Mataura Ensign GORE, TUESDAY, JULY 29, 1884. STATE EDUCATION.

Mataura Ensign, Volume 7, Issue 378, 29 July 1884, Page 2

Mataura Ensign GORE, TUESDAY, JULY 29, 1884. STATE EDUCATION.

The educati<J*__ /jueatioii was, at aU * events ia Otago aud ,-outhlanJ, in.de | one o_ the minor warns dv in_,' ;h« | • ■ *t3oeii*fe election. An attewpfc v/as made j •'•< : ' : T>_UiTer«argUi to uiaKe it ihe crucui | '' !, *tUt but that attempt failed iamen- • tably, and there cau be no doubt that | tb/lAcen»ing Quest.ou wa« tlio ena j

the unfriends to tlie present system are ever watchful for an opportunity oi finding a joint in its armor and leave no stone unturned to gain the realisation* of their particular •' fads. " It is therefore necessary to reiterate some of the arguments in favor of the present free, secular, and compulsory system. The thought is prorrpted by the perusal o£ a paper on the suhject. read at a recent meeting of the local Debating Society. It was there contended that free education waa unjust because it was a tax on the commerce of the country, and it was also contended that education was not free at all. In support oil this a supposed reisductw ad abswdum was drawn and the railways triumphantly cited as an instance. It was said. Our railways are State property. Like ■ our schools they have been built with public money, and like our schools they are being worked by the State. Precisely. Now let us put the other side. Suppose the erection of railways hud been left m individual private enterprise i.s well as Unit of schools. What would new be the condition of the colony ? iu.su-ari of New Zealand being oven .so prosperous and well set! leu as it is it would have beeu just where it was eu*veu years ago. But suppose olhcr national affairs were left to piiv.-iie enterpriseSuppose the public safety were uo left —the public defence — the lighting* of our coasts — the development o! our harbors— We should be in a state of chaos. There are certain things which mnst be done by the nation as a whole and of these education is not only one, but one of the most important. ' The state has a right to secure itself from the effects of possible universal ignorance and the State, i.e. the people, has the right to say by what means immunity from such an evil shall be obtained. A private indiviual does not possess a child as a chattel. Its mind is the property of the commonwealth, and a parent has; hd more right to the individual contr 61 of the mind of a child than he has to to the supreme control of its body. : ,_yt being granted that education should be com pulsory, it fol- , lows tbat it must be free and not only ' free but secular.' That it should be '* "free; as far as direct payment from the : individual goes, is quite fair. All have ! to bear their share in supporting what ' is admittedly a necessary national bur-* ; den in the same way that all pay their *. share for protection or defence or comi fort Now as to its being secular. The ' word in' this connection means "pertaining to this world." The word does ■ does not imply anything antagonistic to religion as many ignorantly suppose. As far as it relates to our system it simply means abstention from teaching the dogmas of any particular sect. For ' there are certain principles of morality inherent in nature which are above the "influence of sectarianism. A man oan be honest, can be truthful, can be . just, whether he believe in dipping pr 3 sprinkling, whether he pins his faith jbn ]' the real presence or not. AU these are matters for private judgment, and the tScate very properly takes no'cognisance of them. All it requires is that its , subjects shall conform to the duties of good citizens and to enable them to properly fulfil those duties they must - receive a certain amount of education. But although no countenance is or should be given to sectarian opinion in ' our schools, it must not 1-e said- that morality is altogether ne_7eeteo. there. The school.. -aster wlio do-, s not strive to inculcate iis principle.*-; is not worthy ofthe name. Auy teacher who btmply '■ G-radgrind like, thinks hia duty done when he has crammed so much grami mar, so much geography, so much of anything else into the brains of his pupi'-s has surely missed his vocation, ' nay more, he is, if not actively teaching morality, not only doing no good but doing much harm. Where the objection to mixed denominations receiving these fundamentals should be we have always been at a loss to understand. Surely it can do a Presbyteiian no harm to learn to speak the truth side by side with a Roman Catholic, and surely a Baptist should not objeaL to learn honesty beside a Freethinker. The fact is that it is these dogmas and not edi_Qj.'