STUDENTS OUT FOR SPORT.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 13101, 14 June 1913, Page 6

STUDENTS OUT FOR SPORT.

BAITING- THE CHANCELLOR

BURNT IN EFFIGY

(Special to Herald.) CHRISTCHURCH, this clay. It was Tumoi'ed". yesterday that the masculine undergrads.' of Canterbury College were preparing a particularly warm quarter of an hour for Sir Robert Stout, who iii his capacity of ChaTyallo:' -if the New Zealand University had been invited to present to the 'graduates their diplomas at the College hall m the afternoon. Sir Robert Stout's, most heinous offence m- the "eyes, of the students se-sms to be that he' has voted against Canterbury College candidates for Rhodes scholarship honors, or at least that is the allegation which was said to bo at the botom of the demonstration which took place yesterday afternoon. The graduates 'arrived m a;ood time for the capping ceremony. Entering the door with a great rush they sat together as. usual, occupying about 15 rows of chairs midway up tha hall on the right hand side. As soon as the Chanceflo rrose to deliver Ms address the undergrads rose also. The Chancellor surveyed them gravely, and waited to see what they Would do (says ! the Star.) The students ' thereupon'! chanted a long ditty to the tune of.. "Oh, dear what can the matter be" the burden of which was "Robbie is coming to town." The song set forth 1 the fact . that the students had waited j for seven years for "■•Robbie," and. pro-, ceeded to indict the . Chancellor on a number of counts.. ', .. ,' « 'WHAT ABOt/T THE PRICE OP SUGAR?" ;- :.-;,.- I This chant of defiance having . been delivered, Sir Robert proceeded serenely with his address. He was frequently interrupted, asked to "speak up," favored with entirely irrelevant "hear, hears," and. asked questions about "the price of sugar." After a while the Chancellor wiearied of the baiting, and announced* with his customary calm, judicial air, that if there were any further interruptions he would "adjourn" and refuse to give the diplomas. Peace reigned for a while, arid then a ohorus of snores broke m upon the Chancellor's measured utterances, followed by imitations of cock-crows, cries of "Wowser," and other interruptions. DR CHJLTON INTERVENES. Dr C. J. Chilton, chairman of the professorial board, then rose and addressed tlie undergrads Very briefly. ."Remember," he said, 'that, you are students of Canterbury College, and that we have a considerable nuifiber of Our guests m this hall. STUDENTS -LEAVE THE HALL. Peace reigned again for about two minutes, aud then the undergrads started to "count out" the speaker. "One, two, three, four; fivw, six, seven, eight, nine — out!" was chanted "dolorously, and the Chancellor ceased speaking. •The undergrads then rose again, and a majority of them left the hall. They sang "We'll hang old Robbie' on a sour apple tree," and then adjourned to the quadrangle, where an indignation meeting was held. Proposals to burn down the college were negatived as impracticable, and it was finally decided to storm the gallery of the hall. m This project was frustrated by one of *the college officials, who was ensconced behind the gallery door. In attempting to open the door some slight injury was inflicted, on ths official by tho students. IN. THE QUAD. Assembling m the quadrangle, the students raised lusty choruses of "Wowser!" and other elegant "names, and held the Chancellor up tp opprobrium. The feeling towards the professors was good, and an , attempt was made to get into the building again> with the expressed intention of behaving decorously -during the speeches of the other college dignitaries, In order to make a contrast between /the feeling towards the latter and their feeling toward Sir Robert Stout. This failed, however, all the doors being barred, and an attempt to mount into the gallery was foiled by the janitor. An, appeal by Professor Gabbatt for silence \Vas kindly but firmly refused. BURNT IN* EFFIGY. Then a bedraggled-looking concern of sacks and old clothes, supposed to represent the Chancellor, was produced. It was plentifully annotated with kerosent and set fire, to, and the students joined hands m a wide ring, and danced around with frenzied glee as it burned, ringing "We'll burn Bobbie Stout m the quad-quadrangle," to the tune of "John Brown's body." When' half consumed the effigy was .seized and borne through the hall on to the lawn m front of the college hall, vyhere another ring was formed, and the undergraduates sprinkled dust on tlie dying embers, and solemnly chanted the "Dead March." ' AT A WINDOW. • Amid a lull, a muscular student olimbed up to a high window of the hall, and through a hole m a pane made derisive remarks to the half dozen » or so of undergraduates who had remained m the building. In surprised voice lie ;)*ked of tlie Chancellor, "Are you still there?" WATER AND AFTERNOON TEA. Foiled m their attempts to obtain m entrance 1 into the gallery-, the ' students advanced to the entrance, Worcester street, and howled "Without." The guardian of the portal had had strict instructions that the door was not to be opened, even if anyone wanted to leave, so long as there was a -danger of tii© student** entering. There was a brief silence, and then those within the hall wei*e horrified, to see water flooding m under the doorway. It flowed over the floor, and under the eats. Laughter among the girl students followed, and the Chancellor's speech terminated just as the rush of water caused a general exodus from the back seats near the door. The students then formed m a solid body, arid singing "We'll hang Bob Stout on the sour apple tree," they marched to Cathedral Square, and went noisily to afternoon tea, voicing their complaint, and ,*annourtcing loudly their opinions of tlie Chancellor