The Promontory

Even the methodically unobservant will have noticed that drastic changes have been taking place at the northern end of the University grounds. The earth there has the appearance of some historic gold diggings, with its swarm of toiling men and its yellow soil laid open to the sun. The shovels clash from daylight till dark—almost; the tractors roar continually—and so does the foreman; a horde of men strains and pants and perspires, and—to cut a long story short—several cubic feet of dirt are removed daily from the University grounds and spilt into the yawning gully on the other side of the road.

Much more lively was the scene during the winter, when vast pools of water placed the workmen under the necessity of diving for each shovelful, and rendered stilts an urgent requirement. What thoughts filled the minds of great Professors as they stood knee-deep on one leg, fishing for a fast-sinking golosh left behind in the mud. no one can say; yet rumour has it that more than one of these great men was mistaken for the foreman of the works, because the language in which he gave expression to his feelings was not dissimilar to that habitually employed by the latter well-known personage. All these little unpleasantnesses, however, will be forgotten, we are informed, when the work is finally accomplished. Not only is the Salamanca gully to be filled up—putting at our disposal a first-class area of level ground for sports; but the northern portion of the University grounds is to slant gently toward the road—a flower-enchanted, tree-sequestered slope, with winding gravel walks and seats resplendent with fresh green paint. moreover, the informal activities of University life will no longer be a sealed book to the general public, but interested women and bright children passing by will have ever facility to study the posture and appearance of students lunching under the trees, and there will no longer be any doubt as to whether undergraduates wrap their lunches in serviettes or merely enclose them in newspapers. A general air of familiarity and good-fellowship will thus be fostered, and the ties that bind the University to the community will be drawn yet closer.

It is beautiful to think that, even in this philanthropic age, the hearts of men are so full of hope and kindness.

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Capping in the Library

Students of an earnest and sympathetic frame of mind will be sorry to learn that in less than twelve months from now the everlasting silence that decorates the Library will be severely and rudely disturbed by the vulgar proceedings of a Capping Ceremony. At a recent foregathering of the College Council it was decided, upon the recommendation of the Professorial Board, to stage the annual presentation of bouquets that occupies chief place in Capping festivities in the Library for one year, as an experiment. It will be very nice, we have no doubt. We hope the books will look their best, that there will be enough Library cards to go round, and that the Vice-chancellor will have no difficulty in manipulating the curtains on the western window at the appropriate moment. The only hitch that is likely to occur in the proceedings is a sudden shortage of seating accommodation. The Chairman of the Council and his gallant company can doubtless all be stowed around the galleries; the M.A.'s are usually well-proportioned, although few in number; but when the Lecturers have snapped up the last couple of rows of seats, and the B.A.'s have covered every available inch of floor space, and the flower-girls have filled the corridor, with an overflow gathering on the back stairs, where will the mere student come in? That is what "The Spike" wants to know. We refrain as far as possible from using the word "undergraduate" which would only be waving a red flag at the bovine occupants of the Professorial Board. But we are here to protect the interests of the undergraduate, and we share at this moment the feelings of an aggrieved Trade Union secretary whose proteges have been maliciously deprived of the right to demand free cigars with every meal. These others are not students—these creatures in cap and gown, looking as ridiculous and top-heavy as any zany ever did in cap and bells. most of them have already turned their backs upon V.U.C.; but they will be seated in places of honour and privilege, and the real student, like the twelve foolish virgins, will find the double doors firmly slammed in his face. There will indeed be wailing and gnashing of teeth. As a matter of fact, the whole performance will probably defeat its own ends and degenerate into an undignified scramble, more resembling a bean-feast then a Capping Ceremony. Procrustes himself could scarcely cram into the Library the requisite number of parents and camp-followers, as well as their reverences the Graduates of the year. He would have to stack them in several tiers, at any rate. We know of at least half-a-dozen students who, in consequence of this decision to go in for a degraded and attenuated form of ceremony next year, have definitely decided to postpone completion of their degrees for another twelve months.