.on which should be left to the private judgment of patents. The State sayto parents "you must do your part in making your children fit. to become intelligent citizens we giv-G you the means and make the cost of ita biirder, upou the whole community. If yoi: want them taught any dogma, do it yourself. We do not care what particular one you choose. You may gc to Heaven your own way, but we in sist that you walk dn earth accordin*. to civil regulations." But fortunately, and it jepuaks well for the intelligence of the people of New Zealand it hat been found possible io lfcave the com pulsory slttuse in abeyaftptf ulinohi everywhere, so that the eliM!)*, i) obligations to do right can be calk* ch uns, are, if imposed at al 1 , sol: ' imposed. Whether it may be founc po.-.-_ible at some future time to reduce the amount vi, pns nt paid for eduea tion from the aunwlicliUvd fund is .•• matter which lime aloue (mn .settle Under our proent circumstances thi system i-s highly commendable, Ther- / are places almost innumerable where, i let*, to private enterprise, schools wouk not be t'.oti'.id for many years to come ihe chiidien. m<niiwhi!e growing U[ untaught. I*. is o«iy just that schools should be provided yyhmre there^ is ■ number nt all s-.ufUcieut to jusf-iiy \p '["iv- prctfL-nfc exponditure- may se^u ne.tvy for o-n* •.>•;:••••■•'('*> but it .mus he irit:r.i.7r.7 thai. *t Uu'^i: ajU'-'ilii 1 : Oe-'' jumuaiiy for new Luildui^'. HIH tm.s i.s nor. a quu-klv reeunii.. necessity. Givo a the. e.st*:t'"li.*,hmen «,i y. t. w iii eir ut* muir. •-' oi .sch'>. I-, tm p<.*-'lVti"i. of su -h ih t iiis sis experieno. may " sugg >r, .-mi *v,e, sh .11 have it ti.)-, coant y a hid!* io <7 i. due -tu. 2 \\h"ch wiil i-._ai.iU ron.e.-,bed a mode to the world*

Mr A, Murray, lato of Wyndham, ia now master of the Upper Shotover school. Mr v M, W. Green, the Green with a conscience,, leaves Dunedin. for Adelaide shortly, i The cricket match Australians v. Sussex has been drawn in favor of the home team. Theophilus Daniel, the late member for Wallace, lias filed, in the District Court' a. petition to be adjudicated a bankrupt. The Mataura paper mill has not been in operation for the past week, but is expected to be so in a few days. ' The French have agreed to allow China until Thursday to reply to the demands made for aa indemnity in connection with the Lang-son outrage. i His Excellency the Governor and suite passed through Gore yesterday by special train. Their stay was limited to a few minutes. We beg to draw the attention of our i readers to the lecture which takes place this j evening in the Wesleyan Mission Hall on J " Heads and Faces." The lecturer will be the Rev. J. J. Brown, not the Rev. Ralph Brown, as advertised in our last issue. The capital ofthe New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Company has been increased by LiiUO.OOU, iv 20,()U0 sh-ires, 10,000 of whicii will be oJfered in Australasia, and tho remainder allocated amongst the existing shareholders. The opening meeting of the Gore Political Society has been definitely fixed for next Friday evening at the Town Hall. The President, Mr John Mac Gibbon junr. will deliver an address and there will be a debate " Freetrade v. Protection.*' Several prominent townsmen have agreed to take part in the debate. Sir William Harcourt. Home Secretary, was sued in the Oxford County Court laiely by a local florist for L 4 15s for buttonhole flowers, ladies' nosegays, and, boxes of cut flowers, supplied to him during the Oxford City election in March, 1880. The defeuj dant failed to appear, and judgment was ! given for the claim against him, pay • ment to be made within 14 days. I One of the combatants in the Wakatipu j contest (Mr Hornsby, proprietor of the • Arrow ' Press ' newspaper) was hois de combat on Tuesday, by the unwelconie I presence of the bailiff who seized his print- . ing plant. Notbing daunted, however, 'lie ' had resort to several «■ Press Extras " issudd in mauugraph, and iv doing so gained sympathy by alleging as an exouse that ' for political purposes the door (of the ''Press' office has been closed against us." ; A meeting of the Mataurs Mutual Improvement Society was heid on Thursday evening last. It 'was stated that the Society akfcWJy n umbers 40 members, and that a series