.jpg)
The Spike: or, Victoria College Review October 1907
Debating Society
Debating Society
"Semel emissum volat inervocabile verbum."—Horace, Ep. I, 18. 71.
.jpg)
.jpg)
The success which attended the earlier meetings of the Debating Society this year has been continued throughout the session, and although during the vacation the attendances were naturally smaller than in term time, the interest of the student in the debates has been maintained throughout. There is in fact only one element in the College at all calculated to chill he enthusiasm of the members, namely, the draughty character to the "Hall "wherein the debates are held. Until the College is provided with the Social Hall which the students are so strenuously eudeavoring to obtain, it will be a wise policy on the part of the Committee to invite, as judges of its debates, gentlemen whose sympathy may be drawn forth by those bare and chilly walls, and whose influence is our favour with the citizens of the Middle District may be calculated to be considerable.
The Union Prize has been awarded to H. E. Evans, with a total of 18 points in 8 debates, and the Chairman's Prize to T. Boyce. The latter was second for the Union Prize by only a very narrow margin, he scoring 13 points in 5 debates, a result which proves that even a new speaker may with perseverance reach a high place.
The most successful debate yet held at the College took place on June 1st, when the evergreen subject of Home Rule was debated in the presence of an enthusiastic and overflowing audience numbering about 250. Mr. W. Gray M. A. kindly presided, the Chairman and Vice-Chairman being respectively the mover and seconder of the motion "That Home Rule should be granted to Ireland. "E. J. Fitzgibbon displayed to the full degree his usual enthusiasm and eloquence upon a subject which always arouses the feeling of Irishmen, and he showed a most commendable moderation in the statement of the wrongs sought
page 22
to be remedied by Home Rule, and of the claim of Ireland to the remedy. C. H. Taylor led the opposition, and his speech was universally regarded as the best ever heard from him. There were lucid argument, kindly and gently sarcasm, and a generous sympathy, so combined as to undo the effect of those arguments of the movers which were in the form of an appeal to the sentiments of the audience. F. P. Kelly seconded the motion, following upon the lines of the previous speaker, and amplifying the statement that it was in the interest of Ireland to remain a part of the Empire by the further statement that she would probably long remain in close proximity to England. H. E. Evens seconded the opposition, and endeavoured to shew that England could and would do far more for Ireland than Ireland ever could do for herself. Eleven other speakers addressed the meeting, six in support of the motion, and five against it. McEldowney was in good form, and treated the subject from the educational standpoint; Fitzgerald delivered a vigorous tirade against those who had brought Ireland into her present condition; Jacobs spoke as the representative of that section which opposes Home Rule through ignorance.
The voting upon the motion was taken after leaders had replied, and resulted in its being lost by 24 votes to 26, a verdict which was as unexpected to the opposition as to the movers.
Mr. P. P. Webbe placed the first five speakers as follows (Fitzgibbon having retired from the competition) : C. H. Taylor, F. P. Kelly, T. Boyce, D. S. Smith, and W. J. McEldowney.
On 15th June E. S. Grundy, seconded by S. Eichlbaum, moved, "That it is in the Best interests of New Zealand to exclude all coloured labour." The opposers were Messrs D. S. Smith and J. Mason. The debate was of as distinctly humorous character, and towards the close the audience had been raised to such a pitch of merriment that it was unable to restrain its mirth when V. B. Willis stated the solemn fact that 4 into 804 goes 201 times. All the speakers seemed to be expert in statistics, and to be able to deduce all sorts of conclusions from them. The feature of the debate, from the grammarian's points of view, was S. Eichelbaum's novel use of the negative in, "They were mostly-not Chinamen." The motion was carried by 17 votes to 13, and Mr. H. F. Von Haast placed the first five speakers as follows : J. Mason, D. S. Smith, C. H. Taylor, G. H. Gibb, and A. C. Bretherton.
At the meeting held on 6th July, it was announced that, as a consequence of the desire to have a cloak "with a good face"
page 23
whereon the members might watch the moments pass by, the Messers, Dwan Bros. had kindly presented a fine clock, which was thereupon unveiled by R. Mason, who made an appropriate speech amidst loud applause. A. Fair, seconded by H. E. Evans, moves "That the right of private ownership in land ought not to be restricted except as to future acquisitions." A. C. Bretherton, seconded by F. D. Sargent, opposed. Notwithstanding the confusion in which the opposition found themselves involved in their attempts to understand the motion, they succeeded in getting the overwhelming majority of 14 votes to 3 in their favour. Mr. F. M. B. Fisher M. H. R., placed the first five speakers as follows : — G. W. McCaul, H. E. Evans, R. Mason, A. Fair, and F. D. Sargent.
