CANTERBURY COLLEGE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3610, 22 May 1923, Page 28

CANTERBURY COLLEGE.

JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS. CHRISTCHURCH. May 14. The reception of delegates assembled to participate in the jubilee celebrations of Canterbury College took place this morning. Delegates from other universities, members of the New Zealand University Senate, members of the Canterbury College Board of Governors, and of the Professorial Board met at the board room and marched in procession to the College Hall, whi"h was packed. Mr H D. Aeland, chairman of the Board of Governors, presided, and amongst those on the platform were Archbishop Julius, tlie Hon C. J. Parr (Minister of Education), Professor J. Macmillan Brown (Chancellor of the New Zealand University). Dr C. Chiltor. (rector of the college), Mr J. Caughley (Director of Education), and Mr J. A. Fledier (Mayor of Christchurch). Sir •Joseph Kinsey, the Hon. G. Fov.lds, the Hon. G. W. Russell (a former chairman of the board), Bishop Sprott (Wellington), and Dean Fitehett (Dunedin) were amongst the audience as delegates or visitors. Apologies for absence were received from the Governor-General, S r Robert Stout, the Hon. J. G. Coates, the Hon. A. T. Ngata, the lion. W. Nosworthy, the Hen. W. Downie Stewart, Professor R. J. Scott, the Hon. G J. Anderson, Bishop Brodie. Dean Harper, Sir Ernest Rutherford, Sir William Marris, ar.d Sir William Fraser. Congratulations were read from universities all over the world, and addresses were presented from the sister universit.es of New Zealand. Speeches were made by J. Macmillar Brown (Chancellor of the New Zealand University), Bishop Sprott (Weliington), Dean Fitehett, the Rev. Dr A. Cameron (Dunedin), and Professor Segar (Auckland). In the course of his remarks, Dr Cameron ■said the colleges needed more funds for the bettor payment of professors, many of whom were very distinguished, but were insufficiently paid. He did not, however, think the Government should be looked to lor everything. The more self-help there was in the community the more institutions of that kind would flourish. The wealthy men in the community should do more in the way of helping colleges to carry on research in a new country like New Zealand. There were many industrial problems waiting to bo solved. Bishop Sprott (Wellington) drew attentention to the small number of university men who entered public life. He did not know how far that was the fault of the colleges, of the men trained there, or of the people of New Zealand. He was inclined to think the fault lay with the people of the dominion. New Zealand was participating in world movements, and it was required that some of tho men in public life should be trained in such colleges as Canterbury College. They wanted men cf trained imaginations, who could enter into the point of view of other men and other nations; men of historical knowledge so that they would not try to make experiments that were made ages ago, found to lead to nothing. He was sure what he was saying would be better addressed to tho people of the dominion, because he was sure tho university was fully alive to such things. lie was sure Canterbury College would produce in the future such men as it had produced in the past, and he hoped the people of New Zealand would be wise enough to make use of them in the»r public life. He urged on young men and women to adopt towards their college an attitude of patriotism, of giving to the college some recompense for what they had received from it. AN INTERESTING ADDRESS. ;Fhom Our Own Correspondent.! CHRISTCHURCH, May 15. The official celebrations of Canterbury College Jubilee closed this morning with a gathering of delegates and graduates in the College Hall. The opening addresses were delivered by the Chancellor, Messrs Alpers and Von Haast, Dr Chilton (rector of the college), the chairman of the board. Professor Macmillan Brown (Chancellor of the University of New Zealand), in the course of an interesting address, said _ho wished in commencing to retract a doctrine which he had preached many years ago when he had spoken disparagingly of the attention to physique. A little exercise was sufficient, "I have repented rue in sackcloth, and ashes. Unless physique is in good order there is no possibility o f good intellectual work.” lie had come to realise how much mind influences body, while the body had just as much power over the mind. What was the good of trying to do thinking, if ever there was dragging at you some weakness in tissues? The only way to attain to perfect, action of tho whole constitution was the constant employment of both body and soul If an organ or issue were unused it ceased to function. Modern cooking and sloppy food caused tho decay of teeth. “Take it easy and you will be happy,” was a much vaunted doctrine. “Take it hard and you will be happy,” was the speaker’s doctrine. There was a common belief that the idle rich were I ho happiest in the work!. This was a

fallacy blown away by the first- breath of reality. What man possessed was the greatest obstruction to his development in the modern world. We had the idea that we ought to knock our whole social organism to pieces in order to bring in a loafer’s paradise. He was sorry to soc such a doctrine so wide spread. In Russia tlie Soviet leaders were beginning to understand that they had made a grievous blunder in putting Marxism into action. It was quite in consonance with the modern craze for new ideas. “How can we bclieve that the best way to encourage work is to cut off the stimulus to do it? llow can we believe that the best way to have efficiency is to gather all businesses and industries into the hands of a bureaucracy 9 Why should we give them over to a glib set of representati v of the proletariat ? How cum we believe that the true sifter of wisdom is the ballot box? lhat will some day, I hope, be an exploded idea.” Continuing, tho professor said that in our systems of responsible Government six men were elected in favour of one thing, and six men against it. The people then wondered why something was not done. Ho hod no faith in thesj new panaceas. Reform like charity began at. home, and the people were all too anxious to save the souls of everybody except themselves. Real reform began with tlie individual. If the individual did not reform himself the nation would never be reformed. Each must set aside the passions of jealousy, malice, hate, and anger. If this were done tlie milienium would be here. The destruction of capital was the basis of the Marxian gospel, but the followers of Marx had not got down to the fundamental fact that the first capitalist was tho first, man. We should avoid crazes and remedies that demanded a clean sheet before they could be put into action. Utopia should be found in the people's own homes. “Love your country and then you have the chance of loving mankind. If you teach hate you are teaching the devil that lies in every human heart. If you want to better humanity start with the family. Tlie happy man was the man who bore a cheerful face and never failed to show it to his neighbours.”