The Rafflesian 1958 May Vol 32 No 1

tations and conventions be accepted. Thus enemies, yet he has to do unpleasant duties,
the necessity for laws, for discipline. to maintain the law for the general good of
the population. What he does is in the in-
We very rarely imagine ourselves in the terest of the population and for the sake of
position of those trying to safeguard this the morale of society. He fails in his obliga-
civilised form of freedom we desire. If we tions to society if he closes his eyes to wrongs
do, we cannot but admit that theirs is a diffi- committed.
cult job which can only be successfully done
with full co-operation from the people in the In Singapore, the Police Force was once
form of self-discipline and the will to be law- loathed by the people. It received little or
abiding. The need to be co-operative is the no co-operation from them just because they
challenge put forward by society whose exis- did not appreciate the value of its work.
tence depends on the willingness of the citizens Now that most people have become more
to meet this challenge squarely. educated and are able to see the light for
themselves, we are glad to mention that the
This selfsame challenge also presents it- dislike has diminished. The Police Force now
self in the precincts of Raffles Institution, is respected for its devotion in maintaining
where the prefects are given the task of law. When a hawker is served with a sum-
maintaining discipline. Just as is stated in mons for causing obstruction, other hawkers
an article in which a second form student has may clamour that the police are unjust and
mentioned how helpful policemen are, so can unfair; but a true citizen will approve the
the prefects in this Institution be the helpful police action unless he is so insane as to prefer
companions of the students. Only offenders to drive his car along a hawker-congested road
need fear the police. The policeman is human. than to be allowed to drive smoothly and
He desires friendship jusit as much as any comfortably.
other human being. He is not out to make

HOMO SAPIENS

Soon after being born
He is at everyone's beck and call.
Tramping to school he is quickly transformed
Into cogs and wheels of State machinery;
Worn out, he then retires into an arm-chair
And is shortly reduced to dust
Inside an urn of brass.

Lum Jan Sing,
Upper Sixth.

Here we reproduce some excerpts from the l887 and 1888 issues of the
"Rafflesian''. They throw light on some interesting issues of those far-off:
days which are of current interest. In reading these extracts, the reader
should bear in mind that the "Rafflesian" then was more a 'newspaper' than
a school magazine. Furthermore, it was meant only for "private circulation''
within the school. These two facts probably explain the audacity with which
some, of these views are expressed.

GAMBLING IN SINGAPORE houses, a Chinaman promised to take me with
him. The shop we were going to was an
T H E one predominant vice in the Straits is ordinary "pingan mankoo" one. The China-
gambling and the experience of over a man told me that I was not to betray the
slightest look of suspicion, but was to pretend
hundred years has shown that all the means that I had come to buy something. While
employed to root it out of the colony will be we were still some distance off from the shop
fruitless. Time after time has the establish- that we were going to, I saw a Chinaman in
ment of a gambling farm been proposed, but the doorway who seemed to be beckoning to
the proposal has never been adopted. A passers-by. When he caught sight of me he
gambling farm would certainly prove benefi- ceased beckoning. I boldly walked into the
cial to the colony. Although gambling is a house and began expressing my opinion on
very great vice to the mind of any English- the different articles. If I had not known
man, yet to the mind of a Chinaman it is quite the Chinese language the man would no doubt
the reverse, for he thinks that it is just as have got tired of me, but the way in which.
honest a way of gaining money as to speculate I spoke it quite astonished him. He soon
in trade. As the establishment of a gambling offered me a cup of tea and asked me to smoke
farm would thus be to the delight of the a cigar. Not to hurt the man's feelings, I
Chinaman, it is a great pity that. Government took the former-, but refused the latter on the
will not authorize it. If such a thing were ground that I was not in the habit of smoking
done, it would not only add to the revenue, and did not like it at all. To get a view of
but it would prevent other Governments close the back of the house from which I had heard
by, who legalise gambling, from benefiting on a continual whispering, I suddenly walked to
the earnings of the Chinamen in this colony the door which led to the inner room of the
who go there purposely to gamble. house, at the same time telling the Chinaman
that his house was very large. When I got
In Singapore, I am told, there are no less to the door I found no less than twenty
than fifty or sixty gambling houses, and al- persons in the room which I was about to
though that number may seem rather exag- enter. There were six Malays, as many Klings
gerated to some, we believe it to be so. The and the remainder Chinese. The Klings
peculiarity of the gambling houses here is that pulltd a 'lon'g face whenever they lost, the
they have no signs to distinguish them from Malays showed very little self-possessoin, for
others. A rice shop, a grog shop, an earthen- when luck was against them, they lost their
ware shop, or any other place may be a temper and when it was in their favour, they
gambling house. The gambling, of course, is were very liberal and even offered me some-
carried on in the front room and also thing; whilst the Chinamen gambled quietly
in some apartments behind or even upstairs. as if they were doing business and whether
Having expressed my desire to see one of these

they lost or won, their looks remained un- V
changed and they never spoke a word. Taking
the advice of the man I never said anything They hear that there's work to be done,
about it to anyone, but I thought it was im- They say not "Oh! how and when";
possible that the police were ignorant of the
nature of the place I visited. When they're asked for help, they give it
Not "soon," but e'en there and then.
For such a thing as this to exist in a
colony where there is such a large police force 8.0.
only helps me to confirm the fact that gambl-
ing has got such a hold on the "native social WHAT WE CAN DO FOR THE RISING
system in the Straits that it is sufficient to
paralyse the efficiency of any police force GENERATION
by corrupting it." At present the opinion of
many is that as neither our laws nor our police T H I S is a question which always remains
can keep this detestable vice down, it is better unanswered whenever it is asked. Of
to wink at it as we are doing now and get a
small revenue from the fines than to establish course many suggestions have been made, some
a gambling farm. of which, if adopted, would provide a better
future for more boys than is the case now.
A. We cannot but praise our worthy Governor for
the excellent scheme which he has adopted for
THE BOYS THAT SUCCEED starting a higher education in these settlements
by conferring on the best boys the privilege
I of finishing their studies in England or India.
Whatever line of business these scholarship-
Boys there are in countless numbers holders may have gone in, they are sure to
Who speak much but little do; succeed; and should any one profession, they
have chosen, not pay, we are quite certain
These are not they whose assistance that they will never be so unfortunate as to
Can be looked for through and through, lie at death's door from starvation. In such
a place like this, death from starvation is an
II almost unheard-of occurrence; the beggar can
get enough by begging from door to door to
They can and do always promise keep body and soul together. If money does
To be foremost in a strife; not come pouring into their pockets, at least
they can manage, with the education that has
But when come real difficulties, been given them, to put on a respectable
They abscond, as for their life. appearance. But let us consider how many.'
are so fortunate as to get a Higher Scholar-
III ship. Out of 3,000 boys only two every year
are given this privilege; while the rest have
These are not among those who dare to begin life under very unfavourable circum-
Fight all obstacles in the face, stances. This is the sort of boys we wish to
speak now.
They will never be enlisted
As great "winners in life's race." We have all noticed that every year
finds a number of boys out of school and
IV without work, and this number must in-
crease with the flow of years. Well, one may
Far. far different is the spirit ask; — "Why don't they go to work?" In the
Of those boys, those chosen few;

Who do never falsely promise
Things they know they cannot do.

