Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 10, No. 10. July 16, 1947
Plonket Mudal
Plonket Mudal
The audience for this year's Plunket Medal Oratory Contest was small. It will be even smaller next year, and probably non-existent the year after, unless the Debating Society can persuade more of its competent speakers to take part. With one outstanding exception, the speakers last Saturday night were poor. We have no wish to detract from the achievement of the winner, Mr. Jim Milburn, whose speech was well up to the standard of previous winners, and we consider that he would have won in competition with any one in the Debating Society at present. Of the remaining seven speakers listed on the programme, one failed to appear, one gave a good lecture without any use of oratory, two erected artificial harriers between themselves and the audience, one delivered in monotone what might have been an interesting speech if anyone had listened, and one gave a good Public School break-up address.
Mr. Milburn spoke on Ramsay MacDonald, the man who betrayed the British Labour Party during the slump. His speech showed careful preparation, and what is rarer, careful rehearsal. His studied dramatic approach established contact with the audience immediately, and the emotional effect was effectively built up by appropriate variations in tempo and modulation, and by vivid descriptions of the crucial events in MacDonald's life.
Mr. Samuj wasted time explaining why he had chosen Rabindranath Tagore as his subject, assuming this Indian poet to be a stranger to the audience, and by apologizing for his own shortcomings. He tried to establish Tagore as a godlike being, but failed by trying to build up emotional effect with clichés.
With precise elocution, Mr. Hume outlined the catalogue of manly virtues, all of which were possessed in large measure by his subject. Captain [ unclear: Oate]. To an intelligent audience, the qualifications of officers and gentlemen are no criterion, of moral greatness.
Mao Tse Tung is an excellent subject for oratory, so is Thomas More, but Mr. Smith and Mr. Dowrick failed to exploit fully the potentialities of either themselves or their subjects. Mr. Smith tried to cover too much ground, and Mr. Dowrick chose the aspects of More's life with which he was least familiar.
Mr. Dowling managed to speak for twelve minutes without varying the pitch, speed or inflection of his voice. No speech, no matter how well prepared can stand up to this treatment, nor can any audience.
The judges were Mrs. Z. Mountjoy. Rev. Martin Sullivan and Dr. Martin Finlay. There can be no disagreement with their judgment. It was the most decisive victory in any Plunket Medal I have attended.