i- - S 0 - Mungret College Past Pupils' Union

IN(l1T :NN1ALl'KOl$I.EM OFThe Motion debated at the Iril Sessionits :---Thai Peace in Europe is Impossible 'l'o-day_"In supporting the Motion the speakerspaiii'ud a lurid picture of ciintempOrarEurope.The nations of Europe had beenseized by the fear of an oncoming war, and bytheir very 1irep rat ions for the struggle hailmade the conflict inevitable. The voice of theholy Father calling for peace, peace. peacehad been ignored and the Pope's plea forinternational disarmament had been answeredby a frenzied manufat" ur'' of war-material. liisuch circumstance's another world-war Wa.simply a matter if time.The Opposition consi,lured that the European'.iivatin was riot so black as itwas painted.Sta'esmen and people had learned that grimThe speakers for the atflrmit ive consideredthat Mussolini was nothing more or less thana tyrant. In crushing Communism Mussolinihad merely succeeded in setting up the equallyvicious system of personal rule. The war inAbysinnia afforded a good example of Mussolini'spolicy. A great country had been ruthlesslyinvaded by an Italian force, armed withall the modern weapons of destruction andthe Italians had carried a savage war ofextermination against a defenceless people.No man Possessing even an elementary notionof justice could approve of the methods andpd ic of Mussolini.The opposition sketched the career ofMussolini and gave' a detailed account of thegreat work which he accomplished in savingMUSSOLINI.li's-on of tit.. recent. war. The nalions ofEurope who had passt'(l through the fieryordeal of 1,.o14-Is were filled with a wholesomedread of the horrors of var. and of the crushingfinancial burdens that must be borne formany years nftt'r the struggle had ended. Themilitary pre'paratiiiis if the great States hadas their main object the restoration of theBalance of Power, a policy which the experienceof past centuries had proved to be thesole guarantee of peace in Europe.Voting For the Motion . . 24 votes.Against the Mo' In . . Ii; votes.The Mid ion was carried liv a niajority of SAt the 4th Session the Mt ion debated asThai this house deplores the Policy of Mussolini.'SpeakersFor the Motion - - - - - -M. Larkin. P. Kelly. M. Caulti,'ld.C. Watkins. J. Mooney. P. Kirwan.Agains' the Motion - - - - - -FIN.I. SESSION.Italy from the :tiiarchy of Socialism. Mussoliniwas one of the few great men produced by theWar and his greatness consisted in the factthat he was a nat in-builder. The responsibilityof the Ally sinIan war was laid upon thosestates of Europe who had denied to Italy thecolonial rights in Africa which were essential'o her economic life. The settlement of theRoman Question and the flourishing state ofCatholicism in Italy were undeniable proofs ofthe success if Mussolini's policy.Vo'ing : For the Motion . . . . 25 votes.Against the Motion . . IS votes.The Motion was carried by a majority of 7votes.IIRISHMEN .tBRO.tH.The folloving Motiiiii was debated by th ' -Junior Apostilits'-- -That Ireland's Influence .broad was Greater from the Sixth t o the 'I't'ltthCentury. than from the Thirteenth to the Nineteenth ('enturSpeakersFor the Motion - - - - - - - L. Carr. M. Corrigan. I'. IIv•-.Against the Motion - - - - - - C. Durham, C. Quinn, M. ('ii'le',In support of the Motion it was argued thatwh,) soon attained to e'minence in every walkthe great missionary work of Ireland duringof life.he 6th-12th centuries were not surpassed byIrishmen had made their influence felttt in the American War of Independence.aihiivi'niie'nts of Irishmen in later days. DuringIt the%%last.is century i' was Irishmen in Ireland tha' the lamp of learning waswho werechiefly respiinsihle for the spread of the Faithkept alight in the dark ages when barbariansin America and Australia.wandered over the face of Europe, destroyingTo all who wereacquainted withcry vestige of ancient cithe history ofilisation.I rebindThe greatitwork if the Irishroust he evident that the influence of I rishm"nmoiik. in Britain, Gaul, abroad in nt,iilt'rn time'sSwitzerland, Italy andwasGermanygre'ate'r thanwereinset the foregoing centuries.forth in detail. Such a noble record hail neverbeen surpassed liv Irishmen iu later days, Voting : For the Motion ....The Opposition gave a glowing account of10 Vot&'s.Against the Motionthe work (if Irishmen abroad in modern times,. 15 votes,'I'h.. migration from Inland of the Wild Geese The Motion was lost by a majority of 5filled I every count rv of Europe with Irishmen viite's,THIRD CLUB DEBATING SOCIETY.That the ('bums of Limerick to he Capital oh Munster are Greater thanThe Society met on Suii,lv. 23r,l Feb. todiscuss the above motion. Rev. J. ()'Mara, S.J,,presided. J. Geaghan opened the debate forthe Geiverannent. In a forceful speech hedefended the claims of Limerick from its unrivalledgeographical position, He mentionedthat Fovnes is to he a trans-Atlantic air port.Finally he said Limerick is built in it riven'which plays a great part in the commercialifv of the country. H. I)eadv, was leader ofthe sitii,n He considered ('erIe a finerii' and ridiculed the proposal that such asmall Place as Limerick should ('yen lie mentionedas capital. M. Croniii claimed thatLimerick was more famed in history and thereforeshould tie recognised as capital, J. Tuomeyin a well arranged speech showed that as Corkwas the largest city of the province and thethose of ('uurk,"greatest centre of c,inuiie'rce it was fitting thatit should he capital. E. O'Connor illustratedthe bravery of the people of Limerick fromthe Siege of Limerick and said the descendantsof those people were still in Limerick andtheir's should be the capital c'ity. M.Se' raggswas surprised that anybody should i'halle'ngc'the claims of ('irk to 'he ciio'al of \lunste'r.He contrasted Cork with Limerick especiallywith regard to theatre'. and votertainnient,anil strongly asse'rte'd Cork's superiority atleast in this respect. .11. Menitt speaking firthe motion quote.el the industrial ailvantag.sof Limerick. C. O'Brien made perhaps thebest speech, He addressed the house with aconfidence which no other speaker had.The Motion was defeated by Is votes tj I.I.ii A iriI sth the Apost lies held their final--ion. The issue at stake was to decide thewinner of the Medal presented by Mr. G.l':irkiiisin last year. Early in the year it was,l,'i,h'd that 'here should be a special sessionfor this purpose and the four, who wereJudged to be the best of the year, were totight out the' issue. The four wire. W. O'Hare.S. Peart. J. Flynn and P. Kelly. We expecteda treat of oratory and were not disappointed.The speeches reached a very high standardboth in matter and delivery. On the final countW. O'Hare was awarded the Medal. Ourcongratulations to him and our best thanks toall who helped to make the year such a successfor the Academy.In particular we wish to thank Mr. G.Parkinson for his Medal and to assure himthat it achieved the end he had in viewstimulus and a help for the Academy.'I'hat Modern Inentions and Discoveries are the Cause of the DeclineThe Si,ii'tv met in March 29th to discussthis motion. Fr. J. Ki'll', S.J.. presided, J.Byrne proposing the mid ion said that moderninventionstheniselve.s were good but theUse which is made of them in the present dayexceeds that intended by God. He illustratedthis from the abuse of the cinema, broadcastingof Present-day Civilisation.**awl newspapers , J.Callanan, the leader ofthe opposition, replied that on the contraryeven the Church was using modern inventionsHe gave the example of the use of aeroplanesin the missions and the setting up of a broadcasting-station in the Vatican City, V. O'Donnellshowed that as a result of nni.ide'rn