first place, they do not go to work because has just left school to find employment.
there is no work for them to do; and in the Whenever there is a vacancy in any office, you
second place, they cannot go to work, if there may see thirty or forty applicants for the post,
is any, because they know almost nothing. each as anxious to obtain it, even though it
Those that are better educated may succeed may be with a salary of $15, as though his very
in getting a vacant post, but it is useless existence depends on the success of his appli-
to argue that an employer would ever take in cation. And what becomes of the unsuccess-
an ignorant boy as his clerk if a smart and a ful? How often do we find young people
comparatively better educated boy were stand- knocking about the streets, and, when an
ing without and applying for the same vacancy. opportunity is given, robbing their fellows.
These poorly educated youths in time turn out And the longer the Government winks at their
to be the scum of the colony. They have not conduct the more are they encouraged, and any
learnt enough to qualify even for a clerkship, crime they may at first commit with fear will
to beg they are ashamed, and consequently afterwards be perpetrated with great impu-
they begin to lead dishonest lives. No doubt dence.
they are sorry that they neglected to learn
when they had a chance to, but there is no Some people, amongst others "Junius,"
doubt too that there are some of them, who, have suggested having technical schools for
if their parents could afford to keep them those who care to study for a profession. It
longer in school might afterwards lead quite is not every smart youth who stands a chance
different lives. for a Higher Scholarship. Some, who have
worked their hardest for years, may not be
We have not in Singapore any com clever enough to qualify for one; and if no
pulsory education, but the Government provision were made for such, what prospect
can very well afford to make the Cross would lie before them in the future? The
Street and other Government Schools free for best work they can do is not more than that
the children of the very poor of the popula- of an ordinary clerk, and the salary they get
tion, who would be too willing to lift then- will hardly compensate for the trouble and
sons from the slough of ignorance in which pains they have taken in their education nor
they themselves have been floundering for so will it be in harmony with their knowledge.
long, but could not afford to pay the monthly For such boys -as these, there should be tech-
fee. And if such a step could not be adopted nical education provided in the colony; schools
by the Government, a number of philanthropic can be formed for the teaching of such pro-
people who would wish to teach "the Rising fessions as engineering; surveying, farming
generation" to lead noble lives could easily and elementary surgery; and at no very distant
band together, and give pecuniary assistance date there shall be no need to import foreigners
to a work to which they would not be able to whose continual inflow has an injurious and
devote much time. For purposes of a philan- discouraging effect on the "sons of the soil."
thropic character, energy is absolutely required. When we use this term we have no respect for
But where are we to find such people? It will nationality. Any boy who has a taste for
be a long time before these would come to the one of these professions, should be given equal
fore, and engage in such work. And the chance of studying it, and there is a, wide field
greater pity it is. open to receive any number of these youths.
We advert to the Malay States which are now
The reason why we ask what can be done being opened to Europeans. And there is no
for the large number of boys who may not fear that these qualified boys would increase
succeed in finding work is because it is getting in so rapid a way as to compel some of them
to be a question of great and real importance. to seek new fields of labour.
Even at present it is difficult for any boy who

With regard to the children of the very would still be something which, on his death-
poor, (we confine ourselves to the Chinese bed,he must confess he had not learnt. And
community) who have at present no chance of yet few, comparatively few, of the boys here
receiving any education, these can be placed are aware of this fact. In their opinion,
in elementary free schools to be taught more what is not mentioned in school-books need
manual professions such as those of a tailor, not necessarily be known. They look with
carpenter and shoemaker. No doubt the cynic contempt on any one of their number who
would hiss at such an idea, but these profes- pores over the columns of a newspaper, or
sions are selected only for the destitute boys devours eagerly a novel. In like manner a
who could, by following any one of these clerk is regarded, who spends profitably his
trades, earn a comfortable living, for it is leisure moments in learning without the aid
absurd to believe that the son of a rich person of a teacher the art of phonography,- or in
would ever condescend to do such work. And educating himself in those things which he had
since the case is so, for the lowly have been not the chance of being taught while in school.
chosen humble yet honest professions. If It is the belief of the majority of youths that
every one wants to be rich, we shall all have as soon as they have left school, the most
to starve and go without clothes; and if every appropriate thing for them to do when their
one wants to teach when he ought to be day's work is done, is to enjoy themselves, to
taught, the knowledge of the world will be keep themselves in constant fits of laughter
at a standstill. Of course if a poor ignorant with all sorts of yarns. We find this painful
boy aspires to become rich, and wastes his truth a very common thing in this place,
days in 'idle and hopeless speculations; we especially among Chinese youths. We are,
should not wonder when our prison is always however, glad to notice that this is not quite
full of criminals. universal; there are some, though very few,
whose delight is in reading instructive books
It is true industrial scholarships arc and being in the company of literary people.
already in existence, but what, are they against These are the youths who may hope to make
the number of boys that leave school every a mark in the world; for by self-education
year? Industries there are of various das many have raised themselves to the pitch of
criptions, many of which can be introduced literary fame. The name of a wealthy person
with advantage in these settlements, and by is buried with him; that of a literary man
means of which hundreds of "the rising gene- lives for ever.
ration" can hope to obtain an honourable
living. And when we consider that the Only recently we heard some complaints
Government can well afford to provide some made by the subordinate clerks in the Govern
means for the maintenance of free technical ment Offices, with regard to the unfairness of
schools, we are all the more sorry that nothing the Government in giving responsible posts to
has yet been done to promote and encourage total outsiders in preference to them. Now,
such education. we should like to ask why is this the case.
A little bit of thinking would suffice to show
SELF-EDUCATION that the fault lies not with the Government,
but with the clerks themselves. These may
"HAPPY is the man that findeth and he that have been, years in the service, but they know,
getteth understanding." Such is the beyond their ordinary routine of work, scarcely
more than what they knew when in school.
utterance of a wise and great king in the days And it would be quite absurd for such men to
of old. The length of time for which a person be allowed to hold responsible posts. Again
is allowed to live is so short that were he to we have heard that many of the Junior clerks
begin the study of the arts and sciences as in the Government fail to get promoted to the
soon as he sees the light of this world, there

Senior grade just because they could not pass the purposing of improving the condition of
the necessary examination. Of course not so the School. It was then attended regularly
long as they neglect their self-education. by all the boys of the Upper Sixth to the num-
There are very few boys who can get a tole- ber of twenty or upwards. Amongst these
rably good education in school; perhaps some were the four boys who have so distinguished
care more for play, than for learning, but when themselves in England and in Singapore, and
they come to find their mistake, there is still who never failed to take an active part in the
ample time to make amends at home. But so controversies. Of late, it grieves me to think
long as these Junior clerks persist in remain- of the decline of this Debating Society, which
ing in ignorance, so long will they find the was once the pride of the School. For the
examination for the Senior grade as difficult purpose of restoring the Society to its former
as the "donkey's bridge"' to the boy just be- position and of giving a bit of advice to those
ginning to learn Geometry. who never attend the debates, I have ventured
to write this letter.
We have only to quote a few examples to
prove what people have turned into through I feel strongly for those boys who are
self-education. Read the lives of Hugh Miller. losing the opportunity that is given them,
Benjamin Disraeli, Charles Darwin, and Elihu to improve their stock of knowledge, to
Burritt. It is, however, needless to say that refine their understanding and to know the
without perseverance, self-education must be rules of good breeding and society. Let me
placed in the background; but to our know- remind them that they are neglecting one of
ledge, there has appeared nothing of import- the most distinguished privileges that Provi-
ance, since the creation of the world, without dence has conferred upon mankind, viz:— the
the stamp of energy and perseverance indelibly power of communicating their thoughts to
marked on it. All should bear in mind that. one another in a way at once pleasing, reason-
able and instructive. Not only so, but they
"There is no gain are making a bad use of their time. An even-
ing is spent in chatting or idly loafing about
Without some pain." here and there, instead of attending a friendly
conference. It seems but. a small space of
Let not those, therefore, who have not time, but let me tell you that deep will be
availed of the opportunity of learning in their repentance, when it is too late to remedy
school, think that it is already too late for the defect. The lofty Queen Elizabeth on her
them to make a name. Let them not be dis- death-bed cried out. "Millions of money for one
couraged to make a name. Let them not be inch of time". How many such inches had she
discouraged with the work of self-educating cast away, and now the piercing cry came too
themselves, but remember that with persever- late. For the benefit of all such boys, I put
ance and patience, the highest and greatest forward the following quotation:—
obstacles can be surmounted. Try, therefore,
young readers, to persevere in that work of "Though much and warm the wise have
self-education which you may have already urged, the man
begun, and if you have not yet begun to school
yourselves, then commence at once. Is yet unborn who duly weighs an hour.

