AGRICULTURE BIAS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 974, 17 May 1930, Page 11

AGRICULTURE BIAS

MINISTER DEFENDS SCHOOL SCHEME TO REDUCE UNEMPLOYMENT From Our Resident Reporter WELLINGTON, Today. Iu his address to the Secondary Schools’ Association yesterday, the Minister of Education, the Hon. H. Atmore, took strong exception to the comment of Mr. G. W. Morice, president of the association, that the creation of an agricultural bias in education would not do away with unemployment. Mr. Atmore said that Mr. Morice had challenged his statement made earlier in the week. Mr. Morice had said that all recognised New Zealand’s dependence on the agricultural industries, and that this dependence catised a danger that circumstances beyond our control might strike a deadly blow at the country’s prosperity. The Minister of Lands in the previous Government, Mr. Atmore continued, had said: “l am not 'so much concerned with putting people on the land as with helping the poor devils who are on the land to stay there; I do not know anyone who wants to go on the land.” The result of this attitude was the unemployment which existed in New Zealand today. How could it be otherwise when the Dominion was essentially a primary producing country? New Zealand did not get one penny from her secondary industries. BEST IN WORLD? Mr. Morice had advocated the bursting up of big estates, but how could this be done until a strong body of public opinion favoured such a policy? Mr. Atmore mentioned that every person in New Zealand depended upon the prosperity of the' .agricultural industries, and every boy and girl, no matter what calling they followed, should be sympathetic to agricultural pursuits. Unless the children of New Zealand were impressed with this great truth, unemployment would continue.

The object should be to keep New Zealand's agricultural industries prosperous. He had had many letters of congratulation from farmers’ unions and chambers of commerce commending him for his efforts to create an agricultural bias. There was much overlapping at present, but he thought this would be overcome by unification of control.. He had no hesitation in saying that within the next few years New Zealand would have the best system of education in the world.

Mr. F. Milner (Waitalci), in moving a vote of thanks to the Minister, assured Mr. Atmore that the great change in England was looked upon as a social revolution. With regard to the agricultural bias, Mr. Milner said he had been surprised to see the wonderful experimentation which was being carried out at the scientific school at Cambridge University. The Minister of Education had convinced many people in the Dominion that an agricultural bias was essential to the prosperity of the country. He was to be commended for having visited so many country schools, and the school teachers appreciated the interest he was taking in his department. The motion was carried by acclamation. ...