DUNEDIN CLUB NOTES AND CRITICISMS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2683, 16 August 1905, Page 81

DUNEDIN CLUB NOTES AND CRITICISMS.

11 One man may speak the universal mind."' One of the best debates since the club was formed was fought to the finish on Tuesday, Ist August. The subject— which, by the way. was proposed by Brother Bill — was, "Which Can We Learn More From — Reading or Observation?" and the arguments on both sides were very good. I also must congratulate Brother .Bill upon, its success as a, debate — nine speakers enlisting under his banner for Observation, and eight under Nil Despsrandum's. I am indebted to Hairy for the followiDg quotations from each speaker, and I trust they will- be interesting both to those who joined in tlie debate and to those who did not. It is also pleasing to note that three of our country friends — Koby, A Mother's Lass, and Cornish — sent in papers, while a paper was .contributed by one of our members who could not attend the meeting. We are very grateful to ail four for their interesting papers. GEMS. — Heading.- 1 - Our field for observation is too restricted to be of so much use to us as reading. — Fedalxna. It is not given to everyone to travel, and unless a person has travelled he cannot describe Nature as it is. — G-ullyite. Eeading some good useful book — that will give you a knowledge of the world as it is. — Gullyite. Can a person, learn the theory of a trade from observation? No, he must go to books. — Gullyito. Our observation is necessarily confined — many of us have the pass-ion, but have not the, power to roam. — Black Watch. It very often happens that a scene, which to us seems very -commonplace, may assume a different aspect when seen through the medium of books.— Black Watch. I have evei been, a lover of Nature, and take delight in studying the habits of birds and animals. — Black Watch. My feet have not travelled very far, but my mind has travelled *11 round the earth. — Black Watch. Take the case of sleight-of-hand tricks : how complicated they seem when you observe the magician. I defy anyone to follow every movement; yet how simple they seem when you read in a book how they are performed. — Harry. It is far more Comfortable to sit by your own fireside and read up a subject than to take the trouble to go into the cold to observe. — Harry. I know the case of a N man who has three trades at his finger-ends, and this' simply by etudy. — Texas Jack. It is only by exercise that our minds are improved. — Eoby. Two men were sailing through the Suez Canal. One had read up the voyage beforehand and the other had not. The former would know where he was, and the other man would not. — Scobie. T.wo boys went out a walk. One did not read a book before he went out to observe, and the other one had. Who would learn the more? — Scobie. (Ned contends that the debate is not "Observation and Reading versus Heading," but "Observation versus "Reading.") Great men are — are — (Harry suggests) — lightiousfls. — Scobie. Birds Isam to build their nests by observation. — Scobie. After one has left school, most of hi? knowledge then comes from newspapers. — Nil Desperandum. — Observation. — No pen can do the same justice as the eye. — Cornish. How often you read about the wonders of Nature, but how can you fully understand them unless you observe them. — Little One. Have you -eve* read the story of the boy ■who, when starting to make his own way in life, was told to keep his ey&s and ears open, and he would succeed. In the end we are told that his efforts towards his ambition were crowned with success. — Little One. We find so many instances of men filled with the learning of books, but possessing little faculty for observation. — T.*T). A. How can one find a straight road over a mountain? Follow the cattle. Cattle are practical engineers — T. D. A. We can remember much more easily tli9 "things we ses than thos© we read of. — C. C. M. No one ought to believe everything he reads out of papers. A lot of it is not true. He should depend mere upon his own observation. — Go Hon. I do not want to be a "windy" orator. — Go Hon. George Stephenson could) not read. On Texas Jack's correction, "No, it was his father I meant, but I was too flustered." — T. D. APew of us are literary. How many of us, after leaving school, pursue our studies? Observation after our schooldays is worth all tho books in the world to us. — Awkward Ned. What do we know, but what we observe? — Awkward Ned. Tennyson says, in "In Memoriam," "Knowledge is of things we see. ' All gos-sip springs from observation. That s one for the ladies. — Awkward Ned. Both the doctor and the lawyer learn more by observation than from reading. The fcrmer observe how different medicines act on people, and the latter obsea-ve how each sentence of the law can be construed by a judge. — Awkward Ned. Manners were learnt from observation.— 'Awkward Ned. ("From observation in this club we learn manners," interrupts Miss Irrepressible.) Was this t>y reading or "by observation? — Small Boy (who has just been reading Darwin's book) : "Ma, is it true that we are de-B-zmded. from apes?" Mother: "Yes, my eon." 5.8. : "Then was it your pa or was it pa'«s pa that was the ape?" — Awkward Ned. It very often happens that the writer of a took draws upon his imagination in describing gcenes.— rAwkward Ned. Doctors and medical students learn more from observation than from reading. Say you •take dissections, for instance. The student ig ajpt to dp something very rash if he smarts

operating before he has seen older and more experienced men operate. — Brother Bill. A man went to the seaside, and brought some salt watsr home to show those at horns who had never seen the sea. When asked why he brought the bottle only half full, he said, that he had read in a book that the tide always rises, and so he made plenty of allowance for it to rise hi the bottle. Had he observed he would not have made such a mistake.—Brother Bill. We learn all abjut each other's weak points by observation. How, for instance, we can get uy any member's "paddy." — B. Bill. By cultivating our power of observation we further our knowledge and prepare ourselves for a series of more advanced and intricate observations. — Boby. We have come to depend on booka to such an extent that our observing powers are becoming weak and unhealthy for want of sufficient healthy and stimulating exercise — Eoby. Much may be learned from reading, but to gain this knowledge we require time and money. Observation, on the other hajid, is the cheaper and more constant mode of learning. — A Mother's Lass. This .is Scobie's latest version of that famous old saw, delivered by him at last debate: "Little things annoy small minds." On dit: — — That Hubert, when speaking in support of observation, was trying to explain the different kinds of saws there are in use — viz , cross-cut saw, hand-saw, rip-saw, etc., when he got mixed up. Those present "'saw" the jumble, and laughter reigned supreme. — That 'J. D. A. and Scobie ar.e the two Irish members of the club. The other evening Scobie reniarkftd to the former: "I aan a brother to you." Clubbites, however, are very uncertain on that point. That the three judges in that interesting debate "Observation v. Reading" (Lenore, Lady Dundas, and Captain Cook) arrived very early at their decision. The owner of the beaming smile, however, would not decide against her preconceived opinion. — That— hullo!!— ! !this is the latest "bull" uttered by T. D. A.: "That [a certain argument] is not correct, but it's right." This is copyright, D.L.F., by the owner. — That a wooden mouse running across the ssat the same evening caused soms consternation amongst the very fair sex. '"If burglars were women, the best watchdogs would be mice." — That Miss Irrepressible, last debate, wanted to chip in with every speaker to have her say on the matter, so Awkward Ned suggested this subject for impromptu speech : "Can a "Woman's Tongue be Kept Qu,iet?" Collapse of Miss 1., and a vacant look into space. — That Awkward Ned, when comparing plant , life with animal life, said : "The eggs of a frog grow into 'toadstools." Of course each member looked at the other, until Texas Jack suggested that perhaps "tadpoles" was what Ned meant. Quite true, L.F., this did occur. — That our Professoress of Palmistry, Phrenology, etc.. etc., could be observed at the end of the table last debate chatting to Gullyite, teaching him the rudiments of phrenology, and indicating the bump on his forehead which denoted keenness of perception. What an interesting study phrenology must bo! — That the writer of Southland Club Notas and Criticism.3 is no longer a mystery, vide issue of 2nd Artgust. Was that an innocent littls joke, Ceres? QUAGO.