The Evening Star SATURDAY, JUNE 17, 1871.
The. other .‘.day wo pdblisbqcl.'.a. shbrt 'abstract, of -an application to the Government of Victoiia to form a department o£ Agriculture, under the direction of a minister . of the' Government. The application. is suggestive, for it points to a course which, if adopted, may prove the means of rapidly developing and enriching the colony. The memorialists in Victoria point to the good effects resulting from the establishing of a mining department, and anticipate that like benefit would accrue to agriculture; and stock feeding, Were equal attention given to them. There can be no doubt" that where there is a craving fox* information, there is the, root of enterprise and progress. This feeling after something believed to be attainable by pursuing light methods, is characteristic of the times in which we live '; and points to a gradually widening conviction that the welfare of the individual is closely connected:with .the advancement of society as a whole. Colonial 1 industry has hitherto been a very, hap-hazard affair, and lias had almost as much of failuro-a&of success connected- with-it. This, we apprehend,dias arisen through not combining abstract science with its practical application. There in one sentence, in the argument that is especially, worthy. . of attention: “ If it is “ the duty of the State to provide a. “ system of literary education, it is “ .equally, its duty to provide the means “ of technical education.” We do not; see what objection can be raised to such a theory—in fact it is one that to the utmost of our ability we have doiistantly advocated. There - wits n time not' far past, ’ wheh even this' literary education, Alluded, to..was ,esteemed to be beyond the Province of the State. It was held to be a mere family matter, and the interference of Governments, ■ even to the ; -extent of providing the means of leaming to read and write, was considered an infringement on the : privileges of the wealthy classes calculated'"to place the rich and poor on a ; common intellectual level. Happily fpv the world that time has gone past, land the rich find themselves safer, happier, and even'richer -in the ipHlst of a ; comriiunity ‘ of educated and labourers,, than them forefathers were, Uvhen surrounded by obsequious;-urn-taught serfs, Put wo should ■ bo glad to see this practical. idea iof education take deeper root in Otago than it has done. The Province has done much; but-the chief aim has been to give a taste for literature. Science has been hitherto studied too much in the abstract, and too little in its application to the supply of huulan wants. We have, pointed to this many times, when ye haye endeavored to show that, until.we have, a! trained population on our goldfialds, they will never he. fully and properly developed 1 . ' It not merely liberal regulations that,? are. required..... Those, are only conceding the freest possible access to/and use-of, the mines of wealth that lie iiroiind us. Tli reiilbval of restidc-' tions, and the establishment of such laws as are calculated to secure the proceeds 6( his toil Wevei-y ihan, ai‘o. great' inducements to persons to settle on the goldfiels, who are already acquainted with the best way of going about their work. Butitcannot be too often repeated that these are yearly becoming reduced in number or scath rad over wider areas as gold fields are discovered in other parts of the world. But where is our European population that should replace the eight or ton thoumcl'uieii
who left Otago for the Coast! The weathar thiji t ha | been |p|? wlme,-| so plenti&L ffiat, MinMred gutli j i last, Yet i»6'<provision has the Government of the people -$i prffctifial'minihgi We have fiointed out fron* Statistical petm-ns that it is a pursuit that-ia immensely more profitable than any other, in .proportion to the capital invested in it; that our goldfields, if properly and. systematically- worked, would give employment to an enormous population 3 but now that surface digging is,pve.r, no man will devote himself to Tt, without sonic previous training and experience. The same fact is observable in Victoria. The number of miners is decreasing. We have frequently" urged/the establishment of a Government mine, not only as a source of men to fiillv back ■ upon with <a a certainty of making wages 1 ■\vheriyw6rk is 'scarce, with 1 profit to themselves and the.community, but as a. means of training our population- to ‘systematic working of Our goldfields. Had this plan been adopted;’which' after all is only a branch of technical education, avc should hear nothing of distressed workmen. Wo are award that by many the idea is-looked upon as ary—by some as being beyond the province of Government. There may be those, too, who imagine that while it is*’ the duty of a Government to see that none die of starvation, it is no part of their’duty to shew the way by which such misery ancT distress may he avoided. We consider these negativeideas of >the ’ province of Government arise from veiy partial attd crude notions of its functions, and from exaggerated and consequently erroneous ideas of liberty. It must be very plain from ..what is already taking place,:that other nations find their advantage in national organisation. By this hieahs united and intelligent Prussia, conquered. France, and by its means, if we do not stir ourselves, our goldfields; whiohHve looked to as a source of wealth, insteadof founding the fortunes' of our Own countrymen, will be worked by men who know how to co-operate for mutual benefit— the Chinese,
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD18710617.2.7
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2600, 17 June 1871, Page 2
Word count
Tapeke kupu
920The Evening Star SATURDAY, JUNE 17, 1871. Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2600, 17 June 1871, Page 2
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.