NOW OR NEVER Who murders time, he crushes in the birth

LET me call your attention to the wretched A power ethereal, only not adored."
state of the Raffles Debating Society, and
Often have I heard boys say "I have no
the comparatively poor attendance at the de- time to spare." One hour out of eight —
bates. This society was founded in 1886 for four hours in a week can't be spare! Is this

a truth? No — certainly not; it is nothing and various other things that tend to make
but a cunning and pretentious objection. discourse agreeable. Not only so but it helps
Again, "I can't speak" is another common us a great deal in the study of English Com-
expression. Well, this is in some degree true, position. Last, though not least, we are
for it is rather irksome for a bashful boy to capable by such friendly conferences to under-
make a speech for the first fine. But have stand each other better, to cultivate our taste
we forgotten the words of Lord Beaconsfield:— and to improve our intellectual abilities. In
"Now, gentlemen, you laugh at me, but the conclusion, I hope that the words I have
time will soon come when you will laugh with written will not be in vain, and I earnestly
me." believe that the next debate will show a large
number of the cream of Raffles School.
A debate is of great use in cultivating
one's conversational powers, fluency of speech Christopher Adolphus.

REPORT ON THE FAUNA OF THE

UNIVERSITY POND

T H E fresh-water pond is a limited habitat size and form. This free-swimming Protozoan
sharply marked off and not forming part (under the order Holotricha) can be easily
distinguished from the other Protozoans by
of general societies. It repays study by the its characteristic slipper-shaped body. Some
number of interesting types of animals found of the Protozoans can be recognised by the
inhabiting this small "world." peculiar ways in which they swim. A good
example is the Euglena and its allies. They
The types of animals can be classified can swim fairly rapidly by movements of the
under the following headings:— whole body which are induced by the activity
of the flagellum in a manner only fairly re-
(1) Protozoa and Coelenterates. cently understood. They can, furthermore,
do slow creeping movements which are believed
(2) Arthropoda: to be brought about by differential contractions
(a) Crustacean. of the myonemes. This is spoken of as
(b) Aquatic insects and their larvae. 'euglenoid movement'. Another example is
the Paramecium which swims about through
(3) Fishes. Mainly of the fighting fish the water (rotating as it does so) or glides
and catfish varieties. over the surface of any object with what
appears to be great rapidity as compared with
(4) Amphibians of which tadpoles are the slow crawl of the amoeba. If the speed
predominant. is expressed as the number of times the length
of body is traversed in unit time, it, compares
Under a microscope, a water sample will favourably with the speed of modern aircraft!
reveal the following Protozoans: Vorticella.
Amoeba, Euglena and Paramecium. The Both green and brown hydra with basal
amoeba species are usually found in the mud. discs can be found clinging to the stems of
Vorticella (the bell animalcule) and similar water weeds. This fresh water polyp serves
colonial forms can be found clinging to water as a good example of the hydroid structure
weeds and the hanging roots of duck weeds. in a simple form. It feeds on Daphnia and
Various other free swimming ciliates such as Cyclops which will be discussed under the
Paramecium are common. The Paramecium
feeds on decaying vegetable matter and bacte-
ria. A feature of Paramecium is that its body
wall is covered with cilia which are alike in

Crustaceans. Sometimes a hydra may be so by means of one of the pairs of head appen-
extended that it is a very long cylinder. dages, but in this case it is the antennules
Otherwise, it contracts to a short thick barrel. which have become enlarged for this purpose.
The tentacles which are mobile structuras, may The thoracic appendages are mostly of the
be seen to bend in any direction, and can be biramous type and also assist in swimming,
rapidly extended or shortened. but the abdomen is devoid of limbs and ter-
minates in a caudal fork. Female Copepods
The Crustaceans are gill-breathing arth- can be easily recognised by the large pair of
ropoda, specially adapted to aquatic life. egg-sacs which protrude backwards from their
Many Crustaceans are commonly found in the attachment to the abdomen. Marine Copepods
pond and differ in many respects from the are important and are often abundant mem-
highly differentiated crustacean, the Crayfish. bers of the zooplankton. A genus, Calamus
Anyone who is tempted to collect animals forms the main food of the herring at, certain
from the pond will usually find in the collec- times of the year.
tion Daphnia (commonly known as water-flea).
As already mentioned Daphnia is the common Another common Crustacean is the Ostro-
food of hydra. Daphnia belongs to the sub- cod. It is a small Crustacean with biramous
class Cladocera. Its body is very different in carapace. The trunk and abdominal links
shape from that of the crayfish and is entirely- are reduced.
covered, apart from the head, by a carapace.
This carapace is incomplete ventrally, however, The majority of Crustaceans are inhabi-
so allowing the protusion of the abbreviated tants of the fresh-water pond and sea where in
abdomen. The head appendages are also very many ways they occupy the niches filled by
different from that of the crayfish, for the insects on dry land. In so doing, some of them
antennae are proportionately much larger. acquire most strange modifications of struc-
The animal by its to-and-fro movements, rows ture. Thus, in addition to more familiar
itself along through the water in a series of inhabitants of the sea-shore and shallow seas,
jerks. The thoracic appendages are modified there are others which are rarely seen and
phyllopodia, bearing filtratory bristles which others, yet again, which although they may
are rather comb-like in appearance, and be common become so modified that at first
have a collecting as well as a respiratory sight they are difficult to recognise as crus-
function. Prominent on the peculiarly-shaped taceans .
head are the compound eyes which are fused
together in the median line. Also on the head The aquatic insects e.g. dragon-flies,
are the small antennules. mosquitoes, spiders and water-skaters make
up the co-habiting fauna of the University
Among the hauls from the pond, another pond. Usually they lay their eggs on the
small but interesting crustacean, the common stagnant water surface of the pond, and their
Cyclops, may be found. It belongs to the sub- larvae, which hatch from the eggs a few days
class Copepoda which may be free-living or later, can be seen crawling among the floating
parasitic and without carapace. The Cyclops water weeds. The adults themselves fly near
has enlarged antennules used for swimming. the edge of the pond, among the trees, ferns
Its body more closely resembles the crayfish and shrubs that grow by the water-side. Thus
in that there is a cephalothorax and an the pond and its surroundings are suitable for
abdomen. The absence of paired eyes and the different stages in the life-history of the
the presence of a median eye persisting from insects.
the larva is a distinctive feature from which
the animal derives its name. Like the Daphi- Even within the phylum Insecta are
nia, Cyclops propels itself through the water found various orders of insects inhabiting this
little world. The pond-skaters, which belong

UNIVERSITY POND SURVEY

General view of Pond from 'North-East. Temperature measurement.

Collecting Specimens. Water lily (Nymphea spp.).

Shrubby Simpoh (Wormia suffruticosa). Collecting water samples.

EXTRA-MURAL ACTIVITIES

Talk by Mr. David Marshall. Excursion to Industrial
Gases (M) Ltd.

First Aid Practice. Talk by Mr. Lee Kuan Yew.

Gymnastics. The netball team in action,

to the order Hemiptera, are specially adapted Fighting fish form the majority of the fish
for skimming over the surface of the water collected. The largest is about 13/4". They
since they possess long legs. The last two are of many colours, and some have stripes.
segments of their abdomens are bent perpen- Many very small ones, about 1 cm long, are
dicularly to help them land on the water also present. The big ones feed on the
surface while skimnvng. The dragonfly be- smaller ones.
longs to the Odonata order. Its wings are
multi-coloured. The spider belongs to the A close study of the habits of the animals
Arachnida order. It has four pairs of legs, a,nd plants and the parts they play in nature
two pairs of mouth parts and no antennae. gives us an idea of the inter-relationship of
Its head and thorax are fused together, form- living things and their relationship to their
ing a cephalothorax. Not infrequently, one environment in terms of shades, temperature
finds spider webs spun among the branches of and rainfall. It was by careful study of the
the trees around the pond. Spinnerets are fauna and flora during his Beagle voyage in
present on the abdomen for spinning the 1831 that Charles Robert Darwin realized that
web. Pound among the water plants on the all living things are inter-related. This
water surface are mosquito larvae. They are turned his thoughts towards evolution, and
wriggling creatures, something like cater- the theory of the 'Natural Selection' which he
pillars. Each has a head, thorax and abdo- postulated has been widely accepted as valid.
men. Mosquitoes belong to the Diptera order.
Yap Siew Khim,
Often enough, one finds Annelids wriggling
very fast under the microscope. They are Upper Sixth.
minute worms.

