Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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8 damages to the plaintiff in the sum of fourpence, and required the defendant to lead his dog in the forthcoming Easter Parade wearing a placard inscribed, Public Enemy No. I — Bantam-killer. Among the debates held during the season were these: — October 1st. — Bermuda is too small a place to live in. Proposer J. H. Kaufmann Opposer W. Hanlon Third F. R. Snape Fourth „...R. W. Horsey The motion was defeated by six votes. October 22nd. — ' The boy of to-day is thoroughly idle. Proposer J. H. Kaufmann Opposer R. W. Horsey Third W. Hanlon Fourth ... S. A .Williams The motion was defeated by two votes. November 26th. — Hat Debate. Impromptu speeches. Among the subjects picked from the Hat were these: — Is man descended from the ape? What do you consider your three most valuable possessions? What I saw on the day of the Royal Visit. Why does a wheel turn? Is parliamentary government the best form of government? Could we do without schools? January 21st. — Unrehearsed speeches under these heads: — The most awkward situation in which I have found myself. Why I enjoy life. What I want to do when I leave school. February 18th. — The scientist is the villian of the 20th. century. Proposer F. R. Snape Opposer F. I. B. Williams Third S. A. Williams Fourth J. M. Berridge The motion was defeated by seventeen votes. The final meeting was devoted to the Visitors Debate, on March 25th, when the ♦Society was pleased to welcome the Rev. Paul Cory. There was a spirited debate on the motion, Newspaper reporters are too nosey , which was carried by the narrow margin of two votes. Proposer J. M. Berridge Opposer F. R. Snape Third Rev. Paul Cory Fourth Mr. M. R. Stevens At the conclusion of the debate tea was served in the Assembly Hall. The Society is grateful to Mr. M. R. Stevens for his constant ' interest and invigorating contributions and to Mr. J. A. Stubbs for his helpful co-operation in the Mock Trial.

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7 The Debating Society The past season has yielded its full quota of entertaining debates, but for sheer popularity the palm should perhaps be awarded to the Mock Trial held on March 4th. The cause celebre was that of Leghorn White (S. A. Williams) v Dauberman Pincher (H. G. F. Pierce), before His Lordship, Sir Jeremiah Beak (J. M. Berridge). The case revolved around a dog and six bantams. The plaintiff sought damages for loss sustained on the morning of February 12th, when the defendant ' s dog, it was alleged, did wilfully and with full malice aforethought make a forcible entry into his chicken run and kill four of his prize bantams — Willy, Nilly, Dilly, and Dally. De- fendant denied the charge, and submitted that his dog was of blameless character; he had reared it as a strict vegetarian, and it was in fact so tame that it wouldn ' t bite its own fleas. Counsel for the plain|tSff was Sir Joshua Grill (Mr. M. R. Stevens), and the defendant was represented by Sir Archibald Blister (Mr. J. A. Stubbs). Mr. Toby Scratcher (F. R. Snape) was Clerk of the Court. Three witnesses appeared for the plaintiff: Mr. Leroy Lamb (J. H. Tucker) testified as to the dog ' s bad reputation: his own chickens had been mauled by it. Mr. Jas. Natter (W. Fish), a near neighbour of the plaintiff, had heard the commotion on the morning in question, and had seen a dog making off festooned with feathers. Miss Polly Prim (R. W. Kempe) was employed as maid at the house of the plaintiff. Hearing the pandemonium she went out to investigate, but at the sight of the slaughter she fainted. The defence also produced three witnesses: Dr. Whinny Baric (F. I. B. Williams), veterinary surgeon, had psycho-analysed the dog and tested it for radio-activity; as a result he was able to testify that the dog was temperamentally incapable of killing chickens. Mr. Peck N. Pay (H. E. OuterbrMge) was a neighbour of the defendant, and knew his dog well. At the time of the attack on the bantams the dog was on his property; he recalled the occasion quite well he- cause their cat had been chased up a tree and imprisoned there for a considerable length of time by the dog. Mr. Early Moo (A. W. Hollis), milk deliveryman for the defendant ' s district, knew the dog well; he had once seen it being chased by a rooster. When the witnesses had been thoroughly grilled and blistered, Counsel addressed the Court. His Lordship gave a few directions to the Jury before they withdrew to consider their verdict. After a brief retirement the Foreman of the Jury (J. ' Smith) returned a verdict for the plaintiff. Sir Jeremiah then delivered judgement: he awarded

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9 OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR 1953-54 President Mr. J. H. Kerry Secretary F. R. Snape COMMITTEE W. Hanlon, R. W. Horsey, J. M. Berridge, S. A. Williams, J. H. Tucker, and the ' Secretary. The Good Old Days, or: A Bermudian Childhood I was born on February 14th. 1938, in a little pink cottage on the South Shore, near Coral Beach. I was the second child, having an elder sister. I do not remember that cottage very well, but after a year we moved to my grandmother ' s house on Ord Road. Here after six months my mother presented us with a young brother named Allan. In my opinion, I was the best-behaved and quietest of the three. One of my earliest memories is of the time when my father and my Uncle Philip were visited with inspiration and placed me on a high chair in the back yard and cut off all my pretty curls. My mother was distinctly annoyed. After my brother and I had started to walk, we used to go to the nearest pile of mud and get some twater to make mud pies . We enjoyed this very much, the only unpleasant part being that we had to have a bath afterwards. When the war started, I vaguely remember my two uncles walking out of the front door to go to England. A little later we moved to Alton Cottage in Pembroke, because my father had to live near town. I distinctly remember the Easter of 1941, because we searched the house for Easter eggs. Allan was, as the saying goes, a gluttonous little boy and always used to say Nice dinner weddy . In 1943 we moveH over to Edgehill where we now live. There were about four and a half acres of land, entirely covered with trees and bushes, and Allan and I, with the help of three Smith cousins, Anthony, Henry and Winston, used to build tree houses and forts. As we were all very nautically minded, we thought of building a boat, so we went down to Burrows Corner Shop and obtained a packing