The Evening Star. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1874

Evening Star, Issue 3612, 19 September 1874, Page 2

The Evening Star. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1874

The Board of Advice appointed some time ago by the Provincial Government has not been idle. The members of the Board appear to have brought no small amount of enthusiasm to bear on their work, as may be seen from the very small percentage of absences from the meetings that have been held. As far as we can judge from what has hitherto transpired, we believe that this Board will prove to be the one thing needful for putting } the High School on a thoroughly satisfactory footing. It is not to be expected that every one will be pleased with what has been, or with what may be done; but several things have been now so definitely settled that were never settled before. The status to be arrived at by the school has been so thoroughly determined that those who are capable of judging at all about such matters, will be able to decide in the future what they have never been able to tell in the past—whether the school is accomplishing its work or not. This has long been a very great desideratum. Tt appears to us that in nearly all the discussions on the High School which have taken place since its foundation, two questions have been mixed up which ought to have been kept entirely separate. One is: “Ought the State to provide for the education of all the members of the rising generation 1” the other is: “ Is the High School fulfilling its proper functions 1” Opponents of the school have, in some cases, rather dexterously availed themselves of the means thus placed at their disposal to prevent it from being successful. When it has been shown that the school is doing good work, it is objected that its cost is great; when it has been shown that the cost is, all things considered, not greater than that of other institutions of the same character, it is objected that it is not doing its work. The High School has thus had to maintain a fight of the “ one down, another come on ” kind ever since it was founded. It may fauly be said that the first of these two questions ought not to be asked with regard to the High School any more than with reference to the piiraaiy schools on the one hand, or the University on the other. Rightly or wrongly the question has long been answered in the affirmative. Over and over again has the Provincial Council decided that the Province shall provide a complete education for all those members of the community who choose to avail themselves of it. In short we* may say that the almost unanimous verdict of the people of this Province has been in favor of State education. With this verdict we must agree. Notwithstanding all theareuments that Mr Herbert Spencer has adduced against the theory of State education—some of them of very great force—there still remain these two very important facts, which ought not lightly to be laid aside—there is in the minds of nearly all classes a most earnest desire that the the rising generation shall be better instructed and educated than the present one j the other fact is that individual effort has hitherto produced most unsatisfactory results. Mr Spencer himself allows that in our present comparatively backward condition, protection of life and property can be better managed by the State than by private individuals. Is it not also just possible at any rate that this same backwardness of ours.may render it necessary that the State should do the work of educating the people as well as that of protecting them 1 Is it not possible that, all things considered, the education of the young may be better conducted by the people as a body than by the people as individuals, at least till that millenniim, of which Herbert Spencer , is the earnest and eloquent prophet, I has got itself fully developed, when every man shall be able and willing to use all his faculties—physical, moral, and intellectual—to the fullest extent compatible with the like exercise of their faculties by others. Be this as it may, this Province has undertaken to give a complete education to the children of all parents who may desire it, and to provide the necessary machinery. It is therefore unfair in the extreme to charge the High School specially with being too expensive, unless it can be shown that the expense of it is greater than that of similar institutions in countries placed under the same sort of conditions as our own j for the primary schools and the University are all guilty of the same alleged fault, though of course to a varying extent, viz. : that of being supported by the State for the purpose of educating the children of parents who are quite able to educate their own children. Once admit the principle of State education, and no limit can logically be placed to the amount of education given, except that fixed by the requirements of the children and parents themselves. The University and the High School have just as sound a raison d'etre as the District Schools themselves. With regard to the other question : “ Is the High School fulfill-