On July 13th, J. M. Hogben, seconded by A. MacDougall, moved "That a process of gradual disarmament by the great Powers of Europe is at once impracticable and undesirable." The opposers were B. E. Murphy and R. Mason. Five other members spoke, and the motion was carried by 10 votes to 5. Mr. J. P. Firth placed the first five speakers as follows: "H. E. Evens, C. H. Taylor, A. MacDougall, J. M. Hogben, and A. C. Bretherton—B. E. Murphy having withdrawn from the competition. The three speakers who headed the list displayed a noticeable familiarity with the subject, probably due to the fact that "in another place "they had debated it on the previous evening.
A large audience was present on the 27th July to hear the address by the President, Mr. W. Gray, M.A., upon "Student Life in England Two Centuries ago." Mr. Gray gave a most excellent and interesting sketch of the growth of the European Universities, introducing into the narrative several quaint and amusing episodes tending to shew that students in those days were little, if at all, better than they are now. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the President at the close of the address.
On the 10th august H. E. Evans, seconded by C. H. Taylor, moved "That the House of Lords was justified in its attitude towards the Education Bill of 1906." G. H. Gibb and D. S. Smith opposed. A great deal of interest seemed to have been taken in the subject, there being fifteen speakers, most of whom had carefully studied the controversy on the hands of the opposition, but came out of the ordeal with a majority of nineteen votes to ten. It was, as usual, the occasion for the use of many touching metaphorical phrases, Rutherfurd's
page 24
simile of the safety-valve being, in the opinion of the Professor of Classics, worthy of Vergil himself. There were quite a large number of debutants, the most noteworthy of whom was Oram, whom opposed the Lords in a style which rather reminds us of the Quartleyesque or the Toogoodian. Mr. A. Wilson, M, A., placed the first five speakers in the following order : G. H. Gibb, H. E. Evaus, T. Boyce, A. C. Bretherton and M. H. Oram.
The final debate of the year was held on September 21st upon a motion "That the natural temperament of the Celtic races is such as to prevent them from obtaining a predominant position among the great races of world." The moves were A. M. MacDougall, and H. D. Skinner, and they were opposed by E. J. Fitzgibbon and J. M. Hogben. Many speakers approached the subject from the humorous standpoint, and those who came to be amused must have gone away fully satisfied. Mr. F. E. Baume, M. H. R., placed the first five speakers as follows :—H. E. Evans, H. D. Skinne, T. Boyce, M. H. Oram, and A. MacDougall.
Plunket Medal Competition.
"The man who hopes to obtain the promised cup,
Must in one posture stand, and ne'er look up,
Nor stop, but rattle over every word—
No matter what, so it can not be heard—
Thus let him hurry on, nor think to rest;
Who speaks the fastest's sure to speak the best;
Who utters most within the shortest space
May safely hope to win the wordy race."
—Byron.
The third Annual Competition for the Plunket. Medal was held in the Concert Chamber of the Town Hall on Saturday, 7th September, in the presence of His Excellency the Governor and a large and distinguished gathering of students, graduates, the general public, and aide-de-camps. The effect of the alteration made in the rules, which reduced the number of competitors from ten to eight, and increased the time allowance from ten to twelve minutes, has been wholly a good one. Not one speech was marred by lack of time for giving a full sketch of the hero's career.
On this occasion, too, each competitor realised the true purpose of his speech, namely, to reproduce to the audience a living picture of a noble character or a masterly genius, something the study of which will stir the student to emulsion,
page 25
and the delivery of which will draw forth the sympathy and admiration of his audience. The truest success in a competition of this kind is to bring the audience into actual contact with the hero, and this success was attained by several competitors this year.
If ever any competitors have thought that the system of learning a speech entirely, or almost entirely, by heart was not the intention of His Excellency when endowing the medal, that impression will been finally dismissed by His Excellency's remarked at the conclusion of the evening. The object of the competition is to present, in a manner befitting a true orator, a character sketch possessing high literary merit, and that object can best be effected by the means which, at one time or another, all the greatest orators have adopted. We feel sure that the student who leaves too much to his own power of clothing his ideas in extempore elevated language will most certainly regret that he left anything more to the evening itself than the actual delivery of matter long before prepared and polished.
