The Evening Star MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1875.

Evening Star, Issue 3911, 6 September 1875, Page 2

The Evening Star MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1875.

In the House of Representatives some of the members of the Opposition have already sounded the note of alarm at the proposal of Mr Macandrew, and the ready acquiescence of the Ministry to secure to the Provinces their Ednca tion Reserves, by creating trusts and vesting them in trustees. Not only is the doctrine stated in the House, but it is supported by certain sections of the Press, chat notwithstanding the efforts made by the Provinces of Otago, Canterbury, and Nelson to secure permanent endowments for their school systems, the whole of the Education Reserves arc to be considered Colonial property, and that a common scheme of general education shall be substituted, towards the support of which those reserves are to be made to contribute. To appropriate these as wffil as our laud fund is the object of the Opposition, and this is the purpose to be secured by demy. At the public meeting held last week, one of the speakers ridiculed the idea that to r eject the Abolition Bill in the House of Representatives meant really to place Sib George Grey and his party in power. Yet this is strictiy and absolutely correct ■ lor die Ministry have staked their continuance in office upon i'he Bill being carried. When, therefore, the orator ridiculed the statement, it proved either his ignorance of the real state of affairs, or of Constitutional usage. The tact is there has been am nnder-carrcnt in the. North seeking to seise our laml bind that Ims been gathering strength fur years • and among ourselves there are those who are aiding the sinister object by advocating a dallying policy that at the next election,* should the Abolition, question be referred to one, will strengthen the Northern position

by making the absorption of Southern Reserves in a general fund a leading question at the hustings. Unless a man will vote for this he will not be returned. The magnitude of the sacrifice wo shall be asked to make may be judged of by the statistics attached to the Education Report laid on the table of the Provincial Council last session. We do not desire that the people of the Colony shall remain uneducated. We shidl be glad to see an honorable rivalry in schools, schoolmasters, and scholars. We should like the nonsense talked and written about birthrights changed into a reality, as far as education is concerned; so that every New Zealander might fairly claim and feel proud of that best of birthrights, a sound moral and intellectual education. We believe that the people of this Province have reason to feel proud of the ' durational system that lias been devised, nurtured, and grown up in it ■ — a system calculated for all classes of men, whatever their politics or creeds. It is one that educates aheut fourteen thousand children, at an average cost to the Province of .£1 9s each; it interferes with no family’s religion, but trains the pupils in knowledge and habits of acquiring information that render them capable of readily comprehending the tenets of the Churches to which their parents or guardians are attached. The machinery by which this truly national work is accomplished comprises 157 schools, elementary and advanced, conducted by 266 teachers. An idea may be formed of the fulness of the preparation for giving instruction by an analysis. The report informs us that in 1874 there were employed 155 schoolmasters, 44 sehoolmistreses, 11 teachers of sewing, 9 male pupil teachers, and 47 female pupil teachers. We had proposed enumerating some of the details of the methods by which it has been sought to improve this educational machinery, and to render it really efficient j for like everything else that is merely rudimentary, many parts of it have been found defective. But the fact of having discovered the weak points, implies care and energy in conducting our educational operations, and gives a guarantee that in future the shortcomings will be fewer and the standard higher. Much as there is to admire in the details of the arrangements, as reported by the Secretary, the most interesting and instructive document is the attached report of the Inspector of Schools, Mr D. Petrie, M.A. It indicates what is purposed to be done, by a faithful exposure of the shortcomings of our various public schools; and leads to the conviction that although much better results should have followed our efforts, it is not the fault of the system that they have not been realised, but of individuals who have only carelessly performed their duties. If this is the case in Otago, where the advantages oi education have ever been recognised, what must be the condition of those Provinces where provision for : t lias been grudged 1 And to one dead level it is the purpose of the Opposition to reduce the Colony. They propose to take from us the means by which education is to be carried out when Provincial land revenues cease because of the land being alienated, and to divide the spoil among those who have persistently opposed an education rate in the North Island. One effect of this sordid grasping may be to unite the members of Otago in a settled purpose to have the reserves invested in trustees; and the only way to do this is to leave the ranks of the Opposition, and to support the Government in their proposal to invest all Provincial reserves in trust for their respective purposes. This is a real and practical object. It should be advocated in every possible constitutional way—by petition, by public meeting, and by the constituencies influencing their members to support the measure. Now is the opportunity: defer it,- and there is every reason to suppose it will be lost. Abolition is certain sooner or later. The greatest mistake that Otago can make is not to secure its reserves now that a favorable opportunity presents itself.

before he died, he rose, shook hands with his