agree to accept as our remuneration maintenance plus 10s per week personal allowance." *aatmvma . y .*t ~•* f-.