THE NATIVE SCHOOLS.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume III, Issue 336, 25 December 1875, Page 2

THE NATIVE SCHOOLS.

Sir, —No plan of the Governmentis calculated to enlighten the Maorirace, and to raise them generally in the scale of humanity, more than the establishment of schools in their midst ; and nothing could possibly tend to make the youngsters adepts in forgery, and all kinds of villainy, more than the present mode of Native school management. And why ? simply because they are not taught as they ought to be. Under the present system, the natives can get no more than a smattering, as it is called. A very short time at school enables them to write tolerably well, but a little education being exceedingly dangerous, they may soon make, a very bad use of their knowledge, as has) in one or two instances, been seen since the commencement of the schools. It is well-known that Maoris, as a rule, possess no mean capacity for learning, and as they are naturally a very fine race of people, a most beneficial change might easily be effected, at even a less cost to the public than at present. The reason people murmur when called upon to pay taxes is, doubtless, that the money is expended in an unprofitable manner, upon things from which little or no gdbd is likely to accrue, either to Maoris or Europeans. Those who have to labour in the field or in the workshopfor a scanty living, do not like to see their hardearned cash simply thrown away, for no better reason than that a multitude of petty offices must be opened for so many fly-blown gentlemen, who are quite as able, (and in many cases more so) to work for their own bread, as those whose money goes to support them. Yet every rightminded man will be, not only wilhng, but always ready to come forward with his mite, for so laudable a purpose as that of educating our brethren of these islands. It is our duty as Britons to do so, and this duty we are bound to perform. Now, how is this great work to be accomplished ? Certainly without any very great difficulty, if the Government would only allow themselves to be glided by the voice of the people. It. is presumption on the part of the few men, gentlemen, I should say, who constitute the General Government, to imagine, foripne moment, that they possess even a small idea of how natives ought to be treated. They do not; they have never redded amongst them, consequently, they inow nothing about Maori customs, tempers, or anything else. Instead of scattering small school# over the islands, at a very great expense, it would unquestionably be better to erect a few central buildings, large enough to accommodate all the children who would attend the smaller ones.' • These should be situated ata distance if not less than three miles from the nearest settlements, and the pupils should be allowed to go home only during the holidays ; for if they continue as they do now, to spend a few hours daily at. school, and all the rest of their time with the Maoris, ts impossible that anything satisfactory can result from the labours of the teachers, and the efforts of the Government; they can never master the. English language. Take the results which have in many instances 1 been achieved by a short resilience in Auckland, or other pakeha town, and compare them with a long term of the present style of school life on the East Coast. By those unacquainted with the Maoris, the contrast would) not be believed. Another great drawback to the education of native youths is the unaccountable delay in the forwarding of supplies. One of the teachers on the coast applied last January for a few requisites; and after many months of suspense, they put in an appearance only last month. The writing in that school had been long discontinued, and when the cojy-books at last turned up, the children were, of course, nearly as far behind as ever. Again: the native schools should be placed under the supervision Of a competent Inspector, who would inspect the schools, at stated periods and report thereon. The Inspector’s power should be unlimited. It should extend to tie appointment and to the deposition of teachers, and to the raising of salaries; and no teacher should be dismissed without his sanction, which would, of course, have to be the result a strict enquiry. Under the present dispensation, the Government investigate nothing, except when it suits them to do so, but yield iu the most childish manner to the requests of one or two natives, who do not, by the way, at all times adhere very closely to the truth. This is decidedly wrong. It is a piece of gross injustice to teachers, who are struggling against all sorts of inconvenience and disappointment for the lasting benefit of the children and their: parents, who ought certainly to manifest more appreciation of the grand efforts which we are making for their advancement in know ledge, than they flo. I have not a doubt but that the education of the Maoris would be further improved were it compulsory-, The Maorie likes to get the worth of his money, and always sets a higher value upon that for which he pays than for anything, however good it may be in itself, which costs him nothing, Under these circumstances I would suggest that the natives be requested to-pay small taxes, tax us all indiscriminately; and though our coloured friends may at first regard it as a heavy burden, they will, in the end, thank the pakehas for the acquisition of a sound English education. —I am &e., Scholasticus. ‘

Sir, —I will just say a few words in reply to a very lengthy effusion supposed to emanate from Mr. William Shearer. He denies having solicited business people to ship at the ferry wharf ; does he also deny having gone into a business house here and stated that he had got permission from the Road Board to collect wharfage, and he!4 out as an inducement to ship at the ferry, that the cartage would bemuchless P If this is not an indirect way of pushing the trade, I will leave, the public to judge. But I will tell Mr. Shearer, if he does not already know, that the Road Board have not got the power to give him permission

to collect wharf dues, and every sixpence he has exacted as wharfage has been collected illegally, and the best thing he cau do is to baud over the proceeds to some charitable institution, otherwise, proceedings will be taken against him in the Resident Magistrate’s Court. Ido not know, neither do I care, what he means by the dog in. the manger spirit ; but one thing I will tell him, I will not stand by silent and see the ferry wharf prostituted for purposes it was never intended ; andagainst my owninterests as wharfinger haviug been legally appointed by the Superintendent to collect all wharf dues at the port of Gisborne. I may here mention that wool has been shipped at the.ferry several times when there were no vessels iu the river at the time. I agree with the latter part of the epistle, that additional wharf accommodation is required ; but who will build it ? — I am, &c., W. Adair, Wharfinger. Gisborne, December 24, 1875.