The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1882. OUR SCHOOLS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1239, 25 November 1882, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1882. OUR SCHOOLS.

Now that the annual examination of the five large schools of the Wairarapa has been completed by the Inspector—and completed most satisfactorily, on the whole, as the results fully attest, although held at least six weeka earlier than usual-it will not be an unprofitable oxpendtfcure of time if wo-considor for a while to what extent, if any, the benefits offered by the Education Act have been seized upon and utilised by the children nltendinr; these large schools, For that such benefits liavo been offered, and well paid for, by the foster ng care of a benevolent Govern:nent|thero can bo no shadow of doubt. It might have been thought the change of tho head masters in all the schools except Greytown during the last four years, and the manifold changes of assistant teachers during the samo. pen; ', would to ft certain extent have mil:; .ted against any appreciable increase in tn'c results of the examinations during tho first few yeass after such changes wero effected, because some considerable time must necessarily elapse before the system of a new head master can be regarded as in full working order. Such, however,' has not been the case, Steady progress has been made from year toyear, and. better' results have been obtained, in spite of such disquieting elements; and wonderful as it may appear, tho only school (Greytown) where such disturbing causes have been unknown, stands alone in not furnishing any cause for congratulation or rejoicing to the inhabitants after thtv late annual ordeal. In vain one looks in the various reports to find one word expressive of satisfaction. or commendation from the Inspector, and the residents of Greytown. may bo pardoned if they aro inclined to envy Feathersion and Carterton, Clareville and ' Masterton the well-earned tribute of praise and words of enciwragemont with which they wero greeted by the Inspector. Of course the Greytown School may have roceived its measure of. congratulation, although the fact has hot been made public from a commendable, though mistaken, sense of modesty. That »teady progress has been made in these large schools will be more readily underStood by a perusal of the subjoined tabulated statement,' which compares' • the number of pupils who were presented for, and the numbers who passed in tho examinatiohsa hold in the years 1879 and 1882;-

1879 1882 •a "d '■ . | ' ■ 2"" ■■-■-■■•. Q , ~0 0.0 §'" '§ ' 8- 3 Incroasoin passes ■ fi ■; ft,-, :fc. h .■!; .-. ,r. Masterton 158/ 08 270 214 ; ■-.'..,.- 'l4O Clarevillo 58 ' 62 04 56 . 4 Carterton : J 150 .122 1W -IST '., 15 Greytown-.'■ 149 110 147 101 decrease , 15 . Feathcrstor. 110 87 104 - 89 Increase . 2 . !r,-:,'831.:475; ,'H9..627:/..., ;.-'' It wiil beobserved that whilothe increase' in the number of candidates amounts to 118,:the.nmrib'er; of the successful pneshas. increasbd 1: b'y : 152..-' ; . These. figm'os\.wbuld, doubtless, have been replaced;; jiy 'some of even:higher value', had* th'e;extaffia-: tions been held at the usual lime, and had not the measles made their .appear-

,ance' so; iiioppbrtu ii r p]y in Maste'rton.''i; -Aa: it ; is l ''lhi3 ; fliitisfiiotqry.iDo'reiifle.iß iniiiiily: owihgto.ilie brilliant ppaitioii.iwjiichjthe Mastertbu'HSohpol.'li its .earaed': fori itself,' other, schools, have' aleo shewn niost praiseworthy improvement';' for, with the number of; candidates remaining about the;sarno/as four years, marked increase -in', passes has buoii obtained. ,Gr«}*town alone shows.a yerycarisidornble decreaso. -Thia is apparently' owing to the irregularity and unpunctual-' ityon the part' of same of the children; and to such an oxtent does (his seem to havo been curried that the head master protests in his report' that-" unless moans be adopted to secure both regularity and punctuality, I cannot bo.held responsible, for (ho BU'ccess : of .the school." ■ n : Tlie. : great progress .which has been made during four years in these schools proves beyond question thal'-'vyhen any school shows signs of, becoming .torpid, and con-' tout to roat satisfied with a mediocro position, and with just life onough to enable its .pupils to. barely scrape-through the examinations, or when difficulties arise which appear hopelessly beyond, remedy, an infusion of new blood or a radical reformation of the leaching staffis highly beneficial, and may become as time goes on absolutely necessary. : It will also be an advantage to set down, side by side, the results of the late examinations of the various schools. A comparison may thus be easily made; and at a glance the public may become acquainted with the work which iB being done in the other schools as well as in that with which they are 'specially connected. Moreover, the' results thus brought into juxtaposition will tend to proir.o.le that .friendly emulation and generous rivalry between ;the schools, which will administer to their future success. The work done in the first four standards has, with one or two exceptions, been so generally good that nothing further need be said about them than that they are efficiently officered. The fifth and sixth standards only are taken into this account, because, as the Inspector is reported to have said at Mastertou, " such high passes in the upper standards could not be expected as in the lower ones, as fcho upper standards appealed so much moro to iho intelligence of the pupils." Yet it will appcarfrom ihe'statement below that most "ratifying results in these standards can be, and are, obtained when the teachers are honest, dilligent, and capable, and not : content with the bare performance ot their duties in a merely .perfunctory manner. May all due honor, 'assistance, and sympalhy.be accorded to such to cheer Ihem in their arduous duties.

