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College Notes

Following on his appointment to the Supreme Court Bench and removal to Auckland, Mr. A. Fair, K.C., has resigned his seat on the College Council. Mr. Justice Fair, as he now is, graduated from Victoria College, and during his student years here showed a keen interest in College affairs. He was Editor of Spike in 1910 and Club Captain of the Tennis Club in 1911. His appointment adds yet another Victoria man to the Supreme Court Bench. Spike wishes to join with the College in congratulations.

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The vacancy on the College Council caused by the resignation of Mr. Justice Fair was filled when Mr. H. F. O'Leary was elected by the Court of Convocation. Mr. O'Leary had a distinguished record as a student at the College; elected Secretary of the Students' Association in 1907, in the year following he was President of the Students Association and Chairman of the Debating Society, and in 1909 he was Club Captain of the Football Club. Mr. O'Learys record as a debater was outstanding and foreshadowed the success he has achieved at the Bar. In 1906 he won the "Triple Crown," being successful in the contests for the Plunket Medal and Union Prize and with B. E. Murphy won the Joynt Scroll for Victoria College. In 1908 Mr. O'Leary gained his N.Z.U. Blue for Rugby against Sydney University with the first XV. to cross the Tasman and was again in the N.Z.U. team in 1909.

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It was with mixed feelings of congratulation and regret that we learned of the appointment of Professor H. H. Cornish to the office of Solicitor-General. During his term as Professor of English and New Zealand Law at Victoria College Professor Cornish has shown great interest in the students, both in the lecture room and in outside activities.

The Debating Society had in him a valued friend, but his interest has been centred more particularly on the Cricket and Football Clubs, and members of these two bodies are well aware of the many kindnesses the Professor has shown them.

His actions in hiring the Winter Show Buildings and Drill Hall for early cricket practice, and of giving a dinner to the Senior football team before the match with Oriental, will serve to show this enthusiasm.

We wish to congratulate him on his oppointment to the office of Solicitor-General, and on his recently taking silk. We know that his interest in the College will long continue.

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On Professor Sommerville's death, Mr. F. F. Miles was appointed to take charge of the Mathematics Department for the 1934 session—with Messrs. G. A. Peddie and D. McLeod as assistants.

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We take this opportunity of welcoming two new members of the College Staff, Messrs. N. A. Foden, M.A., LL.M. (a graduate of the College), and H. R. Fountain, B.Com., who were appointed lecturers in charge of the Accountancy Course which was re-instituted at the College this year. This action by the College Council was greatly appreciated by the Commerce Society, members of which had taken a leading part in stressing the desirability of such action by the Council.

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We have also to welcome Miss Ruth Reid, M.A., a former student, who was appointed as an additional Library assistant in view of the extra work occasioned by :he Carnegie grant. Room has now been made in the College for a valuable Art Collection included in the Carnegie grant.

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The interest of former students in the College is well exemplified by the gift received by the College Library of "The American Aborigines" from the author, Mr. Diamond Jenness. Mr. Jenness is at present Head of the anthropological section of the National Museum at Ottawa and one of the most distinguished of the many distinguished scholars the College has produced. His kindly thought in forwarding his latest work was deeply appreciated.

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Three Science graduates of Victoria College, Joan Anderson, Mary Line, and Keith McGavin, have left for overseas. We wish them all the best luck, but at the same time note with regret the necessity for so many of our Science Scholars to leave New Zealand, where it seems, judging by events, that little use can be found for their ability and training.

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The popularity of Weir House as a place of residence for men students has been so marked that this year the domestic staff were transferred to new buildings in order to provide further accommodation and thus reduce the waiting list. The Council has also erected a Recreation Room in the grounds which has proved very popular with Weir residents; the billiard table purchased on very advantageous terms from the University Club being most popular. Accommodation at the House is fully taxed and there is already a "waiting list" for 1935.

