INVERCARGILL D.L.F. LITERARY AND DEBATING CLUB.

Otago Witness, Issue 2801, 20 November 1907, Page 85

INVERCARGILL D.L.F. LITERARY AND DEBATING CLUB.

Motto: "Union is Strength.'' The customary weekly meeting of the •bore club was held in the South British Cbwnbert, EA street, on the evening of Wednesday, the 6th inßt. The meeting was presided over by H«zel (president), there being present of the committee Vice-presi-dents Shasta and Millicent, and David, Miss Bobbie, *nd Midgie. Beine the fiiai Wed-

:- * nesd'ay in the month, it was, as usual, open i, meeting, and it was very encouraging tf s see the pile of papers on the table to bt c read during the evening, for a. number o i which we are indebted to the Dunedin Club. Papers were distributed among the i nijembers present, and the following are I the titler of the papers contributed by the a Dunedin Club: "A Woman's Life," by s Rogue II; "Has Florence Nightingale t Greater Claim to Immortality than Joan of r Arc?" by Black Watch; "Punctuality," i by West Coaster; "Tre Awakening of - Spring," by Mountain Rambler; "At the l Picture Gallery," by Shepherdess's Fairy; , "Character," by Grey Valley ; "On Kiss3 , ing," by E. H. P.; "Is There Such a Thing : ! aa Luck?" (selected, by Areta); "A Week's I ; Holiday Spent at Warrington," by Jeannie I Deans. The other papers contributed were: "A Youthful Incident," by Maniototo s Maiden ; "An Adventure with Pigs." by . Bweburnite; "The Advantages and Disadr vantages of the Competition Craze," by ' Casino; "Success, and How to Attain it," t by Weary; "Is War Under «ny Circum- , stance Justifiable?" by Boy; "A Week-end 1 , Experience," b^PLuceda; the Rich I t Special Obligations to Their Fellows?" by I I Weary; and "What is Happiness? Is it . Probable that Animals Live Happier Lives f than Men?" by Midgie. The reading of I these took some little time, as one might r guess; nevertheless they were none of them | , wearying, «.nd were fully appreciated by all , , present. I am taking extracts from some , ' of the papers for the benefit of our com- . rades who were not with us while they t were being read, and who therefore misled r I a treat. I regret to have to state that j one of the papers, entitled "Rivers," sent t in by Sweetheart (Oiautau), was unfortunately lost, one of the members losing , it, together with his pocket-book. Although } it will not appear very encouraging to , the writer to karn of the paper sharing that pad fate, we yet dare to hope that . Sweetheart will send another in the place i of the one that was lost. I may also state that I received a paper from Emerald, a I prominent cub member of the Dunedin L Club, but this paper. I am J sorry ■'o say, L arrived too late for the meeting. However. I Emerald's paper will be put away until the t next ope» meeting, and will be as it were t kept in pickle, and will then receive the , appreciation which the writer is entitled > to. "We would like all our country memr bers, also the Dunedin Club, who so liberr ally contributed to this month's open meeti ing, to accept our thanks for so doing, and i our Appreciation of their papers. Bervin, who was present, conveyed to the club the best wishes of Gipsy Queen. Shasta read ' ) a letter from the Dunedin secretary T>eri taining to the inter-club debate, which , i was further discussed. The date proposed i was Show Night in Dunedin (about the r- latter end of this month). This was left I over for the present. The committee were f left with power to elect three members to 3 send as representatives, the following being , elected: — Shasta. Ceresi Smoking Flax, and, ,- as emergency, Jessica. *The following Social r Committee was also elected to arrange for 1 the mock banquet to be held next month: . Hazel. Shasta, Smoking Flax, Miss Bobbie, , r Horaa-, and Midgie. Haze) then declared j 1 the club closed till "Wednesday, 13th inst. i I ! MIDGIE, Hon. Sec. i s ! — Extracts From Papers. — "Is "War Under Any Circumstance Justi8 fiable?" — Warfare, we find then, is a prin- \ ciple of Nature, and as a means towards progressive" 'evolution in the lower kingdom - is quite justifiable. Take away the element of warftire, and what iB the resailt? ' Degeneration and ultimate extermination. . . . Under certain circumstances war is justifiable, those circumstances being in the . defence of the higher against