Auckland Topics

Northland Age, Volume 28, Issue 67, 19 September 1928, Page 3

Auckland Topics

(Auckland Correspondent) The Salvation Army’s procession in celebration of the sins of Auckland has caused much interest, and comment —serious and otherwise. Of course it is not being assumed that Auckland is the only place that sins. No doubt there arc sinful people South of Auckland, and it is just possible that there may be an occasional stray sinner to be found North of Auckland. I do not known whether people are more sinful now than formerly ; possibly there are more sins in some directions and less in others; anyway it can hardly be denied that the last few years have seen a more general feeling of kindness than in former days For instance, if Friday night’s procession had been, say, thirty years ago, it would probably have been insulted and perhaps even molested. Air flights, the mental Defectives Bill, unemployment and football all occupy a share of public and private discussion; while there are also the ever important matters in connection with horse racing—the respectve meiits of Firefly, Bluebell and Sir Mogrador, and how Paladin jumped over some hurdles and got scratches. There are so many great air flights now that one gets rather mixed up about them. There are also the three kinds of football. For one who has lived in the Far North, where football means real New Zealand Rugby, it is sometimes disappointing, after getting interested in the discussion or results of some match, to find that it is only League or Soccer.

Mental Defectives have loomed large of late. 1 have not read the whole Bill, but if retardation has the same meaning that it has in school official returns, it will not form a very reliable basis for the picking out of mental defectives. We are not all made alike ; some who are behind the recognised normal in their standard, may be so only because of lack of interest or aptitude in one or two subjects. Even being behind in school subjects in general does not necessarily mean lack of intelligence in other matters. Some parents send children to school at an early age to get them out of the way. A child starting at eight years must be classed as a retardate, but in a few years will probably be little, if at all, behind a similar child who started at five. I know of a child who did not start school regularly till the age of fifteen, when she could not have passed standard 2. At the end of eighteen months she was in standard 6in all subjects except arithmetic. With all due respect to schools and teachers, school work is only part of education. According to a resolution passed recently by the Teachers’ Institute, teachers themselves apparently realise and fairly admit this.

The music, elocution and dancing competition finished, so far as the judging was concerned, at the end of August. Affairs ot this nature started in Ballarat many years ago. Then Dunedin started, and some years later, other places in New Zealand followed suit. Public interest of Auckland has not been up to that of other centres, though the comptitions form a very interesting, varied and cheap form of amusement even from the point of view merely of amusement, and many of those appearing are of the

highest class. Moreover, there is an opportunity for the unknown to enter the lists and find out how they stand in the opinion of an unbiassed judge, who also issue, later on, a criticism sheet to each performer. Perhaps the most interesting ot the adult sections were the impromptu speeches and debates. In spite ot the superior reputation for speech generally held bv ladies, there was a great majority of men in these sections. When a man can be heard speaking on a subject such as “Bobbed Hair,” with only a minutes notice, solemnly, fluently and vociferously, just like a candidate for parliament, it seems to indicate that men may be able to speak almost as well as women — if men ever get the chanee to do so. There are many sections of dancing, especially for children. I don’t think highly of the toe dance. There seems something unnatural and distorted about the position of the feet. National dances of the countries of continental Europe afforded plenty of variety and disclosed voices of delightful quality. But I have never been able to understand why there should be extra applause by an audience when a singer finishes up with a long drawn out noise high up, like the siren of a steamer.

Having never been educated up to instrumental music, I am able to appreciate only low down varieties, such as the music of England, Scotland and Ireland. There was a set piece called “Scherzo and Allegro Assai, Op 2 No 3 (Beethoven).” Knowing that an instrumental section was coming on, and one with a name like that, 1 arranged to escape before it came upon us, but unfortunately, was unable to do so before the first competition started, so had to endure it to the bitter end then I vamoosed, pronto, before the next perpetrator of Scherzo started, and leaned up against a post outside and refreshed my shattered nerves with a few minutes contemplation of the beauties ot Queen Street.

Scherzo etc, etc,” is a conglomeration of scales and exercises and the somewhat complicated name might be translated “Puzzle —Find the tune.”