ORATORY CONTEST

Taranaki Daily News, 13 July 1935, Page 9

ORATORY CONTEST

BOYS OF Y.M.C.A. CLUB. high standard shown. Taking as his subject “Abraham Lincoln,” L. Jarman won the first oratorical contest conducted by. theJfli-Y Club of the New Plymouth Y.M.C.A., held in the Alexander hall last night. He was .presented with the Herald Cup and minia-ture-cup given by Mr.. Wi C. Weston.j There were 10 competitors. The- adjudicator, Mr. J. D. . Quirk, said he had had considerable difficulty in deciding the -Winner and had 'changed- his- mind three times while the speeches were be-ing-given, So- close--was the -contest thatonly one point separated Jarman from the runner-up and the boy who filled, third place was only three points furtherback. Considering the fact that this was. the first occasion the boys had. taken’ part ih an oratorical contest, Mr. Quirk said the boys and their teachers - were to be congratulated on the high average standard achieved. Mr. Weston presided and Mrs. Weston presented the cup, the donation of which was Acknowledged by Mr. J. H. Ledgerwood on behalf of the club. •Other competitors -besides Jarman were: Evan Davies, “C. W. A. Scott”; Jim Garcia, “Sir Edward Marshall Hall;” Don Sandford,. “Baton,.Von Richthofen”; John Maxwell, “Roald Amundsen”;. Keith Hoben, “Lawrence of Arabia”; Chum Allen, “Napoleon Bonaparte”; Peter Clarke, “Hannibal”; Jeff Moss, “General Grant”; Hugh Moss, “Captain Scott.” Jarman alone attempted a truly oratorical speech, said' Mr. Quirk. The other contestants gave prepared Speeches based on biographical details rather than oratorical speeches. They did not. attempt to deal with' the character or ideals of their subject After defining oratory, Mr. Quirk Said the contestants should paint a word picture of . the man rather than give details of all the things he did. Jarman had attempted to convey to his audience a picture of Lincoln, the man,' without going'into too much detail about his performances. Mr. Quirk dealt with the weaknesses of each speaker separately and concluded with some general advice on the art Of speaking. Some of the boys showed considerable promise, he said, but he pointed out to all of them that if they wished to become proficient they must be prepared for the drudgery of hard work. Public speaking was like any other art in that success could only be achieved, through constant application. No mail, however proficient, knew all there was to know about public speaking, so that it was necessary. always to be on the look-out for ways in which to improve. He hoped that later on the boys would become members of the New Plymouth Debating Society. Mr. Weston said it had been a most interesting evening. The boys had tackled exceedingly difficult subjects and done their work well. They were indebted to Mr. Quirk for -his instructive remarks and to Messrs. Ledgerwood and Lucas for' the trouble they had gone to with , this and other classes under their control. A vote of thanks to Mr. Quirk was proposed by Brian Huggett and one to Mr. and Mrs. Weston by Jack Johnstone. Supper was served by the boys.