London South Collegiate Institute - Oracle Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

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SEASON S SQL!-I-UUE I he so sad And all the uorld Smzles down on HIL The tree above Wzth accents lon lVIurrnurs so tlx Its gladnecc to :hon The clouds U1 the km Sail ar aboae The bzrds tn the tree Tuztter thezr lme And o I lze And remmzsce On all tht: uorla' O joyous blns Ernest Harlew DAVV N Peace rests upon a sleeping World Above the dark sky turns to grey A red streak zn the east appears, And past tt now the sunbeams play Up zn the trees the birds awake, The young ones clamour from thetr nest, Whilst on the grass and woodland brake The mornzng dew doth glzstenmg rest And soon I Waken 1n my bed, And thrust my e-vemng sleep away As 7710T7l111g,5 banner zs unfurled And heralds forth another day Graeme Cameron IVC S O U T H C I Page Twenlry fav - V -f- -A.:-fp:-1 ' Y Beneath a tree, i ' , - f , A . S fr A ' ' f ' I gi' f I 'VT' A I 5 , of , , . ' 1 1 , ' X K

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l Jlt :BENSON was unimpeachable. For generations his fore- fathers had always been butlers to the best English families. Benson was more adventurous than his ancestors, for, thirty-two years ago, he had come to Canada, when he had entered into the service of his present master, Colonel Jarvis. For Benson, time had but heightened dignity. One day, before entering to announce the arrival of Mrs. Healy's car, he paused outside the living-room door. Mrs. Healy's falsetto voice came to his ear. My dear, I would never take the risks you are taking. I think it is very foolish of you to keep your wonderful necklace of diamonds here. You know. in these days-the servants-. Here Mrs. Jarvis interrupted her guest: 'tWhy Helen, our servants have been with us for years. I'd as soon dis- trust my own mother as I would them. They are devoted to usf' The harsh voice grated: Oh, you never can tell,-and you know that butler of yours has a face which I've never liked. Give him a chance and he'd do the worst possible. Benson stiffened, even though his mistress indulgently replied: Oh, you must mean Benson. Helen, he's one in a million. He's the perfect servant. Benson coughed, entered the room and announced the arrival of the car. Being a perfect servant. he did not stare coldly at Mrs. Healy. These words would not, ordinarily, have been noticed by Benson, but since he had not been paid for four months. he allowed himself to slip, and think-a thing which is never done by a perfect servant. He knew that the famous Jarvis necklace was an heir- loom and insured for 2i5250,G00. He also knew that Colonel Jarvis had lost his fortune in the bankruptcy of his iirm, and that the safe in the wall, which held the necklace, was old and fiimsy,-had been once broken, and had been mended imperfectly. Benson had, paradoxically, a true love of detective fiction and, like all amateur detectives, had a cherished perfect crime. When he went to bed, his plans were complete. The next night his employers were dining out. Having seen the Colonel and his wife to their car, Benson returned to the library. Drawing on a pair of gloves. he soon forced the safe with the aid of a cold-chisel and a poker from the fireplace. The job took about ten minutes. Dropping the necklace into his pocket, he returned to the servants' quar- ters. Later he hid the necklace behind a brick in the cellar. One of the maids discovered the robbery the following morning and soon there were detectives all over the house,- dropping ashes on priceless Persian rugs, and proving to be general nuisances. Benson's alibi was perfect. He had eaten, returned to his quarters, and played cards with another servant until the return of his master. In addition and-cc Q mContinued on Page TTr Page Twenty-tour GWYNNETH MARTIN Illustrated by Dorothy Hubbell . 6 x Q, I g Syn X fa... X , I lt f ll 4 ffl ll X .MH l W lffy f jj! 5 E 'TW I it l , X ' I V s' f N . l f l law, I. I . ll lillidikitil ' ligdiy l f Qmztj, li, f l, y fl Nxxll' ll X C sw 'l vl l I I 4 xQN il? it i t I .Bling ,I l Q is ' ll in 5-1 'I L .X XE h J T H E o R A c L E L

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- - AUSTRALIA! - - This essay, written by Lloyd Stevenson, was awarded first prize in the Province of Ontario in the Essay com- petition sponsored by the Government of Australia. URING the Seven Years' War in North America, the war which determined the an English officer named destiny of Canada. James Cook served his king on a man-of-war, downfall of Quebec. This and witnessed the oflicer, whose name was later to appear in the history of Canada's great sister dominion, soundings which made it Australia, took the possible for the English ships to navigate the St. Lawrence, and so to bring about the down- fall of Quebec and the conquest of Canada. France, deprived of her greatest colony in the north, began to consider the possibilities of Australia. But Holland claimed the country, and Spain's pretension could not be ignored. None of these nations, however. made any attempt to colonize the land, and Australia still waited for an active claimant. In 1770 Captain Cook sailed westward from New Zealand, and, cruising along the east coast of Australia. landed at Botany Bay, where he planted the British Hag. It was a fateful occa- sion, that autumn morning now more than a hundred and sixty years past, that marked the beginning of England's interest in Australia. That was in March. On June 11th. after a trying voyage, during which his ship was all but sunk, and most of his ship's company died of fever. Cook docked his vessel at Deal, in the south of England. 'We can picture him striding up from the quay in his blue coat and white knee-breeches, bearing a message whose tre- mendous import not even he could guess. Sixteen years passed. and despite the danger of being forestalled England continued to neglect Australia, and probably would have done so still longer had not her hand been forced. For some time it had been the custom to transport political prisoners and other unde- sirables to the American colonies. especially the Southern States. But the American revolu- tion closed the door. and in 1788 Captain Phillip arrived at Botany Bay with the Iirst transport of convicts to settle in Australia. This beginning did not augur well for the future of the new land. Nevertheless, it must be remembered that the great majority of the transported convicts were unfortunate political offenders. and very few were criminals in any real sense of the word. Page Twenty-six During its early history the penal colony at Sydney had a very unhappy existence. But con- ditions gradually improved, and many free settlers began to come across from Great Britain and to take up farms and sheep runs. Those convicts who were disposed to Work were assigned to these settlers as labourers or servants, and were paid small Wages. When their sentences expired, many of them took up land and became enterprising settlers. As the free population increased, the colony began to protest against the transportation of convictsg opinion in England turned against the practice, and it was finally discontinued altogether. Although the system did not give the new land a fair chance, Hit provided, to quote Professor Trevelyan, a convenient base, and a method of communication with distant England, very necessary for the first stages of colonization which speedily followed. ENGLAND CONFIRMED CLAIMS So the island continent awoke to the light. Spain laid claim to itg the Dutch named it New Holland g France designed it for her owng and Captain Cook claimed it for England. But of these four nations, England alone confirmed her claim by colonizing it. Bold explorers now began to push inland, braving the frown of nature, and carrying out their task in the face of incredible difficulties. Lawson, Wentworth and Blaxland succeeded in passing the barrier of the Blue Mountains, which limit the coastal strip where settlement was begun. The frontier moved swiftly inland. Squatters took up land on the Bathurst Plains and founded Australiats pastoral industry. Exploration continued. The names of Leich- hardt. Eyre, Sturt and MacDouall Stuart are cut large in the story of Australia. Their expeditions covered thousands of miles, and gave much important information about the country. Sturt, perhaps the most famous of them all, explored the Murray-Darling river system, and was probably the first white man to see the rich land of the river basins, thou- sands of acres in extent. Navigators had mean- while been exploring the coasts, and the voyages of Bass and Flinders resulted in the accurate charting of the coasts of Tasmania, and many miles of the continental shore-line. THE ORACLE