MR ROLLESTON ON EDUCATION.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1428, 9 December 1886, Page 2

MR ROLLESTON ON EDUCATION.

Himself one of the most highly educated men in the colony, it is always a pleasure to read a speech by Mr Rolleston on the subject of all othets—Education—in which he takes the deepest interest. That delivered by him on Friday last at the annual speech-day of the Timaru High School is an instance in point, and will well repay perusal. In reply to the hackneyed question, “ What shall we do with our boys ?” Mr Rolleston says if by this is meant what opening is there in the colony for the generation which is to succeed us, he has no fear for the future. “There is as much opening in the. colony for ability, industry, and good character as ever there was. It is true that in earlier days, when the first wave of settlement had not passed over the country, pastoral pursuits, and subsequently the fitful speculative energy incidental to the outbreak of goldfields, led in many cases to speedy fot tunes, without those steady qualities which are now necessary for success; but the record of the failures of those days was proportionately sad. The old order h»s changed, but it is nonsense to suppose that a country with the population of Liverpool, in an area greater than Great Britain, does not afford ample scope to ability and energy rightly directed. ... A world of usefulness, competence, and happiness is as open as ever to the youth of the colony. Its attainment involves greater labor, closer application, and more highly cultivated faculties.” The speaker went on to urge that those leaving school for commercial or professional pursuits in the large towns should endeavor to take advantage of the College lectures, which can be attended in the evenings, and proceed to a University degree, pointing out that “ the early stages of life do not, as a rule, entail any great mental effort, and the pursuit of a systematic course of study under the guidance of our College professors cannot but prove of service in after life.” As to the education of girls, Mr Rolleston spoke most soundly and sensibly, and it would conduce greatly to the advantage and happiness of the next generation if his words were laid to heart and his sound advice adhered to. The following passages are pregnant with wisdom : —“ While our boys go afield to battle with the world, the work of women begins at all events, like the greatest of Christian virtues, at home, and in the domestic circle. To many this sphere suffices to cause happiness, which grows from generation to eneration —no mean mission or career in life, to others a wider sphere is opened out, and there are numbers of women exercising an influence in the world, which shows that public work, great learning, and intellectual preeminence are not inconsistent with all that is most womanly. All that I would contend for is that those who would publicly distinquish themselves in promoting the happiness of the world should also privately be ‘ rich in gracious household ways.’ A large amount of Christian virtue is involved in darning a pile of stockings, in boiling a potato, or in cooking a mutton chop. The unhappiness which has accrued in the*world from the neglect or improper performance of these household duties which particularly appertain to women is simply incalculable The following ’passage from an American writer expresses so pointedly and well what I wish to convey to your minds that I cannot do better than quote it:— * Learn to keep house. If you would be a levelheaded woman; if you would have right instincts and profound views, and that most subtle, graceful, and irresistible of all things, womanly charm j if you would make your pen, your music, your accomplishments tell, and would give them body, character, and life; if you would be a woman of genuine power, and queen o’er all the earth, learn to keep house thoroughly and practically. You see the world all awry, and are consumed with a desire to set it right. Must you go on a mission to the heathen ? Very well, but learn to keep house first. Begin reform where all true reform must begin—at the centre, and work outwards ; at the foundation and work upwards. What is the basis and centre of all earthly life ? It is the family, the home; these relations dictate and control all others. There is nothing from which this distracted world is suffering so much to-day as for want of thorough housekeeping and homemaking. Simple dress, simple tastes, simple manners are proof ‘of royal nature and of noble mind.’ Possessed of these you will go through life controlling and not the slaves of circumstances.” And the summing up with which Mr Rolleston closed his admirable address puts the whole matter in a nutshell. He well observed that the real cause of anxiety is not as to our boys and girls “ getting on in the world,” but lies in the dangers arising “from lack of reverence, followed by lack of self-respect,” and he bade his audience remember that whether a nation is to be great or little “depends upon the sort of men and women it is producing. A sound nation is a nation that is composed of sound human beings, healthy in body, strong of limb, true in word and deed, brave, sober, temperate, chaste, to whom morals are of more importance than wealth or knowledge; where duly is first, and the rights of men are second; where in short men grow up and live and work, having in them what our ancestors called the fear of God.” Mr Rolleston. we learn, “ resumed his seat amidst the most hearty applause,” and assuredly the applause was welldeserved, for the sentiments which he expressed were such as must find an echo in the heart of every sound-think-ing and noble-minded man and woman in the community.