The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1882.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 989, 2 February 1882, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. TURSDA H Y, FEBRUARY 2, 1882.

TnERE being a great deal of uncertainty and misconception in the Valley just at present touching the price of store sheep, it may be as well to give our readers an extract from M.R. Miller's (Hawke's Bay) stock and station report for December last. "SheepStore Merino wethers, two and fourtooth, 7s; six-tooth 6s; young ewes, none are offering, but limited sales have been made at 10s; for two-tooth, 8s; fourahd six-tooth, 6s6d; eight-tooth are offered from 5s to 5s 6d; cross-bred fat wethers, 10s 6d to lis 6d; store do, two-tooth, 8s; four and six-tooth, 9s to 9s 6d; for ewes, same class, 9s 6d for two-tooth, 10s to 10s 6d for four and six-tooth, and 8s for eight-tooth-" We understand that the Wellington butchers have threatened to flood the Wairarapa with mobs of twenty to thirty thousand sheep from Napier, In the face of these prices, it is quite absurd for the'ui to' think of doing anything of the kind. We do not know. of any store sheep in the Valley

realising such prices as these, A mob of a thousand four-toofh cross-bred wethers was lately sold from a station in the Lower Valley for 8s 6d, which was at the time considered high, but which was fully warranted by the Napier market. The truth is that the Wellington butchers will have to give way, and allow the price of fat sheep to rise a little. At present they appear to be only desirous of keeping down (ho price of store sheep in order that mutton may no! rise, quite overlooking the facts that the colony is increasing every year in its internal requirements) the good price for tallow, and the exportation of preserved meats, The great stockholders of the Valley feel that Mr Guar is doing his duty well in exporting so much preserved meat as he is at present doing, and so long as he follows that course, gots rid of a surplus stock, and allows a fair price for mutton (such as rules in the other parts of the colony, which, we are sorry to say, has never been the case in Wellington) they will not interfere with him. But if from any causes the prices of fat or store stock are forced down now, then it would perhaps be advisable for those who have subscribed to the Meat Preserving Company to devote that capital to its legitimate uses, and freeze, tin, or sell any stock that is placed in the Company's hands. It is not surprising to find that the Napier' market for store sheep is actually higher than the Wairarapa market, .The Auckland, Christchurch,' and Dnncdin markets are also higher. This appears to us most unjust, and Mr Gear's buyers only do themselves an injury in striving to keep.down the price in the Wairarapa, All that the Valley sheep-farmers ask is the same price which rules elsewhere, and this they are determined to have. No argument can possibly hold water which attempts to show that the price of meat or sheep in Hawke's Bay, Christchurch, or uunedin should be higher than in Wellington. Quite'the opposite is indeed the case. The'price of meat in Wellington should actually be higher than in the other three places named, A great injury is done to the Valley by this lower price of beef and mutton in the Wellington market, for a fairly high market, or rather a market equivalent to that ruling in other parts of the colony, would throw more money into the hands of our sheep-farmers, who would consequently be able to employ more labor for im provetnents; and as the greater employment of labor on the runs benefits the small townships, the whole. Valley would be benefitted, We are not at all sure whether it would not be advisable for the Meat Preserving Compaiiy to establish itself in some township in the Valley and there freeze, tin, or convert into tallow all surplus stock, sending the frozen meat per train right on board the ship. But in that case the West Coast people would havo to form their own company, like the Napier people. Whatever steps are taken to equalise the Wellington prices with the prices in other parts of the colony are perfectly fair and justified.

Last evening the headmaster of the Mastorton School protested against an uuduo proportion of pupil teachers bein« placed on his staff. Referring to the departmental reports we find that taki'ii" the averages for the colony the Masterton School should have three pupil teachers attached to it, taking the averages for the' Wellington district only, it should have four _ The Wellington Education Board in assigning five to it has evidently o/erstepped the mark The Te Aro' Sonool in Wellington with a larger staff has but five. The Mount Cook boys school with a larger staff Ims hut three, so that Masterton stands almost alone in being saddled with an excess of pupil teachers. We clip from a report of the Inspector of South Canterbury the following :- " Another matter claiming the best attention of the Board is the inefficient training and education obtained by our pupil teachers. A considerable number of these young persons are now in the service of the Board, and, apart from the question of ultimate benefit to the Board and the profession,: they may fairly demand an effective training in return for their term of service. The employment of ptipil teachers, however, appears to be generally looked upon as a happy means of disposing of the drudgery of teaching the lower classes, and as, even in this duty, they receive comparatively little training for their work, the infant classes are generally deplorably backward, and depressed by an utter want of tone; and the pupil-teachers themselves, at the expiraiion of their term, are quite unfit for responsible positions, and possess very littlo knowledge of their profession. At a recent examination, in answer to a question on school nia-hgement, I was informed that a first-year pupil teacher should do little more than " fill ink-welh, fetch slates and books, and tell who ••"peaks." In appointing an ink-filler, slatefeteher, and taleteller to take shargeofacliiss rooraiu the Masterton school in ;vl)ich some fifty children have 10 be trained the Board has made a palpable blunder.