ing its functions ?” our answer must be that we haven’t the least idea whether it is or not, inasmuch as it has never been decided till this week what those functions are. To some, however, this absence of data has in no way proved a hindrance. One of our contemporaries, for instance, has answered it very decidedly in the negative. It is instructive to notice the way in which the journal in question has arrived at its conclusions. Our readers may possibly remember that some time ago there appeared in the * Daily Times ’ a series of articles on the New Zealand University. The object, aimed at in these articles was to show that the New Zealand University was an utterly worthless instituti m, that it could never by any possibility be of the slightest use, and that its extinction, peaceful or or otherwise, was a thing “ most devoutly to be wished.” But what was most objectionable was its programme of examination. This was simply abominable; it was quite certain that boys who should be crammed sufficiently to enable them to pass with credit in this examination would be henceforth utterly spoiled, would be of no further use to anybody. In short, the programme and its framers were held up as the very fittest of objects for public scorn and contempt. The ‘Times’ may have been right, or it may have been wrong in its sweeping condemnation of this examination as an educational test :.we do not undertake to pass an opinion on the subject. But let us see what happened afterwards. The ‘Times’ indulged in some rather foolish boasting about the pre-eminence of Otago in educational matters. This produced a smart letter from the Rev. F. C. Simmons. The ‘ Times’ JranUy confessed that Otago was far inferior to Nelson and Christchurch in the matter of education. And why ? Because the High School had failed to send up candidates to the New Zea-l land University examination, to the examination which it had itself denounced as the greatest educational sham that could be conceived. The logic of the * Times’ is choice. Here it is, stripped of unnecessary words : The University examination is no test ot educational acquirements, unless it be those of the wrong sort. The High School sent no candidates to this examination. Therefore the High School is a corpse that may be galvanised, but cannot be brought to life again. We commend this piece of reasoning to Professor M ‘Gregor, who would hardly find a better specimen of a syllogism, replete with almost every kind of fallacy, if he were to search from now till doomsday. We may notice by the way that Mr Simmons has apparently been converted too. It is not very long, if we remember rightly, since he vigorously denounced this same programme. He now plumes himself on having so far deteriorated the minds of no less than seven unfortunate boys as to enable them to gain University Scholarships. Has he not, according to his own showing, been doing the things that he ought not to have done, and as a natural consequence been leaving undone the thing which he ought to have done—viz,, giving boys that ‘‘real culture” of which ho is such an earnest advocate 1 But this is, as we said, quite by the way. Those who have hitherto attempted to give an opinion as to the work done by the High School have all labored under the difficulty arising from the absence of any sufficient standard by whjch to judge of its merits or demerits, and for this reason all such opinions have been more or less erroneous, seeing that they have been founded on feelings rather than facts j but, as the Superintendent said the other day, there is reason to nope that a better day has dawned for the High School. Henceforth, thanks to the Board of Advice, it will be possible to say, with some approach to certainty, whether the School is doing its work or not, seeing that that work has been clearly and distinctly defined. That the High School has already done good work of some sort is being daily made very manifest to all those who meet with such of the old alumni as have gone through the curriculum of the school, in the counting-house, the laboratory, and the surveyor’s field of operations absolutely necessary to the sense.

There has been a heavy fall of rain, with low temperature, at Oa naru two days this week. The ‘Times’ tells us that rain his been much wanted, keep being exceedingly scarce, and large numbers of sheep having died in consequence. At the N.Z. and t . Land Company’s Totara Station, the loss hj: b been very heavy, hundreds of sheep having perished. Similar losses have been sustained on stations at North Waitalti.

The unfavorable weather of last evening had a depressing effect on the attendance at the Princess’s ; but the performance, wi.ich was of the usual varied character, appear d to give general satisfaction. Tne afternoon peif .rmaoce to-day, to which the children belonging to the Industrial School and Benevolent Asylum had been kind : y invited by Mr Smith, was largely attended," and the children testified by their hearty applause that it was a long time since so genuine a treat bad been aff irded to them. Some novelties wdl be presented to night. Mr Holloway has been “slated” by some of the journals in places he has visited The Mirl borough and Nelson papers are very severe upon him, and we find the • Mail' winding up an article in this strainAn immense deal of nonsense is talked by those who have no acquaintance with the country ab mt the large blocks of land that have fallen into the hj inds of individuals and Mr Holloway appears to be quite as capable of talking nonsense as many others who do not hesitate to pronounce an opinion on matters ot which they are grossly ignorant.” At a recent sitting of the Auckland 'mpreme Court, in Banco, Mr Gillies commented rather forcibly on the inconveniences that were constantly arising from gentlemen acting in the double capacity of barristers and solicitors. It was particularly obnoxious iu the wording of affidavits, as, if a counsel wished to comment with severity upon the way in which one had been diawn up by »n attorney, he could scarcely do so without reflecting on the opposing counsel, who was, in most cases, both barrister and solicitor for his client. He thought it a great pity that the status of professional gentlemen was not on the same looting as in England, as it would relieve both Court and counsel of a great deal of embarrassment. His Honor concurred with the remarks of Mr Gillies, and said he had fr quently expressed the a ime opinions, based on similar and other equally cogent grounds.

