The Temuka Leader. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1886. OUR BOYS AND GIRLS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1522, 7 December 1886, Page 2

The Temuka Leader. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1886. OUR BOYS AND GIRLS.

The Hon. W. Roileston in his Timarn High School speech, almost displaced certain portions of his anatomy in an effort to. extract a joke oat of himself, so as to render bis utterances pleasing to his juvenile audience, bnt somehow it does not appear that be made a success of it. From the report of the speech the laughter and the applause is completely omitted, and it is presented in all its “heavy-father” stolidity—a monument of wisdom, and an epitome of quotations and proverbs that would in fact put the illustrious Sancho Panza to the blush. It is not as a general rule difficult to make colonial boys and girls see the point of a joke; their

natural precociousness and predisposition to boisterous cheerfulness enable them not only to see but to appreciate a joke, and it is more than probable that bad Mr Roileston approached within 50 degrees of success in bis effort to amuse, the report of bis speech would bare been embellished with “ laughter ” and “ applause.” This leads us to conclude that he bad better continue the role of “ heavyfather,” than attempt to represent comedy. In tempting the humorous he must fail j iu solid wisdom he can pass muster, provided he relies more on the Yankee article than on bis own manufacture. The subject of his address was, “ What will we do with our boys ? and What will we do with our girls ?” With regard to the girls Mr Roileston read a quotation from an American authority, faultless in its wisdom, so much so in fact that it is a pity he was not able to rake up the masculine counterpart of it. It told the girls in plain thrilling words that “ to be able to keep bonsa thoroughly and practically” was the queen of all womanly accomplishments. Women must begin at the centre and work outwards; at the foundation and work upwards; and that centre and basis was woman’s own home. It is needless to enlarge on this ; it is only what everyone, including the girls who silently listened to it, must acknowledge, but we regret to say that it is sot so fully practised as it is believed in, and that we donbi very much whether High School education is calculated to fit women for scrubbing pots and polishing stoves. Actual experience of every-day life has forced upon us the conviction that higher education unfits persons of either sex for fulfilling the meaner duties of life. The aim of education should be to fit persons for fighting the battle of life, and the training which has a contrary effect mast be vicious. Highly educated girls will not marry a laborer, or a carpenter, or a blacksmith, or even a plain honest farmer, and if she is not matrimonially suited she will prefer being a barmaid to a domestic servant. Of course some of the girls will do well, but when all are equally educated where will servants be got ? However, it is not “ the girls ” that need trouble us so much, because “ the boys ” will look after them in the old fashioned way if they are in a position to do so. Mr Roileston sees no difficulty in the way. He claims that “ there is as much opening in the colony for ability, industry, and good character as ever there was,” and as a matter of course educacated men must succeed. As regards the extent of the “ opening. ” Mr Rolleston and bis “gridironing” friends have by past legislation very much contracted it—they sold ail the land, and left ns on the verge of bankruptcy, Mr Roileston tells us triumphantly that for the last ten years we have nearly doubled onr population, but he did not say that in that time we have spent about £40,C00,000 of money borrowed publicly and privately, and that we are not producing out of the soil now sufficient to pay interest on it. But we must eschew the political side of the question at present, and deal with its social aspect. We say again that it is a pity the counterpart of the advice given to the girls was not at band. Mr Roileston pointed to the desirability of boys being educated so that in after years they might perform the functions of Doctors, Lawyers, and Divines, and said a mercantile man had told him that very few of the men who entered mercantile life qualified themselves to rise to the higher positions in it; but all he coaid say for farming was that it was “ no longer a matter for main strength, industry, and stupidity.” It would have been better, we think, had Mr Roileston told “ the boys ” that Doctors, Lawyers, Divines, and Clerks were becoming “ as thick as leaves in Yallambroza,” and, with the exception of snch as possessed special talents, that none of them should ever think of such occupations. He ought also to have pointed out to them that in one month recently about a dozen forgeries bad been committed in Cbristcharch by well educated, well brought up men, because they oonld not find positions suitable to them. He onght also to have moralised on the notorious poisoning case and pointed out that it was an instance of an educated man trying to live on his wits, and committing one crime to screen himself from another. Also, that if that man bad been brought up as a farmer be would in all probability have been a respectable member of society to-day. It would, too, have been interesting to them to know that highly-educated Germany is extremely criminal, especially as regards forgery. Having imparted this knowledge be ought to have warned them against becoming clerks, as the present system of education, and of huddling the people into, towns will soon cause us to have ten clerks for every billet in the country. If Mr Roileston bad directed attention to these facts, and told the boys to become ploughmen or tradesmen, he would have given them solid advice, bat it would not suit them, They mast be something better, and forge if they can do nothing else.

Now we are in favor of free education to the extent of teaching children to read, write, and cipher. Beyond that we would not go because we believe more barm than good would be done, Our system of education is over-ednesting onr population, it is unfitting them for anything except clerkships, etc., and the result will be disastrous. We are education mad, and we shall reap the seed we are sowing now in a liberal crop of forgeries and other varieties of crime.