The Daily News. THURSDAY, MARCH 24. TECHNICAL EDUCATION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 347, 24 March 1910, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, MARCH 24. TECHNICAL EDUCATION.

There is 110 subject of greater importance to th« people of New Zealand than technical education, for in the future New Zealand may have to fight for a place in the markets of the world, and her people will need all the added skill they can gather. Therefore the expressed desire of Mr. W. A. Ballantyne, director of teehnic&l education in the district, to hare a capable organiser of technical schools appointed is a mattor of great moment. Nature is extremely kind to man i* Taranftki, but it has to be remembered that Nature is ever kinder w'fiere skill and science go hand ill hand with her. The old crudities in relation to farming must go. The conservative tiller of the ground who scorns modern method* necessarily goes to the wall, or may easily be beaten by the "new-chum'* who by careful study brings science and technical skill to his aid. Taranaki is tiie centre of dairying in this country, and the industry thrives wonderfully. No one, however, will deny that greater skill would increase the

output, make progress and practice easier, and life even better worth living. An organiser witli the needs of the district at heart, who was thoroughly in tune with his subject, and enthusiastic in his mission, could influence the people concerned in the dairying industry and the young people in the technical side of it very largely. No father will deny that he would like his son or bis daughter to know more about his business than he himself has had an opportunity of learning. An organiser who could demonstrate practically the value of technical training in the industries that concern Taranaki most, and who by precept and illustration could show its value, would certainly be worth the £l5O a year Mr. Ballantyne suggests as his salary. Experts have been known to obtain even a larger salary than this, j The schedule of technical education con- j tains so many subjects that inerease knowledge and enhance -prosperity that it is a great pity the branch is neglected I in Taranaki. There are certainly two classes teaching dairying, and these two are in Stratford. One other class is being started at Pibama, and these isolated endeavors seem very much like inconsiderable oases in the desert. Contrast the' strides made by technical dairying in the Wanganui Board's district. There are 36 classes there. The Board recognises what the land has done and must do for the country, and has appointed a teacher of agriculture. The immense importance of wool-class-ing has also been recognised, and an instructor appointed. An admiral with a mile of empty warships is a mere joke, and technical instructors in fine buildings are an absurdity if there, are no children to instruct. In New Zealand there is all the machinery for imparting special knowledge, but the pupils are lamentably lacking. The parents and their children should regard the learning of special subjects from the national standpoint, for we iiave to fight Denmark, France, and Germany for markets, and the weapons must be knowledge and the means to acquire it. The technical school in New Plymouth cost a lot of money. It supplies the very l;est means for imparting special knowledge. The teachers are good; the fees small. The school serves a population of about

eight thousand people. Last year about one hundred and sixty pupils took advantage of tlie instruction provided. The parents apparently have not yet entirely rid themselves of conservative custom, and do not appreciate the immense importance of the subject, while the need for self-improvement has failed to impress itself' upon the children. Technical education is a natural sequence to primary education. Every State scholar in Germany must become a technical scholar, and so keen are

the employers that they permit their workmen certain hours of the masters' time during the week to perfect themselves. The masters recognise that in- ' creased skill in a workman means increased cash to the master (is well as to the man. A New Zealand State scholar knows very little of practical value when he has passed the sixth standard, and a 9 a general thing he leaves school long before he has' any serious thoughts. With our machinery for furthering instruction, we are doing small credit to the splesdid material we have in our bright, intelligent, and healthy children. If we have compulsory military training we should have compulsory technical training, and a three years' course subsequent to the primary course would not be too long. There would necessarily be exemptions of those who lived too far from existing technical schools. Primary education is compulsory, and its value is infinitesimal in comparison with technical instruction. Why the authorities object to the extension of the compulsory system is hard to understand. We believe, however, that with adequate organisation, a real understanding of the necessities of the case, and a true enthusiasm, the need 1 for compulsion would not be so pronounced as it is. The i Taranaki Education Board is making a move in the right, direction, and we only hope the proposal made at Tuesday evening's meeting to appoint an organiser to devote the whole of his time to the interests of the technical schools in the district will materialise.

TEE CRICKET MATCH. They came, they played, and they might have been conquered, if they had elected to continue playing in the lading light. Most people .would have liked t*e Australians to fight the match to a. finish, but as the result stands Taranaki certainly lias reason for pride. The "tail" of the Australian team, consisting of its two weakest bats, might hava been disposed of in the remain ; ng twenty minutes. The report in another part of the paper shows how near to ft win the home men got. As it is, a draw is creditable. The match is remarkable because Taranaki lias made a better

showing against the visitors than any team they have encountered in New Zealand during this tour. We heartily congratulate the players on their fine showing, and especially Southall for his bowling mid Perham for his fine performance with the bat. Cricket languishes in Taranaki, not because there is no good material from which to fashion players, but because interest in the great pastime is not universal, anil good "coaches" are not available. Taranaki, like every other district in New Zealand, is wedded to football to the detriment of the English national game. Footballers may not agree that cricket is the better game, requiring more skill, judgment, and training. It is almost sacrilege to suggest that cricket should oust football as the most popular pastime. Australia, unlike New Zealand, holds that cricket is the better game. Whether it is that New Zealanderi are ' more strenuous than their English or Australian relatives is problematical, but it ia certain they love the harder and less skilled pastime the better. Tho 'success of any enterprise lies in the coordination of the persons engaged in it, and this is even truer of cricket than of footbi'.l. The man who plays a brainy, game of football could learn to play a skilful game of cricket, if the teacher happened to be clever and enthusiastic. New Zealand holds many sporting honors, but it has no blue ribbon for cricket. It really is time Taranaki reached for honors in the game. It would show some enterprise and a desire to wrest world honors in the cricket field if North Taranaki secured

the services of a competent coach. Whether tbe popularity of the Rugby game in New Zealand will ever wane, is not known, but it seems certain that if our young men carefully studied the science of cricket under good masters they might achieve a distinction they can never hope to gain while the gams is played in a haphazard way and by so few. We hope the visit of the Australians will be the means of awakening fresh interest in the good old game, and that when the Australians next visit the "Garden of New Znaland" they will find the local men even tougher nuts to crack.