RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 155, 15 April 1859, Page 4

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

~. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13. Before the Resident Magistrate. N. T. Lockhart v. W. Goddard.—To recover m 15s. 6d.; set-off of £1 ss. admitted. Judgment for plaintiff for £1 10s. 6d. John Pratt v. A. M'Artney.—To recover the sum of ,£B, for the maintenance of Harriett M'Artney, the wife of defendant, who had turned her out of his house. This suit was instituted by her brother, the plaintiff, for whom Mr. Connell appeared, and Mr. Travers attended on the part of the husband. John Pratt, being sworn, and answering to the questions of his counsel, testified to the separation of the husband from the wife, the former refusing to support her, through which the witness brought a claim of £8, for ten weeks' maintenance, at 16s. per week. The evidence of the witness took some considerable time to elicit, but it was chiefly in proof of the above statement, and up to this stage of the proceedings, the Magistrate seemed very doubtful of the arguments brought forward by the opposite counsel, to prove that the defendant was in such a position, as to be free from the charge of maintenance. The witness, however, upon being cross-questioned, gave contradictory evidence, and admitted that his sister had received a sum of money after she was turned from her husband's house. Upon this admission Mr. Connell, at the instance of the Magistrate, consented to a dismissal of the case. ANTI-EDUCATION ACT MEMORIAL. The following memorial has been forwarded to us for publication. We are informed that it has already been numerously signed by the Roman Catholic section of the community, and that it is intended to be presented for the consideration of the Provincial Council on an early day:— MEMORIAL. The humble Memorial of the undersigned Roman Catholics, Sheweth— That since the establishment of Government Schools in the Province of Nelson, pursuant to the Education Act now in force, your Memorialists have always felt the strongest objections to sending their children to such schools. That this feeling has been constantly expressed by Memorials or Petitions to the Superintendents, to the Council of the Province, and to his Excellency the Governor of New. Zealand. ; That your Memorialists being1 frequently unrepresented both in the Central and Local Boards of Education, and even when represented there, being always in a small minority, have not yet and are not likely to enjoy the right which all other denominations enjoy under the present system. That your memorialists feel confident that a system under which the Government would assist all wellconducted schools, would better answer the wants of the community. That under such a system, those parents only who have children to send to school, would have directly to. contribute to their, maintenance,.whilst at present the taxation is imposed upon many who have no children, and who are nevertheless compelled to pay. That a. system of education in which part of the community are called upon the bare principles of liberality to pay for the children of others, it appears unjust to take equally from the poor as from the rich. That if the system suggested by us were adopted, we should see many more schools established, and a greater number of children taught, without having recourse to the present odious and compulsory system. That under a voluntary system of schools, aided by Government, every denomination would have the advantage and liberty of establishing schools in which their own children could be taught their own religious principles, which advantage cannot be fully had under the present system. Your Memorialists, satisfied that great advantage and economy would arise from the operation of such a system as that desired by them, humbly pray that they should be released from, the painful position in which they have been since the establishment of Government Schools, and that they may at once be placed under a system which will permit them to enjoy T-the advantages of education in accordance with the principles of their religion. And your Memorialists (as in duty bound) will ever pray, &c. DISCUSSION. A Paper read to tub Members op the Nelson Institute, April 6, 1859. The advantages to be derived from properly conducted discussion are numerous. Especially however, it provides amusement combined with instruction, tends to increase man's intellectual vigour, to-enlarge his knowledge, and to make him better fitted for the duties of life. Kor the faculty of expressing one's thoughts with correctness and facility is seldom a natural gift, but is generally the result of education, of much study, and of constant practice in public speaking. That the possession of such a faculty is desirable, will no doubt be generally conceded; especially when the painful examples of stammering, hesitation, and incoherence exhibited at many of our public meetings are remembered. The modest man, for example, who burns to distinguish himself by giving the public the benefit of his opinions, and who, after several attempts on successive occasions at last screws up his courage and gets out the words " Mr. Chairman and gentlemen," becomes astonished to find all eyes fixed upon