THE COMPETITIONS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1908, 17 November 1913, Page 5

THE COMPETITIONS.

'FINAL DAY;, TWO DEMONSTRATION NIGHTS. "There, will tie a big deficit for the society to face on this year's festival, and I do hope the public will attend at tho two {demonstration nights in large numbers, and so help tho society to meet the'loss," said' Mr. C. N. Baeyertz in the course of his concluding remarks at the competitions at the. Town Hall on Saturday evening. "The work of the competitors has been very good indeed," continued the speaker. '.'ln fact, I have never before judged better work." Tho speaker wont on to refer to the splendid spirit shown by the competitors. Saturday saw tho conclusion of the proceedings so far as the contests and day sessions go. To-night and to-mor-tow night there will be two demonstration performances. The'following are : the'results of the various contests: — MEN'S RECITATION. Test piece: (a) "Napoleon's Tomb,", Robert ingersoll; (b) "The Dying Gladiator," Byron. No competitor can qualify for the championship unless he competes in-this section, First prize, £4; second, £1 10s. , Entrants —A. J. Mason, Petorie; Mr. D. P.. M. Bonnet, Wellington; Mr. W. 1 iW. Crawford, Dunedin; L. W. Hanlon, {Wellington; Norman Aitken,- Wellington ;. Kevin S. Dillon, Greymouth; B. P. ' Brown) Otaki; John J. Casey,. Wellington; Dr. ,N. St. C.' Hales, Wellington; Mr. A., G. Lather; Mr. Sydney Tingey, Wellington; Mr.- Ernest F. Luks, Wellington; Mr. A.' Spencer, Wellington; Francis R: Picot, Wellington; Mr. K. / E.' Shorney, Wellington; Mr. Thomas 'Autortj Wellington; Mr. Peter A. Jones, [Wellington. "This has'been a.very good section, temarked the judge, "and all the performances have been good ones. Under ordinary circumstances I would, only, recall three:of the performers, but I intend to recall five in this section. Honourable mention was given to Messrs., ;Halon, Tingey, Luks, Spencer, Picot. and Shorney. Recalls were: Messrs. 'Crawford, Aitken, Dillon, Bicwn, and •Dr. Hales. ' '. Result—l, Mr. Dillon, 229 marks: 2 Dr., Hales, 226 marks; 3, Messrs Crawford and Brown, 224 marks each. Honourable mention' was also given Mr. ' 'Aitken.

IMPROMPTU • DEBATE. Gold medal .for best performance in. this section.; but winner must appear in at least speeches afid oration. First 'prize, silver challenge shield, presented by Stewart Dawson and Co., Ltd., and i£3; second, £2. Entrants—Mr. A., J. Humphreys and Mr. T. Auton, Wellington; Mn L. W. Hanlon,and'Mr. K. Dillon, Mr.' Gharles -'Ar L. Treadwell and Mr. Stevenson, Wellingtonj Mr. Roy Butcher, and Mr. P.: J. M'Govern, Wellington; Mr. E. Casey, and partner, Auck3&nd; Mr. Holmes and Mr. Borer, Wellington; - Mr.' Luks and Mr. M'Giegor iWellingtori.V The subject >for debate was "Virtue w not its own reward.'' Recalls— Messrs. 1 Treadwell arid . Stevenson, Messrs." Luks and M'Gregor, Messrs. iflumphreys and Auton. . ._ The subject for the.evening's debate was "Woman is Mentally Inferior to Man," and resulted in 1 Messrs. Treadwell and Stevenson annexing the'chal lenge shield with 100 marks. Messrs Humphreys and Auton were second witl 95 marks.'-.- v.< •j

, LADIES' VOCAL SOLO:, Competitors/must sing an operatic se- ■ lection arid a lied, song, or ballad. No competitor, can qualify for championship medal unless she competes in this section; First prize, £4, donated by British'and Continental Piano Co., Wellington ; second, £1 10s. J: Entrants—Miss Kathleen Wheeler. Southland (a) "Hie Flower Song," (b) "Orpheus With His Lute"; Miss Margaret E, Wilson, Wellington (a) "From Its Mother's Nest" (b) "I Know Not

