Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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9 four dominions were already established Canada, Australia, New Zea- land, and South Africa; they had complete independence, and were members of the Commonwealth by their own free choice. Since the second World War other countries had b«en offered the free choice of dominion status or secession: India, Pakistan, Ceylon .... all except Burma, had chosen to remain members of the Commonwealth. They stayed together because they liked to stay together, not under any compulsion. Nearer home they had the example of their own little island of Bermfuda: one felt proud that in spite of its unique geographical posi- tion it had remained staunchly British for 350 years. Yet one heard it said that Britian had had its day, and was finish- ed. It was true that during the past thirty or fonty years she had suffered some severe setbacks, and her power had declined. That was largely due to the fact that she had fought from the beginning to the end of two exhausting wars within a period of thirty years entailing very heavy losses in life and wealth; but she had surmounted them, and there were hopeful signs for the future. Looking at his own Service the backbone of the Royal Navy of to-day was the aircraft carrier, vastly more powerful than the earlier carriers. That increase of power rested on five inventions: jet propulsion, angled flight decks, the steam catapult, mirror landing, and radar. All five were British inventions, and all of them would in the near future be embodied in the N.A.T.O. fleets. Another potential development, one of peacetime, was that of atomic power stations, of which the first was already in full commission: Britain planned to build nineteen of these (by 1956, giving her a lead in that particular field. So ... . perhaps the old lion was not so mangy as some people would have them believe. He wished them all a good holiday. The Debating Society Words, words, mere words . . . . Schoolboys should be paid a salary. This was the subject of a most remarkable debate — remarkal le not so much by reason of the arguments adduced as for the ouitcome. Some of the arguments were interesting too. The proposers claimed that the salary would pro- vide an incentive to study. Optimes would take the form of financial bonuses, and Pessimes would become obsolete. Boys would doubtless su] render most of their earnings to their parents for the payment of

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8 1957. Jan. 24th: Two cedar tables were presented to the School Library by Sir John Cox and Mr. W. M. Cox. Feb. 10th: A group of senior boys visited the Z.B.M. studios and heard a talk given by Mir. Harry Cox. March 27th: Mr. Park Breck of the Health Department addressed the senior school. April 4th: Mr. and Mrs. Martin Godet presented a cup to be award- ed yearly to the athlete in Group C winning the moat points in the Inter House Sports. Empire Day Celebration 1957 Empire Day was celebrated by the traditional service in Hall, after which Commander W. G. Jack, R.N spoke to the boys. Among the audience were Mrs. Edmund Gibbons, representing the I.O.D.E., Mr. Thomas Vesey, representing the Trustees of the School, and Mr. Charles Wilson, representing the Old Boys Association. Commander Jack spoke of the Empire as a monument to capacity and patience. There had been many empires in the course of the world ' s history. The old empires had been acquired by conquest, as had parts of the British Empire; but there had also been an element of haphazardness about its acquisition. It had been said that the Em- pire had been acquired in a fit of absent-mindedness. Their own little island of Bermuda had been colonised as the result of an accident: Ad- miral Sommers had just hit the place; it wasn ' t a case of conquest, for it was in fact uninhabited at that time. Australia, too, was the result of a peaceful colonisation. Singapore was a malarial swamp when Sir Stamford Raffles took it over. Malta had simply begged them to come. These were but a very few of th e many and diverse ways in which the Empire had been pieced together. A most remarkable thing about the Emipire was how it had con- tinued. It had experienced growing pains, and the old conception of empire had been exploded by the American War of Independence, which had taught England a lesson leading to a changed attitude towards the peoples of the Empire. Yet still they would come up against the word Colonialism used as a term of reproach by their enemies to imply that in the past they had grabbed these territories and had continued to use them; merely to exploit them. Let them study the record. Before the first World War

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10 fees, which would lead them in the paths of unselfishness. The Opposers maintained that schoolboys were already paid — in a coin greater than money, the coin of knowledge. A system of money payment would in- culcate a false sense of the value of money. Which did they really prefer, money or a good education? FinaJlly, descending from the strato- sphere of wishful thinking, did they expect to get a salary even if they voted for it? The House nobly resisted the allurements of filthy lucre, and the motion was overwhelmingfly defeated. Principal speakers were: B. R. Hall and J. Couchman for the motion; D. M. McCann and P. S. Scupham against. February ' ' 28th. found four members of the Society in considerable jeopardy in a balloon. They were . . . H. B. Hallett (in the character of a Bermuda Pilot), B. M. MoCann (Television Salesman), D. M. McCann (Bermuda Housewife), and P. S. Scupham (Newspaper Re- porter). The balloon was ouc of control and descending rapidly over the sandy wastes of the Sahara Desert. Only one could be saved. Each in turn stated his case to show that it was he who should be ' preserved for posterity ' . The Pilot claimed to be one of the world ' s best. He had handled over a thousand ships, and mishandled but a few. He fellt that he was the most useful one of the bunch: with the perfecting of tinned foods housewives would soon be obsolete; reporters would be displaced by the radio news network; and, really, television salesmen were not of national importance. Also, he had located a secret treasure — in a cave, of course — and proposed to use it for the benefit of suffering humanity, especially schoolboys and teachers. The Salesman doubted whether the Pilot ' s treasure would materi- alise, and if it did, the Government would extend its confiscatory fist. He felt that one housewife the less wouldn ' t matter much, and any reporter who worked for the . . . (deleted by Censor) should be thrown out anyway. Now he had the prospectus for a new television set which would offer unrivalled features at a low price, and he was prepared to grant a special discount to those who helped to keep him ' on the air ' . The Housewife laid about her with a metaphorical rolling-pin be- fore advancing her chief plea for salvation — her numerous offspring, who needed her tender care. She then gave a minute by minute de- scription of her arduous day. The Reporter felt that a TV salesman would be no great loss, and could easilly be replaced. The pilot could afford to take a risk: a man of such navigational skill could surely steer a safe course into port.