Marlborough Times. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1880.

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume II, Issue 97, 24 February 1880, Page 2

Marlborough Times. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1880.

If the people of Blenheim allow their High School to be abandoned they will undoubtedly have cause to regret it. The parent, of every child unable to bear the cost out of his own pocket of “ higher education ” should protest against t-ho attempt now being made by that great “ Friend of the working iiian,” Mr Henderson, to abolish an institution by which the son of the poorest man in the place can have equal educational advantages with the children of the richest. There may be room for improvement in the school, and there is admittedly a want of teaching power, but these defects can be easily remedied, and the appointment of an additional master which we presume will lie made by the Board at its next meeting, will be one step in the right direction. The attack on the High School, commenced by Mr Henderson, has been (of course) heartily taken up by his local organ and an “acute and learned mind,” and at the same time a very narrow one, has echoed at Picton the cry that the Blenheim High School should he done away with. The people of Blenheim should undoubtedly bestir themselves in this matter, and see that this great injustice is not perpetrated against them without strong remonstrance. We believe, indeed, that the good sense of the majority of the Board will adhere to the previous decision armed at by a narrow majority at a thin meeting, by which the motion to abolish this school was negatived. Mr Henderson has told us he intends to oppose the appointment of an additional teacher “ tooth and na il ” — S uch are his own words—unless the salary (£120) is taken from the amount now paid for salaries which, by the way, are none too large. p n the attacks made on the High School great stress has been laid on the fact that none of its scholars who went up for the Civil Service examination passed. This is certainly to be regretted, but in looking over the list we find the percentage of passes to failures very large throughout the Colony. Nelson only passed 10 out of 36, so that we are not greatly astonished at there being no passes out of the ha f-doze i boys who went up from BY 1 oi n school, although of course we should have been glad to see “ Our boys” to the fore on this and all occasions. We hope they will not be discouraged by their failure this time, nor by the very mean way in which their r mes have been paraded before the p blic by a sec ion of the Press in o dor apparently to gratify personal spite against the master. This was pointed out very forcibly and well by a correspondent signing himself “ A Parent”in a recent issue, and it is desirable that the public should clearlv understand the situation. The establishment of High Schools in the Colony is a first step to the introduction of a system not unlike that of the great public school system of England, to which so many distinguished men owe their position. It may he very many years before a new country like this can attain a like prominence in this direction, but High Schools are a step towards it. We have an example in the sis„er Colon v of Tasmania of a most successful system of public school education. There a boy is sent to a pi unary school : if he has talent and industry he has a fair chance of obtaining an exhibition to a higher school and afterwards of competing fora Tasmanian scholarship of the value of .£2OO a year, tenable for four years at an English University. Several of the successful scholars are now high up in the Civil Service of India, and others are making their mark in the Liberal professions. The majority of them would never, without these scholarships, have been in the position ;

they now are. Everything that tends to encourage the public school system should be fostered to the uttermostex tent, and if the Blenheim High school has somewhat fallen short of the expectations formed of it. people should remember “'bat it is a eompai itivelv new institution, and that improvements can easily be made without sweeping it away. We fool sure that tin majority of pnrcntsliere value the High School, and would regret to see it; abandoned, whilst they very naturally desire that it should be made as perfect as posssible, and it is the duty of the Board to see that this school is made as good as it can be, but certainly to abolish it at the instance of a political demagogue, who happens to “ have a down ” on the master, would be a piece of extreme folly, of which we cannot think the Board will bo guilty. We regret that Mr Folks motion to have referred the matter to Mr Hodgson for him to report upon was not carried. Mr Hodgson is now on his tour of inspection and a report from him on the subject would have been unquostio iably of much value at the present time.

There is just now a perfect scare in Victoria amongst that very large section of the community who drink Colonial beer. The fact is beyond a doubt that strychnine and other drugs are taking the place of malt and hops in the manufacture of beer in the sister Colony, and the ill effects of this adulteration are now being felt so r. ich that public attention is being drawn to the subject, with a view to further legislation in the direction of stopping adulteration. A Melbourne paper of January last has the following paragraph, the truth of which lias baen confirmed unmistakably, and very general attention lias been directed to it:— “ Extraordinary Poisoning.—An extraordinary case of poisoning lias just happened in one of the suburbs, which may not be without a moral Some members of a family having been united at Christmas time after a long separation, sent out for a couple of bottles of ale in order to properly celebrate the meeting and the season. Hie ale was obtained from the nearest grocer’s shop, and duly served round. Two of the company, more thirsty than the rest, raised their classes and swallowed a mouthful, hut it was so hitter they did not care to proceed further, and the conviviality was checked. .Before many minutes had elapsed the two men who had partaken of the ale •suddenly became ill, and were speedily rolling on the door in a paroxysm of pain. They were carried to the Alfred Hospital and underwent a quarter of an hour’s treatment for poisoning, which, in itself is nearly as had as hanging. The doctors finally declared the symptoms to he those of poisoning by strychnine, and had the men not received prompt attention it would have been all over with them. The men are better now, but as the ale in question was that of a popular Melbourne brewery, the alarm that lias spread through all ranks of the community can scarcely he conceived.” Now we do not suppose for one moment that in New Zealand noxious drugs are used by brewers in the production of beer, but people in some parts of the Colony, who are habitual drinkers of the colonially made article, would feel more satisfied if an Act were passed under which an officer—such as there is in England, inspected all breweries. The honest dealer would have nothing to fear from the visits of such an officer; indeed, a favorable report from a reliable inspector, who ought to he thoroughly competent and well paid, would be an excellent advertisement. \Ve hope next session that some philanthropic member will introduce some such measure as we have suggested, and we feel sure that he

will be supported in his action by the public and every right-thinking man in the trade'. The mere fact of it being authoritatively stated that no strychnine or other drug is being used in New Zealand breweries would inspire confidence in the minds of those who are habitual drinkers of beer, and they comprise a very large section indeed of the community. This is not the first time the question has been mooted, but the recent Melbourne scare has once more brought it into prominence. We trust that next session we shall see some practical and useful Bill evolved on the subject from the united wisdom of Parliament. The question is one of great social importance from whatever point of view it may be regarded.