j>f weekly meetings had been arranged for. The next meeting will tako place on Thursday evening next when there will be a debat^ upon the question " Shall the Franchise be. extended to Women?" Mr Ladbrook will take'the affirmative and Mr Thos. Mac Gibbon the negative. Mr Leece will also give , a reading on the occasion. On the following Thursday a paperon " Punctuality " will be read by Mr Montgomery Perkins, Constable Fretwell left Gore by the express train on the 21th inst. in charge of! a prisoner named Jas. Flaherty, alias Jas. B. O'Flaherty, on remand to Outram for larceny committed<at that place. , He arrived there about 8 p.m., and the prisoner was given in charge of Constable Mackenzie. He was searched by that officer, locked up. and visited several times by both constables up to 1 a.m. on the 25th. He was then all right. He was next visited at 7 a.m. by Constable McKenzie, and was still alright ) He was visited by the same constable at 7.45 a.m. when he was found with his throat ent and bleeding profusely. Constable Fretwell, who was sitting in the station at the time, was called and Dr AP Brcarty was sent for and arrived on the scene in less than 10 minutes after the man's condition was discovered. Examination disclosed a wound two and a-hail! inches long in the throat, and very deep. The little finger on the loft hand was cut to the bone ; th jre was a large cut in the calf of the left leg, and a cut in the left arm. After the prisoner hud been attended to, Dr M'Brearty ordered his immediate removal to the Dune--1 din Hospital. Flaherty, who was very weak from tho loss of blood, stated that he had ; concealed the knife in a flannel belt, which he wears next his skin, before leaving Invercar- ' gill gaol, and t hat he intended bleeding hlm- • self to death, but at last cut his throat, as he • said he w ould sooer be dead than go to gaol, l as he knew he would have to do. He is an ; old offender. The knife was au old table one - with a broken blade. It had been ground i up, but as luck would have it, it was not l very sharp. ) A society has been founded in England j for the purpose of cremating the bodies of b the dead, aud a small crematory has been .' bnilt in Woking, in the belief that erei mation will soon be practised in England. I Mr Eassie give*, an account of the society, j which was founded in 1874. It purchased - in IS7M au Here of grouud at Woking, in Surrey, 24 miles from London. The laud j was fenced in, some roaclfi were made, a number of bhrubs were planted, aud a crematory was erected at a cost of some LltiOO There will probably soon be suffieien- funds at tlie society's disposal to erect a hall or chapel m front of it in which to conduct th c funeral teitice. it must not be forgotten that the Cremation Society, as now con- !. a Luted, is what should be termed a" learned j s.i-cieiy," but even learned societies must . liVP.i $0 besides ihe cost of fuel, labor and otner Ulftjiig-if-icj-dcfp-fl expenses, there is a ' hinall royalty to be p*4.j.ij. 'j'jL'c tf tal expense J then, of cremation would amouut t& fefljne " J .'j or L lO. -So hum m remains have ever ,l beeu burned at Wukiu.-., but «jveml experiments on auim Ai have been male. A por- •' | i(j if pf the carcase of a horse, for instance, ' wvjghh'g 1-JOJ.b, Wiis corn-Aimed iv two hours, I (.„■_ <i-->he,s wcjgjiiug ji Iftfl-y fjnder six pounds. 1 Is' ._ the ..lightest .gd.ofl r .cotfJLd be fagoted, '■> and thero was no escape of s**4ok,e fjroiif the 3* chimney. s .Sir C. L. AlacLean. a barrister practising 1 at Bulls (Wellington) has left the law to i.ij -(--me a clergyman of the Anglican Church. i J .\'**,l is ''.'.-.Lily to }*deeive the incumbency of a t'■ l,::^e c,ciigtvg:,i , .i > ("*i]i iit i{.ail;*;ouia, It will be '■ ■, f *e/.*c.--ijii;.r, to know what 45i-hop Hadljeid ] j. . ijlvs i)i the change, r.emaiks he Dunediu _; ' "<;;*y '_ j'/e ' jjruce ijL*i\_h.t ' alr-jo has a note t ii i Ihe aftair, in {•{■'' {.'-'iffsi-i of \yuu_h it says : *_*. — * We caniKjfc help ihit-kiuji t//^t jf ".L was i- -.noli .*. icrrioie tin on ihe part oi! Mr Satan; i font to throw a-ide his ecclesiastical attire 1 and assume the rube of a legal practitioner, ; 1 j.*. niu.it be a greater crime on the part of Air SiaekU'iii, who, after being iinmei>.ed in the gud y practice.- of the law. suddenly changes ! tides and. comes forth as a £_,lly-'j edged - *. pi, aon. We should uncommonly like to ° [ h v* Bishop Ncvili's opinion upon this ipicsjjion,"

