The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1871.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 215, 11 September 1871, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1871.

The great interest that is very naturally and very properly felt with regard to the new Education Bill must be our excuse for once more trespassing on the good nature of our readers by referring to it. The more we study the Bill now before the Assembly and compare it with the Act at present in force in our Province, the less inclination do we feel to submit to the proposed change without entering our earnest and repeated protests against it. There is one clause (No. 8) to which we are anxious just now to call special attention, and it may be as well to quote it in full in order that the public may be thoroughly acquainted with one of the most important and objectionable alterations that it4s proposed to effect in our present admirable system. The clause runs as follows : — " The Superintendent of each Province for the time being, one person to be appointed by such Superintendent with the advice and consent of his Executive Council, who shall hold office until the

expiration or dissolution of the Council by which the elected members of the Board shall have been elected, and five other persons, being inhabitants of the Province, to be elected by the Provincial Council of such Province during the session of the said Council in which thi3 Act shall conoe into operation, shall constitute the Education Board of such Province."

This is what it is proposed to substitute for our Central Board. Instead of the Local Committees having the privilege of each of them sending to the Board its own representative, their interests are to be entrusted to a body of men elected by the Provincial Council. In other words the electiou of the members of the Board is to be taken out of the hands of (hose who have baen appointed by the ratepayers to supervise the working of the educational system in their respective districts, and to be left to a body that has been elected by the people for a purely political purpose. It might with just as much reason be asked that the Proviucial Councillors should be elected by the Local Committees of Education as that the Central Board should be appointed by the Provincial Council. And, besides the disadvantages that w)uld accrue to the various districts by their not being specially represented at the Central Board, there is a further objection to such a method as that provided for by this clause, which is a of far graver nature. Hitherto the carrying out of the provisions of our Education Act has been perfectly free from any political influence whatever, and to this, we believe, is due in a great measure the easy and harmonious manner in which it has worked, but now we are asked to allow whichever party that for tho time being may be iv possession of a majority in the Council Chamber to appoint the Board to whom i 3 to be confided the educational interests of the Province, thus making that which should be a perfectly independent body, one that might possibly owe its very existence to the caprice of a political party. Can any one argue that such a change in the constitution of the Board would be likely to prove an advantageous one? Against such an interference with their undoubted rights, the ratepayers should make a determined stand, and we trust that the Central Board, as representing the educational interests of the Province will urge upon the Nelson members in the Assembly the extreme undesirability of insisting upou so objectionable a revolution in tho existing state of things. There is another feature in this Bill which must form a very serious obstacle to its successful working, that is the enormous expense that is required to set the machinery in motion, and to keep the wheels revolving. Firßt, there is the Minister — a man who may or may not be fitted for the post, as his appointment will depend entirely upon his political views — who will absorb the pay of about eight schoolmasters ; then he has his Secretary for whom the least we can set down is £400 a year — three more schoolmasters gone at one swoop ! Each Board is to have its paid Secretary, and even the Local Committees, which have hitherto in this province done their work well, and without costing the country one peony, are each to have a clerk "who "shall receive such remuneration for his services and give such security for the due performance of his duties as shall be agreed upon and required by the said Committee." All this means either heavier taxation or fewer schools. What a cheerful prospect is here in store for us. After carefully looking through the proposed Bill we are unable to point to one single provision which can be called an improvement on our present system, while on the other hand there is much that is highly objectionable. Instead of a Central Board representing the people we are to have a Board nominated by the Provincial Council ; extravagance is to be substituted for economy ; and simplicity and smoothness of working are to give place to complication and confusion. Machinery that is admirably adapted to the work it has to perform is to be done away with in order that an experiment may be made with a new set of wheels, to be set in motion By an untried engine. We want none of these new inventions, particularly when, after a careful examination, we have every reason to believe that their mechanism is faulty. There are provinces that have made no adequate -provision for the education of their children, and it is high time that the General Government should step in and insist upon their no longer, permitting their youth to grow up in the grossest ignorance, but even for them great improvements might be effected in this Bill. "We, however, have for many years done our duty in this respect most creditably ; we had excellent machinery to commence with, and since then we have made such little alterations as were from time to time found to be necessary, and we do objeot most strongly to having the whole of our work swept away merely for the

sake of substituting for it some other thing, io the efficacy of which we have no confidence.: The earnest representations that, no doubt, will be sent up from this province must surely have their weight with our legislators, the more so if the larger provinces of Canterbury and Otago would unite with us in demanding that no changes should be effected, in' any Provincial Education Act, with the working of which those who are most interested are perfectly satisfied.

Two letters upon the subject of the Education Bill have appeared in our columns, in reference to which \ie would say a few words. Father Garin, writing ou Tuesday last, said with regard to the reading of the Bible : — " The proposal to introduce the Holy Scriptures compulsorily into all schools will never meet my approval, indeed to compel children by law to attend schools under such circumstances is the grossest tyranny " &c. The short tiino that had elapsed between the receipt of the Act and the writing of his letter may perhaps have prevented M. G-arin from making himself thoroughly acquainted with the clause to which he refers, wherein it is stated that the Holy Scriptures shall be read daily, subject .to certain conditions which in another place are laid down as follows :' — " The time or times during which any religious observance is practised, or instruction in religious subjects is given at any meeting of the school, shall be either at the end or at the beginning, or at the end. and beginning of such meeting, and any scholar may be withdrawn by his parent or guardian from such observance or instruction without forfeiting any of the other benefits of the school." From this it will be seen that it is not to be compulsory upon children to attend any religious observance. For our own part we should like to see the readiDg of the Bible at certain hours out of the regular school-time carried out in our schools. It was so at one. time, and large numbers of children attended, but for some reason or another, the practice has been discontinued, a circumstance which is greatly to be regretted.

Another correspondent, " H. A. L." has taken exception to our remarks upon the compulsory clauses, but he has not, we think, clearly understood our meaning, which was uot so much that compulsory education was objectionable, as that it would prove inexpedient, if not impracticable, " and the same view, we are told has been taken by Mr. Stafford and Mr. Filzherbert. A sort of compromise has been proposed by the former gentlemaD, who suggests that the clauses might be enforced in the towus, and this probably might be carried into effect, but we question very much whether they could bo insisted upon in the country districts without raising the storm of opposition to which we referred in our former article. There are many other subjects of great interest contained in the Bill before us, of which we may take notice at some future date, but the space at our disposal precludes us from extending our remarks to any greater length at the present time.

Auxiliary Fire Brigade. — A meeting of the members of the Auxiliary Fire Brigade is called for this evening, at halfpast seven, at the Ship Hotel. H. M. S. Basilisk arrived at the outer anchorage about three o'clock yesterday afternoon, and entered the harbor this morning. - It is said that she is likely to remain here some days. Drawing- Room Entertainment. — We call attention to the advertisement of a company of amateur Christy Minstrels, who propose giving an entertainment, for which an excellent programme has been published, at the Assembly Eoom, this evening. The proceeds are to be devoted to the purchase of a new piano for the Harmonic Society.