Why"; Miss Annie Wood, Timaru,' (a) "Divifiites Du. Styx," (b) "Shadows";

Miss Ethel V. Carter, Auckland, (a) : "Licti Signor," (b) "The Young Nun : MisS Maude Pitcher, Dunedin (a)/'The Jewel Song," (b) "Oh, Lovely Night" : Mrs. Ivo. Symes, Wanganui (a) "Softly Asvake My Heart," (b) "Melisande in. the Wood." Recalls—Misses' Wheeler and Carter, find Mrs. Symes. Honourable mention Was given to Miss Pitcher. Result —I,' Miss Wheeler, 231 marks: £ Mrs. Symes, 220 marks ; 3, Miss Carter, 218 marks. . BASS SOLO. Bass Solo—Test piece: "Had a Horse" (Korbay). First prize, £2; second, £1. Entrants—Mr. Herbert Harre, Wellington; Mr. George H. Andrews, Timaru; Mr. A. 6. Thompson, Nelson; Mr. T. Heketa, Wellington; Mr. Frank JTunley, Wellington. . .

Result—l, Mr. Andrews, 123 marks ; 2, Mr.; Thompson, 121 marks; 3, Mr. Harre, 116 marks. PIANO SOLO.. Piano Solo (under 12) —Test pieoej "Springtime" (Krugh). "First prize, silver medal; second, bronze medal._ Entrants—Miss Gladys E.' Collins, Newtown; Miss Ida Kirk, Wellington; Miss Rita Clegg, Wellington; Master H. W. Bedell, Wellington; Miss Marjorie Janes, Tawa Flat; Master Wilfred Kohn, Lower Hutt; Master R. Pankhurstr, Wadestown; Miss Norma Middleton', Christchurch; Miss Averina O'Brien, Wellington; Miss Isobel Kohn, Lower Hutt.; Mi3s Myrtle Burgess,' Wellington ; Miss Emily Dorgan, Kelburne; Miss Ivy E. Gilbert, Wellington South; Master L. A. Riddell, Wellington; Miss A. Ida M. Jorgensen, Wellington; Miss Esme Watson, Mastodon; Miss Mary' E. Emerson, Borhampore; Miss Unico Bezar,, Wellington. Recalls—Misses Clegg, Watson, and Master Pankhurst. Honourable mention was given to Misses Middleton, Gilbert, Emerson, and Master Riudell. Result —1, Miss Clegg, 132 marks; 2, Miss Watson, 129 marks; 3, Master. Pankhurst,. 128 marks. JUVENILE CHORAL. The second section in tho • Juvenile Choral Contest was heard on Saturday night, the Marist Brothers' School A Choir being heard in "Sweet and Low" and "Music and Her Sister's Song," and the B Choir of the Kilbirnio School of Music being heard in and Low." Result—l, Marist Brothers' School A Choir;' 2, Marist Brothers' School, Hawkestone Street; 3, Kilbirnio A Choir; 4J Marist Brothers' School B. Choir. CHILDREN'S MATINEE.;

There was a large attendance of young folk in the afternoon at the special children's matinee performance in the large Town Hall. All the prominent juvenile performers of the competitions dontribiited to the programme, which was made up of vocal, instrumental, elocutionary, and dancing items. EVENING CONCERT. The evening conccrt was made up of An interesting collection of .items from the day's competitions of tho juvenile choral section, and of a well-acted,open sceno from "The Bells." ,THE LITERATURE SECTION. . RESULTS & AWARDS.