AN APOLOGY

We apologise to the Straits Time Press
for inadvertently omitting to acknowledge a
photograph of Professor A. Oppenheim pub-
lished in the Rafflesian, Vol. 31, No. 2, 1957.

ASTRONOMY

MAN has begun to explore space. The door planet because its atmosphere is covered with
to the vast and unknown universe is now a continuous, dense, white cloud which scien-
tists believe to be carbon dioxide. Mars is
open and more people are looking towards the the planet where life is thought possible and
mysterious heavens above. Many wonder what which we can possibly hope to reach in the
really exists there, but do not have the near future. The Asteroids, consisting of
slightest notion of the expanse of space. numerous small planets, revolve round the sun
Space is like an endless ocean, still to be ex- in the same way as the other planets and are
plored and conquered. thought to be the remains of a world which
ended in disaster. Some of these planets are
Before man can venture into space he quite large and have a diameter of about 480
must have at thorough knowledge of astronomy. miles but the majority are rather small and
Astronomy is a most fascinating branch of many of them are less than a mile across.
science and the more astronomers discover, Jupiter, with a diameter of 88,700 miles, is the
the more they realize that there is still an largest of the planets and is next to Venus in
immense amount to learn concerning the brightness. It has eleven moons. Four of
nature of the universe. them can been seen with binoculars and these
were first discovered by Galileo in 1610 when he
Our earth is a planet and not a star. It invented his first telescope. Saturn is the
is only a small part of the universe. To most beautiful planet when seen through a
ordinary mortals like ourselves the earth is large telescope. The rings encircling it make
enormous, but when we take into considera- it a very picturesque sight. Each ring is made
tion the extent of the universe, it is negligible. up of a multitude of tiny solid bodies, like
The best illustration of its size is that given meteors, revolving round the planet. Scien-
by Sir James Jeans who said, "If we consider tists think that the rings are the remains of
all the sands in all the seashores of the earth one of its moons which exploded. Uranus
as the number of stars in the universe, our and Neptune are about the same size and are
earth would be the tiniest grain." All these so far away that we cannot see them with the
heavenly bodies are in constant motion, mov- naked eye. Pluto is the furthest known planet
ing in definite paths at terrific speeds, but and its distance from us is so vast that it
they are never close to each other. However, was only discovered recently.
it is believed that some two thousand million
years ago, one large star wandered away from Leaving our own solar system we will
its normal path and accidently came very venture into the galactic system of which the
close to our sun. The gravitational pull of former is only a tiny fraction. The galactic
the star was so powerful that fragments were system is fringed by the Milky Way, and
drawn out of the sun which now revolve as within this system there are millions of solar
planets round the sun at varying distances. systems. In fact the stars are just countless
numbers of suns. To have at least a rough
The nearest planet to the sun is Mercury idea of the size of the galactic system, we must
which is about 36 million miles from it. consider the speed of light which is 186,000
This is the only planet which does not rotate miles per second. For light to travel from
on its own axis. The next planet is Venus one end of the system to the other would take
and then come Earth, Mars, the Asteroids. a few million years. The light which enters
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. our eyes when we look at the stars is light
which has left the parent stars thousands or
Venus is the brightest body in heaven other even millions of years ago.
than the sun. Very little is known, about this

A star is extremely hot. The internal Major, the Big Bear; the former is in the shape
temperature of our sun is about 40 million of a cross, while the latter is in that of an
degrees Centigrade while the surface is about inverted saucepan. The other main constel-
6,000 degrees Centigrade. These stars begin lations are Canis Major, the big dog; and Ursa
as very large, red spheres condensed from Minor, the little bear. In Canis Major is
nebulous clouds of matter and have a low the brightest star, Sirius, and in Ursa Minor
temperature. As they grow older they become is located Polaris, the Pole Star.
smaller and denser and increase in tempera-
ture. Their colours change from red to orange These constellations are not only beautiful
until at their hottest they become bluish-white. to behold but are very useful for finding direc
After this stage they begin to lose heat very tion. An airman needs only to fly by the stars
slowly and turn red. Eventually they will and he can set a fairly accurate course. We
cool off and fade away. This is what may can hike in the open country by night without
happen to our sun in the distant future, but, fear of losing our way. Ships, too, can navi-
we have nothing to fear for this will not occur gate accurately by the aid of stars. To illus-
for many millions of years. trate this we take the constellation Orion.
The head of Orion will always point to the
The stars are of many sizes. Some are North while the tip of his sword will point to
not larger than the earth, but the majority of the South. Once the North or South is deter-
them are so large thafi they could contain mined the other points of the compass can
thousands of millions of our suns and yet leave easily be found out. This constellation is one
space to spare. To have an idea of how bis; of the most useful! in the tropics. In the
a star is, we can compare it to the orbits of Northern Hemisphere the Pole Star in the con-
our planets. The red 'Giant' Betelgense is stellation Ursa Minor is the most helpful for
bigger than the orbit of the Earth while it ,is almost directly above the North Pole.
An tares exceeds the orbit of Mars in size. By moving in its direction we are proceeding
almost North. For those living south of the
These stars are so far away that their equator, the Southern Cross serves as the best
movements are only slightly noticeable even and simplest means of finding directions.
when observed with the most advanced astro-
nomical instruments. Their apparently static All these stars and constellations are with-
appearance earned them the name of 'Fixed in our own galaxy, but with the introduction
Stars'. The ancient Greeks noticed this and of bigger and more powerful telescopes other
represented various groups of stars as various galaxies have been discovered. Many of them
mythological figures. There is a total of are still in the form of nebulous clouds. Our
eighty-eight such groups of stars in the sky, largest telescopes can now see countless num-
each of which is termed a constellation. The bers of nebulae in various stages of formation.
two most prominent constellations are Orion Each nebula contains many stars. A few of
and Scorpion. Orion, according to ancient these distant galaxies are near enough to our
mythology, was a very famous hunter who un- own to be seen as blurred, luminous spots.
fortunately died from the bite of a scorpion. The two most notable ones are the nebula cloud
Both of them were believed to have been put in the sword of Orion and the spiral nebula
opposite each other in the sky by the gods. in the constellation Andromeda. The lat-
In the tropics Orion immediately sets when ter is the nearest galaxy to our own and is
Scorpion rises. In the sky Orion is seen only about 880,000 light years away.
holding a shield in one hand and a club in
the other, ready to combat the on-charging Lee Keow Siong,
bull, Taurus. Another two interesting con-
stellations are the Southern Cross and Ursa Form V.

HINDU CUSTOMS AND CEREMONIES

HINDUISM is one of the oldest religions then his death has been celebrated as
known to man. It began more than 4,000 Deepavali.

