A CALL TO WORK

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 319, 19 February 1910, Page 4

A CALL TO WORK

STIRRING ADDRESS BY THE REV. IT. S. WOOLLCOMBE, MASS MEETING OF MEN. The Rev. H. S. Woollcombe, the travelling secretary of the Church of England Men's Society, addressed a great •meeting of men at the Theatre Roval lust night. The Mayor. Mr. G. Tis.li. presided. His Lordship the Bishop of Auckland, Dr. Neiigan, was on the pl.itlform, together with the Rev. F. G. Evans, vicar of St. Mary's, New Plymouth, ana Mr. H. Okey, M.P. Dr. Neiigan briefly, introduced the Rev. Wooileomb? to the Mayor and to the meeting, and then his Worship tendered a very hearty welcome on behalf of the citizens. Mr. Tisch opined that the rev. gentleman's visit would have Uhe effect of strengthening the local branch of the C.E.M.S.. whose mcmbeis were already exercising such an influence on men outside the church that it looked as though very soon there would be none outside at all.

His Lordship the Bishop tendered a very hearty welcome on behalf of l\w Auckland diocese, in which New Plymouth was the first town to receive a visit from the Rev. Woollcombe. ilc spoke of the kindness of the Mayor in consenting to preside, and said that .when the men in charge of municipal affairs wer e prepared to assist, those ■who were engaged in religious work, it was a great factor of good in the 'community. His Lordship welcomed the presence of those men who were not members of the Church of England, and went on to express a hope that in a very few years such a Welcome as this on behalf of the church in Taranaki, would be extended not by the Bishop of Auckland, but by the Bishop 0 f Taranaki. He urged the Men's Society here to make this their work—the building up of an endowment sufficient for Ibe establishment of a bishopric in the new diocese of Taranaki, and counselled prayer and work continuously.

The Rev. F. G. Evans welcomed the visitor on behalf of the clergy and people of the archdeaconry of Taranaki, and expressed the pride they felt in receiving this man who had been sent to us as representing 85,000 or 90.000 of the laity at Home.

The Rev. Woollcombe was greeted with loud applause. He had not been speaking more than five minutes before his personality had gripped the greit crowd of men there. He opened breezily. He wasn't a stranger here, for in the early days his dear old uncle, "Daddy Woollcombe," had been a Canterbury pioneer, filling many and various positions, registering births, celebrating marriages, sorting the letteis, and "giving 'em a eoupie of months if they wanted it." Nor could he feel a stranger in a town bearing the name of Plymouth, for he was a Devonshire man. His Lordship the Bishop had, in the course of his welcome, commiserated him because he was not an Trishnvm. 'His Lordship was proud'' of being up. Irishman. The speaker was proulcr still of being a Devonian. (Loud ;.i>plause). "You know, 1 ' he added, "history tells us that those Irishmen have given England a lot of trouble, but the Devonshire men have done her a lot of good." Loud applause and laucrh'er greeted the neat reply to the Bishop, who joined in the laugh himself. Mr. Woollcomlip humorously asked Devonians to wait behind for a "shake of the flipper," accompanying, the invitnthn with a sly nod at the Bishoo and 'Aw remark that "yon know we Devonshire men are very clannish, and shake hands ■with one another, instead of knocking one another on the head as thev lo in another part of the Empire." And the audience roared. A humorous illustntion, and the speaker .Irew the les* •-! "The Church of Christ is not what it looks like, but what it is doing in work and service for the good of the people.'' He, reckoned it was very little use : o cut off the tops of thistles. "If you want to get rid of them, you must dicr 'em up by the roots." So with evl. They had to find the root of evil; find what was bad; what made the lives of men and women other than God had ordained they should be; and root it ,out. The man who thought legislation would root out the social evils was a fool, though undoubtedly legislation could do much to prevent them, and he could see that the legislation of recent in Xew Zealand would prevent many social evils Ironi which they suffered at Home. It was useless to taik to him of the improvement of the condition of living (loi'.iu away with ;:11 social evils; lor he had lived with his .eyes open in the East End of London for 14 years, and knew better. It helped, though, and made better things .possible. What was at the root of sweating, where a woman got 2'/td a gross for making matcn-ooxes, and had .to find her own paste? What was at the root of slums, the root of long hours —so long in some parts of London that he had seen little boys drop off io sleep in the middle of a comic song in a specially cheerful concert? "The root of all evil is somebody else's selfishness. Talk as you like, and vote as N you like at the polling-stations, but so long as you have got men grabbing and getting, and not minding what happens to .anyone else, so long will there i•■ social evils." Another few minutes m lighter vein, a reference without wov.ls to the fascinating game of "two-up." and the speaker settled hard on tiie .gambling tendencies of the people. "Go I gambling on the racecourse, if you're