We are especially pleased to note that every speaker received, as usual, a fair and attentive hearing from the students, and that the witticisms did not begin to come from the gallery until all the competitors had unburdened themselves. The example of the Victoria College students in this respect might well be borne in mind at the Easter Tournament Debate, where the competitors are speaking, not only for their own credit, but also (and chiefly) for the honour of their respective Colleges.
The first speech was delivered by W. Perry on Henry Grattan. He was in full sympathy with his hero, his enunciation was clear, and his matter excellent. The two features of his speech were the opening, which led up by successive steps of eloquence to the utterance of the name of the patriot, and the description of the speech delivered by the sick man upon the proposal for the Act of Union. The peroration was almost as good as the opening, but hardly as spirited in delivery.
G. H. Gibb, too, had chosen a character with whom he was in full sympathy : the stern, the rugged, and fearless Cromwell. He made a good opening, but his speech was delivered with a force which appeared to do more than represent his own enthusiasm. The speech which impresses most is always that in which the feeling is ever striving break the bounds of expression. His attitude while speaking was better than that of any other competitor.
page 26
D. S. Smith well deserved the place which the members awarded to him. His hero was General Gordon, a true soldier and a true gentleman. The speech was in excellent language, and delivered, as to a large part, in a tone of pathos which was very effective, and took away the disadvantage of the impression of youth which his natural voice conveys. His opening description of Gordon on the ramparts of Khartoum was the best literary effort of the evening.
T. Boyce shewed a very great improvement on all his previous efforts, and overcame as far as possible the difficulties of enunciation which have probably been induced by over-rapid speaking. He spoke, however, too loudly and too slowly, and the language of his speech was not as that of most of the others. He gave a very clear impression of the great esteem in which Edmund Burke was held by his contemporaries.
J. M. Hogben and chosen Garibaldi, a little known to Englishmen, but he performed well the task of leading the audience through the various stages of the career of the liberator of Italy. He shewed us. Garibaldi as a soldier able to frustrate the great armies of Central Europe, a man beloved by all his became consolidated under one government.
C. H. Taylor spoke on Sir William Wallace, but his speech this year was not as good as that delivered by him upon Burke in 1906. The character was rather less suited to his style, but the story of the trial and execution of Wallace was as good as his best. The peroration, too, was fine, and well delivered, and force which come from a really thorough preparation.
A. MacDougall chose Willliam III. In point of matter his speech was one of the best of the evening, and it was not deficient in the power of calling forth sympathy towards a character little appreciated and often maligned. The fact that the speaker was nervous of course took much of the force from the speech, but an enunciation louder but not language, longer preparation, and an enunciation louder but not otherwise changed, he would be a most attractive speaker.
F. P. Kelly spoke on the Duke of Wellington. Hitherto misfortune has dogged his attempts to win the Medal, and this time also it followed him until at least halfway through his speech. For the first five minutes his voice was noticeably affected by a cold, but as he got into his speech this became less
page 27
noticeable, and as he led up to the story of the final overthrow of Europe's enemy at Waterloo, he was at his best. He had chosen a well-known and a well-loved hero, and the interest was sustained throughout.
The voting resulted in the Medal being awarded to F. P. Kelly, with D. S. Smith second, and W. Perry third.
Lord Plunket then presented the Medal, and gave a short speech, in which he recommended the Committee to add to the rules of the competition one to the effect that "No Irish need apply."
The Chancellor (Sir Robert Stout) also addressed the meeting, but broken faith with the audience by delivering himself of two distinct "points " after having said "one word more before I conclude."
The Mayor made an excellent attempt to point out the advantages to be derives from such "exhibitions "as had been made that evening.
Wellington Litrary and Debating Societies' Union Tournament.
In the first round of this Tournament Victoria College met the Vivian Street Baptist Debating Society upon a motion "That the Colonising ambitions of Germany are a menace to international peace and to the safety of the British Empire." The College was represented by J. Mason, C. H. Taylor, and D. S. Smith, who were opposed by Messrs. Donovan, Larkin and Budd. Notwithstanding the three elected by the Society to represent it, the honours of the evening fell to Victoria College by 213 votes to 208.
In the second round Victoria College was opposed to be Y. M. C. A. team (Messrs. Dart, Ilott and Holmes) upon a motion "That the action of the British Government in submitting to the Hague Conference proposals for the limitation of armaments is contrary to the best interests of the British Empire." The members elected by the College Society were again unable to take part, but C. H. Taylor, H. E. Evans, and A. MacDougall put up a good opposition, losing the event by 212 points to 225.
Messrs H. F. O'Leary and J. Mason have been appointed the representatives of the Debating Society for the N. Z. University Tournament of 1908.