years ago, and existed in India even before The Northerners celebrate Deepavali a day
the invasion of Northern India by the Aryans. later than the Southerners, but the way they
Hinduism was eclipsed by Buddhism for some celebrate is essentially the same.
time, but it revived later, and is now the main
religion of India. Owing to the immense The Hindu gets up before dawn on Deepa-
length of time during which Hinduism vali day. Sometimes he has an oil-bath. He
has existed, it has undergone such great prays to his god; begs forgiveness for his sins
changes that the beginnings and true signi- and vows to lead a better life in future. Later
ficance of its customs and ceremonies are un- he begs forgiveness of his sins from his
known . parents. They willingly forgive him and bless
him. The morning is spent in exchanging
Deepavali is a Hindu religious festival sweet-meats and cakes with neighbours.
universally celebrated by all Hindus, because Visitors are welcomed. In the evening the
it is purely for enjoyment and prayer, with house is lit up. Thus is Deepavali celebrated
no ordeals of self-torture attached to it. in India.
Hindus from different parts of India attribute
different reasons for the celebration of Deepa- In cosmopolitan Malaya, however, Deepa-
vali . vali is losing its religious meaning. Hindus
get up early, have their baths, don new clothes,
Hindus from North India relate a legend eat their fill, fire crackers and go visiting.
when asked about the origin of Deepavali. Deepavali in Malaya is being influenced by
They say that certain religious gurus prayed Chinese and Malay celebrations; it is being
before a huge fire which they had kindled. modernized.
But Ravanna — a demon — sent his disciples
to disrupt the prayers by extinguishing the A very different type of Hindu ceremony
huge fire. This tragedy occurred annually. is Thaipusam. The purpose of Thaipusam is
Finally, ,in desperation, the gurus appealed to to honour the greatest of the gods, Subrama-
Lord Rama and Laxman — two brother princes niam — the spotless and valiant one — and
— to help them defeat the demon so that they it. provides an opportunity for devotees to
might continue their prayers. Lord Rama show their gratitude towards Subramaniam by
and Laxman agreed. In a bloody battle they extreme self-torture.
slew all the demon's followers. From then
the gurus continued their prayers — with the Preparations for Thaipusam, in fact, go
fire kindled. As a tribute to that day of on throughout the year. A member of a
triumph, all Hindus began to celebrate that family becomes seriously ill. All scientific
day as Deepavali. cures fail. When this happens, the father or
mother of the family often appeals in despera-
The Southerners attribute a similar reason tion to Lord Subramaniam for help. The
for Deepavali. According to them, a cruel family does not necessarily have to be Hindu.
ruler — half-human, half-demon — tyrannized The mother or father goes to the temple and
the land. Finally, in a mighty battle of Good vows to honour Lord Subramaniam if he helps.
against Evil, this 'invincible' tyrant was slain If the sick person recovers, as he often mira-
by a god. He begged the god for a last culously does, the vow must be fulfilled oo
favour, to which the god agreed. He said Thaipusam day. But many other devotees
that everybody should celebrate the day of his take the vows to cleanse themselves of their
death as a triumph of good over evil. Since sins. A few days before Thaipusam the devo-
tees begin preparations for the fulfilment of

their vows, working in conjunction with the who encourages him to take part in the cere-
priests, by taking only vegetables, later only mony. Then, attired in a yellow robe, marked
liquids, and just before Thaipusam, starving. with sacred ashes on the forehead and on his
bare body, he is ready to face the flaming pit
Thaipusam arrives. The common people which has just been prepared. It is filled
gather in hundreds to bathe in a holy river, with live coals and stretches about thirty feet
while the penitents, carrying 'kavadis' — lengthwise. The barefooted devotee walks
wooden arches with decorations of fruits across unharmed. His VOW is fulfilled.
and paper flowers and images of Subrama-
niam on green peacocks — are put into trances India is a country predominantly agricul-
by the priests. While they are in this state, tural and therefore it is appropriate that
their tongues, backs, chests, or cheeks are there should be a Hindu festival connected
skewered with silver needles. The penitents with agriculture. Pongal is a festival which
begin walking towards a distant temple, en- falls on the first of the Tamil month of 'Thai'
couraged by shouts from the following crowds. which coincides with J a n u a r y . Pongal (the
On reaching it their vows are fulfilled and word means 'to cook') is the first day the
they are slowly brought back into the world newly-harvested rice is cooked but the festival
of reality by the priests. Meanwhile the itself stretches over three days. On the first
crowds, blessed by sacred ashes scattered on day, the whole family celebrates, and eats
them by the priests, pray before images of the newly-harvested rice. Every item of food
Subramaniam. Charity is not forgotten, consists of vegetables as no meat is allowed
either, and no beggar departs without pocket- on that day.
fuls of money. This continues throughout
the day and at nightfall everyone departs ex- The cooking is done with some ceremony.
cept the priests and the poor or infirm who Preparations for the festival start a fortnight
will sleep in the temple for the night. in advance. Every household item is cleaned
and washed. As a rule all the old cooking
Thus is Thaipusam celebrated and the utensils are discarded and new ones are ac-
essential part of this rite, the self-torture, quired. This was practicable in the old days
cannot be changed wherever it is celebrated. when all cooking vessels were of earthenware
Therefore the celebration of Thaipusam has but, with the iron vessels of today, the custom
remained the same everywhere. is dying out. At any rate the vessels are
always newly painted and decorated. After
The Hindu ceremony of Thimathy or fire- taking their baths and going to the temple,
walking is similar to Thaipusam because it the people go home to start cooking. The time
shows the Hindu belief in self-torture and at which the rice boils is synchronised with
exists for practically the same reason as the hour at which Pongal is calculated to be
Thaipusam. born. If the rice boils at the correct time,
the family has high hopes of a good harvest
Thimathy probably originated in South the next year. At the moment when the rice
India. It then spread throughout India and begins to boil all members of the family uttei
to Ceylon and it is now practised by Hindus special chants. After this the foodstuffs are
everywhere. The penance of walking on fiery placed at the altar of the house-shrine and
coals results from a vow which a seriously sick the family prays, thanking God for the good
Hindu makes. If he recovers he must fulfil harvest. Then the family tastes the food in
his vow. About a month from the actual date which sugar-cane is significant.
of the ceremony, devotees go on a strictly vege-
tarian diet. They communicate with God The second day is reserved for the cattle
with the help of a priest and live piously. which play such an important part in agri-
culture in India. They are grazed during the
Finally Thimathy arrives. The devotee is
washed spiritually and bodily by the priest

morning. At about midday they are scrubb- name so that if the groom-to-be dies, she can
ed and washed clean. Then they are painted st'ill obtain a maintenance. In India, how-
with bright dyes and decorated with garlands ever, the man gives a dowry to the lady's
of wild flowers and brightly coloured bunches party. Now that the marriage is definitely
of fibres.In the afternoon they are gathered on, the date has to be fixed. This is done by
in an enormous herd at a temple where they. referring to a Tamil Almanac and choosing an
indeed, form a wonderful sight. At the tem- auspicious day. Friends and relatives are
ple rice is cooked beforehand and distributed then invited to the wedding.
to the cattle-owners who feed their cattle with
it. Then the cattle are driven into some A week before the marriage, the 'Gold-
water by shouts from the people, the beating Smelting Ceremony' is performed at the bride-
of drums and the blowing of horns, and are groom's residence. A goldsmith is called to
washed. That ends the day's celebrations. the house and a sovereign is melted by him,
while the closest relatives of the bridegroom
The third day is for the unmarried and the bride watch. This melted gold is
maidens to celebrate. They prepare food and then incorporated into a chain known as the
other items, go to a riverside, spend the day 'Thalli' which has the same function as the
there alone — having more or less a picnic. Christian engagement ring.
— and return in the evening.
The marriage is held at the bride's home.
Pongal celebrations in towns vary a good The bridegroom, after undergoing religious
deal from the celebrations described above, rites at his own residence, sets out for the
which are only followed in villages. bride's house accompanied by his best man.
On his arrival he is greeted by the noisy music
A similar festival is celebrated by the of drums and flutes. He is led to a brightly
Bengalis and Gujaratis. It falls on the day decorated dais in front of which there is a
of the wheat harvest. All the people joyfully half-circle of flames which must never be ex-
thank God for the good harvest. They throw tinguished, for to extinguish them means the
coloured water at each other and therefore worst of luck. The veiled bride then joins
the festival has come to be known as 'Rose- him and she remains veiled throughout the
Day'. ceremony. At the end of the long ceremony
the veil is removed, the Thalli is put around
Hindu marriage customs emphasize, as the bride's neck by the bridegroom, and the
do the Pongal ceremonies, the unmarried ceremony comes to an end.
maiden's segregation from men until the
moment of her marriage. Thus Hindu customs and ceremonies have
always had religious causes and even the com-
The preliminary arrangements are all mon man has understood the religious mean-
made by the parents of the man and the ings behind all his ceremonies. But nowadays
woman concerned.. The woman is proposed most Hindus celebrate their traditional cere-
to, at first, by a third party. In most cases monies without giving a thought to the true
the prospective bride and bridegroom have purpose of these ceremonies. Hinduism is
never seen each other before and they have no becoming purposeless.
say in their own marriage. The parents of
the bride and bridegroom consult the horos- R. Ramakrishnan, V.
copes of their children and, if both are favour- D. Prem Kumar,
able for union with each other, the marriage 8. Paramsothy,
is proposed. But the way towards marriage K, Chelliah,
is by no means cleared. The question of dowry A. Rajendran,
has still to be considered. Dowry is in the M. M. Chanclran.
form of money or property. In Ceylon the
dowry is given by the lady's parents in her Form

THE SUN SETS

The evening sun is shining
Over the calm blue sea.

