SALVATION ARMY.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 November 1915, Page 8

SALVATION ARMY.

WORK AT THE MILITARY CAMPS. NEW PLYMOUTH GIVES THE ARMY £l5O. An application from the Salvation Army for a grant of £l5O towards extending their work at the military camps in New Zealand was before the Patriotic Committee yesterday afternoon, and the request was unanimously granted. Introducing the matter, the chairman (Mr. J. E. 'Wilson) said it had already 'been discussed very fully by the old committee. The matter had aroused some interest amongst the public, and he was glad to have read some of the letters which appeared in the presjj, for they showed him that some, at any rate, of those who had written letters were under a misapprehension of the position. One writer said that if the committee made the grant they would alienate the sympathy of those giving to the funds, that they had no authority to do so, and that the money was not given for such a purpose. The fund which the committee was raising would not be available for such purposes, but that was not the position. The committee had quite a considerable sum in hand which had been raised for patriotic purposes, and lie was satisfied that the resolution Which established the first committee clearly alWwed those funds in hand to be used) in this direction. Without discussing whether the committee should or should not make this grant, Mr. Wilson said he wished to point out that the committee had power to use the funds in the direction suggested under the original constitution. Mr. Wilson repeated that the question had been fully discussed at a previous meeting, and he asked those present to look at the matter, not as an application from any particular sect or religious body, but as an application I'rom a body which had admittedly done good work. Similar good work was being done by other bodies, 'but this application came, not to obtain funds to assist in spreading the beliefs of this particular body of people, but for money to carry on a work which was being performed for the benefit .of all classes of the community, lie pleaded with the committee to consider the matter purely on those grounds, and not to introduce any sectarian discussion, which was very much to be deprecated. Mr. Wilson did not believe that if the committee made the grant their action was going to stop people helping the funds. The committee was composed of business men and men of the world, and if it considered it ought to make this grant for the benefit of the men going to tlm war, he hoped the public would feel that the committee was doing what it thought ought to be done. It might be said that if the committee made this grant it ought to make grants to other religions bodies. If this grant were made, it was certainly open to other bodies to take similar action, and com,! before the committee. Similar applications from the Salvation Army had been before other committees. A grant of £2;>o had been made by Wanganui, Palmerston North was favorably considering the matter, and Auckland had made a grant of £3OO. The committer, therefore, had some precedents before it. Mr. Wilson then moved that a grant of £].">o should 'he made to !he Salvation Army for its work at the military camps.

Mi. F. C. J. Bellringer said lie had much pleasure in seconding the motion. Mr. Wilson added that the Salvation Army had spent about £ISOO in providing for the social wants of the men at frentham. The Army wished to do similar work Rt the other oanips, and ior this they required a sum of about £2OOO. It was In order to raise this £•2000 that the appeal was now made to Patriotic Committees, and the reason for the Army approaching Patriotic Committees was that it was considered they would have funds under their control that might be applied to the purpose, thus obviating the necessity of a separate appeal to the people of the Dominion. Mr. J. Paton said he would have liked to see the Salvation Armv appeal to the public * Mr. T O. List said he would like to know what was the state of the committee's finances, s0 as to know if the committee would be able to .give similar grants. He wished to know where the committee stood if the Y.M.C.A. and other churches made similar applications. He wished to say that the Salvation Army was doing magnificent work. The chairman said the committee had ,ir hand about £IOOO, or rather more, of the original patriotic fund. The funds which were now being raised were fo- wounded soldiers and their dependents, and this money could not be used for this purpose, but the £IOOO was raised for general patriotic purposes, and grants on the lines of the Salvation Army's request could be made from that sum,

SALVATIOX ARMY'S WORK. The Rev. A. B. Chappell asked in what respect the work of the Salvation Army differed from that done at the tamps by the other denominations. At the request of the chairman, Adjutant Homo briefly answered the question. He said the Salvation Army's institute at the Trentham Camp was more freely patronised than any other institute, and it was there for the help and benefit of all the men in the camp and not only for the followers of the Army. Concerts and other entertainments were held and the institute was crowded night after night, while literature was also provided, lj was recognised, he declared, that the Army's institute was "the" institute. The Rev. A. 11. Chappell: Ye 3, but is I the work of any different kind to that of others? Adjutant Home said the Army arranged, to bring the Trentham (wort parties from Wellington at great expense, and they provided writing material tov the men which, at Trentham alone, cost £!'. a n-ppk. Games were provided and addresses were given to the men—not religious addresses, hut advice which would be useful tp them when they went away. He was not aware what other denominations were doing. Tho Rev A. B, Chappell moved an amendment to add after the resolution "And that an equal amount be set aside for every other denominational organlsatipn, wprking at the camps," Mr. Chappell said he mpved |his. amendment because he thought that the work which the Army was doing was only similar to that which was being done by every other denomination. The denomination whjjjh the sppaker. represented was in a somewhat difficult position for raising fund*, for they had not the people or the

means. He thought no case had been made out for discrimination, and that the committee in making this grant would be establishing a precedent. Mr. List seconded the motion pro forma.

A MINISTER'S SUPPORT. The Rev. I'. Hales said he wished to support the motion and expressed regret that the denominational aspect had been brought into view. He did not think any other denomination would ask for similar grants. "We all recognise that the Salvation Army is not a wealthy body, but it does work which no church «an do," he added. "And, further, no church has ever attempted to do such work. I have just heard that the Army is going to build a home to accommodate five hundred returned invalid soldiers, and by these means they would assist and do good for men, without bringing in any religious aspect to teach the men. If there is any work done on the face of this earth that can be called Christian work, it is the work done by the Salvation Army. The work of the Army is not preaching to the boys; the Army is not seeking to make converts of them. They are looking to the bodily welfare of the men, and are giving them advice which will help them when they go away. There are hundreds of fellows who would not go to the Methodist or the Anglican tents who will go to the Salvation Army institute, because they recognise, it is on a different footing." Captain Allen and Messrs W. A. Collis, H. Goodacre, C. E. Bellringer, and the 'Mayor, al! strongly supported the motion and paid tributes to the work done by the Salvation Army. Mr. list said he was anxious to emphasise that he had only seconded the amendment pro forma, in order to produce discussion, and this, he believed, had been very useful. Ho would have appreciated unanimity on the question. He would like to pee Mr. Chappell withdraw his amendment, and if that was done, to see a fund started by the public for the Salvation Army.

After some discussion as to interpretation of the chairman's remarks concerning similar applications received in the future, Mr. Wilson said the only understanding that could be given was that they would fairly consider any applications for similar help. The amendment was then withdrawn. Mr. J. Clarke agreed with the suggestion made by Mr. List, for he considered the money should tome from the public. Mr. W. C. Weston suggested that the grant should be £IOO instead of £l5O. Mr. List moved a further amendment that a public subscription should be made to provide the money asked "for. There Were, he pointed out twenty-one gentlemen present, and.if each gave £3 3s. a considerable portion of the suggested grant would be provided, and the balance could be raised outside. The chairman would not accept the amendment, as it embodied a new proposition. The original motion, to grant the Salvation Army £l5O was then put and carried without dissent.