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Another graduate of the College has sought further learning in the Ancient Halls of Cambridge. George Joseph, LL.M., for years a keen worker for the Boxing Club, and a College Boxing Blue, who gained a Senior Scholarship in Roman Law in 1932, left in August to take up residence at Cambridge University, his intention being to do post-graduate work in Law. To him Spike sends the best wishes of the College.

We heard with regret of the departure of Dudley M. Pilcher, a student of the College, for Melbourne to take up a position on the Melbourne Argus. Dudley Pilcher was Business Manager of Spike in 1930, and a Sub-Editor of Smad in 1932 and 1933. He gained his Diploma in Journalism from Victoria College last year. Hi? unobtrusive work for the College during his years here is really appreciated, and we wish him every success in his new sphere of activity.

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It is to the Biology Department that praise must be given for their very gallant effort to foster a College Tradition that is fast dying through neglect—we refer to the College Songs.

Already, through the enthusiasm of Professor Kirk and his able assistant, Dr. Wildman, there has been a revival in this direction. At regular intervals, we learn, a short meeting for the purpose of singing College Songs is held before lectures, and there the student voices swell to the strain of "Wikitorian" melodies. To the gentlemen who conduct this gallant enterprise we trust that every success will ensue.

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The N.Z. University Students' Association (to give it the new title adopted last Easter) is beginning to make its presence felt in the student world. Under its former name of the National Union of Students (N.Z. Branch) the Association's status was not perhaps clear to all students. In fact on one noteworthy occasion, the name occasioned confusion with the Evangelical Union! However, with the change in name and a more solid support by the various University Centres, the Association has been able to achieve a good deal since the Annual Meeting of Delegates held in Christchurch at the time of the Easter Tournament. Regulations concerning the award of N.Z. University Blues are being standardised, as is also the design of the N.Z.U. Blues' Blazer.

Valuable hotel concessions have been obtained for students who, travelling in New Zealand, produce identity cards, and through its world-wide affiliations the Association is able to arrange foreign travel concessions for those students who obtain identity cards before leaving New Zealand. Perhaps the most important question at present is that of Student Representation on College Councils. It will no doubt be recalled that the Reichel Tate Commission on University Education recommended that students should have direct representation on the governing body of the institution they attend, and it is hoped that the Association will be able to carry this recommendation into effect. The Association also conducts the Joynt Scroll Debate and a Student News Service, and in many ways has done much to improve the welfare of the University student in New Zealand. The present Headquarters are at Otago University and will be situated at Victoria College following the Easter 1935 Inter-University Tournament, for which Otago University are already busily preparing to act as hosts. Enough has been said to show that the N.Z. University Students' Association is worthily carrying out its objects of being the student counterpart of the Senate of the University of New Zealand.

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It is interesting to note that Mr. Malcolm Macdonald, who is visiting New Zealand after the Melbourne Centenary in his capacity of Under Secretary of State for the Dominions, was last in New Zealand as a member of the Oxford Union team of Debaters in 1924.

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The prize of one guinea offered by the Students' Association for the best literary contribution by a present student to this number of The Spike has been awarded by the judge, Professor G. W. von Zedlitz, to Miss Irene Cornes for her poem "Inconstancy."

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A further prize of one guinea, offered by the Association for the best contribution not being a literary subject, has been awarded to Mr. Carl Watson for his cover design for this number, incorporating many of Miss F. L. Irvine Smith's original sketches in the early numbers of The Spike.

We acknowledge exchanges from various con-temporaries in New Zealand.