Tho following aro tho results of the Various competitions in the litcrarv see-

tion. The judge was Mr. Charles Wilson, Parliamentary Jibrarian. ■ ORIGINAL STORY. Original Story (any subject). Maximum number of words, 4CiOO. First piize, £5;. second, £2. Altogether thirty-two stories were sent in. Result: 1, Mr. Alfred Phillpott, Invercargill ("The Story of Kahu"); 2, Mr. J. R. Cole, Masterton ("You Are the Judge"); 3, Mrs. J. D. Gray, Wellington (".The Scab"). Horiourivbls mention: Mr. A. Phillpott, Invercargill; Mr. Guy Morris, Lyttelton; Mr. K Dillon, Picton; Mrs. J. D. Gray, Wellington; Mrs. Norah M'Auliffe, Pa'-amatta; Mr. G. von Tunzelmann, Invercargill; Mrs. E. Bastin, Auckland. ,"Frailkly I must confess to being niost disappointed with the original stories," stated Mr. Wilson. "For the most part they are banal in subject and weak, in composition. Many of them, indeed, are unworthy of even a in the Saturday supplement of the' poorest •typo of journal. All tho venerable cliches of'tho penny novelette are dragged out once again. Cheap melodrama, tawdry sentiment, slipshod English, and worse than slipshod, punctuation are all too disagreeably evident. The . "Story of Kahu" is one of the honourable exceptions, being a nature story—a story cf Lircl life, which would do credit to any high-class magazine. There is an effectively dramatic quality in the story, "You Are the Judge," and the humorous element in "The Scab" came as a vory welcome oasis in t'lio general dessrt of humourless! mediocrity. Not a few of the stories display evidences of observation and perception of character. The trouble, is that the authors have yet to-master even the rudiments of story writing. There is, however,- in some of .t'he stories good promise of better jvork in the future, if only the writers will study the productions of accepted masters of the short story, such as Henry Lawson, Oliver Onions, Frank Harris, Morley Roberts, and Guy do Maupassant. ,1 . cannot help thinking that the provision under which tho copyright of the stories is preserved by the 'society acts as a deterrent to really able! New Zealand writers competing. I .think it, would be wise in the future to strike out this particular .condition. .1 have appended to each story a few remarks cither as compliment, criticism, or counsel."

' ORIGINAL-POEM. Original Poem—Not more than fifty lines; poems must have some connection with .New Zealand. First prize, £3; second, £1.. ' • . ' . There were thirty-eight poems sent m in this section, liesult —i, Mr. 1 1 . M. Jenkins, .Wellington ("Penoarrow Lighthouse"); 2, Air. Leddra Le Gallais, Mangakura ("An Evening Storm"); 3, Mrs. E. Grant, Christchurch ("Country Life in New Zealand"). . Honourable mention was given to Mr. C. S. Brqwn, Invercargill; Miss F; H." Brooker, Medbury; Miss E. Hodgkinson, Inververeargill ;>Mr. F. Redman, Mastcrtou; Miss 11. M. Park,' Wellington; Rev. G. S. Cook," Wellington. '"The judging" of this section was ' a long, though interesting task," commented the judge. "With a few exceptions the general' quality of the verse was by no means poor. Many of the competitors exhibited a very fair grasp of the art of verse-making. In mere rhythm and structure, several or the poems left little to be desired,' but most of the, contributions are mere verse, hardly to be dignified by the name of poetry. It is pleasant to notice how strong is the influence of Nature upon many of the writers. This is specially the case in the third prize poem, which is written in blank.verse; in the powerfully-written ode "To the • South-West Wind," which would have been placed higher up,, but , for the vagueness.,ia. oiifvivcrsc/ aim verbal infelicity of'another; and in "September in Southland."

CRITICISM.

Criticism. Maximum, 1500 . words. Choice of three subjects: (a) Criticism of Dickens's "Great Expectations ; (b) Criticism of Charles Reado's "The Cloister and the Hearth"); (c) Criticism-of the Pictures in the Wellington- Permanent Collection. First prize, £2; second, £1. li- .iiThere were eight entrants for tins section. Result —1, Miss K. M. Park, Wellington;' 2, Miss E. Hodgkinson, Invtrcargill; 3, Mr. A. B. Chappell, \>angaritii. .... „ .. . , "All the essays m this class, stated tho judge, "save, perhaps, the one on the pictures in the' Permanent Art Gall'ery, which is comparatively weak, are distinctly meritorious productions, anu the task of selecting tho prize-winners

was one of more than ordinary difficulty. The Dickens's criticism by the winner, and Mr. Chappell'criticism both exhibit originality of thought, and Miss Eodgkinson's essay on 1 Charles Reade's masterpiece is another markedly excellent production. It has given me : the greatest possible pleasure toread these, essays, displaying, as they

