NATIVE SCHOOL AT MAKETU.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 127, 29 May 1872, Page 4

NATIVE SCHOOL AT MAKETU.

(From the New Zealand Herald.) , .r ,On the 16fth : April, the Native, School i.at; Maketq, under the . i direction of Mr. ; Taifc, < was- inspected by' the Hon. the Native Minister. The school is established under the Acts of 1867 and 1871, which provide that the natives themselves shall afford assistance in land and money towards the education of their children, and has been, like ..similar « schools, started on a principle . diametrically, opposite to that pursued formerly. Then.the Maoris taught their teachers the Maori language, ;. now the Government make the Maoris learn EngKsh. Then iboarding'schools for a few scholars were established in different localities ; now the schools are, as it were, parochial, disseminating civilisation more widely. Nowhere is the contrast more apparent than at Maketu. Here a gentleman, unacquainted ; with the Maori language, has taken charge of children ■ who knew nothing of English, and the result is that after about two years' work, his pupils all speak English. Not a Maori word is introduced except to elucidate the meaning, of some passage., when; in order to test the scholar's knowledge and appreciation, he is asked to render it into Maori, .by, way of a definition. There were about thirty children present, — the potato harvest having taken away several. These were ' divided into classes. The proceedings opened with a prayer, repeated by all, and then the whole sank on their knees and repeated the Lord's prayer, the smallest of them — all little things — not making a mistake. . The formula of calling over names was as follows:—^ ," Andrew." Here, sir." " Did . you wash ?" " Yes, sir." And every child, on entering, saluted the master with, "Good morning, ,sir." The first class were ihen brought up. I ought to say : that the whole move by word of command, and are drilled to wheel, advance, and turn to right or left. The little ones were set to their copy-books, and the big ones underwent the ordeal of examination: They read) they spelled, they parsed, abd evinced a; knowledge /.of the English language, not often found among ourselves" at that age. It was "observable that the girls read better, than the boys. After* fihe . ! reading came weights and measures and tables, and the ; quickness with whiich VJ times' 1 19 was 'answered caused great applause. ( , There was also, much.j conipe^ition^at -taking^ up , places. Geography was tQe^next'subject, introducing the products of 'each clime, the way, a. traveller : used to go from qne country to another, the places he would pass through, — &c- —After that eachrof the class was set to write down a verse from some poe!m without a book; most selected patriotic ;or : : religious poems. One wrote out, " God. save the Queen," another, " God prote'et our island," &c. In every case the writing „was really . good, and indeed - above the average of the children of the age. One chief present, .Major Bopata, could nbt believe that it was not the work of pakeha children. In., arithmetic the sums up to ■ long] division were correctly done, and. neatly put on the slate. Altogether, the greatest credit is due to Mr. Tait for his exertions, and to the parents who appreciate the extraordinary advantage which the children will possess over themselves by receiving an education fitting them to cope with the pakeha. It must be re- ' membered that the few shillings which the Maori father is called on to pay are a heavy burden on a man who but rarely gets money, and lives simply on the produce of his little patch of potatoes, &c, and a proposal has been made by the Arawa to alienate a good slice of land, the revenue of which is to be devoted to the funds of the school. ' . ! -''.■■' ' - ■ .1