Oh, the winds lie sprawling
Casually across the water.

The sun shines and the wind blows
As to the seaside I go now

Where I find the ripples kissing the shore
And the breeze touching my cheeks.

Tired Mr. Sun dyes the sea
In many glorious colours:

In reds, blues, oranges and others
Which townsfolk seldom witness.

Mr. Sun is sinking with joy
As children shout with, glee

Looking at the beautiful colours
Which he gives to the sea.

Then wearily he slides to rest
After his hard work for the day.

But before going he casts long shadows
To mark the last moment of his stay.

Now he is a great ball of fire
Winding into the ocean.

Three-quarters, half, then finally
He is embraced by the water.

Dust gathered after Mr. Sun was gone
And darkness reigned the earth.

The poultry grew restless
When foxes came out of their lairs

And demons, devils and ghosts
And other beings of the unseen world

Such as lions, leopards and tigers
Haunted the night, until when Mr. Sun

Rises again above the steeple
And smiles down on people.

Hia Kwee Yang,
Form Two.

JAMBOREE J. I. M. 1957

ONE hundred years ago, a man by the name The first Sub-Camp was Copenhagen,, with
of Robert Smyth Stephenson Baden-Powell its great striking gateway — a realistic model
of a Viking ship, which was prefabricated in
was born in London. Because of him, the three sections and transported ninety miles
lives of millions of youths have been changed. by road to this site. This Sub-Camp was
The observations he made while serving in the named after the 2nd World Jamboree held in
Army in Africa led him to hold the first ex- Copenhagen in 1924.
perimental camp at Brownsea Island in 1907,
which was a great success. Jamboree J . I . M . Further on was Sub-Camp Arrowe Park,
was held in 1957 to commemorate the Century whose gateway was the exact replica of the
year of his birth and the Jubilee Year of gates to Birkenhead's Arrowe Park, site of the
Scouting. 3rd World Jamboree in 1929. Incidentally,
the Singapore Contingent was assigned to site
The date was Thursday, August 1st 1957 number 86 in this Sub-Camp.
and the scene was Sutton Park in the heart
of England. The long awaited rendezvous Next to Arrowe Park was Sub-Camp
had come at last and 34,000 Scouts and Godollo. The legendary miraculous white
Rovers, representatives from 84 nations, stag of Hungary, symbol of the 1933 World
were packed in the arena for the opening Jamboree, was the dominant motif of the
ceremony. The Duke of Gloucester, President Godollo Gate. After Godollo came Moisson,
of the Boy Scout of the Commonwealth and which was centrally situated. Moisson Gate
Empire, briefly introduced the Duke who then recalled the fabulous 'Jamboree de la Paix,'
declared open the Jamboree, Indaba and Moot, staged by the Scouts of Prance in 1947, within
known more affectionately as Jamboree 2 years of their country's liberation.
J . I . M . After this, he drove round the ranks
in his Land Rover. The opening ceremony In front of Moisson was the Globe with
filled each scout with fraternal feelings for a clock on top; the Globe doing one complete
all around us were our brother scouts from rotation in sixty minutes. This marked the
all walks of life. Each .of us was proud to heart of the Jamboree known popularly as the
form an integral part of the movement. Shopping Centre. This was the place
where new friendships were made and
Comprising 2,400 acres of woodland, numerous badges exchanged. The password
heathland, and 75 acres of belautiful lakes, was "Swop?" More noticeable were the
Sutton Park was presented to the inhabitants Canadian and American scouts who went
of the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield by the round asking, "Wanna trade?" in Red Indian
great Tudor Monarch, King Henry VIII in style. Around the Globe, formed into a
1528. Those who had put in two-and-a-half great horse-shoe, were banks, post offices,
year's work organising the camp felt their chemists, tobacconists, laundries, photo shops
reward was on its way; while those who took and a Scout shop.
part in Jamboree J . I . M . knew that they were
making history. Further on was the Camp theatre and a
few white marquees besides which an Indus-
The layout of the Camp was simple. Do- trial Exhibition and Baden-Powell's Exhibi-
minating the whole scene was the Triumphal tion were staged. From here, we could see
Arch, the official Jamboree Gateway, towering the Press Camp; the B.B.C. building; the
60 ft. above the junction of two of the Park's arena with its drive lined with flags of all
main drives. The one on the left led to the nations; and an amateur radio station.
main road, Queen's Way, and was flanked on Station GP 3 SP was undoubtedly the largest
the west side by four Sub-Camps. amateur station ever to operate. During the

12 days of the J . I . M . , its 7 transmitters Each country marched past the Queen in the
made 1,712 contacts with 71 countries, send- arena, led by Aden, Armenia and so on in
ing goodwill messages to them and keeping the alphabetical order. This was followed by an
less fortunate scouts • of the world well- Air Scout display after which the Royal couple
informed about the Jamboree. toured the Sub-Camp. Among the other
important guests were the Mayor of Sutton
Coming back to the Sub-Camps, B . P . ' s Coldfield; the Prime Minister; Sir John Hunt;
way led from the Shopping Centre towards Lady Somers; Lord Peter Baden-Powell and
Town Gate on the right of Queen's way. Lady Olave Baden-Powell, son and wife of the
Our either side of this road was Sub-Camp Pounder.
Vogelenzang. The portrait of Baden-Powell
and the gigantic windmill of the Vogelertzang The daily programme was heavy. In our
Gate reminded scouters that the Founder's own camp of about 100 square feet I was seen
last appearance at a world Jamboree was in every alternate morning (when my Patrol
Holland in 1937. wa,s on duty) at 6 a.m. sitting on the king-
sized camp-stove to keep myself warm. It was
Keeper's Pool was a favourite place for then that I began to appreciate the value of
swimming, but the water was much too cold warming my fingers and toes before the fire.
for us. Just before Town Gate was Sub-Camp Ration had to be collected by 9 a.m. from
Olympic the I I . Q . of J . I . M . where admi- Sub-Camp H.Q., half a mile away. After
nistrative work was carried out. This 10.30a. m. began the hectic day of 'swopping',
Sub-Camp was named after the 1st World cooking, signing autographs, making friends;
Jamboree held in London in 1920. Further and of attending arena shows, exhibitions,
on to the right was the Camp Hospital, com- tea-parties and campfires. Music was heard
plete with up-to-date hospital apparatus and everywhere throughout the day, starting with
manned by a team of seven scout doctors and the 'morning Reveille' bugles and ending with
numerous pretty nurses. the playing of 'Taps' by a solitary bugle some-
where from the hills to mark the end of the
The Rover Moot was held in Sub-Camp day. There was the German band strumming
Bad Ische, situated at the northern end of their guitars, the Bag-Pipes band of Scotland,
the camp. On the western flank, isolated the drummers from Denmark and the 175
from the rest by a piece of muddy scrub land piece band from America. Equally memora-
was the Indaba (Zulu word for "meeting of ble was the singing by a group of attractive
the Chieftains"). The open gates sym- Akelas from Switzerland, which brought back
bolised the great welcome given by Canadians memories of the Swiss Alps.
to all who were fortunate to attend the
Jamboree at Niagara-on-the-Lake in 1955. Arena shows were numerous, well-organis-
ed and consisted mainly of tribal and national
A description of Jamboree J . I . M . would dances, and gymnastic displays. The 'Life of
not be complete if no mention were made of Baden-Powell', staged by the Scouts of the
the Organising Committee. The administra- United Kingdom, was a unique performance.
tion of J . I . M . was a feat to be marvelled at It unravelled to the thousands of spectators
by all, and the catering arrangements the true life history of the Pounder, with his
were very well done. To quote from the son Lord Peter playing his role. Other
"Jubilee Journal": "20,000 loaves of bread, da,nces included the American Indian Tribal
10,000 gallons of milk, 50,000 gallons of water Dance, the Congo Tribal Rituals, and the
and 5 miles of sausages were consumed daily". Norwegian and Swedish folk dances.

