The NZUSA Annual General Meeting met in Dunedin over Easter. Out of a maze of interminable discussion several important decisions emerged.

Student Representation on the Senate

The University Senate is soon to be reconstituted and the meeting decided that we should again press for representation. On the motion of Dowrick, VUC, the meeting expressed the principle that the proper basis of University government is selfgovernment. Acting on that principle NZUSA will ask the Senate to accept a nominee of NZUSA who shall be a graduate of at least two years' standing.

Reports from Delegates to Australia

The NZUSA delegation to the annual congress of the Australian University Students, in reporting to the meeting, brought forward several recommendations which were adopted. The most important of these were that NZUSA try to obtain concession rates for students travelling between Australia and New Zealand by boat; that a Pacific Bureau of the International Union of Students be set up to arrange the interchange of student sporting and cultural activities between Australia and New Zealand; that the possibilities of organizing the interchange of students for vacation employment be investigated; that an Australian University Debating team tour New Zealand during June and July; and that a congress run on lines similar to the Australian one be run by NZUSA and be organized by VUC for January, 1949.

I.U.S.

All colleges supported affiliation to IUS., but opinions differed as to whether we should pay the full affiliation fee of 6d. per head. The Auckland delegates were strongly in favour of the full 6d. Both Nathan and McLaren of AUC said the same as Salient has said many times before, that we cannot expect to belong to IUS unless we are fully financial members. Lincoln College supported AUC, and the VUC delegates, convinced by this plain commonsense, also called for the full 6d. The other delegates had been instructed by parsimonius executives not to go to the full amount, and the motion to pay 6d. per head was lost on the casting vote of the chairman, the President of the Otago Students' Association. On the motion of Symon, CUC, the meeting decided to pay 1d. for 1947 and 2d. for 1948.

The matter is to be raised again at the August conference. VUC must ensure that the full amount is paid in the future.

Bursaries

NZUSA will investigate the possibilities of a special senior scholarship for B.Com. students doing Economics III as a prerequisite for M.Com. These students are not eligible for the present senior scholarship and it was felt that this anomaly should be put right. The meeting also decided to ask for an increase in special Government bursaries. This matter is long overdue and must be considered in the light of the greatly increased cost of living.

Winter Tournament

The limitation of Winter Tournament was discussed both by the meeting and by a special sub-committee. It was discussed again at length with the Easter Tournament Committee. The matter has been referred to a special committee consisting of the President, two delegates from NZUSA and one delegate from each college, which is to meet in May.

The Iron Curtain

The meeting went into committee to discuss the officers of the NZUSA. The meeting decided matters concerning all students behind closed doors, therefore Salient is unable to report the long discussion of 1½ hours that took place. It is clear that the VUC delegation came to the correct conclusion that our "caretaker" executive had been ill-advised in withdrawing our nomination of Nigel Taylor as President, for when the "iron curtain" was lifted and the vote was taken, Mr. Taylor was elected with the support of VUC, AUC and OU.

The other officers were elected as follows:—Vice-Presidents: Messrs. Dowrick, VUC; Nathan, AUC; and Cunningham, CUC. Secretary, Mr. S. Campbell. Assistant Secretary. Miss Janet Bogle. Treasurer, Mr. K. B. O'Brien. Congress comptroller: Mr. Harold Dowrick.

An honorarium of £70 was voted to the secretary and one of £30 to the assistant secretary. Salient comments that it is rather a strange proceeding for an honorarium to be voted at the beginning of the year.