The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1884. SCHOOL FOR KAKAKU BUSH.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1126, 15 January 1884, Page 2

The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1884. SCHOOL FOR KAKAKU BUSH.

Fon the last twelve months or more the residents in the Kakahu Bush have been agitating: for the erection of a school in that district, and so far as vre can ascertainj they want one very much. There is a large number of children growing up in the district, some of whom have reached the ages of )2 mi ,3 14 years without even having learucJ t. know "B from a Bull's foot." To illustrate the ignorance of the rising generation in that locality, a rev. gentleman, who takes a deep interest in Education, has informed us that on one occasion he visited the district and was regarded as a great curiosity by some o* the children. Some of them made a football of his hat, others examined the leggings he wore, while others paid particular attention to his coat, trousers and person in general. In fact he was as great a curiosity amongst the juvenile population of this remote district as Gulliver was amongst the Lilliputians. Since then the rev, gentleman has thrown in the weight of his influence with the parents of these children to obtain a school for them ; but there is an impediment in the way. The parents of the children are willing to build the school themselves, and all the assistance thoy ask is that the Board of Education shall provide the timber, etc. To this the Board has consented, but all efforts to get a suitable site has so far failed. The only site that would meet the requirements is to be found on the land of the Honorable Mr Wigley. This is situated in a central position at a place were several roads converge, and would be within easy distance of every part of the district. For this several applications have been made, but the honorable owner refuses to give a satisfactory answer either one way or the other. He will neither refuse point blank, nor accept any offer that has been made to him. The Chairman and Secretary of the Education Board waited upon Mr Wigley, and offered to either lease, buy or accept as a gift this bit of land, but he only told them he would think about it. Ha has been thinking about it 6ince, without being able to come to a definite resolution. Feeling confident that it was useless to expect anything from Mr. Wigley, the Chairman of the Education Board made an application to the Geraldine Road Board for a piece of land vested in that body, which is next in poiat of suitability to the one already referred to, but the Board after considering the matter found they could not deal with it. Driven to the last resource, an application was made for the next most convenient bite, which is gituated on the land of one of the farmers, and it was readily granted; but it now turns out unsuitable. There is not sufficient land in the corner between two roads and a deep creek there to build a school on, and consequently if the place is selected the building must be erected principally on 1 piles. It is thus evident that it is not the fault of the parents nor of the Education Board that Kakahu Bush has not had a school long ago. Every available means have been tried, with the result that the monopoly of the earth's surface which Mr Wigley holds in that district has thwarted them in their efforts to obtain a suitable piece of land whereon to build a school.. We do Dot care to comment upon Mr Wigley's part of the transaction further th<m to say that it is discreditable to him to have it said that he will neither grant, sell, nor lease a p ; ece of land on his estate for a school site. A man occupying the position of a large landowner, and a Member of the Legislature, who thus refuses such a request—for his action amounts to refusal—must be regarded as dead to all considerations for the advancement of the colony, and placed amongst the uudesirable class of citizens. The position he occupies exacts from him care and attention to the good government of this colony ; he ought to be foremost amongst the promoters of Education, and everything else calculated to benefit his fellowcolonists, instead of being an impediment in the way of educating his own immediate neighbors and dependents. !•

there not in this a good argument in favor of Land Nationalisation. Ilere is a man holding a monopoly of a large tract of land, and for some reasons of his own he will neither sell, nor lease, nor grant as much of it as would suffice to erect a school on. Supposing the whole of the country were in the hands of such men—which God forfend—what would be the position of those who had no land at all t It would simply be that they could not even get a site for a cemetery if they wanted it. In this there is a good argument in favor of the land being the property of the people, as it shows how mischievous the feudal system is when carried to the extent the law allows. We have neither

time nor space at present to enter more fully into this subject, but we think we have said enough to convince any one that it is a mistaken policy to entitle any man to say " this is my land and I cau do as I like with it. I cas let it remain a barren waste or render it productive. I can prevent anyone from deriving any benefit from it, or make it yield food for the poor of my surroundings. In fact I am monarch here and can do whatever I like." This gives individuals despotic power, it cultivates arrogance, and an overbearing disposition, it gives to some an undue advantage over others, and leads to discontent and rebellion. Land monopoly is the bone of contention all over the world, and sooner or later it must be broken. The Chinese have advanced in thi» direction further than any people we know of. In that country if a farmer does not produce a certain quantity out of bis land he is tied up by the heels and whipped within an inch of his life. It would serve some people right if such a law existed in this colony, and if it did we should not be lorry to see the Honorable T. H. Wigley coming in for his share of the castigation.