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Debating Society

The Debating Society is experiencing, as usual, an entirely successful season. The debates so far have all been of an interesting nature; and the keenness of the members has been evinced to such an extern that at several meetings the "ten o'clock closing" rule has had in be suspended. The number of new speakers this year is greater than it has been for some years; this is a particularly gratifying feature—possibly the result of withholding the New Speaker's Prize last year. The only feature in which an improvement is desirable is in the matter of audiences—not, of course, in quality, but in quantity. We ought to have, not forty or fifty people at the meetings, but the Social Hall filled.

The annual meeting was held on Monday, the 25th March, Mr. Oram being in the chair, The usual business peculiar to College annual meetings was soon disposed of. Several minor alterations in the constitution were made, the most important being a new rule to the effect that at the end of each year the Committee shall choose four subjects for the following year's syllabus.

The first debate of the year was held on 30th March. The motion, moved by Messrs. Morice and Watson, and opposed by Messrs. Hall-Jones and C. Strack, was: "That the tactics adopted by the Government in the late political crisis were not such as should be adopted by political leaders in the future. This was an innovation in the matter of a subject, being the first time that the Society has debated current politics. Undoubtedly it was a great success, judged both from the speakers' point of view and that of the audience. The debate was characterised by an air of virtuous indignation on the part of both sides; one gentleman who regarded the matter with great page 63 equanimity was assured by a subsequent speaker that "his morals were truly shocking!" The judge, Mr. A. R. Atkinson, placed the five best speakers in the following order:—Messrs . Hall-Jones, Watson, Morice, Quilliam, C. Strack.

The next meeting was held on the 20th April. The Chairman announced the fact that our representatives. (Messrs. Morice and Hall-Jones) had been successful in once more securing to Victoria College the Joynt Challenge Scroll for debating at the Easter Tournament. It is interesting to note that their opponents, Messrs. Cornish and Mazengarb, of Otago, are now enthusiastic members of our own Society, being now students at Victoria College. .The subject for the debate for the evening was "That the present system of granting free secondary education to all is unsound," moved by Messrs. Caddick and Quilliam, opposed by Messrs. Broad and Treadwell. After the "principles of true democracy" had been hurled from speaker to speaker in a most dangerous fashion, the motion was put to the meeting and carried. The judge, Mr. G M. Hogben, Inspector General of Schools, made the following award for the Union prize:—1, Mr. Watson; 2, Messrs Hall-Jones and Stevenson (equal); 3, Messrs. Caddick and Morice (equal).

The third debate took place on the 4th May. The subject for discussion was that old friend, "Party Government.' Mr. McEldowney, seconded by Miss North, attacked that system, while Messrs. Oram and Quilliam strenuously upheld it. The case was exceptionally well argued by the leaders, both of whom made appeal to history. This debate called forth the greatest number of speakers (seventeen) and the largest audience we have had this year, but the latter gradually faded away before the end of the evening*. The meeting by its vote upheld the present system of party Government. The judge, Mr. F. M. B. Fisher, placed the speakers thus: 1, Mr. Hall-Jones; 2, Mr. Mazengarb; 3, Miss North; 4, Mr. Stevenson; 5, Mr. Cornish.

The next debate, held on May 18th, was on the motion, "That it is in the best interests of the people of New Zealand that the ownership of land should be nationalised." This was moved by Mr. Kennedy, seconded by Mr. Mazengarb, and opposed by Mr, Cornish, seconded by Mr. Lomas. Whether it was a result of the array of academic honours on the part of the leaders or not, we can not presume to say, but this was emphatically the most interesting and most keenly contested debate so far this year. Neither was it lacking in humour—of the "dry" order and otherwise. Land nationalisation does not appear to be regarded by our members as the ultimatesolution of all social problems—both the majority of speakers and the page 64 vote of the meeting were entirely against it. The judge, the Rev. A. M. Johnson, Vicar of St. Paul's, gave us a very candid and, needless to say, very useful criticism of the various speakers. Messrs. Kennedy, Lomas, and Taylor were ineligible for the competition. The award was: 1, Mr. H. H. Cornish; 2, Mr. G. G. G. Watson; 3, Mr. F. G. Hall-Jones; 4, Mr. A. Treadwell; 5, Mr. A. E. Seaton.