THE UNIVERSITY TOURNAMENT.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17104, 28 March 1921, Page 5

THE UNIVERSITY TOURNAMENT.

V BOXING, tennis, and speeches

CANTERBURY WINS DEBATING CONTEST.

| <ph e Sew Zealand Xnter-University Journament was continued on Saturday, t w hen the opening rounds of- tne tennis f championships were played, the boxing j tournament was held, and t)he debating I contest was decided. >• A civic reception was to have been f tendered to the visiting students on the / Canterbury College tennis courts in the \ morning, but the Mayor failed to put ; in an appearance,- and in his absence, ii n d in the absence of Prek-ssor 11. £ Stewart, chairman of tlitf Professorial Mtonrd of Canterbury College, Professor |J. P. Gabbatt briefly welcomed ! visitors. It was seven years, 'ho said, since the Inter-University Tournament j had lteen held in Christchr.rch. Many 'fr who had exhibited prowess at that contest had gone to the war, and many of •' 'them had not come back. He was f* sure, however, that the same spirit fitill prevailed, and would be noticeable throughout the present tournament.

DEBATING CONTEST.

STUDENTS' REVELS,,

JCor the first time since 1901, Canterbury College won the debating contest, which was decided in tho Choral Hall in the evening. In ItiCt Canterbury has only won tho contest thrice s ince it was inaugurated m 1902, tho • successful years boing 1903 «nd 1904y , and tho speakers tho same on each occa--tiion, Messrs A. B. Cliappall and J. R. ! ' Cuningham. The latter isiow one ot tho leading solicitors m Christchurcli. The victory after so many years was u popular one, and the v.vo representatives of Canterbury College, Messrs K. (K Archer and A. K. North, certainly deserved their win. The previous holder ' of the Debating Challenge Scroll, prc- • sented by Mr J. W. Joynt, representa- • tivc'at London of tho University ot Now ■Zealand, was the Auckland University "the noisy exhibition of the students ; Vat the back of the hall is any criterion of their behaviour on Capping J>ay, there is almost certain to be trouble U'itlv the "authorities after that 'function ; is over. That they were in merry mood " was evidenced long before thejspeech.es r, commenced, and they kept up a-Tunning ire of comment, singing, and ' rockot--1 shooting" throughout oLht! evening. ' They were no respecters of persons—in fact tho learned professors received the majority, of their attention —bUfc their ; banter was wholly' good-natured, at a times witty, and taever "over the odds." 1 The subject of the debato was "Will the Principle of Nationalism Continue to Mould World Politics?" Canterbury College and Otqgo University debated • the subject first, and were followed by Auckland and Wellington. _ Professor Shelley presided, and Ihe judges were the Rev. J. Patcrson (ohairmin) and Messrs M. L. Reading and B. J. ' Howard, M.P.

