THE COMPETITIONS FESTIVAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15855, 29 August 1913, Page 4

THE COMPETITIONS FESTIVAL.

Those who Temcniber the modest and rather timorous beginning made by it twelve years ago in the direction of establishing musical, elocutionary, literary, amd other competitions, will acknowledge that the Dunedin Competitions Society's career has justified the faith and enthusiasm of its promoters. The Competitions Festival has become an annual event which is looked forward to and thoroughly enjoyed by a large section of the community. There is little doubt that during the fortnight for which the present festival will be in progress it will attract very large audiences, past experience having shown that the Society has made 110 mistake in relying upon the loyal support of the citizens. Apart from the measure of sustained patronage which the festival is able to command, evidence of the interest that is taken in it is afforded by the number of the competitors and the wide area from which they are drawn. When these competitions were inaugurated the} l were subjected to a good deal of criticism, some of it no doubt perfectly sound, but tho Society probably had the weight of argument upon its side -from tho beginning, and the verdict of the public has certainly been in its favour. So far aa we are aware no serious evils have had their origin in the musical, elocutionary, and other tests in which boys and girls amd young men a,nd women compete in such large numbers. On the other hand, it would bo strange if no good to anybody had resulted from this widespread effort to excel and the perse-

vering study it has necessitated. Of course, in this connection a great deal depends upon the standard maintained in the tests set the competitors, and upon the viewpoint from which tho competitions are regarded by® those responsible for their control. The committee of the local Society may be congratulated' however, on the ideal which it has endeavoured to keep before it. It seems higlily essential that nothing should be allowed to thrust into the background the main or educational purpose of public competition of this kind. Instituted to provide opportunities for the development of talent % in a variety of desirable directions, it should certainly be no part of iheir design to provido merely a field offering temptation for exploitation on the part of those to whom the value of the prizes constitutes their chief allurement. It is necessary that these festivals should attract a very laTge measure of public patronage, otherwise the Society which promotes them would lack the sinews of war, but they should be regarded as something more than mere public entertainments. It 'is to be hoped that their educational value is reflected, not only on the hundreds of competitors but on the very muoh larger number of those who attend the festival as auditors. Competitive work is generally interesting, and in the case of these festivals it takes a form of which it is not too much to say that it may add to the knowledge of many and should improve the judgment of all.