r For the second meeting of the term our thanks are due to Mr. Barnby, who invited us to his room in Albany House to read " Androcles and the Lion," by George Bernard Shaw. Suffice it to say that everybody was amused. Between the acts Mr. Barnby very kindly provided The Curtain with a supper of the first order.
THE DEBATING SOCIETY.
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Before the actual debate there was an election in order to fill two vacant places on the Committee. T. H. Butler and J. M. Rucklidge were elected. The chairman then called upon Mr. A. W. Ping to propose the motion that " The British proposals for the settlement of Czechoslovakia are disgraceful." He suggested that if matters had been dealt with in a, different manner many years ago, this country would not be in such an unfortunate position now. If Britain's statesmen had shown an aggressive front, instead of talking nonsense about impracticable ideas, war would not have been imminent at the present time. In reply, H. A. Milburn said that Mr. Chamberlain's energies were directed towards trying to wipe out a disgrace, i.e., the " Treaty of Versailles." He stated that through this Germany was ruined economically and internally, and it was impossible for the country to exist under such conditions. He then concluded by saying that there was no disgrace in trying to remedy an action disgraceful in itself. J. H. Butler, seconding the motion, said that Germany should have been put under Allied rule and so made it impossible for her to rise to power again. He also added that it was disgraceful that Britain, who is allied to France, had let her down. C. M. Robson, who was seconding the opposition, made the point that Hitler's position is not absolutely supported in Germany, and he must keep on doing things spectacular and decisive in order to hold his position. The debate was then thrown open to the house, and Mr. Rhodes rose to give his views. He said that Mr. Chamberlain was trying his best to avert war, and there was no disgrace in applying common-sense reasoning which eliminated war. Mr. Ping, in summing up, said that Mr. Chamberlain's action was brave, but the proposals themselves were disgraceful. 17
