BAY CHAMPIONSHIP

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 194, 2 August 1940, Page 5

BAY CHAMPIONSHIP

! ; —"•* ' DEBATING HONOURS TO WAIMANA. '' * OMOKOROA NARROWLY OUTPOINTED Waimana retained" the Bay of "Plenty Young Farmers' Club deabating shield by narrowly defeating' Qmokoroa in the final at Edgecumbe last night. Staged in the Edgecumbe Hall, the conr test, which was between the Eastern and Western Bay of Plenty finalists, attracted a fair ••attendance of Club members from variouus Bay districts. A • dance was held at the conclun sion of the debate. "That Eastern Races Are More 'Contented Than Western Races" was the subject, Omokoroa taking the affirmative and Waimana the negative, Mr W. A. McCracken, Chair:mailj£ the district committee, in- £ the teams, which were as •follows?Waimana, R. P. 'Woolfield (Leader), R. White and L. A. Macdonald: Omokoroa, H. Emeny (Leader), H. Allen and S. Ross. Opening, Mr Emeny stressed that unity in a nation could be achieved only by a contentment in home life, and that existed in the East. Discontent of a nation could be traced to lack of home life and he contended that when nations were affected /thus, war was the result. Factors ?making for this discontent in Occidental life, he said, were the counters 'O home life made by other attractions and the strain of modern Jiving. Japan's Policy. "Opening for the negative, Mr Wool 'field referred to the fatalism of the j Eastern races. The contentment or -otherwise was reflected in the policy -.of fne nation and he instanced Jap-j an with a policy of expansion die-1 tated by greed. /As opposed to the Eastern fatalistic attitude were the Western ideals of Christianity. Concluding on a lighter note, Mr Woollield observed that the audience .seemed to be contented and no better advertisement could be had for -the West. Mr Allen introduced a touch of liumour and continued to make the point that China had nQver made an -attempt to expand and conquer. That, he said, demonstrated the race's desire foi peace and happiness. Il might be argued, continued Mr Allen, that those in poverty "were far- from satisfied,- but did wealth bring contentment? The added that the two essentials for ease of mind were work home life. Mr White, Waimana's second, dealt with the.aspect of unrest in the East and instanced Palestine, where Jews - had some difficulty in finding freedom of action. Politics and Religion. ' To be contented meant to be satisfied, said Mr Ross, and thwarted ambition was a breeding-ground for discontent. The political and party -aspects were also stressed by this -speaker. Religion made for peace of mind, said Mr Macdonald, but the caste system of India made for miserableness. The ideal of Christianity was the basis for our system of Government —for democracy, and the people of the West were thus happy. It was tolerance, and not contentment, that existed in the East. Making the first reply, Mr Woolfield said the Orientals were unable to sift the grain from the chaff and there had been internal strife in China through the ages. Regarding the Western's* ambition as a source of discontent,, he queried Japan's present attitude in international affairs. In lighter vein, Mr Woolfield said found a marin the West, what depths of discontent must be plumbed by the Oriental with a harem. The Jews in Germany. Replying, Mr Emeny said that the ■advanced medical science quoted by his opponents was belied by the annual report on mental hospitals. As for the treatment of Jews in Palestine^—had not Hitler adopted the same attitude? The caste system referred to also was a weak point because the same thing operated in Germany; and, coining closer to home, in Britain. Summing up, Mr Emeny said that for thousands of years the people of the East had been contented because ambition was lacking, because of a humble home life, respect for parents and honest work. The adjudicator, Mr Jah Gow, congratulated Waimana on a narrow (Continued foot next coldmn).

victory and congratulated Omokoroa on making the victory so narrow. In his opinion, Mr- Gow said, Mr Allen, of Omokoroa, and Mr Macdonald, of Waimana, were the two outstanding speakers although that opinion was no disparagement of the others. Shield Presented. Mr Gow outlined the allotment of points and generally criticised the debate. Points were: Waimana 258, Omokoroa 236, without penalties. Deductions for time lost amounted to 3 points in the case of the winners and 15 points from Omokoroa's total. Congratulations to the winning team and thanks to the chairman and adjudicator were expressed by Mr Emeny for Omokoroa and the sentiments were returned and thanks expressed by Mr Wool field, for Waimana. The shield was presented to Mr Wool field by Mr D. W. Ross, Te Puke, chairman of the Auckland Provincial Council of Young Pampers' Clubs.