the lower f orders of mankind. Until the perfect man r is evolved and there remain no lower order s warfare will lie necessary, and, being neces1 aary, will be justifiable. ... "Warfare ' under present circumstances is justifiable, I but the time shall assuredly 'come when r warfare will not be justifiable. — Boy. - " Has Florence Nightingale Greater I Claims to Immortality than Joaai of Arc? "/ 1 — Supporting the negative, I respect and esteem Florence Nightingale as much as do • my opponents. . . "We have been told that as » child Joan of Arc was an intense > lover of Nature. She was totally without education, being unable to read or write. " . . . She was as yet but a little child, ■ and could do little more than pray that I her beloved country might be delivered i from the hands of the invading English. I ... As she grew older, the conviction > that she was the one woman capable of '■ rescuing France obtained such a hold upon r her that she could no be persuuded from making the attempt. . . Though she led the troops she herself never ahed one , drop of blood . . for she fain would have saved Orleans without bloodshed. . . Her s execution was a horrible and brutal act of 1 injustice . . and in 1431, the 30th day j i of May, she was sold to the English and I i burned alive. . . The name of Joan of i Arc is remembered and universally re1 spected. and we may safely assume that her ) claims to immortality are substantial. They have stood the test of time, and when, after all these centuries, Joan of Arc's name i is so beloved ii> England, what must it be l in France,^.the country which she loved bo s passionately, and for whose sake she laid . down her life?— Black Watch. - I " Success, and How to Attain It."—Sucr cess is attained by sense, indxistry, good > principle, and a good heart. — Weary. '■ '■ " The Advantages and Disadvantages of • ' the Competition Craze." — There is a N great increase and spre&d of all manner of competitions in late years. . . The advantages of these competitions are like the orthodox wedding gifts, varied and valuable, as well as being a source of enterl tainment for the general public. . . The disadvantages are not so numerous, nor j would they need to be. Anyone troubled , | with nerves is rathei at a disadvantage ! > ( with his more self-controlled brother. — ! Capino. J , ' " Character." — Character is what a man | really is, and is the result of the many influences working in us all. . . A kind deed often inspires many acts of kindnees .and affects other characters. . . Be careful in choosing companions, as some people | have a. great influence over other lives. — ' West Coa&ter. "Is There Such a Thing as Luck ?"— } I The question whether, in fact, there is such a thing as luck will continue to be debated to the end of time. . . It is easy to say that luck, as popularly understood, is the result of favourable conditions. . . In other words, lucky perple are simply those who deliberately determine to take at the flood the tide which leads on to fortune. — Areta. " Punctuality." — It has also been homely s called a " homely " virtue. . . Without it i disorder cannot but reign. . . Unpunctu- : ality impedes business and greatly spoils » pleasure, while punctuality gains resj>ect. i . . . Fix how much time you will spend on each object and adhere to your plan. — i West Coaster. i " Spring."— Spring - has filled the Mother j

Earth with hope. The thunder ceases, the rain refuses to come down in torrents, and bhe wind, disgusted at the cruel wrongs nfiicted on the earth, sinks away into a gentle breeze all over the land. . . The jurity of her presence is already in the *ir; the golden flowers so charm the earth .hat a longing desire helps her to forget all ler sufferings. . . Dainty spring flits everywhere—makes the grass grow, the flowers bloom, the birds sing, and our hearts oerrier. . . You awake the chords of love that have within our hearts been so long silent. You sow the seeds of love and purity, and lift our ambitious hearts to aobier and purer heights. — Mountain Rambler. Dear Comrades, — You will notice I have refrained from touching at all on some of the papers, and in others just outlining some of the sentiments. My motive for so doing is because it is the intention of our club to send some of the papers up to the Dunedin Club. MIDGIB, Hon. Sec.