"A DECENT RECORD."

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 12, 15 January 1926, Page 8

"A DECENT RECORD."

NO PXJEKILE REMARKS.

CANTERBURY COURT BOOK.

"Certainly the visitors' book at the Canterbury Court of tbe Dunedin Ex. libition is not left aDoux for everybody md anybody to sign, and I think that t is a very good plan not to do so," leclarcd Mr. J. A. Flcsher, Mayor of Jhristchurch, when he was asked if lome method of selecting the visitors' ;ignatures was practised. The fact that he book was kept in a drawer had >rought protests from Cliristchurch >eople. "The Wellington and Auckland Courts illow their books to be signed by any>ne, and to read the puerile remarks in )hem makes one ashamed. Boys and. ,'irls have taken advantage of the book a ,o write down foolish and ridiculous hings, which vary to the disgraceful. I vould be ashamed to look after a court >f which the visitors' book contained ixpressions of that kind When I had i few minutes to spare I noted down i few of the expressions, and I have ,hem . here for anyone to see the sort >f thing we want to keep out of the Canterbury book. One is, 'Xot bad, but otten.' In an endeavour to appear iroart the young people have insulted /heir hosts for the time being. "It would be better not to have a visitors' book at all, rather than have t filled with foolishness. While I was >n duty at the court, in the busiest ,veek, there was no difficulty at all. II tnyone wanted to sign the book, he was tllowed to, and it was done in a decent 'asliion. The book will be preserved as i record of the people who attended the ixhibition, and we intend that it siiaL , >c a decent record."