MR. ALLEN'S MISSION.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1600, 18 November 1912, Page 4

MR. ALLEN'S MISSION.

-a DEFENCE AND EDUCATION PROPLEMS. Tho Hon. James Allen leaves for England on December 13,' via Suez. He is going Homo mainly on financial business, but lie will attend to other matters connected with tho Departments of Education and Finance. Hp has arranged to meet Senator Pearcc, tho Commonwealth Defence Minister, in Australia, to discuss the working of the national defence schemes in the two countries. He will, of course, see Mr. Winston Churchill, First Lord of tho Admiralty, in London, and' on his way back to New Zealand he intends to meet the Canadian Minister. There has been some mention of a possible conference about Imperial naval defence in Canada, but Mr. Allen does not anticipate that this conforenco will be held. He will take some note of educational methods in England also. "I am visiting all the special schools in the Dominion, 110 said last night. Yesterday I was at the Otekaike school for the feeble minded. I intend also to go to the Wereroa Train-. ing Farm, to the school for the deaf and dumb at Sumner, aud to the Jubileo institute for the Blind at Auckland. I want to compare the methods followed •here with those in use in tho English special schools, and so ascertain whether we' are keeping pace with modern developments."