Page:Boy Scouts and What They Do.djvu/92

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At the Cathedral.

Yesterday afternoon the Cathedral Church of St. Philip was crowded with Scout contingents, when a special service, at which the Bishop (Dr. Wakefield) delivered an address, was held. During the service the Scouts' hymn ("Father of all, we come to Thee") was sung, and at the close the National Anthem.

The Bishop said the first object of the service was to give the Scouts a welcome on behalf of the religious bodies of the city. "You have had a welcome from the civic authorities," said his lordship. "We give you welcome believing that your movement is making for the true moral greatness of this land. We welcome you, and all connected with your movement, because we are certain that, if it is carried on in the right spirit, it makes for a fit, a disciplined, and a self-sacrificing British and Imperial manhood." The movement, so far, had succeeded so well that it had secured an amount of criticism which came only to the successful. Those things which were unsuccessful were left alone by critics. To him their first attraction lay in their keenness; he had a horror of indifference. The world cried out for interested people, people who were determined to use the fullness of their activity in the cause of righteousness. We needed interested people in our civic life, so that the good government of the town might be ensured. We needed interest and keenness in our religious life, so that each religious body might labour not only for it own advancement, but for the general well-being. We wanted people who felt they were ready to work for God and mankind. The next thing which attracted him was

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