FREE SECONDARY EDUCATION.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11496, 31 January 1903, Page 5

FREE SECONDARY EDUCATION.

TO THE EDITOR 0J" THE MUESS. Sir, —I am quit* sure that Mr BevaaBrown intended no sneer at the eodaj position of the children who might oozne to tie High School free under the sdhesne propomitkti by Mr Jlogben. Reading it with tli<? ros-t of his report, it never occurred to aw for a moment that ho tnaaut anything but ihie, thai a number of -<&&» dren would come lor a year or two, sot for the sake of the education, bat to pat in time until fch*y could gtvt » situation, and that tile school would thus be crowded with a number of children wixee hearts were not in their work, aiwt whx> wouldn't do it well. These would take a oonsklorabie portion of tho teachers' time and attention away from those whoso parents send them there and pay fees for Wiesn in urd** that they may get inwe time and attention, and a .higher level of education than 'tlitM- can get" at the SUte schools. In coitsequenoe, the status of the school and the quality of the teaching would anU ter, and the Kchool would become, aa Mr Brown says, a more continuaUoo school. •Secondary education, which, as he truly says, is different'in kind, not only in degree, from primary education, would be cornared out, ;md "parents who now send their sons to thu High School to get secon<inry education would , send them, eiee■W'licre. lam s»ure wm is tiho fair interpretation of Mr Brown's words, though, I confess I am a little surprised that he should consi<!r«r the resuit deplorable, for it appears to mo that <he changes which he ihas lately nwde in the High School nic sure to hare the sanie rfeuJt.

There as mo doubt that every child that is barn Inns a right to foodi "and: eloljbee for the body, and' food and clothes for the mind. The proper pe«un to supply tiua food end clothing iyio the child* parents, who axe responsible for the child's existence. Soma parents, however, get children, but. either cannot or will not give them food' and: clothing for tlie body. Tihtwupcxn the Stat*, i.e., tho other clilidnm's .parents, intervenes, and. supplies tins child with the necosesu-ies of life at Burnham or elsewhere. Sudi children are properly described as paupers. Their parents contribute nothing to their support except that they pay taxes, and so far to un infinitesimal degree Jielp to -sup. port such pla«-e us Bureham, In J. Kβ manner it was found that some parent* could not be relied ujwn to give their children sufficient food and clothes for thoir minds. Thei-<npcn the State, i.e., the ©th&r children's parents, intervened, and now eu-p----toliee these children with mental snstenanoe at State schools. Their parents contribute nothing to this except that they pay taxee, and .so far contribute to the support of tie schools. In the case of the parents whose children go to these State sohooils, this contribution is generally fa* *f> 0 snf] 1 *« pay for the education which Ime child l gets. Therefore, it is plain that the people who don't send! tiheir children to these schools pay, to a large extent, for the children of those who do. But nobody calk the latter paupew It may be tmgucd ttout the people •who pay taxes, but don't send their children to State schools, might do bo if they chose. [Exactly co. That is to wy something like this: "The State provides, at the expense of the taxpayers, bread and milk, say, for all children, free oi cost. You may send your children to get it." " Yes," replies a parent, " but I want my v children to have meat os well, and I hwß worked hard to buy it for them, and I don't mind paying for it and being taxed for your children , * fo-ead and milk, too. ' You are very welcome to my chare oi the bread and milk; I don't grudge it to you." Bat now the bread and milk Olivers are asking for more—not more bread and milk, but more meat, but they don't want to pay for it. They want to rush the meat market, so to speak, with to many of their, pauper children* who here thriven at the expense of their meat-eatinf neighboured that the quality and quantity of the meat supplied, which v must deteriorate and diminish. No doubts they would suggest that the State <i.«. r other children's parente) should increaee. the supply, which means that their richer neighbours who have already paid for rt great portion of the little Olivers brawl and milk should be taxed still further to supply the little Olivers with meat. One" might think. Sir, that parente in a democratic country would have too much pride to let their richer neighbours pay largely for their children's bread and" milk and "thfti cadge for more with threats. Lht parents who send their children to -tlte State schools get orife of children, W the Sixth Standard to make out how nttkfc they .pay in taxes, and then see how f*r this would g-o to pay for each an edu/str tion as the children are getting, and aak * themselves, " Who,, paye for the rest?" b*i« fore , they talk sickening cant about ail men being equals. • If I receive advantage* *t the expense of another man, I am n<i* hte equal. Thiif ia a demoaratio country! It'e a cokaiy of State pauper*, wjid are being pandered to by professional politicians who at every election are.trying to discover some fresh aim* or dole orform of outdoor, relief to bribe the elector* for their Totes. And emybofy knowa if add doesn't mind. - •"- I do not say there abould be no free ' higher education, but it should be reserved as a prize for those who Jure* • proved themselves capable of-profiting .by ; it, and the test proposed by Mr Hogben is no.proof at all. Neither has the financial baaie suggested any necessary ■ tppropriateneas.. If there is not one child for every £60 of net income that i> capable . of profiting by free secondary education, the Board can find a better use for their money. To take children who are not mentally fit and insist on cramming higher education into them ie like trying to get a. quart of liquid into a pint pot. . Even, if the effort be successful owing to .gflsat pressure, the odds are that to* pot. it badly strained l in the process, and does not derive much consolation from the reflection thai it has not had to pay anything for being permanent!v bulged. .-There is no justice in doing this. Justice ti , not the equal distribution of right*, but the equal distribution of ' rights among equal*, and not even the most democratic., democrat will contend that all children" ate intellectually equal, nor does H, pay other children's parente to pay for the free secondary edecation of John Smith* «Sn, links* the little J. Smith ham got really ' good brains to repay Ms neighbours tome day for the gift. Let us by all means promote "brains. , ' It is by this nod .by the willingness to believe in "braine," ana pay for "braine," as opposed to mere average manual dexterity that German}* and America are getting ahead of m. Who ia itf discovers the chemical processes! in manufacture and invents the labour-easing ; machinery? It takes brains to intent a sewing machine, to make wwe Jam, to write good book*, but any ordinary dressmaker or policeman can work the ant and 1 put the second in force, and: any Sixth. '• I Standard child can read the last. Bet os then by all means promote fcmim of aft aorta, without disparaging one at the . *x- ; pense of the other, scientific braint, mathematical brahw, classical brains, Utarary brains, political brains,'and, above all, Ie? . us promote "character," which. Jβ to the braine what the bajiaet a* to the tiup- L What -s the good or building faster' and larger steamers unless we ' increase the ballast proportionately. Education tocalled ia a good thing for a good cfcataeUr, and a bad thing for a bad character, like every other advantage under tile saa.— Youre, etc.', EX ERE3IO. •

A Scar from * bam or scald k ofUrt,-" dreaded more than the pain that is infiiotM cd. Chamberlain* Pain Balm lie«l« . injured part in leu time than *ay -otMr-lf.; treatment and nnlew the injury-i* * ••*••;•,>] one, no acar will be left.- ' gire« relief. Try it.- 2&'&tk&^*Wlm.-3£i