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A. F. T. ("Tony") Chorlton, who won the Union Prize for Debating in 1933, has been seeking further laurels in the Debating world on an unofficial tour of the United States with Ian Milner who was last year awarded a Rhodes Scholarship from C.U.C. During the course of an interesting letter to Weir residents, Tony made it plain that he had not confined his attention to debating as his letter contained a most interesting account of his doings in the Sierras as a guest of the Sierra Club, and "V.U.C. T.C." is noted on almost all of the higher mountains in the region. Tony found mountaineering in California to be a luxurious pastime, the peaks easy of access, and the mountain flowers even more varied in shape and colour than those of New Zealand. His comments on Californian students show that they are very similar in outlook and pursuits to those of New Zealand, despite Hollywood versions to the contrary, although of course their University buildings are far more elaborate than those of the Old Clay Patch and motor cars at £7/1/2-with petrol at 7½d. per gallon make us feel rather envious. Tony will round off his tour with a visit to England.

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This year's contest for the Joynt Scroll for Debating was held on July 25th. In order to make the venue of the Debate conform to the Tournament rota and thus have the Debate in the centre in which the headquarters of the N.Z. University Students' Association are for the time being, it was decided to hold the Debate in Dunedin for the second successive year. The motion for discussion as chosen by the Judges, Dean Cruickshank and Messrs. Anderson and Patterson, was "That it would be in the best interests of the British Empire to enter into an alliance with Japan." Canterbury College affirmed the motion in the first debate of the evening, and were opposed by Auckland. Otago University took the affirmative in the final debate, and were opposed by Messrs. K. Tahiwi and R. J. Larkin from Victoria College. Newspaper reports described this as a much better debate and the difficulty that the Judges had in deciding on the winners of the Scroll is indicated by the fact that the services of an arbitrator were required. The placing of the individual speakers in the two debates, Mead of O.U. being 1st, Larkin 2nd, and Tahiwi bracketted equal third with More of Otago, also shows how close our representatives were to adding another success to the College's already impressive record. On their return from Dunedin our representatives spoke in the highest terms of the hospitality they had received from their hosts and, may we add, hostesses. This is quite understandable, for "hospitality" and "Otago" are synonymous. We would like once again to place on record the thanks of the College for the kindliness accorded our representatives.

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Three or four years ago the students of Massey Agricultural College approached the N.Z. University Tournament Committee with an application to take part in the Easter Tournament. Their application was not granted by the Committee as it was considered that the time was not opportune but at the meeting of the Tournament Committee held in April this year further representations were made by Massey College. As Massey College is now an affiliated College of the University of New Zealand it is desirable that they should page 114 be represented at the Tournament held by the remaining four centres. Unfortunately, there are considerable difficulties in the way, and the Tournament Committee was again compelled to reject the Massey College proposals. At present it is necessary for the organisers of the Tournament to arrange billetting for 150 to 180 representatives and the addition of a further team from Massey College would make the task of billetting almost an impossible one. In addition there are difficulties in arranging the draws for the events, which at present work out very conveniently. For instance, in Boxing in each weight there are at present not more than four competitors (one from each College) and two rounds are all that is necessary to find the winner of the Weight. If a fifth competitor were introduced, the matter would not be quite so easy. Similarly, in Tennis only three rounds for each event are at present necessary, whereas the addition of further competitors would necessitate an extra round and an extra day's play would probably be required.

With a view to overcoming these difficulties it was suggested that outstanding athletes from Massey College should be permitted to take part in the trials for the V.U.C. Team and to compete as representatives of V.U.C.

This proposal was given full consideration by the V.U.C. Students' Association, but from Victoria's point of view difficulties of such an arrangement are just as great, and although our sympathies are with the Massey College students it was found necessary to reject the proposals. At present it therefore seems unlikely that Massey College will be a competitor in the N.Z. University Tournament for some years yet.

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This year's Rhodes Scholarship nominees are C. M. P. Brown and K. J. McNaught, of the Arts and Science Faculties respectively, and both Weir residents. Their academic records should stand them in good stead when the final seelction is made. We wish them every success.

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We are indebted to Miss Agnes Cole for her line drawing of the College which appears above the article "Thirty-five Years."

The frontispiece and the photographs of the Main Stairway and of the War Memorial Window in the College Library are the work of R. S. Odell, a present student of the College.

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