PASSING NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26904, 16 October 1948, Page 2

PASSING NOTES

Is there no play to ease the anguish of a torturing hour?—“A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

The visit of the Old Vic company has stimulated public interest in the theatre. Hence it is not surprising that it was suggested in the House of Representatives that Sir Laurence Olivier should be consulted as to the best' methods to be adopted for the establishment of a permanent repertory company. Mr Nash said he would, if possible, discuss the matter with Sir Laurence. In England the principle of State support was accepted when the Arts Council was given Government grants in support of Old Vic tours of the industrial areas. The Government in England has promised a Bill authorising £1,000,000 for building a National Theatre to be provided by the Treasury. One criticism is that this theatre will aggrandise London. The same criticism is bound to arise here, unless arrangements can be made for a peripatetic company, as in the case of our National Orchestra. There must be State aid if the project is to succeed here, but that must not include State control, for it would be a simple political device for any party in power to make use of the stage for sectional interests. The aim of a national theatre must be to preserve and present the best dramas, including translations of the best foreign ones, and to present new plays where they are of a high standard. There is no reason why the existing dramatic societies should not continue on their present lines. The public wants something more than mere amusement in a national theatre. We must have entertainment on the best literary and dramatic level. Whether there is a sufficient quantity of cultured taste in our sntall population to make such a venture pay I cannot say, but on general grounds, good luck to the ideal

Yet in whose fiery love for their own land, No hatred of another finds a place. —Sir W. Watson: Wales, 1909.

Surely there must be some malignant social germ widely diffused like a pestilence throughout the contemporary world. Here’s Wales now! Land of singers, bards, footballers, and war leaders like Lloyd George and “ Billy ” Hughes—here’s Wales or rather the Welsh Nationalist Party, writing to the dominion Prime Ministers, now meeting in London, and asking them “to consider the restoration of self-govern-ment to Wales,” and charging the British Parliament, amongst other misdeeds, with “repeated attempts to ignore the existence of Welsh nationality./ Truly a mad world, my masters. Why, it is only a few days ago that Mr Churchill, the greatest living representative of this wicked Parliament, received in Wales the most wildly enthusiastic reception in his career. If this is not the malign germ at work, or some hidden human agency with political motives pulling the strings “to make the idol frown,’’ it may be just a resurgence of the old Welsh spirit, so demonstrative in religious revivals, at football matches, and long before in an extraordinary outburst of song and poesy. This was in the twelfth century. Readers of history will remember how Wales suddenly awoke out of its semi-barbaric torpor and stood forth as the land of romantic and patriotic poetry, ahead of all the mediaeval literatures of Europe. It is related that in the struggles against England a Welsh chieftain said to the King, “ I deem that no other race or other tongue will answer for this corner of the world before the Judge of all at the last day save this people and tongue of Wales.” Can it be this old prophecy is still potent?

So far there has been very little attempt to envisage the world’s population problem as a whole.—J. C. Flugel: “ Population, Psychology and Peace.”

In an address on. population and food problems Professor Soper, of the Otago University, pointed out the rteed for more scientific attention by the best brains to biology and agriculture, as the world population will, barring accidents, double itself in the next 70 years. The professor says that in India the rate of increase is one in every five seconds. This is a gloomy prospect for Asia and therefore for’the world. About four months ago the Roman Cathplic Church in Japan decided to establish a *“ secretariat for emigration ’’—this was announced by the Most Rev. Peter Doe, Archbishop of Tokio. The figures quoted at the time showed that Japanese babies were being born at the rate of three a minute, which, allowing for population difference, corresponds pretty well with Dr Soper’s figures for India. This church secretariat was to explore all possible openings for emigration from Japan by contacts with leading churchmen in the less heavily populated countries, and through them with their respective Governments. I noted then that particular attention would be paid to the African colonies and Latin America. In December last our press printed a cable that in the village of Utazete. in Japan, it was decided to collect a tax of 100 yen—about 12s 6d : .n our money—for each new-born baby. This looks humorous, but it reveals tragic reality. It is said that in India there are thousands of people who have never had enough to eat. Growing more food will stave off the catastrophe for a time, but only for a time. If there is not a reduced birth rate in Asia, the doctrine of Dr Malthus will be realised with a vengeance. Professor Flugel, London, says that the birth rate in Japan has been falling since 1923. That sounds more hopeful. •

Man is born into trouble, as the

sparks fly upward.—Job v: 7. Armchair settlement of human difficulties is easy, attractive and generally quite futile. On Monday, October 11, in the year of grace 1948, one reads a statement by Mr K. Zilliacus, Labour member of the House of Commons: “It i vital that the Labour Government should invite the Soviet into partnership with Britain and the United States to settle affairs in the Middle East.” One knows that invitations, even when labelled R.S.V.P., are frequently declined with regret, and frequently when accepted in diplomatic international conferences they lead only to an accentuation of the existing differences. In this same nap'er amongst the news one reads that officers of the United States Navy have just completed a tour of the port facilities and possible beach landing sites in Spain; one sees a picture of African leaders in London—a picture eloquent of racial difficulties; one reads of Mr Truman’s abandonment of a special approach to Moscow; one reads that it is believed likely that Britain will ask 'the Dominions to pledge military support for the Brussells Alliance in the event of war against Russia; and one reads that Mr Churchill says, “ Let the Russians liberate by their departure the 11 ancient capitals of Eastern Europe which they now hold in their claws.” One can read these and half a dozen more kindred possibilities of human tragedy confronting the world. Mr Zilliacus has the solution: “ Labour must revert to its European policy of solidarity with the working class, and regarding Socialism as a basis for economic reconstruction.” How simple and how unworkable! No human mind has the solution, if there is a solution. Look at the picture of the African leaders and then think of solving even one of the problems worrying the world.

Girt with the belt, within the ring they stood And each, with stalwart grasp, laid hold on egch——The Iliad: XXIII.

Wrestling is very popular now. It is good to see that amateur wrestling survives. Professional wrestling is a money-making affair. Wrestling and running are two of the most natural and therefore the oldest of sports. Anthropologists say there is some evidence that the play of youngsters recapitulates the past, and one can readily believe this when seeing boys tugging at each other and wrestling and running. Both these powers were means of defence in earliest society before man learnt the art of hurling missiles. The first stone thrown was the ancestor of the atomic bomb. Egyptologists tell us that there are in Egypt wrestling sculptures as far back ■as 3000 8.C., and no doubt they went further back than that. Jacob is said in Genesis to have wrestled with a man and to have had his thigh broken; but apparently he went down to a super

wrestler, an angel in fact. Wrestlers are famed in literature—recall Maning's “ Old New Zealand,” the Iliad, and then John Ridd in “ Lorna Doone,” and the match in “As You Like It.” Turning over old books (a pleasant diversion for a bibliophile—this time it was Evelyn’s diary) I found he records on January 16, 1667, this: “In the afternoon I saw a wrestling match for £IOOO in St. James’s Park, before his Majesty, a world of Lords and other spectators, 'twixt the Western and Northern men, Mr Secretary Morice and Lo, Gerard being the judges. The Western men won. Many greate sums were betted.” That was in good King Charles's golden reign (a very bad reign, by the way) whenthe sports suppressed by Puritans were reintroduced. My hero long ago was Donald Dinnie. There will be some who remember him. Perhaps he was a professional—l don’t know. Flourishing amateur sport is a barometric indicator of healthy atmosphere in the community.