ITINERANT TEACHERS.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 162, 12 April 1872, Page 6

ITINERANT TEACHERS.

(To, the Editor of the Mount Ida Chkonicle.) Sib,—On perusing tlie last issue of tlie . f Witness ' (March. 30), I read r a report of a meeting of the Education Board, and having given it my attentive consideration, I would, through the medium of your valuable columns, wish, to express an opinion . on the conclusions arrived at by that sapient body. Eetrpnchment'of expenditure has been tlie cry for some time by tlie Government of Otago, and has been made ; a watch.word and rallying cry for the hustings— : but very little further. What has been the result of the last batch "of elections, when so many pledges were'given to prevent any waste of revenue? We have first a most squabble about the - amount of honorarium to, be paid, and after agreeing to accept one sum they deliberately turn round and take one fourth more. -It- seems to be. their notion that the salaries of all other officials should be cut down, but that they must be remunerated at the highest possible rate they can demand for their services, with which, iL is aigenerally rect'ived opinion, the country could dispense —and there is little doubt it would derive a great advantage therefrom.: But it is also a curious study to watch the.,mariner, in which theyvmake the e(fort to retrench. ; ., They single out the poor, hard-working clerks, and ruthlessly cut their salaries down to a mere pittance, and-look round with conscious satisfaction that they have " done the State some, service," ; and compliment themselves on their glowing'patriotism and sell-denial. Such conduct speaks for itself in the eyes and minds of all right-thinking people. What brings .this so forcibly to mind is' the last ! resource for augmenting- the revenue at I thp ,expense of the people, as shown by the deliberate conclusion •arrived at, and the amount specified that will-be saved, at the last* meeting of the Education Board. £1250 .is the sum which tlie country will 'receive tlie -benefit of, at, .the expense of shutting up a large. portion of the side schools 1 in the Province, which for the most - part ? are situated on the G-ol'dfields, 'and which will be' left- totally deprived of the services of anyone to educate the rising generation. But, to throw a sop to Cerberus, 'they speak' of having itinerant teachers.' iS T ow, does it seem feasible that a man, however good' his abilities, who is constantly travelling, will take the same interest in" children as a resident master — and the* s'a;la!ry "offered will just about keep one from starvatipn. . Is the closing -of ischools-io b6 , the 'means' by which'- the country will adyanc.e either'in. civilisation or moraLandj intellectual, education or can ;the ; country,, be in such, an alarming condition of impecuniosity that this step is i imperativelymecessary. ; Mr. Macaridrew, when soliciting the votes of the people for his -election as ' Superintendent, strongly advocated progress, and expressed himself so ' emphatically otk vthe 5 matter, - that the. fact of 'his'presenCe at this meeting of the Education Board; and his position as chairman, strongly suggests-that all. his promises were ior political motives — s rnerejy uttered ,tc>; be forgotten—or else that he must be afflicted witli a memory.of the most treacherous description.- I 'cannot. see bow the present saving of this sum of money can be reconciled with. progress. Otago only a short time ago was boasting -:ofdts : schools and instituting a comparison (which, was'true) with Auckland most ia-

Yorable-to herself ; butif this is carried into bperation. I foresee a different story will b'e told before long. - This will be only the-beginning, and who can tell when it will 'end ? for bnce commence with curtailing any of these institutions and the disease will grow with what it feeds on, ■ an 4: it i will form' a precedent arid pretext for further encroachments. Who are the parties that will suffer most ? It is not the large communities, ,for they'are secure ; but the ; sparsly populated .districts and the smaller Goldfields townships are the ones that/will suffer most, and which will eventually-'be without- any means of education. lAllowing that half-time schools are established ; it is known how soon impressions are effaced from the minds of children, and what they may learn at one time will be forgotten before the next visit of the itinerant' teacher,'who will have the unpleasant task of seeing all lie had done before undoiiein his absence; and his life will be one of .the most disheartening labor. of the young is of the niost vital importance, and the efforts being made at Home show the importance attached to. the education of the masses by the British. Government. But it would seem that Otago is about to chalk out a line for itself, "and allow a large number "of children to be reared in ignorance. That is about the upshot of the matter, for whatever may be devised in the shape of half time schools or itinerant teachers can compensate for the loss of the services of. a competent' resident master. After all, /the sum saved is by no means large, but the amount of harm that will accrue cannot be estimated. But let the measure carried into operation' —which doubtless it will—and the closed school houses throughout the thinly settled "parts of the country will be loudly-crying witnesses against the short-sighted policy of the Education Board, and mute testimonials of tlie lengths to which official cheeseparing can be carried. ■ Apologising for trespassing on so much of your valuable space, I am,- &c., Justitia.