A severe earthquake has wrecked Mug. sowah, a town on the Red Sea, on the border of Abyssinia. The Zealandia, with the 'Frisco mail, arrived at . Aud*.l_ind; yesterd.ay-,. Among "the passengers .for Sydney are General Sheridan and Gerald Massey, the poet. Mr Milner Stephen, the magnetic healer, has at last produced a local testimony of his power to effect cures. A lady, residing near Dunedin, publishes, in yesterday's 'Times,' a declaration setting forth the benefit she has received from his treatment for cancer. The ' Post ' is responsible for the statemen that the Hon. C. J Pharazyn, notwithstanding the fact of his being disqualified for an illegal practice, voted a<-, the Foxton election thereby rendering himself liable to a penalty not exceeding LIOO. It appears that his name is on the ordinary roll for that district, and not on the supplementary roll of. persons convicted of corrupt and il legal practices, as it ought to have "been and as it is in the case of the Thorndon electorate. There was a good attendance of buyers at the land sale at Invercargill yesterday, when a large number of lots in various parts of Southland were knocked down by Mr Howard. In the following, for cash, there was no competition, the lot being purchased at. the upset: --Section 2 of 406 a, 245 a. lr. 1%, Hokonui district, D. L. Fraser, L 2 per acre. The following d.p. sections were also b. ught at the upset .••---Section 21, 'bl >ck 7, Mataura, Ga. lr., H. McQuillan, L 46 17s Gd ; tcction '1(5, do. do., Ga.. George Robinson L4s_ The Wesleyan Church was again crowded on Friday evening to hear the lady evangelist (Airs Scott), As. on the previous night the liev. J. N. Buttle conducted the preliminaries, and Mrs Scott delivered an earnest address on Matthevy xxv., 6. During th discourse, writes a correspondent, rapt atten" tion was paid to the speaker, and while she dilated on her 24 years' of Christian experience a solemn feeling pervaded the meeting. As at other places she has visited, in Gore her stay has been productive of good. Mrs Scott commenced a seven days mission in Balclutha on Sunday last. Prior to his departure for Dunedin Mr S. B. Fellowß, who has been laboring in the interest of the Wesleyan Church in this towh for some time past, was presented with a handsomely bound variorium Bible. The Rev. Mr Buttle made the presentation in a fevy well chosen remarks, and to that gentleman's observations. Mi* Fellows feelingly replied. He was particularly pleased that the good-will -and esteem of some not members of the Wesleyan Church was represented in the gift, which he- cherished all the more for this. He would not easily forget the kindness of the friends at Gore. ! ' We suppose our readers don't' want to know that it 'has been very cold fof the paU two days. A friend' jin whose veracity we have the most implicit confidence came into our office yesterday. . afternoon and. told us with tears in his eyes that he had just bpen to have a whiskey, but got an awful disappointment. He said that before, he could get the glass to' his mouth the contents,, froze as hard as a stone, and as his teeth were bad he could not chew it up small, so that one bf the pieces nearly choked him. He said , he had to get medical assistance. We solemnly shut one eye and said " We didn't drink, thank you." So he went away. ' Thus the.' Southland Nevys ' of last ' ovejvj ing in an article on the recently elected members for Southland : " Hokonui has a good representative in Mr Cowan. His opponent, Mr Canning, coald base no claims on past services, nor could it be said that his views were fixed. For a first attempt he was remarkably successful, and may congratulate himself on having, so to speak, won his political spurs. Captain Mackenzie has had to give place to a well-known resident, one who may almost claim to be native born. The district will have no cause for regret, for Mr Richardson is as well versed in its requirements as his veteran opponent. In fact, to this is no doubt in a great measure due Mr Richardson's success Unlike Captain Mackenzie, who decried the Seaward Bush railway, he has a clear sense of its value, both as opening up new country and giving to settlers on. the eastern bank of the Mataura, a near market for their produce." The official declaration of the poll for the Mataura election took place yesterday at Mataura. Mr Douglass, returning officer, announced that the numbers were :—Richardson, 408 ; Mackenzie, 329 ; informal *8. He therefore declared Mr G. F. Richardson duly elected. Including the successful