SffiDASD V...'. . ETAXDAM) .VI. Frcs'hW l'asscit fres'iiti Passed. Maslerton 30 17 14 10 Clarevillo '2 .. '3 Carterton 13 12 IS ■ 0 ftathcreton 10 0 ' 7 7 . Grcyiown 10 2 2-'

It will he observed with deep regret that tho Groytown School occupied so poor a place in this comparison with the other schools, For, even granting'that the irregularity of attendance is tho cause this year, surely the same plea will not apply to Iho three previous yoars. A very disagreeable and disheartening fact stares us in the face, viz,; that during tha last, four years only about thirty pupils have passed m Standard V, while less than hilf-iwlozon have succeeded in passing Standard YL There is, there must be, some wry grave causa to produce such a state of things;, and the sooner the evil is: discovered and removed the better. It cannot be that the majority of tho children in any particular locality lack the necessary intelligence which tho pupils of all the other schools abundantly possess, Whatever the cause is, it is very evident that the children attending the Greytown' School do not,reap the advantages of the higher branches of education which are provided for them by tho Legislature of tho country,

The Rev. J. F. Teackle advertises fur sale ii quarter acre section in . Wrigley's Estate. Tho Masterton Higway Board mot this morning, Our report will appear on Monday. . Mr L.G. lteud Las been appointed assistant Law officer in place of Mr W!'M. Lewis retired. At the meeting of Mr P. 0. Frasi's creditors yesterday it transpired that the debtor had been in constant employment and in the receipt of considerable suras of money, but it was found impossible to obtain from him any account of his income, the amount of debts duo to him, what he had juid away or to whom he had paid money. He professed that he had paid away all that ho had earned to tradesmen and laborers yet thoso are the very poisons who constitutes the bulk of his creditors.: As the matter now stands the case'is a scandalous one, and we trust that in the public interests it will receive a thorough investigation.

AtFlemington. racecourse it now requires ton operators, eight receiving and despatching clerks, and four messengers to carry on the work in the telegraph-office in the saddling paddock; whilst a coupjo of operators are stationed in. a branch office on the hill. There aro now seven direct wires to the office, one being a duplex which.converts one line into two. In order to provide for the increased business, it is intended, before the next Cup meeting ; comes round, to have a cable laid down, between Flemington and' Melbourne capable of carrying from 24 to 30 wires, and they will all be- worked on tho duplex principle'

The following is our weather report for the past week :—Tho past week has been a fine one; towards the end it whs hot and close, accompanied with thunder and lightning, and heavy rain," This was to be expected from the highly electrical condition of the atmosphere, in which state it has been nearly the whole of the week, Judging from reports, the contre of this electric storm must have been ovor ■Otago, where its effects were mostly felt. Rain fell on two days. The total rain fall for Masterton was I*4lo inches, and the j barometer mean reading 29*72 inches. | For the thormometor.jt was 61 fall. It j stood at 78 fah on Friday afternoon in the | shade.; this is the highest,'so far,-for this j spring. The wind has been li 2 ht, and | generally from a northerly direction, ' j New' Zealand flax fibre is growing in j'favor in Victoria. The. Melbourne Age I says-" The committee of the .Victorian i Olmmbor of Manufacture visited the rope, jute and mat works of Mr James Miller, Sandridgo road. They found tho works much larger than they anticipated. About 130,000 has been expended on machinery |-ancl; other, appliances necessary' to carry o n tho enterprise,' There are' about 70 | Urns, 2 engines,4 boilerß,!-and other j machines in full swing.' The jute works employ nearly 300, hands, the ropo; works 60, and tho mat ..works from .55 to 100.. The ropo'and' twino is Manilla and New Zealand hemp, -but Mr Miller expects to be able to use New Zealand flax entkely. at .an early.date, ,Ncw .machinery ls.beingnow imported, and at no : di»iant dato tlie establishment will assume very, large proportions, as the demand for the goods made is.cpntiiiually,4creYsing, and the home aridintercolbnial trade expanding. <Thew6fks;have'beori established; ■l6f twenty .years, and; their : ;history; -has been one of growtli.and:progresß : froiii the beginning, when they stfirted' -aVa' more 1 .'.rppe'-walk. : The.w'eaversjandstitohers get 'ffbtn 15s''-to : '2ss : a : weeki and the drowetsand doners from fooiOj; ii'voty large proportion of tho employees being young girls and children.

• ( Messrs Beetham.Buohanan, and Bnoih have anaiged with the Mmißtei nf Justice for iho Mariinborough f Hotel license. K Amo nij the .passe ngeja fivim Melbourno H; H. Bpratt,.of 6reyto\yhji,wii6 has been on a .twelvemonths'visit loEngland.