The Albertland correspondent of the ‘ Southern Cross ’ furnishes the following account of a marriage under diffi mlties :~ “ \ wedding under extreme diffi mlties came off on Monday, not far over the border Ibe groom duly p esented himse f at the hj. uss of the bride’s father, but owing to very bad weather the minister did not put in aa appearance, and the would-be bridegroom retraced his steps. He found the creek he had to cross considerably swollen, but he manfully stripped and swam over. Shortly after airival at his home, the minister arrived at the bride’s house, and a messenger fetched the young man back over the creek. This time he forgot his Wedding clothes, but the knot was duly tied. He then crossed with his bride on his back that wretched creek Lam happy to say he arrived at his home all right, and. laughing as only a warm-hearted fellow could do over such an uncomfortable adventure.'’

Messrs J. Logan an I J. Brown, J P.'s, attended the gaol at noon to day to hear a charge of theft preferred against one of the prisoners at present undergoing a sentence. William Stanley, alias Smith, was charged, on the information bf Willi tm Ross, with stealing from the premises of Henry’ Clos , Ueborah Biy, one canvas bag containing a (JU mtity of dotting, the whole of the va u of L4.—Prisoner pleaded guiity, rnd Sub Inspector Mallard explained the facts. Prosecutor had left his c’othes at the house of ( doss, in whose employ prisoner had been, nd when the latter left he took the clothes away with him. Cluss was su-d in the civil side of the Court, and prosecutor obtained judgment for the value of the goods, in answer to a question from Mr Logan, as to what he pr posed to do with the goods, Sub Inspec or Mallard said he would recommend that they behmded over to the prosecutor. Mr Caldwell mentioned that the pr -secutor had express -d his willingness to recompense doss. »>nly part of the goods were found, and prisoner said he had left all the things at the Temperance Hotel He was undergoing three different sentence! of six mouths each ; and on the present charge he was sentenced to an additional six months, the sentences to be concurrent.

The quarterly meeting of the Caithness and Sutherland Association was held last evening in Murray’s Hotel; Mr Mathes m, the vice-president, being in the chair. Mr hlder, the s cretary, stated that all the immigrant vessel had been visited on their arrival at Port Chalmers, and that the north country people who had arrive 1 by them were looked af er by the members of the Society resident at the Port, and that situations had been procured for them or their assistance given. Mr Stout, M.P.0., addressed the meeting on the desirability of altering the constitution of the Association, so as to include Orkney and Shetland. The matter was referred to a committee to draw up a report to be submitted to a special meeting tailed for Friday, the 2nd October. Twelve new members were proposed. The Society now numbers upwards of fifty members, and numbers are being added to it every meetiac. A committee was appointed to make arrangements for the annual social meeting of the Society. It was moved that the secretary be requested to write to the committee of rhe Athe mum asking that the ‘ Northern illnsign ’ be added to the list of papers already in the Athenaeum.

The ‘ Christian Record,’ in its enlarged form appears for the first time this week. The additional matter is apparently well selected, and there is a readable summary of the week’s news. We have to acknowledge the receipt of “a treatise on the human hair,” by Mr F Beissel.

‘•James Johnson* of the Working Men’s Club, Upper street, Martin’s Lane,” and a passenger by the Corona, forwards to us a copy of the ‘ Tichborne Gazette,’ in which appears a letter by himself explaining how it happened that though summoned he was not examined as a witness on the famous Tichborne trial. The publication of this letter can serve no purpose an-i we doubt whether the evidence he was prepared to give that the claimant was not Arthur Orton, would have in the slightest influenced the decision of the jury.

We would direct attention to the announcement that Messrs M'Landress, Hepburn and Co. will sell by auction on Monday, eighteen choice building allotments adjoining the township of Melrose, and having a frontage to the lown Felt. _ This property was one of the earliest selections for a suburb, and its situation and accessibility render it highly desirable for villa resi lences.

The collection in Knox Church to-morrow will be in aid of the Benevolent Institution. A meeting of the Grand Lodge 1.0.G.T.‘ will be held on Mohday evening.