NEW HEAD OF COLLEGE HOUSE.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11496, 31 January 1903, Page 8

NEW HEAD OF COLLEGE HOUSE.

ARRIVAL OF THE REV. C. W CARRINGTON.

"Tell them that I'm six foot two in my socks, and ." Til* fniirg*st:on was made y«terday by the Rev. C. W. Carrington. the new head r»f College House, standing tip-toes while Ik- made it, and reaching, half seriously, half mock-serious-ly, aitix any compromise that might serve instead of an interview.

"Doesn't '.he country look lovely here,' lie broke off, crossing over to one of the windows of the room at Bishopscouri. to get-a vjew of it. "Especially after Australia. i Almost any country looks wtll, erf cour.«e, aftfcr a long sea voyage, bnt Australia looked like a brick-kiln." "I came as far as Sydney in the Ophir, the boat that the Pricce of Wales made his memorable trip in," Mr Carrington eaid in anSwc-r to a question. "We stayed a week in Sydney, and came on by the Moerak:. by the by, I should like you to sa# that we were most delighted with the Moeraki. Everything was as good as wnild be. Wo were told when we left England I'hat the voyage from Australia T o Now Zealand was the worst part of the whole jouxney—rough eea, bad boats—but we foucd the vessel excellent, and we had fine weather all the way out." "What, do you think of the English Education Bill?" asked the reporter. "I'm very thankful to get away from it," Mr Carrington re-plied, se-eming "still ready to skim off at any moment from the ice of serious interviewing. As he had been only an hour landed after a very ton.; jotiraey, this was natural enough. "I have Had schools of my own," he continued, , "'and we worried them through for a number of years, till we were getting tue largest, possible gTarots and the highest excellence we could reach, but the financial

struggle was awful. I think that the present Bill wiM tldfe difficulties over for a certain number oi years, but not permanently. l ! he best "part cf it is tie provisions in regard to secondary education. The attempt to run board schools and voluntary schools side by sids, however, cannot, in my opinion, continue successful. I think the arrangement is only a gentle , slida to let the voluntary schools down easily, and that the matter will end in a singlo .State system of schools. I left in the middle of the anguish." Our representative inquired if any further stops had been ickca in regard to the Dean of Ripon, who?e unexpected views caused sxicli a controversy recently.

"Fizzled out," replied >lr Carrington. "The Dean wa« pomaded to write a letter of explanation, .•w'hioh. smoothed thing 9 over to tne general satisfaction. I didn't take roach interest in the matter myself. I don't catt- for these people who make ambiguous'utterarces which they have to explain away again. It's better to say what you rneaa. I think, ar.d be done with it."

Our representative touched upon articles appearing in two of tfe.'s month's English onagaaioK-s,' headed, "Our Public Schools as a Public Peril" and "Are the Public Schools a Failure. Mr G-irrington said he thought tlw public schools could take ewe of tihemeelws. He had no doubt they were capable "of improvement, but there were none better on. the face oi the globe.. They always turned out the bast men. There was no beating the English public school man anywhere—witness ~'Selwyai.

"By the -ye, continued Mr Carrington, reverting' tr> the chatty »tyle of conversation in which he has a peculiarly -deligibtful mariner, "it may interest people h*ire to knew thai I had a vtiry pleasant talk with old Mre Jfelwyn oefo-re coming away. She eect hsr !ove to a lot of peopte 'n New Zealand, and was very much interested in the colony. ij-'he k ninety-two, I uiink, ard one ntcia aM oE-e's wits to talk to heir, tfh&'a so alert and clever. Really she i.M smarter than most people are at forty-six. She said sh© could remember the lending at Akaroa Harbour, or wa§ it Lyttelton, and how a great sail was carried up to hold a service among the hills." Qtiestiomcl with»raja id. to the proposal to make Greek no longer 'a compulsory subject at Oxford, Mr Carrington replied, "I was a.'vicar im a big town parish in Black Country, .near Birmingham, but I iope they won't do it. All our work wag, among colliers, ininare, and ironworkers, so that there wae not much time to worry about tba public schools and education questions. I wae very glad to get away' from there, for I am a countryman born and bred, and I don't like black country. This is the opposite of it. I have not seen sky like this, or country like this, far a very long time, except draring short holidays. The change from smoke to sunshine Iβ delightful," Mr Canrington toughed when asked what he intended to do in Onmtchuroh. "I'm going to etay here if they'll let me," h« remarked. "I haven't the eligMesfc mtemtlofl of cJeariJig out without sufficient sneaj son, though one can't tell what one is going to do next -week in Hue woiW." ! The new Priacipal 6i the Upper Departnwnt of• the College wae a civil engineer at Westimineter for eight or nine years. He gave up eogineeriiiig and went to Cambridge, and wae ordbined deacon ia London at tl» same time irith Canon Averill, in 1888. He wae in London for two or three years, and wm then moved to LtehfieM. Lastily the was vicar of West Bromioh, in the Black Country, where he spent between eigtt'and nine'years. $• "Don't forget the 'west wnatever you do," he laughangly enjoined upon one representative. "There ore sane to be com* West Bromich people here, for they are always travelling about." Mr Carringtoß and 'his family are at present staying a* BMopscourfc.