10 February

The use of cosmetics by men is deplorable

Proposing the motion Mr Hurley said that he used cosmetics to attract the opposite sex and to smell nice: this usually showed lack of character or weak physique. He wanted to know why we stuck to these smells even though the smell of 'Three Nuns' was heavenly: anyone who didn't wash deserved to be an outcast. lie concluded that he was not thick enough to smell like a flower. Mr G Barry, in an attempt to mountebank the loves (or at least the votes) of the members, produced from his pockets a very wide selection of available cosmetics. lie thought that men were becoming too much like women and women too much like men and that this would not do. Greece and Rome fell when things had come to a similar pass. Washing was definitely the answer. Mr Stack's speech for the Opposition is best shrouded in the obscurity of the archives. Mr Hardy's likewise; though at one stage Mr Conry felt compelled to tell him that roll-ons were not deodorants. The House showed where its real sympathies lay when the motion was defeated by 41-8.

24 February

The Trades' Unions are the gravest threat to the economy

Mr Doohan said that the Unions were descended from

the 14th and 15th century Guilds. The trouble was that they were no longer unified and you could get as many as sixteen Unions represented in one shipyard: hence strikes. Most strikes were caused by Communists anyway. There was nothing wrong with the Unions In theory; it was just that they were now corrupt and dangerous. Mr Priestley thought that the Union was a mediator between shop-floor and management and Pope John had said that the influence of the state on the economy should never be such as to deprive a man of freedom of action. The real question was whether or not the Individual's standard of living was more important than the national economy. The real cause of the trouble was an incompetent government. Following Mr Doohan, Mr Barry (J) quoted Mr Wilson's assertion that there were influential Communists behind every major strike that took place and that they had a highly organised complex of machinery for creating and maintaining strikes. They were capable of bringing the country to its knees when they chose. After this successful speech for the wrong side Mr Barry resumed his seat, well content. Mr Byrne (P M) in his very quiet and most persuasive manner, suggested that the Unions, which had grown In power since the Industrial Revolution, aimed to maintain the price of labour. Strikes were apt to be something of a nuisance but the Unions did have useful functions, financial assistance to members during strikes and arbitration. They had proved to be a stimulus to industrial efficiency as well as ensuring good wages and conditions of work. They were in fact vital to Britain's economy. The motion was carried 16-4 with 31 abstainers.

54 SOCIETY

This year there were not as many debates as last year though the ones we did have were very interesting. The first debate on 1 October was that 'The savage is happier than the civilised man'. Those opposing the motion, Mr Torino and hit A Kennedy, defeated Mr J McEvoy and Mr Sheppard by 45 votes to 23 with five abstentions.

'That professionalism in sport should be abolished' was the third form's first debate and those taking part did it well. Messrs Edgeworth and McGill successfully opposed the motion with 23 votes. In spite of good

speeches by the proposers, Messrs Hearn and Earley, only eight voters were prepared to support them. There were 33 abstentions.

On 12 November the third meeting of the term was held. This was the first Balloon Debate and was in the hands once more of members of the third form. Mr A Collins, as was only fitting in his role of Julius Caesar, vanquished his opponents: M Eiffel, Galileo and A1 Capone, represented by Messrs Simmonds, W Kinsella and Corr respectively, by giving us his account of his own murder.

On 28 January the first debate of the Easter term was held. In an evening of excellent speeches, Messrs Storey and Grew, proposing the motion that 'The Loch Ness monster does exist', were defeated by Messrs Cunningham and Thompson. The voting was 32 to 17 against the motion.

On 25 February we had our second Balloon Debate. Mr J Rogers in the not unexpected role of a gorilla triumphed, though Mr T Devenney as Hitler was a very close second. Others taking part were Mr Hammond on 'The Middle East Crisis' and Mr Cottrell on 'Stalin's influence on the Russian way of thinking.'

The final meeting of the year was a Mock Trial, held on 11 March. The Prosecution Counsel, Mr D Evans, deservedly won his case against the Defence Counsel,

Mr P Howard. and the prisoner Richard Ill (Mr P Torino) was found guilty and convicted of the murder of the two princes in the tower.

During the year we had a number of guest speakers. In February, Fr Clement Tigar, SJ, gave us a film on the English Martyrs with special reference to Blessed Nicholas Owen and Blessed John Gerard. In the first term Fr Brain gave us an account of his trip to the United States of America and, later on, Mr Clarke entertained us with a description of his travels from New Zealand as far as Jerusalem.

In general, attendance was good, though on occasions some quite natural exuberance had to be curbed. Eventually attendance for members from St Thomas's was made optional.

KIWIS THAT FLEW LOOK BACK

'Aotearoa' - the Land of the Long White Cloud - was the name first given to New Zealand by those Vikings of the Pacific: the Maoris. This name seems to support a partly true description of the country: 'It's very like Britain', whereas, in fact, one of the main differences is the weather. England seems to us to have little summer, for our temperate climate would be a warmer one for every month of the year. Consequently spring is not nearly so noticeable, as our native trees mainly keep

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