Rangitikei Advocate WEDNESDAY, DEC. 4. 1937. SECOND EDITION. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXII, Issue 9018, 4 December 1907, Page 2

Rangitikei Advocate WEDNESDAY, DEC. 4. 1937. SECOND EDITION. EDITORIAL NOTES.

THE question of prizes in schools lias often boon discussed, and so far as we can see is no nearer settlement than before the discussion. Of those who object to prizes there arc some who maintain th.it they introduce a spirit of competition winch should be absent from schools where children ought to work from the love of work, and not from the desire to prove better than their companions. Others dwell on the strain imposed on youthful minds by examinations, and hold that the effort to excel others is undesirable for the young. Wo confesss that these arguments appear to have little practical bearing on school life, as the majority of children are so unwilling to hurt their brains by over exorcise that the danger of injury does not exist. In many cases prizes are given for attendance, and these at first sight appear quite froo from the condemnation that they load to coinpetition, as they are awarded to all who make a fixed number of attendances, unci therefore may bo gained by nil the children in the school. Hero, however, the objector is still to the fore, especially at the present time, when, owing to the numerous epidemics prevailing, regular attendance has been out of the question in manv casos. It is held that the element of luck lias been too great a factor this year in gaining prizes, luck in avoiding the microbe oi measlos or scarier, or luck in .':.;-..l\:k';»B CllOUgll to "j"i;',v ' ■■'''■:'-Vr children to attend school ,:i:en sauering from infections aihikuits. In a country where, according to the Attorney-General, bookmakers have now a legal status, luck may bo said in a sense to be accredited by Government,and in any .-■ase it plays such a large part m human affairs that we cannot hopo to exclude it from having its effect in the affairs of our children. Wo consider that even under the exceptional circumstances which have occurred during the last school year that attendance prizes should bo allotted as usual. To those who disagree with this conclusion we may offer as an alternative the suggestion which has much in its favour, that tho attendance prizes should be awarded in all cases to the parents, and not to the children, for it is the parents who really deserve a reward for maintaining such regularity in the household that children can be punctual and constant in their attendance at school.

THE Gaming Act, which appeared at first sight such a godsend for the bookmaker who was of sufficiently good repute to bo licensed by racing clubs, Ims so far proved quite the reverse. The decision of Fcilding and WooavJlle clubs to charge £4O license fee for bookmakers and their clerks has left those worthies lamenting outside the sacred enclosures where money was to be lost oi- .'; r ou. The deputation, of "bookies" which waited on the Attorney-General to a«k ;'nt racing dubs should bo compelled to administer tne Act fairly, was met by one of those carefully balanced statements which left things exactly as they were. Beginning like a stern father, Dr. Fiiidlay ruthlessly stated that bookmakers could not expect, and would not get, any indulgence from Government, as it could not favour gambling in any shape or form. After this hitter pill hs;<l been administered the Attoruey-CJeuoral went on to add a. little jam by the assurance that if clubs asked bookmakers to observe unreasonable con ditious their totalisator licenses could be cancelled. As a final bonne bouche lift said that bookmakers were to be in no better and no worse position than the totalisator. Exactly what this meant we doubt if even the Attorney-General could explain, but it had.a splendid sound and must have proved very consoling. Pei Ming Club lias acted quite within its rights according to -the new Act, and so far as we can judge the bookmakers seem likely to suffer severely, so severely that it seems possible that one of our home industries, thai of laying the odds, may become extinct rwless it receives more protection.

MARTON Technical School classes liave practically finished their courses for the year, and the success attained proves that the- school has supplied a real want in the district. Tliero hare been many difficulties tc couteud with, as at the- start the classes had to ho held in various rooms lent by the locv-,1 bodies, and even after the erection of tho school tliero was no proper equipment of apparatus for many of tho classes. In spite of these drawbacks 130 pupils have attended one or more of the courses, a number which far exceeds tho expectations of tho prou;oters of the school. Next session there should be a considerable increase in f 110 number of pupils, as tho fittings' of the rooms have been completed,, and there is now a laboratory for tho study of agricultural chemistry, a cookery rooui, and a well-equipped workshop. Commercial classes under the charge of an instructor specially appointed bv tho Education Board will be inaugurated. We trust that tho agricultural classes which have been well attended even under the old conditions will prove more successful now thoroughly up-to-date provision has been niado for experimental work. Though wo rejoice that tho other classes are drawing students wo cannot help feeling that it is the agricultural classes winch can do most for tho lasting prosperity of tho district, and wo hope that farmers will not bo slow to take advantage of the opportunities to bo offered them.