~,.Mr W. .Earkes notifies in our advetttsiiig/.columnl.'tliati he has opened the premises -adjoining 0. A, Briggs' bntphery-aß;a.retaji:bpol-;and shoe shop.. The meotings re County Amalgamation in 'Maslerton, Carterton, Greytowfi and Featherston, Jakes, place at : 7.30 p.m. this : evening./: '■ ; :'/;.••

'A heavy shook'of earthquake was experienced at Iketahiiiia;yijstevday :'aftertiobhy'ataboutl.3o." v We iiuve hot Heard of any one noticing the occurrence in the neighborhood of Maslerton. ;

The elements seemed in accord with the tamper of Mr Frazi'a creditors yesterday, as during the rather stormy examination of .the debtor, the thunder and rain kept up an ahhosf•continuous'din, 'and the.lightning .was almosr. as frequent as the wrathful flashes from.the eyes of Mr Fraiii's dolude'd creditors. The Masturton Debating Society met last evening,; At the. appointed hourtwo menibers;only tho presideh't'and the secretary, were in attendance, and they coming :to 'the'conclusion' that the debates pro tern were played out, adjourned sine die.

We are informed by Sergt. Major -Bfizai' that a circular has been received from the Defence Department to the effect that tho constitutions of the three Riflo Corps of the Valley will not be effected by. the new regulations to come into 1 force "on the Ist January.

Tho Masterton Volunteers held an Inspoclinii parade jast evening, Captain. Donald being in command. After Inspection; the : Corps headed by.■the: band marched through Chapel and Qneon Streets/. The Captain announced: that a Church parade would be held in the course ofnext monlh, ,-•; i

Messrs Lowes and lorns held their monthly stock sale at 'l'euui yesterday, and had yarded 120 hoad of oattle and some 20 hoiaiii. N buyers were rather scarce the whole lot changed hands at very fair prices, Yearlings from 42s Gd to 50a, 2-yoar-olds L 4, cows and calves from L3[to L 3 10j, bullocks', L 7. Horses were dead of sale, very few Leinjj sold, We have heen;shown a very handsome illuminated testimonial which was presented last evening by the members of the Greytown Working Men's Club to -Mr S. H. Wickerson in recognition of his services as custodian "of that institution during the past three and a quarter years. It is aigncd.by the President, Mr J. P,'Russell, Vice-President, Mr W. C. 3uchanan, M.H.R., the Chairman ot the Club, Mr James Baillie, and the principal members, The testimonial was engrossed and illuminated in a'veryartistic and finished manner by Mr E, A, Campbell, of Greytown.

.; Amesbury!s '.patent sprin&sided dental plates, an advertisement of which appears in another column; marks an innovation in dentistry,, and one, judging from the improvements it container,, that will be universally adopted, We have personally inspectod Mr Amesbury's patent, which abolishes the usual artificial palate and spiral springs. The mcchanicism that keeps the plate in its position is very lislU and strong, and-nothing-but the gums are covered by it. A moeting of the Stewards of the Taratali' races held in January 1882 took place on Friday evening prior; to. the puplic meeting held for promoting a race meeting on .the tho 22nd January next, Dr Watts was voted lo the chair, and a somewhat stormy meeting. ensued over the finances of the last meeting in which words were fairly bandied between Messrs Wilson and Muir, / tho: Honorary Secretary ■ and Troasurer, .and, Mr Burrow, Tho Secretary reported that Mr Burrow had received a cheque for Lt Is from Mr' Samuel which' lie had not paid over to tho race fund. Mr Burrow refused to hand it over on the ground that lie had already paid ovor L 8 Bs, only a portion of which he had received,.the rest having beou paid out of his. own pocket on account of promises given but not kept as' to payment, An. angry altercation took -place, and eventually Mr Burrow left the room, ; The resolution passed, as to'the disposal of the balance in the hands of the committee will be found in our/report o? the public meeting on Monday'.

We direct attention of farmers and station-holdors to'an advertisement in another column of 15 tons No. 7. fencing wire, at the exceedingly low prico of £ls 15a per ton at the Masterton Railway station, For further particulars, apply to Eapp and Hare, Emporium.—Advt, 2/lj will purohase n very durable.Useful tweed shirt, for' men's wear, at' James Smith's To Aro House, Wellington. : '.' For 6/6 you dan buy for your boy'a Rood usofuFtwcod bicker suit, at' James Smith's To Aro Houso, Wellingtoa. 6/6 will buy a pair of inon's strong tweed trousers, at James' Smith's, To''Aro House, Wellington. .. .- ■ : 12/6 will purchase moiija summer trousers and vest, worth 21/-\'at'!j«mes Smith's, To Aro Houso, Wellington.'. 18/6 will purchase men's-real navy, sorge suits at Jaaies Smith s, To Aro'House, Wellington. . •

For27/6a-man may purohaso'a capital, strong, and nice-looking homespun tweed suit| at James Smith's-To-Aro Houso,f Wellington.— Advt. .: j...