Bay Of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1950

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 94, 6 February 1950, Page 4

Bay Of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1950

EMPIRE GAMES Now that the Empire Games are in full swing, a little thought might be given to the constructive place sport can have in the life of any civilised community, or group of communities. Good sportsmanship can be truly said to be one of the basic needs of good citizenship. To be able to take a disappointment with a smile, * to be able to acknowledge another’s superiority in any line of effort with admiration and the will to emulate, rather' than with bitterness and the will to hurt — those are attributes of the good sportsman, the good citizen and the good Christian.

Gatherings such as the one now taking place in this country can and do achieve much in understanding amongst different peoples. In this particular case, the Games will serve to illustrate to us how great is the difference between the peoples of various parts of our own Commonwealth and, because of our common loyalty, great also is the will to get together and to understand each other.

It is perhaps a sad thing for New Zealand that so few of her people get the chance to travel overseas and to mix with different peoples and absorb their different points of view. Could we do that, we should no doubt develop a wider tolerance, a wider understanding and possibly a greater poise. Participation in international sport does provide those opportunities for limited numbers of young New Zealanders, who come back to enrich this land with their experience of the world, as well as to raise the standard of our sports by passing on the knowledge they have gained in overseas competition This week, at the Games, a large number of New Zealanders will have the best opportunity ever offered in this country to widen their sporting knowledge by seeing the Commonwealth’s best in action. No doubt the lessons learned will have a profound effect upon our athletic pursuits for years to come. So e far as can be gathered at this early stage, New Zealand is doing a good job of work in providing the best possible conditions for the competitors, a majority of whom have expressed themselves as more than satisfied with the arrangements. There was a whisper of criticism of the practice tracks at Papakura, but that criticism seems to have been ill-founded.

There is every reason to believe that our guests will enjoy themselves thoroughly and go away with a warm spot in their hearts for this far-flupg corner of the Empire. At least some of the will rest with our small country, but we shall consider our-

selves well enough rewarded if the holding of> the Games here serves to raise higher yet the ideal of sportsmanship that is dear tb the heart of every true New Zealander.

ANSWERS TO QUIZ ON PAGE 8 1. The Christmas tree, used first in Germany in 1605, was introduced into England from that country by the Prince Consort in 1840, soon after his marriage to Queen Victoria.

2. Carmen Sylva was, the penname of Elizabeth, Queen of Rumania and wife of King Carol. An accomplished musician, painter and writer, she published poems and stories in Rumanian, German, French and English until her death in 1916.

3. The first day after Christmas Day was called Boxing Day because it was at one period the custom in England to place gratuities or presents to servants in boxes at that time.

4. Charles Dickens, who adopted it as his pen-name when he wrote “Sketches by Boz,” which first won him recognition. “Boz” was the nickname of Dickens’s younger brother. '

5. Knossus was an important city in the ancient civilisation of Crete, being the site of the palace of King Minos. This and other relics of an advanced civilisation which ''culminated in the bronze age (15001300 8.C.) were discovered by the famous British archaeologist, Sir Arthur Evans, whose report of his systematic excavations of the ancient city brought it into prominence in 1906. 6. The Adam brothers were the builders of the' A delphi, London, socalled by the most famous of them, Robert, from the Greek word meaning “brothers.” An eminent British architect, Robert spent 8 years in Italy studying the architecture there, and on his return applied his knowledge to building in England. He revolutionised domestic interiors, as well as architecture, established classical standards and became particularly famous for the grace and beauty of his designs for ceilings,-, fireplaces and staircases. 7. The term “carpet-bagger” was used contemptuously in the United States at the end of the Civil War, when northern candidates arrived in the southern states to secure the votes of the enfranchised negroes. 8. (a) Modern cricket has been developed from an ancient game of which crude pictorial delineations have been handed down from the 12th and 13th centuries. The ball used in the modern game is composed of cork covered with leather. (b) Tennis is believed to have been first played on the 13th century in France. Balls consist of inflated india rubber covered with white cloth.

(c) Golf is thought to have originated in the 14th century and to have been once a Dtuch game. But it is generally identified with Scotland, since the early Scottish game conformed closely to that of the present day. The balls are composed of a liquid rubber compound with a covering of gutta-percha. 9. (a) Mental, mantel, mantle, lament. (b) Detains, stained, instead, sainted, (c) Sub-let, bustle, bluest, subtle. 10. Eve, ever, severe, reverse, perverse.