NAPIER NATIVE GIRLS’ SCHOOL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5224, 19 December 1877, Page 3

NAPIER NATIVE GIRLS’ SCHOOL.

(From the Ilaivkds limj Herald.) That more is done by gentleness than force, is a proverb exemplified in the everyday life of one and all of us ; and so universal is the feeling on this fact that not a day passes but some exp ession bearing upon it is heard in some form or other. If, as is the case, gentleness masters much that would otherwise be stormy, so does patient, steadfast courage, of a certainty, secure that success which a more known and public display of energy and labor has often failed to attain. As an instance of how much can be done by quiet, patient, and steady stability of action, is the all but unknown, though thoroughly efficient establishment for native girls, supervised by the Misses Williams, daughters of Bishop Williams. To few outside of the township of Napier, and, one suspects, to a great many within its circle, is the existence of this establishment known. It has now some forty young girls, varying in age from seven to fifteen ; many are half-castes, and there are' some two or three of English parentage. The building is situated in as healthy a position as could be found in Napier ; it is roomy, airy, and kept scrupulously clean. The girls looked happy, were neat and bright, and all quick and rpady in doing that which the examiners called upon them to do. Taking advantage of the presence of the Bishops in Napier, they were put through their facings by the Most Bev. the Primate, the Bishop of Auckland, and the newly-consecrated Bishop of Waiapu. Their dictation was surprisingly correct, their reading open to improvement, their arithmetic sound in almost every instance, and their writing most praiseworthy. Whatever trying time the matron, Mrs. Quinn, and her daughters must of necessity have gone through to have have got these young, half-wild, spirited girls into their present efficient state of intellectual and personal culture, much satisfaction and pleasure should now be theirs at the unquestioned and happy results of their patient labors. The management of the school is manifestly beyond the powers of one mistress, and when her two daughters were introduced to the examiners, it then became plain how it is the pupils were so prepossessing, and the success of all interested so happily secured.