him, rattles out hastily some incoherent sentence, discovers that he has lost both his confidence and the thread of his intended speech, gives a couple of stammering coughs, and retires to his seat disgusted amidst the laughter of the audience ; or the still more bashful man, who was never known to express his thoughts in public, but can tell you (in confidence) at the close of the.meeting, what a good mind he hhd to speak, and how he would have smashed Mr.: So-and-so's arguments to shivers; the self-confident man (but one whose education has unfortunately been neglected ), who argues in bad English, and utters sentiments and opinions in vile rhetoric, which arguments and sentiments, however, if properly expressed, would have had infinitely greater force, and would have ensured much greater applause; or the would be wit, who perpetrates some intended pleasantry, and finds the colour rise to his cheek as he discovers that the audience are laughing at him, and not with him. What a contrast do these examples present to Shakespeare's definition of eloquence:-— " Some there are Who on the tip of their persuasive tongue Carry all arguments and questions deep; And replication prompt, and reason strong, To make the weeper smile, the laugher weep." ; But it is not only at public meetings wheri? the want of debating ability is observed. Many of the speeches delivered at some of the provincial parliaments exhibit a marked deficiency in this respect; and even the late proceedings of the Church of England Synod (a body composed of clergymen and men of education) are thus described by a Wellington journal:-—" The Synod does not excite that/attention it was naturally thought it would have done, if the attendance of the. public at its sittings be taken as an indication. The proceedings being carried on only during the day will in a large measure account (or this; but another reason may be found in the , painful inability of m&ny of its clerical-, members to give utterance to a few sentences with tolerable fluency. The habit of reading their sermons has apparently induced an utter want of confidence in debate, and deprives the Synod of that attractiveness which .the importance of its business ought to inspire in the members of the largest denomination amongst us." ' ■ ~.;.:; .'■■'■. .■ • ■'■ How important, then, is it that more attention should be paid to this matter ; how necessary, in a country where any one may be called on to serve on committees, or even to represent his fellow-settlers in the provincial legislature, that all should endeavor to acquire a faculty that will enable them to fulfil such duties with credit both to themselves and their constituents. It is" s^ome--times contended that the art of good speaking;is not a necessary qualification of a representative; but compare the man who gives a reason for his vote with him who gives a silent vote, and it will be readily seen who best fulfils his duty as a representative of the people. And surely in these

days of the steam-engine and the electric telegraph —of extended means of education and cheap literature—it ill becomes us, the offspring of a nation that has produced so many world-renowned states-, men and orators, to become degenerate in this respect—especially if it is owing to the neglect of a practice in which the wits and learned men of both the last and the present century have found so much enjoyment. Man is improvable. Hear that good old writer Isaac Taylor:—" The Eden of human nature has indeed been rudely trampled down and desolated—storms waste it continually. Nevertheless, the soil is rich with the germs of its pristine beauty; all the colors of Paradise are sleeping in the clods; and. a little favor, a little protection, a little culture, shall shew what was once there." Such culture it is the especial duty of this Institute and kindred associations to provide. To such culture—to the habit of acquiring information on various subjects, and of afterwards thinking on, discussing, and perfecting such information, many eminent men have owed much of their success. The debating club established by Benjamin Franklin—the members of which had each to furnish an essay periodically—will be remembered familiarly by all who have read that great man's history ; nor will it be forgotten how much his future life was influenced by the success of an anonymous article which he dropped into his brother's letter box, and which created quite an excitement amongst the influential men of the city where it was published. But history teems with examples of such success; and even of late years how many persons who have risen to positions of considerable eminence, can ascribe their prosperity to habits of reading, study, debating, and essay writing. -For the practice of discussion leads to the acquirement of knowledge, and that generally of a - useful kind. Should the subject be history, r the library is ransacked, and authors from Hume to Macau lay are consulted—each intending orator searching especially for his own view of the question ; while thelistener at the discussion will have the opportunity of hearing and comparing the opinions of various authors, and of being thus enabled to form a correct judgment on the question at issue. Is geology the theme ? The thick dust is blown off from the edges