f Mt K. G. Archer, opening for Canterbury College, said that nationalism was something intangible, something ) moral, something spiritual. Throughout history, right down to the preseijt day, nationalism (had continued to grow, •"and envelop in power. Mr Archer proceeded to giVe a brief sketch of the pro- > gitite of the ideals of nationalism arid i oemocra^r. ' At this stage the speaker, who hai been subjected to good-natured interjections from the. audience, wps interrupted for some minutes by the advent of a so-called "band," armed with weird instruments. The "musicians" v' were promptly "counted out" by the , ' audience generally, while Professor) Shelley made an appeal that any sub- - sequent comment or, interruption should, < be the product of the "human voice only." ' The Great War, the speaker continued, had been fought and won in >O. the interests of nationalism and de■:i mocracy. and boundaries had been adjusted according to national principles. " Everywhere facts pointed to the undoubted increase of the influence of nationalism. Nationalisirf would and „ mhst . dominate world politics. The real „ t - had not yet been attained, but it was obviously behind the nationalist £ movement. Though practically in ?t9 infancy, nationalism must continue to ■< , dominate the world. > ' 'Mr W ; P. Morrell (Otago), speaking } in. the negative, drew a difference be- | tween nationalism and' nationality; "Na--3' tioiialism, he contended, wa*s gradually Ji\ giving way to internationalism, while l the principle of a separate state and Lunation was giving way to that of, a 4VLeagueof Nations. ■ Jw i Tm remarks of the speaker; who was i/Jrenot possessed of a very powerful voice, ®s|wejre for some minutes drowned by v •. "hiimorous" remarks from students in , the back of the hall, and by the snbsei quent laughter. When tne noiso subsided, it was disL covered that Mr Morrell was expatiatirig on the growth 'of internationalism, ; to which'ha said the ,war had raven an impetus, rather than a set-back. The creation of the -League of Nations es: tablished, aj. it were, a rallying point yfor thp international -feeling. Nation- , r > nlism, he considered, must .decrease as ' time went on, in fayour of the princi'"jf pies of internationalism. - Loud thuds, indicative of the dropping of heavy weights, interrupted tne > speaker in his concluding stages, and '■>, aS he finished hiaaddresi, the Tights in A the hall , commenced to work Else 'a Morse lamp, amidst the solemn singing of "Lead, Kindly Light." The chair- , f man temporarily disappeared from the $ stage. 5 and, on returningj announced - K that he had interviewed the creators of 'L the disturbance behind the scenes, and 'm had invited them upon the stage, to # see whether the audience rather listen to or to the proper ijpeakJf! meat' then took their seats on the * V stage, and ,at tho invitation of the '"'chairman, their spokesman, clad in >/ pyjamas, and wearing a handkerchief as a mask, announced to the audience it' that he greatly feared that the students were "losing their dash.'' He was permitted to subside without inuch en- ♦ cQuragement from his bearers, and he. and bis comrades remained seated, i '( smoking complacently until the advent I °'MrA. e K?North (Canterbury) supported 'Mr Archer itf a vigorous speech, in tho course of which he said that lnteri 1 nationalism must be adopted _ by. the " whole world'before it could, in any ?ray, mould world politics. ' -When Mr North had conclnded, the i pyjama-clad gentleman, on behalf of in colleagues, expressed the hope that their behaviour nad not incurred, the displeasure of audience. Professor Shelley said that he was certain that the University students ot New Zealand would know better than to go too far. They had not gone' too " far that night, and 'he realised perfectly what one had to expect at a university function. Shaking: h®**" B ..'«j heartily with the chairman, the djsv turbers' representatifes" Jthen loft the *air' W. M. (Otago) spoke in i support of the negative aspect of the question. He spoke fluently, between VS interruptions, on the social and indusJrial Dositions. and on the matter of

the "Third International," and expressed the opinion that while nationalism had served its purpose, the old order was now changing, and internationalism was becoming tne basis of the world's activities.

The Auckland and Wellington representatives then took the stage to debate the same subject. .Opemng in'tiio affirmative for Auckland, Mr G. Davis, after speaking of the early beginnings and the development of nationalism, said th* three great forces against tho establishment' of internationalism wore the spirit of nationalism, the spirit of commercialism, and the spirit of militarism. The glorious principle of nationalism must continue to mould world politics. ' Mr G. 0. Cooper (Victoria College) said that internationalism was slowly but surely ousting nationalism from the position it held in the world a generation ago. He adduced numerous.arguments to proVe his assertion, dwelling particularly on the League of Nations movement, but the chaffing of the audience made it almost impossible for his remarks to be heard beyond the first row of seats.

Mr 0. E. Burton (Auckland) said that the war had showed the influence of the international idea, for as soon as it broke out, the national spirit at once came uppermost. The present situation showed that once again the spirit of nationalism was quickly supplanting wh:it had appeared to be an internation:il movement.

Mr S. A. Wiren replied for Victoria College, and said that the principle of nationalism was a dying principle, one that had never been necessary for tho human race. As in the case of the previous speakers, the majority of his remarks were intelligible only to those on the stage.In giving Ihe jtidge's decision, tho Rev. J. Paterson said that he did not. intend to remark on the speeches df*all tho speakers individually, but the judges wished to congratulate three of them on their efforts; f Mr Burton, of Auckland, lirid made some very, good points, but his speech had been marred by monotony of delivery. Mr Cooper, or Wellington, had introduced tho finest matter, but his speech had been more suited to the law courts than to a puGlic meeting. Mr North, of Canterbury, had undoubtedly given tho best speech of th 3 evening from the debating point of view. The decision of the judges was as follows : Canterbury ... ... 1 Otago ... ... ... 2 ' Wellington ... 8 Auckland ... ... 4

"It is obvious that uhe spirit of nationalism is not dead here," remarked Mr. Paterson after the storm of applause which greeted the announcement of the winners had subsided.

Hearty votes of thanks were passed to the speakers, the chairman, and the judges.