Almost everyday during the 12 days of the Amidst all this fun and gaiety, thousands
Jamboree there was a guest of honour. On of scouts did not forget their religious duties.
the 3rd of August, Her Majesty the Queen and
the Duke of Edinburgh visited the Jamboree.

10 o'clock in the morning was set aside for the flags around the dais, Lady Baden-Powell
prayer, and full provision was made to ensure was introduced. She spoke to the thousands,
that every scout could carry out his religious translating her words into French, paragraph
observations. We had our own united Scouts by paragraph. Her text, "La fin, n'est qu'un
Service; the Pontificial High Mass; and commencement" was simple and yet very
Muslim and Buddhist Congregations — all of meaningful. She invited us all to reaffirm
which were solemn and awe inspiring. our Promise in our own national language.
This was followed by a grand display of fire-
On the 12th of August, Jamboree J . I . M . works, surmounted after a while by a splendid
came to an end. That morning, a portrait fleur-de-lis the insignia of international good-
was presented to Lord Rowallan by Sir Rob will. Then there was an unexpected rush
Lockhart, J . I . M . Camp Chief; and a brooch towards Lady Baden-Powell and the dais.
in topaz and tourmaiine to Lady Rowallan by
Fred Hurk; both on behalf of Scouts of the Cheer upon cheer filled the air. The
Commonwealth and Empire. That night the Jamboree song came to life. We linked our
Arena was packed to full capacity again, ex- arms, forming international groups and march-
cept for a narrow gangway down the centre. ed away from the arena, singing 'Auld Lang
Through this came a procession of colours Syne' over and over again, with tears in our
which led up to the dais. Here, each repre- eyes.
sentative received a sourvenir plaque (a big
Tudor Rose) from Sir Rob Lockhart. With Soh Fook Thim,
Upper Sixth.

WALKING

IN spite of the tremendous improvements that Yet today, most people travel by bicycle,
have been made in methods of transporta- car, tram or bus. Many people are so con-
cerned with increasing their wealth or making
tion within the last half-century or so, walking themselves famous that they have no time to
still,remains a very important means of com- take a walk in the evenings. The rich often
munication. In fact, it has been estimated suffer from illnesses mainly because they do
that the average person walks a distance equi- not take some form of exercise such as walking.
valent to about four times the circumference
of the earth in his life-time. Everybody is born with legs. To walk,
therefore, is the natural method of travelling.
In olden days, the sole means of commu- Many parents think themselves the happiest,
nication was walking. Since there were no people in the world when they see their child
roads and vehicles, messages had to be carried walking for the first time.
by runners. Very often these runners started
their training at an early age and they even- Walking may serve many different pur-
tually acquired a high degree of speed and poses. School children walk to their schools;
stamina which even our best athletes of today men walk to their offices; and soldiers march
seldom possess. across the country. Climbing mountains is
also another form of walking.
Conditions today, however, are very
different. The old habits and customs of our For many reasons, walking is very im-
ancestors, whether good or bad, are being dis- portant . Accordingly everyone ought to walk
carded especially by young people. There are at least a mile or two each day since it may
many advantages in walking. First of all, it' justifiably be said:
is a good exercise. Secondly, it costs nothing.
Thirdly, we enjoy beautiful and peaceful sur- 'A walk a day
roundings far more when we walk than when Keeps the doctor away!'
we travel in vehicles.
R. Kannapiran,
Form Two.

HOCKEY FIRST XI.
HOCKEY SECOND XI.

RUGGER FIRST XV.
RUGGER SECOND XV.

HOCKEY (1957)

Hockey Master .. Mr. G. Catherasoo
Mr. S. S. Sidhu
Asst. Hockey Master Mandhir Sinih
Harbans Singh
Captain .. .. Dalgit Singh

Vice-Captain ..

Secretary .. ..

' T H E General Meeting of Hockey enthusiasts Schools XI. We congratulate Harbans Singh
was held in early August 1957 and the on receiving school colours for Hockey.

above office-bearers were elected. The following represented the school:
1st X I : Kutubdeen, Chandran, Sardar Ali,
Practice games were played thrice a week
during the course of the August holidays. Jagjit Singh, Harbans Singh, Dalgit
Attendance at these games was usually good Singh, Rama, George Sandosham,
and the boys showed keen' enthusiasm for Mandhir Singh, Menon, Chee Guan
hockey. Chye, Rajendran.

In the Inter-School matches, the school 2nd X I : Prem Kumar', Toe Meng, Balakrish
teams did fairly well. The school 1st XI nan, Teng Kok, Linus Joseph, K.
played 18 matches; it won 6, drew 6, and lost Chelliah, Edwin Barnabas, Jagrup
6. The school 2nd XI fared slightly better. Sing, Moses, Vairavan, Srivatson,
Jeyaretnam, Tang Siew.
The Inter-House Hockey Competition was
again played on a knockout basis. Moor Towards the end of 1957 our hockey
House emerged champion for the fourth year master, Mr. G. Catherasoo left us on promo-
in succession, with Buckley House as the tion. We thank him for the keen personal
runner-up. interest which he took in each player and for
his efforts for the sake of Hockey in this school.
Four school players, George Sandosha,m,
Mandhir Singh, Harbans Singh and Chandran Dalgit Singh,
were selected to represent the Combined Secretary.

RUGBY (1957)

Master-in-charge .. Mr. T. J. Evans

Captain 1st XV .. Abdul Ghani

Vice-Captain .. Richard Goh Kok Pong

Captain 2nd XV .. Low Lip Ping

Secretary .. .. Goh Chen Peng

"THIS year we had quite a successful season Andrew's School. After losing the first game
in rugby. Although not always victor- to them with a score of 17—3, we beat them
by 8 points to 3 in a very exciting return
ious, we seldom suffered overwhelming defeats. match. This is the first time for some years
In only one game did the school team fail to that the school has managed to win against
score any points. In the Inter-School games St. Andrew's School.
we only lost to St. Andrew's School and to
the strong J . E . G . team. The most notable This success was due to the efforts of all
matches played were those against St. the members of the team, including reserves,

'YOUTH' RUGGER TEAM.
NETBALL TEAM.

particularly How Yew Chen; Lee Keow them will be obtained from the newcomers to
Siong, the lock forward; Wan Hon Sun, the the School.
hooker; Abdul Ghani and Richard Goh.
Those who played in all matches were Abdul The rugby season came to a close after
Ghani.Koh Keng Lye, Ng Koon Wah, Ng Shin the Seven-a-side Rugby Tournament. Unfor-
Cheong, Tan Han Kok and Goh Cheng Peng. tunately, we were defeated in the first round
of the Tournament by Hartley School.
Our Second XV was a far better team
than in 1956. Their vast improvement is Before the Inter-School games, tourna-
shown by their excellent playing record. ments werE held for Forms II and I I I . The
They lost only two games, both by very narrow winners were Forms II D and III B respec-
margins, to St. Andrew's School and to tively. Besides these Inter-Class tournaments,
J . E . C . , after drawing with these two teams an Inter-House Tournament, based on a knock-
in their first fixtures. out system, was also arranged. The winner
was Moor House. In addition there were
The junior team, consisting only of boys some 'A' and Junior team games after the
under sixteen years old, did even better than Final Examination.
last year's successful team when it remained
unbeaten throughout the season. Those who received school colours this
year were: Abdul Ghani, Richard Goh, Kg
Their victories left no doubt that this was Shin Cheong, Koh Keng Lye, and Goh Chen
the best junior team in the Colony. Some Peng. Abdul Ghani, the 1st XV Captain, was
of the players who helped to maintain the also awarded the "Wilson Cup" for the out-
standard of the team were Wi Fong, Chiam standing Rugger Player. Six of our players
Toon Tong, Abdullah and Sin Yang. Next played for the Combined Schools XV. They
season, many players will be ineligible to play were Abdul Ghani, Richard Goh, Ng Shin
for the junior team, but it is hoped that they Cheong. Tan Han Kok, Lee Keow Siong and
will then be capable of holding places in the Goh Chen Peng.
other school teams, while replacements for
The following are the results of the
matches played by the 1st XV.

