SCHOOL CHILDREN AND THE EXHIBITION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8346, 31 January 1907, Page 5

SCHOOL CHILDREN AND THE EXHIBITION.

CHEAP FARES. A deputation from the Wellington Industrial Association, consisting of Messrs D. Robertson (president), J. Smith, J. P. Luke, and H. F. Allen (secretary), and accompanied by the Director of the Technical School (Mr W. S. La' Trobe) waited on the Acting-Premier (Hon. W. Hall-Jones) at Wellington, yesterday morning, to put before him a request relating to apprentices and students attending the Wellington Technical Schools. Mr Allen said that at the last meeting of the association a good deal of discussion took place in regard to the Exhibition, and all the members who had been able to attend where so pleased with the Exhibition that it occurred to them it woujd be an excellent thing if some little assistance could be afforded to bona fide students and advanced students of the Technical Schools and apprentices to visit the Exhibition—something, say, in the way of a subsidy from the Government so as to reduce the cost to those going there. The request, as briefly outlined by the secretary, was supported by all the members of the deputation. Mr Robertson suggested that an appropriate time for the concession would be the Easter holidays, and he added that a visit to the Exhibition would be of great educational value to the young people, and prove a great encouragement to them in their studies. He believed it would pay the country well to do what was proposed. Mr La Trobe agreed that the Easter vacation would be a suitable time for the excursion; 'arrangements could easily be made without interfering with school work. The Acting-Premier, in replying, said he was very pleased to find that the deputation endorsed what had been said by so many people as to the quality of the exhibits at the Exhibition. Whether it was a man advanced in years, or a young man, or a scholar who went there, he must derive benefit from a visit, because there were exhibits there to suit the tastes of all. He was especially pleased with the home industries section, in which was the work of the various schools, and he believed it would be a good idea that an opportunity should be afforded for all the young people of the colony of seeing what they might not have a chance of seeing for, possibly, ten or fifteen years. He had to deal with the request from the Railway Department's point of view. He had endeavoured ■ to give facilities for scholars visiting the Exhibition at an extremely lower rate; the cost of travelling for scholars was about 2s per 100 miles. They could not get below that as a charge for travelling. Then they had accommodation at the Exhibition itself for school chlildren at a cost of 2s per day for each child, and even at those, rates they could, if they liked, stay over several days.' The deputation suggested that something should be done for apprentices aid advanced students, who might, however, have the means to pay the whole of their expenses. He had hoped that the other facilities provided by the Railway Department would have met their case. The deputation had probably seen in the newspapers the arrangements that had been made for excursions from the different towns in'the colony. To give them an idea of the cost, he, might state that the second-class charge for a.person from Pahiatua to go to the Exhibition and return would be Only £l. That meant their railway fare and steamer passage from Wellington to Lyttelton, and railway to Christchurch. The only condition was that passengers must go direct to the Exhibition from their starting-point; but they could please themselves as to the time occupied in returning. He was hoping that that, with the ordinary excursion fares, would have been sufficient to meet the needs of all, and the only way in which he saw a chance of giving further assistance would be by the Education Department subsidising those who desired to visit the Exhibition. He thought that some of those young poeple >woulcl be in a position to pay the full cost; others might not. At any rate, it would be very difficult to discriminate. The great difficulty was the accommodation at Christchurch; The question to be considered was whether they could use the building erected for the accommodation of the school children for housing these, appren- ' tices and advanced students duringtheir stay at 2s per day. He would see if that could be done, and also if it was possible to make any further concessions. The colony would have to look forward to a deficit on the Exhibition, but for his part he did not' wish to draw too heavily on the public purse by granting too great facilities for visiting the Exhibition. He would; however, consult with the Minister for Education, and see if any assistance could be renderedas suggested. Mr Luke asked if the department gave facilities for Wellington people visiting the Exhibition, on the lines of those given to people in the country? The Acting-Premeir said he must see if he could manage matters to that end. He wanted to give facilities for Wellington, the same as Dunedin and Auckl and. At present ■ he was only promising one excursion for each town, but if one was not sufficient the experiment would have to be repeated. He wanted to make the excursions a success. If they got an excursion from Wellington and a reasonable housing charge, he should think it would be satisfactory. He would recommend the Minister in' charge of the Exhibition to make a concession on the charge- for admission after the first day. He should be glad to help in the directions he had indicated.