do, so keen and accurate an appraisement of the subjects dealt with, and such outstanding merit as literary compositions." ESSAY (ANY AGE). Essay (any age). ■ Choice of .three subjects(a) The natural - resources of New Zealand; (b) The signed article in journalism, is it preferable to anonymity?; (c) The progress of science during the last half-century. First prize, £3; second £1- . There were eleven essays in this sec: tion. Result —1, Mr. A. B. Chappell,: Wanganui; 2, Mr. Le Etherington,' Gisbome; 3, Mrs. Angus Whibley, Pahiatua. Honourable mention was given to Mr. H. A. Gilbert, Dunedin;. Miss E. Hodgkinson, Invercargill; Rov. T. .A. Williams, Christchurch. "Most of the articles in this section," said Mr. Wilson, "attaih a noticeably high standard of literary merit. The winner's essay on the 'Progress of Science' is really ian admirable compact and yet comprehensive survey of tho triumphs of modern science. Mr. Le Etherington's essay on "The Signed Article in Journalism' is another specially laudable effort. Both these essays are well worthy of publication in thl\ Press." ESSAY (OPEN). ■ Essay • (open to all). Maximum 2500 words. Choice of three subjects : (a) The Asiatic menace and the future of Australasia; (b) National insurance; fn) .Should the overseas self-governing States be represented in tho Imperial Parliament? First prize, £3; second,

£2 ' Result—l, Mr. A. B. Ch.ippcll, Wangamii; 2,'tlev. T. A'; Williams, | Ghristehurch; 3, Mr. P. J. Carter, Wellington. Honourable mention to Mr. H. E. Marton, Wanganui, and Mr. Le Etherington, Gisborne. • "In this second essay section,'' said Mr.' Wilson, "it is again gratifying to observe the caro -with which the .various writers have 'got up' their 'subjects, and with tho very general clarity, conciseness, and emphasis with which thev liavo set forth their arguments. Excellent work has been done.in this section, and my only cause for complaint is that the number of competitors was relatively so small. Tho essay of tho winner is well nlanned, dignified, and generally admirable composition. The second and third prize-winners are also deserving of compliment, and a special word of congratulation, is also due to the writer of the essay on 'National Insurance.' (Mr. Marton)," CHILDREN'S ESSAYS. " . Children's Essays. On a Now Zealand industry. There wero 33 essays altogether. Result —1-, Miss S. Hopkirk, Wellington; 2, Master Charlie Pope, Wellington ; 3, Miss Phyllis Barratt, Wellington. Honourable mention—Masters

Jack Beagelhole, Francis Morgan, Ernest C. Wake, and Misses Marjory Cliarteris, Dorothea Tees, Annie M'Donald, Hazel Wake.

"Tho majority of tlio essays sent iii," stated Mr. Wilson, "show, I consider, a somewhat better general grasp of the subjects dealt with than was exhibited in tho similar class of essays judged by mo two years ago. None of them, however, are really good. Most of them contain evidences of deplorable oarolessness, both in composition and spelling, i It is, I fear, a sign or the all too frequent 'mispronunciation of words by our New Zealand children that words such as safe and bran should be written 'saft' and 'brand.' This sort of thing is on all fours with pronouncing 'chance' as 'chanst' and 'date' as 'dat'th.' The writing is fairly, sometimes, very good, but in many of the essays I notice that tho capital letters are badl.v formed, in some' instances being of quite signal ugliness: S'till, on the whole, the essays show that most of the competitors are shrewdly observant and attentive, and have a reasonably fair grasp of the importance of the chief industries of the Dominion." FIRST DEMONSTRATION. This evening's performance at the Town Hall will. be contributed to by some of tlhe j>rize-winners at tlie competitions. Thirty-five winners will perform, and the programmo arranged is of s ti varied character. There are songs, musical monologues, humorous songs,, recitals, and character sketches, piano and violin solos, and dances by children. Owing to the length of the programme, 110 encores will be permitted. By special request, Mr. Harold Gregson, the instrumental judge, will play popular solos on the grand organ. The performance will commence at 7.46 o'clock. ■ The names of the competitors appearing to-night will be found in our advertising columns. The box' plan is at tho Dresden.