LOCAL GATHERING.

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 31, 6 August 1923, Page 4

LOCAL GATHERING.

It says much for tho memories they have of and the love they bear for their school -.that over a hundred of present and past pupils of the Otago High School assembled at Dustin's Rooms on Saturday, evening to celebrate the diamond jubilee of the institution. The Hon. Mr. C. E. Statham, M.P., was in the chair, and there were also present:—The Right Hon. Sir Robert Stout, Sir John- Sal - mond, the. Hon. W. Downie Stewart M.P., Mr. John MacKay, Dr. G. H. Uttley, Professor Murphy, Mr. J. S. Lomas and Rev. A. B. Todd, to name only a few of those prominent men, who had gathered for the anniversary. ■ On the motion of the chairman, a telegram was dispatched to the gathering of old boys at Dunedin, congratulating it on the attainment of the jubilee and regretting that tho Wellington gathering could no be united with it. Later on in the evening a similar telegram was received from the Dunedin meeting' stating that over 250 past and present members of the school were present at the dinner there.

After dinner had been disposed or, a short toast list was gone through A most impressive reference to the importance of education wag made by Sir R6b crt Stout, in proposing the toast, "The School. What every nation needed he Said, was an educated democracy With" out education there could be no efficiency and no principle. It was only by higher education that nations rose to cmi ne.ice, and the only "safety for democracy was that the people should l,c well read .Nothing could save an ignonmt populace (Applause.) Hefc-renco wa s also made tv the story of his own .schooling, the Shetland Islands, which had boon one of the first units of the British Empire to adopt compnlsorv education hud ho said, turned out. men who wore to be" found in eminent positious all over' the world, simply because the Shotlanders in their lonely life, realised tile value of education for betterment. (Applause.) Responses to the toast were made by Mr John Mackay, and Dr. TJttley spoke in reminiscent strain of past times and comrades.

Other toast^ were: "The Masters," proposed by Su' John Salraond, in a most humorous speech, and replied to by Mr. J S. Lomas; "Duxes of the School, proposed by the Hon. C. E. Statham, M.P. and replied to by the U C .<o{ odd and Professor B. E. Murphy; "School Athletics." proposed by Mr. J. Murray,, and replied to by Mr. &. H. Weir, and "Absent Old Tin -n Pr?f °"Ed Ml' H- H' Corni3h- ■ During the evening a fine concert programme was gone through, those contnbntinj? being :_M««v.. H. C. Foster, C. & White R. B. Henderson, and A J. Mazengarb. Mr. Frank Thomas was a capable accompanist