CLIPPINGS FROM HANSARD.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 205, 26 August 1873, Page 4

CLIPPINGS FROM HANSARD.

THE EDUCATION BILL. We take the following from Hansard, No. 7:— Mr J. Shephard thought the chief merit in the Bill consisted in its being permissive; and as his thoughts ran in that direction be might go a little farther, and say that he would admit its merits more freely if the Government would consent to withdraw i*. It was not desirable to take up the time of the House in discussing the question of education, as it would be quite sufficient to settle the powers of the Provincial Councils in this respect by inserting a line in the Provincial Council Powers Bill. It would be much better to leave this matter to the Provincial Councilß. The conditions of the different Provinces were so various, and the desires of the inhabitants, from the peculiar mode of settlement of the colony, so diverse, that he despaired, for many years to come, to pass a measure that would suit them all. As long as the Provincial Councils had power to deal with the varied wants of their districts, he did not see why the time of the House should be taken up simply in providing them with a model, if model it were. It appeared to him that the whole question, instead of being comprised in a Bill of some 28 pages and 101 clauses, might have been dealt with in one line in the schedule of the Provincial Council Powers Bill, when all doubts that now existed as to the power of those bodies to deal with the subject would be removed. If this Bill were allowed to be discussed in Committee, the fact that it was simply permissive would be lost sight of, and a week or two would be wasted in discussing every clause on its merits, as if it were directly operative. One of the subjects that it indirectly dealt with was religious education, and one honorable member who had spoken had expressed strong views in favor of purely secular education, while others were just as strongly in favor of religious instruction. The honorable member to whom he alluded remarked that it was a blot on the Bill that it was secular with a modification — that was, that a certain amount of religious instruction was to be afforded. That was inconsistent with the general provisions of the measure. But he would not go into a discussion on the measure, and only trusted that the Government would see that by pressing it they would be conferring no benefit on the country, and would be wasting time which could be devoted to mu< h better purpose. There was one portion of tho Colony to which be admitted it was desirable to apply this Bill — that was the County of Westland, which, not having at present a Provincial Council, had no power to legislate on the subject. As, however, it was generally understood that that part of the Colony would ere long have its form of Government changed to that of a Province, there was no necessity for passing this Bill even in its behalf. Mr. O'Conor said the religious difficulty bad been very nicely met in the Province of Nelson, and indeed, if the General Assembly were goiDg to supply a model Bill, the Act in force in Nelson, with the single exception of the inequitable bouse tax, would be the best model for the whole colony, It certainly was far preferable to the measure they were discussing. Without going further into detail, he would suggest to the hon. member for Hokitika, that as Westland was determined to be formed into a Province, he Bhould see whether he could not get the Government to take away some portion of the burden of debt which now pressed so heavily upon it, and then it might be to the interest of Westland to join Nelson, and if coming without debt, he thought Nelson would be prepared to receive Westland with open arms.