candidate there were only eight person s present. Mr Richardson, who was greeted with cheers thanked the electors for making him their representative by such a substantial majority. He would do his best at Wellington, bufc they must not expect too much of him. The election had been carried on in the fairest possible manner and without ill-feeling. The only thing he regretted about it was that his iriend Captain Mackenzie could not have a seat also. Mr Cameron proposed a vote of thanks to the returning officer, and this having been duly acknowledged the proceedings terminated. Mr J. Holmes, in addressing the electors of Christchurch South at the official declaration of the poll, is reported to have said — ". As soon as he would go to Wellington he would unite with the other Opposition members to. choose a leader, and there were only two possible leaders — Sir Julius Yogel and Mr Ormond. Sir George Grey had lost so mauy followers that he [was altogether out of it, and would return to the House shorn of a good deal of his glory and strength. The position would be Sir J. Yogel or Mr Ormond as Premier, and when that came to the vote he pledged 'himself and promised that he would vote for Sir .Julius Yogel. Wheu fcir Julius tyould foj**-**-**. his Ministry and propound his policy, if he wou'd §tp*-]f fo the policy which he had put before the .country, and dp what he promised iv regard to the East and West Coast railway, then he would have. his (Air Holmes's) thorough and support. Jrfe would not be a joint in jmy man's tail, anel if iS^r J uliu§ deviated, ..and did not' do \yhat he promij-qd in p.qijneotj.on with t^-it railway, he would oppose hira to the uta^o'** . and vote i'or the ousting of his Government. Jic had found by bitter experience in the past that it waa a mistake for a man to so intimately connect himself with parties that l'C should be compelled by the action of 'his party tp dp wfiat, -.yas not beiaefieial for the interests of the .country at large. He WQilld. never do that again, for thp 'chief and fk'sj* consideration of a representative was to look •,_ft!_r t'je interests of the people, disregarding the interests, ai. paj/tieij," Hansen, au Auckland married man nsrhp a week or two ago eloped to Nelson with a Mrs Comp ton, the wife of .an employee in Porter's ironmongery establishment, arrived at Manukau in the Wanaka on Sunday, having been arrested ou a charge of wife deseitign, Mrs Compton accompanied him, #ad

afc tho Onehunga whftrf Mru Hansen was waiting to receive her erring husband, whom ehe seemed disposed to forgive. As soon as the women saw each each other a free fight took place between them, th 4 ** belligerent women being separated with difficulty. In the railway carriage another skirmish took place between the wumc* but they were again separated. Mrs Lans^n .got at last into su.ch a state of excitement that she da_hed at the entrance of the domain tunnel, to open ti.e door of the railway carriage to throw herself between the carriages, exclaiming "Anywhere, anywhere out of the world." Sergeant Green, however, succeeded in clutching her dress before she could effect her purpose, and secured her safely for the rest of the journey. On arrival at the police station Mra 1... .■**..•• wished to remain at the door of her husband's cell, and as she threatened to commit suicide if sent away the police locked her up. Hansen is by no means an Adonis, but both women arc good looking. The intelligence from Home concerning the frozen meat trade is not very cheering, the cargoes by the Oamaru aud Lady Jocelyu being reported as in an unsatisfactory condition, and a fall in the price is announced. Green and Soilness sell a number of draught horses on Saturday ; also ploughs, hai'iicbS, drays, etc. The Club Hotel is for 3ale. A ieward is offered for the recovery of a brown greyhound. The Southland County Council intimates its intention to strike a rate. Tenders are wanted for the lease of Croydon coal-pit. i Tenders are invited for the erection of shearers hut aud shepherds cottage for the • N.Z.A. Compauy. I H. M'Donald and Co. intimate that they are commencing business as house furnishers. The Waimea Plains Railway Company issue a notice to trespassers. A meeting of Harvoy Lodge, S.C, will be held on July 5. Arrangements for the month of August of the Mataura Mission District are notified. ; I. S. Simson inserts preliminary notice of sale cf contractors' plant at Elbow, Green and Siuness sell sheep on Saturday next at their yards.