DUNEDIN D.L.F. LITERARY AND DEBATING CLUB.

Otago Witness, Issue 2813, 12 February 1908, Page 85

DUNEDIN D.L.F. LITERARY AND DEBATING CLUB.

Motto: "Union is Strength." Dear Dot. — Although this is not Special Club Number, I hope you will allow me a little of your .=p<<ce this week to venti'aie club grievances. Much surprise will doubtless be felt at the tact that the club was adjourned this week without holding any meeting, and as I am responsible for the innovation I suppose »I owe club members and D.L.F. generally sorns explanation of my action. I therefore submit the following in the hope that through the page I may reach some whom it seems impossible to move otherwise. In the first plpce, the revised list of rules, which we carefully made out in the closing months of 1907 and which apparently met with Ihe approval o f all club membars, have in jomc respects baen more honoured in ihe breach than in the obtervance. Now, for what purpose do \ve frame rules? Are we to obey tli^m, 'or are they just made out us n. wsxe matter ut foinx, and -loes our obligation end there? Appearances point to the latter. Membei": had ample opportunity for discussing the said rules, and they were, almost with nit. exception, passed as the unanimous wish of the club. One point which received special corside^ation was the time of opening the weekly meeting, which was fixed for 7.30 p.m. As fat as I remember, no- objection wa= macte to this, and the meetings were convened for that hour. However, a chairman cannot very j well open a meeting with an audience of J one, or even twe-, and the time has always ! been more or less elastic. When I was elected | president I fully determined that, so far as. lay in my power, the club members should ' obey the rules as laid down by themselves. ' The very fiist action I performed in my ofnee as president was to call a corumitieu meeting, and request the members to make a special effort to be punctual. Several* ' promised to io «o. They can best say ' whether they fulfilled that promise. Finding it then almost an impossibility to open the meeting at 7.30 r- m -> I moved, after having given due notice, that the club commence at 8 o'clock. The club room is not locked, so that anyone present before j tbat time could get in This mction provoked no discussion, ana -was carried unanimous'y. On the same evening I again made an appeal to cUib meinbei-a, and informed them of my determination to open the meeting at 8 o'clock, or not at all. This evenings at 10 minutes past 8, there were present — j the treasurer, two committee «nembers, one j cub member, one visitor, and myself. As ! it requires six committee members to form a quorum, ajd we could consequently do nothirsc m the way of business, 1 informed those present of my decision and posted a notice cm the door to the effect that the club was adjourned imiil February 11. My action in so doing is bound to be questioned. Indeed, I know it has aheady been so, but I have carefully considered j the matter, and I still think that I am in ! the right and that scnicihmg definite must 1 bs done to bring members to a sense of their duly in this matter. If you intend ; to have a social club, a kind of chatting , society, where members can stroll in at anytime they like, spend a short time in conversation .vith their friends, examine the [ Witness, etc., and stioll out. again at their I eisure, then by all means do so. But if ! this is to be the case, then chew tbe farce of having a long set of lules. do away wh-x the pretence of power vested in your piesident and officials, and carry out everything j on the go-as-you-please system, which seems ' to appeal most to our members. We call ourselves a Literary and Debating Club, and have our motto—" Union is strength. We do have debates twice a month, but the literary part, of our club is mostly in the , titles. At the time of the annual meeting, i when the election takes place, a wave of enthusiasm floats over us and then subsides, leaving us stranded on the rocks. Some may think that all this discussion and seeming fuss about the starting time is trivia! ; but it is no such thing. First, theie ' ' is the piincip'.e we are fighting for Wo i have a rule, we rtrust obey it ; and if I am : to continue occupying the chair we shall • obey it. Secondly, this unpunctuality is re- ' sponsible for the lowering of the tone o^ the club. Some do not recognise this, and many of our good members stroll in after ! le m&eting has started, without conaiderirg ( ac harm; they are doing. I can assure i heirj that this laxity in the starting •lime I is pernicious to the last degree. It encour- 3 ages members— gir s especially— to loiter about the passage of the Times Office, ' making a disturbance and causing annoyance ] io those engaged therein, some even leaning I f out of the windows attracting the notice * of( passers-by and otherwise conducting themselves in a manner creditable neither to them- ' selves as joung ladies nor to us who asso- . ciate with them a& fellcw club members l Club members, let us stand to our gun*! ° Obey your own rules for the sake of the a piiHciple involved, even if it means a Hale * self-sacrifice. , cl I am not writing this letter in a pessi- f mistic strain. I am an optimist through r and thiough. I do firmly be leve that we I * c?n have a club, that we can do work a<? I good as. and c\en bet'er than, has been j . done. Lst o»,vaid. forwaid. upwaid, be ' r our motto m cur wrrk Never mind looking ' back and legreiting those we have no longer I J v. itn u=. It is my l.onest conviction ihti the Dunedin DL F can form a Literary and i b Dejatirg Club which they shall so carry , out that we sh-ill all be proud to dec' are h cinselves -as members. It has Iken questioned . w-netl-er theie are a sufficient number m - 1 ' Ouaedm now to cany on a club Micce^fulh- d We know there are. Comrades I ■ appeal |t: to you: rally round the banner, and let u= a band ourselves together and work willingly ' " for the good of the cause, and '.hen we ! ? shall be msmbers of a club to which it' 1 will te an honcur to be'on<*. and which I wnl be worthy of those vho «o l.judly qne ! us their patronage and to whom ne \re ti indebted for help and ouidr'ice I C ,Do you know cue D.L F in Dunedin whom ll \ou think would make a gocd c!ui> member? , v Then sei d us the name .and addiess of that ' one, and you will have done «oinethmg for I the club. Can you think of any suggestion likely to help on our club? Then send us ie that suggestion, however trivial it may seem i.i t« you. Comrades, once m<zt» I reiteiate j^

my belief that we can make a club worthy of the name we have taken ; but we must obey rules if we would do so. The club must not be allowed to drag; it is not going to drag. Who will he'.p to push it a'ong? Who wishes to be able to cay that he did his best to assist in such a worthy project ? My deal chums, this letter has already assumed vast proportions, for which I hope our ever kind Dot will forgive me; but let me make this final appeal to you ere I j close. Start this week to make the club your club. And club members, past and I present, you especially I ask. lend us your aid new, help us to raise your club to the high level it ought to occupy, make it worthy of its name, of its patrons, and of yourselves, and you will earn the lasting °ratitude and heartfelt thank* of— Yciir ever hopeful president, EMERALD.