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The Spike or Victoria University College Review 1934

Free Discussions Club

Free Discussions Club

This year the Club has been trying out a new policy concentrating as far as possible on speakers from within the College, whose task has been merely to introduce the subject providing the way for the discussion to follow. For some years now the Club's activities have been drifting to something more in the nature of a public lecture followed by a few polite questions, and it was felt by the committee that a return to the methods in vogue some years ago would enable it the more perfectly to carry out its true function. The result has been smaller meetings but keener discussion, but the latter is after all what we are aiming at.

Operations commenced with an address by Dr. A. C. Keys, his subject being "French Universities." That this short talk aroused lively interest was shown by the discussion which followed. The next venture was a lecture on Russia by Dr. W. B. Sutch. The speaker was most eloquent and delivered one of the most popular and well received addresses for some years. He reviewed the present Russian outlook as regards religion, sea, and work, fearlessly tearing aside the veil of mystery which usually hangs over the conditions he was describing; coming as it did after so much interest in Russian affairs had been engendered in the College, his address provided a welcome and important summary of what is a very difficult problem. The next speaker was Dr. Sutherland, the President, who had some astonishing revelations to make as to the "Inequality of Man." His talk was followed by a very free and easy discussion which caused much amusement and enlightenment to those present. A novelty performance characterised the following meeting, the speaker, a gentleman of note in America, not being present in person, but represented by a record of his voice kindly provided by Professor Hunter, who placed us further in his debt by coming along and joining in the discussion, the subject being "Rationalism or Religion. A short debate was next staged, Messrs. Alun Richards and C. G. Watson coming to grips on the question of Christianity in the changing world. The general consensus at the conclusion was that neither side had a leg to stand on. Mr. D. W. McElwain followed, his subject being "Property—Why?" His idea is that we are wrong in having a right to anything and after hearing him we are inclined to agree with him. Mr. K. J. Scott closed the activities of the Club for the year with a talk on the psychology of intolerance, a subject into which he has made considerable researches and a subject which merited much more interest being taken in it than the somewhat sparse audience would indicate was the case.