Goh Chen Peng,
Secretary.

CAMBRIDGE OVERSEA HIGHER SCHOOL

CERTIFICATE RESULTS, 1957

OF the 78 entries for the various subjects, Mathematics (P), Physics (P), Che-
50 passes at Principal Level and 22 passes mistry (P), Biology ( P ) .

at Subsidiary Level were obtained. These (6) Krishner Eajendran; General Paper,
were made up of English 2(P), 1(g) ; History English (S), History (P), Economics
2(P), 1(S); Geography 4(P) ; Economics (P), Geography (P).
3 ( P ) ; Mathematics 4 (P.) ; Further Mathema-
tics 3(P) ; Botany 8(P) ; Zoology 6 ( P ) , 2(g) ; (7) Kuldip Singh; General Paper, Physics
Biology 1(P) ; Physics 6(P), 2(S) ; Chemistry (S), Chemistry (P), Botany (P),
10(P), 1 ( S ) ; Latin 1 ( P ) . There were 14 Zoology ( P ) .
passes in the General Paper. Of the 16 can-
didates who took the examination, 14 succeeded (8) Lee Choon Chuang; General Paper,
in obtaining the full certificate. (P) denotes History (S), Economics (P.), Geogra-
a pass at Principal Level, (S) a, pass at Sub- phy (P).
sidiary Level.
(9) Ng Thin Teng; General Paper, Mathe-
The following candidates obtained the full matics (P), Further Mathematics
certificate: (P), Physics (P), Chemistry (P) .

(1) Michael Chan Chieu Koon; General (10) Rajendra Prasad Sharma; General
Paper, Chemistry (P), Botany (P), Paper, Physics (P), Chemistry (P),
Zoology ( P ) . Botany (P), Zoology (P) .

(2) Daljit Singh; General Paper, English (11) Sim Wee K,ia.t; Chemistry ( P ) , Botany
(P), History (P), Geography (P). (P), Zoology ( P ) .

(3) Goh Chen Peng; General Paper, Mathe- (12) Victor Gan Han Seng; General Paper,
matics (P), Further Mathematics Physics (P), Chemistry (S), Botany
(P), Physics (P), Chemistry (P). (P), Zoology ( P ) .

(4) Goh Tiak Theng; General Paper, Mathe- (13) Ranjit Kumar Sinha; General Paper,
matics (P), Further Mathematics Physics (S), Chemistry (P), Botany
(P), Physics (P), Chemistry (P). (P), Zoology ( S ) .

(5) Heng Swee Choon; General Paper, (14) Lee Peck Ngoh; General Paper, English
(P)',Economics (P), Geography ( P ) .

CAMBRIDGE OVERSEA SCHOOL CERTIFICATE
RESULTS, 1957

GRADE I Md. Anuar bin Kasmin Aravindan Balakrishnan
Ng Heng Liat Chan Ah Mun
Ahmad Thani bin Ahmad Ng Seng Cheow Chan Chin Wah
Akbar Syed Ng Thin Onn Chan Kok Meng
Albert Anthony Henry Ong Wall Kim Roger Chee Hun Chong
Amrjit Singh Phang Pui Soon Cheng Yau Chong
Athsani bin Ahmad Karni Pwee Hock Swee Cheong Foo Choon
Balbir Singh Rajaram Bawajee Chew Yat Hoe
Burhanuddin A. Vasenwala Raman Gopalan Chong Ah Chye
Cham Tao Soon Rosli bin Omar Choo Chee Seng
Chan Keok Tong Sardar Ali Chow Chee Hong
Chang Meng Tung Seah Cheng Huat Chow Ming
Chew Leng Seng Sheng Hwai Nak
John Chew Yock Han Shum Siew Keong George G. D. Gauron
Chia Choo Meng Siow Keng Cheng Gob. Kok Fong
Chong Pee Heng S. Krishnamoorthy Goh Kok Guan
Ee Chong Nam Soh Ohio Siong Haron bin Abdul Rahman
Fong Keng Thong Su Hong Zee Ho Beng Soon
Poo Ah Choy Tan Ee Ping Ho Kum Ohuen
Francis Maniam Tan Han Kiang Ho Mah Soon
Anthony Heng Tan I m Lee How Cheng Whee
Ho Chee Kan Tan Keng Wee How Lim Yat
Richard Ho Peng Sum Tan Khor Kee Hu Hung Chih
Hoa Lee Yong Tan Ong Kiat Hui Peng Cheng
Hui Ban Yin Tan Siew Geok Jagjit Singh
Ibrahim bin Burham Tan Swan Beng Joethy Ramalingam
K. P. Ramachandra Menon Tan Wee Kiat Kamarudin bin Ali
Khoo How Teng Tay Chee Bin Karuppiah Palaniappan
Koh Lian Huah Tay Kok Beng Khoo Teng Kwan
K. Thulasidas Teong Woon Hua Koh Kheng Lye
Lai Chee Thim Tham Hee Man K. M. Prabhakaran Nair
David Lee Be Nyi Thang Kwek Min K. Thiruehelvan
Lee Ching Wall V. Saral Chandran Ernest Barrie Lancaster
Lee Khay Siong Wong Nyam Ken Leong Kim Yue
Lee Kok Cheong Wong Yau Liong Lhu Chin Choon
Lim Kah Bock Wong Yew Seng Lim Choon Lim
Lim Lip Heng Woon Kai Yong Mani Singh Panoo
Lim Seow Giam Yeo Wee Aik Mohd. Said bin II. A. Samad
Lin Chian Yong Yeoh Ewe Hoe N. Rajaram
Loh Ah Bah Yip Mien Chee Neo Seng Hock
Loh Kok Thye Ng Chin Hwee
L o h W e n g Chiew GRADE II Noor Mohideen
Loke Khua Eu Omar bin Haji Mohd. Said
Loo Ming Abdul Aziz bin Akban Khan Ong Chin Lock
Low Lip Ping Abdul Ghani bin Suratman Mervyn Joseph Pereira
Lye Khay Fong Ansari bin Shaik Madar Poll Khoon Beng

Quah Wee Chai Wee Hong Guan Lee Kew Beng
S. Anadan Rajakarier Woo Seng Hong Lee Soon Yau
R. Rajendran Wun Hon Sun Leong Cheong Sum
George Sandosham Long Keng
Shirish Bansilal Shah GRADE III Loo Peng San
Shyam Kumar Aw Pak Long Looi Fook Chow
Sin Yiow Chai Chia Lip Kwang Ow-Yeong Keen Hoy
Subohi bin Mohd. Yatim Chiew Hock Chiew Rudrappan Subramaniam
Tan Jing Quee Chrystal Gomez Salim bin Karnawi
T a n K a r Ghee Foo Chik Kan S. Jayanandan
Tan Soo Leng Goh Chong Toll Soon Tuan Hian
Teo Kim Hui Harbans Singh Thind Tan Kah Thye
Tharmar Rajaretnam Albert Hee Joon Leong Tan Yang Hua
Verghese Mathews Freddy La,i Cheong Leong Lawrence Thomas
Wee Chwee Heng Lam Yew Sit Wee Choon Heng

CAMBRIDGE SCHOOL CERTIFICATE RESULTS, 1957
SUBJECT ANALYSIS

OF the 178 candidates who took the above examination, 85 obtained Grade I, 66 Grade II, 25
Grade III and 2 were rejected, 'a' denotes very good, 'c' credit, 'p' pass, 'pf' conditional pass

(in English Language only) and 'f failure.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank:—

The various Singapore and Federation Schools and Colleges for
sending us complimentary copies of their magazines.

Mr. W. T. Andrews for his invaluable help and advice.

Our photographers Chong Pee Heng, Kashid Rahim and Lim Lip
Heng.

Yew Kwan Min and Michael Chan for services rendered.