fool enough,'' and he shook a clench m 1 fist at his audience, "but don't yon eomfc and quack to me about brotherhood if you gamble. You hunibi;! Brotherhood? Good Lord, how can yon talk of brotherhood when you join a twl- - school and take five quid out if the other fellow's pocket upon the snm of two coins?" A church officer must have clean hands in this matter, for "you can't do the work of God and the work of the devil, too.''

The Church was a groat combine of men, women and children with God, and ,the spirit of co-operation was necessary to success. Just as the army was ,stron<r because every man in it wis

trained for his own particular work, and dirt it; so there was necessity for every man in the Church to work. The 'Church didn't consist, of the big men. "like my Lord Rishop here who wravs P such nice gaiters; or men like me, who on a hot nisrht like this are condemned to'wear a dog collar." There was 100 fjeneral a tendency to think the nar«on was the church, and the church was the parson; that only the parson hid to work, and that on him everything depended. There were men who considered the sole duty of a churchman was .to go to church occasionally, and nft.T church to wrowl about the sermon, generally to tiie effect that he could lm" 1 done belter himself. He reminded tln'-m that they were not baptised into tho

Church of God merely to criticise, but u. work, an<] Uu» missioncr made .1 forceful appeal to tin. men to '-give a shove behind, and push the old church up'the hill." None of them knew fho d.fhoulties ot the parson's lif e> or how ~casv it Mas for him to be east down •or thcyd think more generously of him ami help him m o rP . A k ' at Home, addressing a meeting after a series of speeches nv. eminent churchmen and others, had told the bishops that their talking had all been of the good that the Church of England Men'« I Society was doing amongst the laitv. "We're doing a lot for the clergy," the j mRh exclaimed, whereat the clergy pr«I sent pricked up their ears. "Formerly, 'when you used to sl'ikl down a curate! be was turned on to the mother's meet." ings, nnrt they made an old woman of I him. .Now you turn him oh to the j C.E.M.S., and they make » young m<m of him." "Don't," the missfoner urged, "let the parson preach only to bonnet* and lints. They're not the most :'nI spiriting things' to preach to." Men j could do a great deal by going regularly to church.

The Church of God meant brotherhood, and the C.E.M.S. was doing much to establish that brotherhood, levelling class and other distinctions, and bringing men together on the one level to .do the work of Ood, establishing a great freemasonry throughout the Empire,

"There are dangers," he concluded. "in living in a beautiful and prosperous country like this. It is. a sad fact that a worldly prosperity doesn't make the best men on God's earth, for worldly prosperity often tends towards selfishnoss. There are men in the Old Co.wtry qualifying "for the epitaph, "Here lies the body of a man who did his best to have a good time." What a glorious, motto, he remarked, sarcastically, ami then went on to compare it with ihe pleasure derived from work and service, resuming his sent amidst prolonged applause. Mr. Okey, M.P., moved a hearty vote of thanks to Rev. H. S. Woollcombe for his lecture. Speaking of himself, he said he had enjoyed the address very much, and he felt sure that every nun in the hall had similarly enjoyed it. He included in the motion the usual compilment to the Mayor for presiding. The Benediction, pronounced by bis Lordsnip the Bishop, and the singing of the National Anthem, concluded the meeting.

The Rev. Woollcombe will deliver on address to men, awl more particularly to members of the C.E.M.S., in St. ''Mary's Church at 3 o'clock to-morrow afternoon.