Victoria's No. I

Victoria's Conrad Bollinger was third speaker, on Samuel Duncan Parnell. His speech was carefully [unclear: simpified] to suit his subject, and an attempt to show the glory of a workingman in simple oratory. The glory was rarely obvious, and the style was a little reminiscent of a lecture. The thread of the oration was the young Parnell's insistence on a 40-hour week in 1840 and all that this stood for in the history of the New Zealand trade union. Only in the last quotation did the speech become moving. The speaker sounded a little aloof from his subject—one which seemed to warrant a little bright-eyed Labour enthusiasm.

A. C. Coulam, of Auckland, spoke on "Mr. Justice Alpers"; his speech was clearly spoken, in an accent which contrasted rather vividly with that of the other speakers. The speech sounded rather like a condensation of Judge Alpers autobiography, "Cheerful Yesterdays." One slip was his mention of "semi-cloistral sequestration," a phrase which effectively drew the attention of his audience away from the speech. His best work was put into plugging the phrase "a man of cheerful yesterdays and confident tomorrows." Easy to listen to, he had an excellent style but his material was not really very interesting.

Otago'a second speaker, R. S. Orator, chose Bishop Selwyn as his subject. He has not a strong voice, but a pleasant one, with good variation in pitch. His stance also was not as confident as that of the other speakers. Only occasionally was his speech impediment noticeable. He gave a good survey of the Bishop's life, using balanced sentences and some neat epithets. He was appealing, but not moving. He improved in his peroration.

J. C. Chamley of Auckland opened his speech on Samuel Marsden by quoting Scriptures. He has an effective stage presence but his voice seems a little incongruous with his general appearance, though it is very telling in places. Sometimes too high-pitched and reedy at beginnings of sentences, he spoke of Marsden's courage in coming to primitive New Zealand and its dangers.