The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1930. MR. ATMORE'S AIRY CLAIM.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXX, Issue 11131, 14 February 1930, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1930. MR. ATMORE'S AIRY CLAIM.

§ It is interesting to note that tlio iMirosLMit Minister lor Education is onj gaged upon a. “Go on Elio Land crusade. lie professes to believe, indeed, I hat unemployment is largely the fault of a false bias to city life. “With more education that will lit hoys for a. country career, unemployment will,” he says, “be largely reduced.” Everybody will, no doubt, agree that it would assist the Dominion immensely if a much larger number of people—young as well as old—could gain their livelihood directly from the land. Hut it is idle for any member of the Government to talk about the need to give cduea:ti<m ran agricultural bias if, at the same time, provision he uot made to increase the extent of employment in rural districts. It does not scorn to have occurred to A Tr. At more that, after all, there will he found to bo a. limit to the amount of agricultural education that it would ho wise on the part of the State to provide. This Dominion would, unquestionably, ho much better off it it had farm schools in the main rural districts. But theoretical agricultural knowledge imparted in town schools cannot possibly produce substantial results. There can be no question but that, for many years, the Dominion’s education system has had far too marked an academical bias. ’What the Government requires to do before it attempts to commit the country to a very,extensive and very costly change in its education system is to hold a proper stock-taking in regard to the position. It is foolish] for anybody to suggest that the primary industries will, within a, short period, be able to stand such a great deal more juvenile labor that the State would be justified in spending a. huge sum on imparting agricultural knowledge to its young folk. If a proper review of the position wero to be made, it could be ascertained just bow much more juvenile labor could profitably be employed in the primary industries. Without any hesitation, we say, that what a thorough investigation would show is that the field-in this direction would be found to be not nearly so large as that which might be created if more attention were given to the development' of the secondary industries. 'By all means, let the present education system he improved upon. It would well repay the State to provide some additional farm schools. Bub is it not a fact there is also a strong demand for an extension of the system of manual and technical instruction? Very properly,' the Auckland Sun, in this connection, asks if: there is any evidence to show that it is the intention of the Government, after assisting boys to secure agricultural school training, to help them to make practical use of their knowledge. In strict fact, there is not. If the re- ' 'verso be, the..case, Mr. Atmore should at once set about to convince, say, Mr Jenkins, the United M.B. for Kg skill- On this subject, Mr Jenkins, last week, took the Government severely to task on account of its. dilatoriness in promoting, land settlement on a scale in keeping with its pledges. “What has it done?” lie asked. And he added, “I do not think that it has so far .placed an additional 1000 people on the land. ?At that rate it will take fifty-' years to finish its election policy, of placing another 50,000 people on the -1 and’ ’!