The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit FRIDAY, JULY 19, 1889. AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2177, 19 July 1889, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit FRIDAY, JULY 19, 1889. AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.

Ever Bince the School of Agriculture at Lincoln was established by the Board of Governors of Canterbury College it has been a canse of disputes as to whether any commensurate return wad received for tbe expense of the establishment. Most of the adverse critics of the " Lincoln College," as it is familiarly called, have argued from the premise that it is a colonial institution, and under Government control, instead of being merely the agricultural branch of Canterbury College, The services of the director, analysts and lecturers at Lincoln College have, however, always been at the disposal of farmers m all parts of New Zealand, and the steps which are now being taken to bring the College directly under the control of Parliament are warranted by the Colonial Services rendered by the institutions. The steps that have recently been taken, as a result of the report of the commission of enquiry, to make the College more widely serviceable, by reducing student's fees and m other directions, have m part paved r the way for the changes which Government will no doubt make. These changes will chiefly refer to the management of the College — the teaching is declared on all sides to be the most efficient of any known institution of the soit m any part of the world. According to the Ministerial Bill dealing with the institution the financial management is to be vested m three trustees who are to regulate their expenditure by the direction of the Minister of Education. The course of study of the students is to be laid down by a Council of Agricultural Education to be constituted of certain ex-officio members (the trus--1 tees) and nine members to be elected annually representing the Agricultural and Pastoral Sooieties of the colony — one member from each district, the dis- | tricts to be defined hereafter. The . district members are to be paid from the 1 School Fund their just and reasonable expenses incurred m travelling to and from any mooting of the Council, or the , Governor may fix an amount per day. Tbe School Fund is to consist of the fees paid by students, sales of farm pro duce, and voteß by Parliament. The proposals appear lair, with the exception of those respecting the Council of \ Agricultural Education which cannot fail to prove unworkable. Nobody, for instance , whose services would be worth having unless he had an axe to grind, whioh would render him an undesirable member, would journey once a month from Auckland, Napier or even Wanganui, or from Invercargill or Westland, to confer upon the syllabus to be taught, or the progress made by the students. A body fairly representative of New Zealand skilled agriculturists should take charge of the teaching, but some more practicable mode of selecting them must be discovered. =g Vis