Is it pertinent to ask the reason for this obviously retrograde step? Everyone was mildly startled when the College Council allowed itself to be persuaded into holding the recent Capping Ceremony in the evening. It seems that the members of the Council on their slippery eminence, having ventured one step forward, must now take two steps backward, assisted in no page 30 small measure by the Professorial Board tugging: at their coattails. We know what they will say. We know perfectly well the arguments they must have used to convince one another of the absolute, crying necessity for such a reform. But can they, or any of them, deny that the Victoria College Capping proceedings are the most orderly of any in New Zealand? Can they deny that the last Capping Ceremony was the most orderly of Victoria College ceremonies within recent memory? Let us remind them that every speaker who had anything to say on that occasion was able to say it all: there can be interjections that do not amount to interruptions. And let them remember that certain speakers could not make themselves heard from one end of the Town Hall to the other if the silence of death pervaded the place. Are the rendering of an old song which concerns nothing but an incident in the American Civil War and a Professor's face that more than matched the hue of the Vice-Chancellor's gown to be sufficient reason for this undemocratic departure from custom? The Capping will be performed in camera, that is all, and we shall probably see the spectacle of another meeting of the Council called to decide whether the Press shall be admitted or excluded. We fear that the decision is now beyond recall; but let us fervently hope that one demonstration of this type of ceremony will convince Board and Council alike of the hasty unwisdom of their measure.

A Departure

On the 30th July a small but representative gathering was present to farewell J. C. Beaglehole, Lecturer, Tramper, Heretic, and ex-Editor of this magazine. The luxuries of the Women's Common Room were kindly made available for the occasion. A select little company entertained us with the reading of a play, some who are more musically inclined than the rest of us sang and played, and the women produced an excellent supper at the appropriate moment. Mr. Macarthur, Vice-president of the Students' Association, in a happy speech presented Mr. Beaglehole with a V.U.C. blazer. (We shall not perpetuate his pun.) Professor F. P. Wilson added his best wishes and expressed his regrets at losing so keen a student and lecturer. The victim of the evening's proceedings replied in a characteristic speech that made us feel absolutely heroic and almost brought tears to the eyes of some of our lady friends. The College songs were sung more heartily than we remember ever hearing them sung before or since, and we dispersed, consoling ourselves with the thought that our friend would return, perhaps to V.U.C, bearing with him the ripe experience of the coming years abroad. In the meantime, the sincerest wishes of all those students and professors with whom he came in contact accompany him. A poem written when he was on the steamer on his way to Australia appears elsewhere in this "Spike."

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Farewell

On August 6th the Honours and Advanced Chemistry students held a very delightful "At Home" to farewell Mr. A. D. Munro on the eve of his marriage. Tea was served downstairs, and the guest of honour arrived in company with Professor Robertson. Tea was poured out and handed round (see Cummin & Kay, page 16; milk jug patent applied for), but somehow there was a feeling of tension in the air. At last it was relieved, when Mr. Richardson, in a few faltering words, tried to express to Mr. Munro the feelings of all those present, and presented him with a slight token of their goodwill. Mr. Munro then replied, making reference to the events that were so near—so very near, in fact, too—no, he did not say " too near"—though it sounded very like it. Then we cheered him, then we sang that good old song about his being a very fine fellow; then followed more cheers and songs. Feeling very much cheered, our guest departed, taking for Miss Reader the last chocolate biscuit, which we had all been too polite to eat. Altogether, it was a very happy party, and the chemical students are ready to guarantee a like send-off to all those of the Science wing who will take a similar plunge. Applications, together with a slight fee (¼) must be in the hands of the Lab. boy at least three weeks before the day.

Paragraphs more or Less Personal

H. L. Richardson, M.Sc. who left this college two years ago with an Empire Exhibition Scholarship, has been studying at the Imperial College of Science and Technology. He has now been fortunate enough to win another Exhibition Scholarship, which has been subsidised by the New Zealand Government. This scholarship enables its fortunate holder to spend a year doing research work at the Rothamstead Experimental Station at Harpenden.

Doctor Cotton, for many years the only bachelor upon the Professorial Board, has taken upon himself the bonds of matrimony. On July 17th, 1926, at St. Matthew's Church, Auckland, was solemnised his wedding with Miss Josephine Gibbons, second daughter of the late Captain J. Gibbons, of Devonport, Auckland. We hope that the happy pair will accept our congratulations.

J. G. Myers, M.Sc. who won the 1851 Science Scholarship two years ago, and has since been working for his Ph.D. at Harvard, has accepted a position in the Imperial Bureau of Entomology, London.

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We extend a welcome to Dr. Sword, who is to be Chemistry Demonstrator in place of Mr. Monro for the next year.

An engagement which has produced a little more than the ordinary commotion is that cabled from England of Vera B Reader, M.Sc. Ph.D., to Ronald Syme, M.A. Students that were at V.U.C. in 1923 will remember them both.

A visitor to the last debate was J. d'H. morel, a son of the late E. D. morel, who was widely known as the liberator of the Congo slaves and in later years as the editor of " Foreign Affairs." He was the subject of a Plunket medal oration a year ago. Mr. morel is in Wellington awaiting news regarding a position he is to take in Hawke's Bay as a photographer of bird life.