WHAT COMPETITIONS CAN DO

Hokitika Guardian, 19 August 1927, Page 2

WHAT COMPETITIONS CAN DO

——- M rtTAL iMPROVFAfFNT

I fiy jtillait Stuart, in the Sydney "Herald;”) Tlie phrase “Mutual improvement" i-all's tip mciiiofies of “b.ili hnUes and 'hinglo Idols— slaps ol i rollback and shingles of blood-wood, though niton in tho first stages the root had io ho of .stringybark. . The.. At util til fniru-ovoment • Society, iiMialb-, (piled “Tib;- ULiHiiil!" was loiiiideii bv tlie early settlers on tlie < larence for the purpose indicated belts name.

.Many of tlie sturdy old pioneers bad not bad a chance of an education when young, and they banded together to get. books of an instructive character aiid to meet, om-e a Week Hi help each Other to in like tip for. their early .shortcomings. 'They mostly met at a. cehtrai bd-m mi .bights i-libil flii-wt w;i*i U'l Hn-u husking io be done, and v.iiei* IfiCy bad not io go out catching mullet with Ibe scoop net. They often held debates on such subjects as “whether is tlie printing press or the steam engine of the greater benefit to mankind l 1” “Is Freel.ratio better than Protection,” and “Is Love a higher incentive than ambition F* Tins outstanding desire seemed to lie to become proficient ill public speaking; Mini Hie books fill- the library always iit< hided at a l til a rij Works On edilcaiioil:

Scott. Dickens. and Airs HeartWoods wi;/o the laepurlti- iiJivMists. Bobby Riiin', and (.’b’k-pkr ivcf-i,-. ruble in licimiiid Unit iiyrou tiiid tMi-:il;k' 1 - peare. For eloeu!.ionary efforts Pitt’s “Lejily tu Walpole.” beginning “Sir, — The atrocious crime of being a young man.” and Channing’s .speech ori the American war when ho thundered “Ami Were 1 an American as I am alt Englishman 1 would never, never, never lay dowti m.V linns,” were the nios-f, tiiosefi.'Pile recitations i(i< hided Little dim, 'file Song of lint Shirt. The ( Inirge' <ii Tiie Light flrigioic, a lid The P'suim of iiifc;

Op rare occasions one muttlal would challenge, another to i,i debate, and nftjcr it- : iifyi been tiMwit. the* inhilti li. inle flight ok ii, the visiting orators fiieing honoured at a • supper provided by tho housewives, who strove to excel iu the excellence of pies and cakes and other homely dainties. Onro a year tho societies combined and hired a drogher' for an excursion to the seaside, at Yamba or Iluka. They generally danced to the music of the good old concertina all the way (jpTvtl fbn tiveT and hlirk lifjuirl: It was a happy crowd that got hack to the riverside farms in time lor the evening milking. There was a quaint pathos an.nu these honest people. Engaged in toe strenuous battle to build up homes in primitive surroundings, they nevertheless found time to strive tor elementary culture am! sell improvement. Members agreed to point out each other's mistakes and one night a speaker, in using the word co-operate prutniuiicod it “cooperate, ’ and was promptly (though Ivrotlgfy) instructed that the correct pronunciation was “copper-ate.” A voung man who belonged to our mutual and first “found his feet as a public speaker at our meetings, became Confident and ambitious, and consequently rote irt ho Premier of New South Wales.