of encyclopedias as they are dragged from their quiet repose on the book shelves; and all sorts of books on the subject, including mere elementary treatises, and the more solid works of Lveil and Hugh Miller are eagerly read; whiles in addition, the more active and interested student will probably sally forth in his moments of leisure, and, with hand book and hammer in hand, .will, perhaps for the first time in his life, appreciate the truth of ttie adage " sermons in stones,I'as he discovers wonders in that which he had hitherto carelessly passed by. If such results as these are effected, who "shall say that discussion is useless? ' Who will deny that its tendencies are to extend information and to promote strength of intellect ? In the words of an essay writer in one of our popular periodicals : —" It is impossible for a man to move round a circle of thought without increasing his intellectual vigour. His motion may not be directly upwards, but in spiral circles^ each rising above the other; and by this winding staircase he mounts to higher regions of intelligence, and at every succeeding step has a wider range of vision." This is not all, however. The acquirement of information by thoughtful and attentive reading, and the practice of discussing the correctness or otherwise of the information thus obtained, leads the hitherto bashful and hesitating student to acquire—not the parrot-like prattle of the brainless demagogue (a verbatim report of. whose speech ' would probably astonish and puzzle even its author); still less the Vehement elocution of the ale-house orator, who, tankard in hand, and stopping only occasionally to moisten his throat, deluges his audience with an amount of talk, that threatens to deafen, if not to convince them", —but to acquire the power of expressing his opinions in public .with a facility, gracefulness, and propriety that is sure to elicit approbation. And is there no amusement to be derived from discussion ? Will not the well-contested argument, the sharp ■ sarcasm,- the sallies of wit, and the keen retort afford enjoyment quite equal to any that is to be obtained at taverns, with the agency of certain mysteriously marked pieces of card, or of the board of green cloth, with its cues and ivory balls? Not that these amusements should be censured, if partaken of in moderation, for they give a variety of enjoyment that is especially appreciated by those engaged in much mental labour; nor should the friendly chat and the social glass be altogether despised, if also enjoyed in moderation ; but whereas in these cases the enjoyment is temporary, and sometimes so exciting as to lead to excessive indulgence that will not bear even the morning's reflection, in the enjoyment of a good discussion the pleasure is lasting, and can always be looked back to. with gratification. If, then, it is conceded that discussion is good— that it tends to promote mental improvement, to sharpen the intellect—can we do wrong in making a trial of it? Were this the proper time and place, much might be said and many lamentations uttered respecting the small success achieved by the late Institution; but let by-gones be by-gones. It may be pardonable, however, and may not be without its useful application in this community, to quote a sentence or two from a well-written article on the subject of Mechanics' Institutions, recently published in the Otago Colonist. ic If," says the writer, "we are to take up and maintain the position to which we are entitled—if Our children are to stand on the same platform with those of the same rank in other parts of the world, and with whom they will be brought into contact—something higher and more ennobling.than money-bags and sections must find a place in our calculations." And after lamenting the small number of persons who had joined the Mechanics' Institute, the writer goeson to^ay:—,' And yet we make pretence to a full appreciation of the value of education, and are ready to lay down our lives, or rot in gaol, in defence of some pet mode of teaching little boys, to read and write, and.repeat their catechism; and then at ten or eleven years of age turning them out as educated. Bah! it is all monstrous hypocrisy or ignorance. We, as a community, either do not know what education is, or we feel no real interest in the matter." v ••'■•. And are the Nelson people entirely blameless in this respect ? With extended means of education for the youth of the province, what care (beyond the establishment of mere circulating libraries in various districts) has been taken to provide for the intellectual advancement of young men just entering into the busy scene of life, or even to provide for our own mental.improvement ? ■ '.-■<'■ Let us then hesitate no longer; let us awake from our lethargy, and boldly enter the lists where intellect and genius are; the weapons. Without depending on the exertions of others, let each one resolve to do his part, remembering that " Smallest helps, if rightly given, ; Will make the impulse stronger." ,' And who shall say that some future Franklins or Macaulays—some future statesmen, orators, poets, or historians—may not date the commencement of a successful career to the fact'of their liavingbeen induced to attend, and to take part in, the discussions of the Nelson Institute ? .