TOO MUCH EDUCATION THE WHOLE AND SOLE CAUSE OF THE EXODUS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 3015, 10 November 1891, Page 2

TOO MUCH EDUCATION THE WHOLE AND SOLE CAUSE OF THE EXODUS.

TH Till: KIHTIIK. Siii.-WeofLen In: ir th it tin? country cannot afford to give free udtiu ition above tha fourth standard. That is trin? enough, but the e-:tra ex pen*; is a small, Very small evil in comparison to die oilier tremendous evils which flow from too much education in I]iis Now Zealand. The wlmlu population of New Zealand depends upon its existence from its exports. Those who arc producers of our export ) have the other necessary non-producers. There must bo a certain number of artisans ;.nd also workers to do the work outside of the production, and there must be traders and aocountants and professional men. All these non-producers have to be supported from our exports. Take the exports of New Zealand and the whole population must collapse. It stands to reason that if there is an undue proportion of thase nonproducers, say four instead of one, great evil will follow. One evil, and ovil is 110 name for it, is, that whereas hern everyone has a vote, these would politically swamp the producers, and would live at their expense. But this would be of very short duration and in a very short time the goose that laid the ere would be killed and thou annihilation to all would ensue, It will not be denied that thero is an undue proportion of noil-producers, and I aftirm that is so from there bein; too much education here in New Zealand. It is an ovil for men to be educated above their business. Those who are, as a rule, are nrt good at their trade or profession, or business, from the fact that their minds are above their trade or business and the business above all hero in Xew Zealand is farming. I have 110 doubt a farmer, so that he may be called a gentleman farmer would be the better both for himselfand the country that he be highly educated, but we are not going to be gentlemen farmers. What we require is industrious men of thrift and self-denial, and that we cannot have owing to our too much education unfittiug our sons and daughters from becoming such, the outcome of which is that all are taking to trades or professions, and as there is 110 requirement for them tliey have to exode, However, mauy of them will not do that, if they would do so then all would be right, for then tha proportion would b8 the required number, as it now is the exodus is not sufficiently largo. If it was not for this over-education there would not need to bo ar. exodus, for then our farmers' sons would not bo above their business, that business beine ti take up a piece of wild land and by self-denial make a home for himself and his neighbour's daughter; and the neighbour's daughter must also not be too big for her boots, and, think she must have a jam tart (though he should be a shoddy one), for a husband. The country is full of shoddy sons and daughters, and this is all owing to over-education. The daughters ought to be milk maids and the sons be more of a clod hopper, better by far to be a happy and successful clod hopper than a spurious jam tart. You can look upon the one with high and great respect, the other other is to lie looked upon with contempt and pity. Air Editor some of your readers may think that they have me, and they may write and say I preach what I do not practice, to save them the trouble I may say that it will be a long time before they catch me being inconsistent in what I write, I am not such an idiot as to give them the chance, for over twenty years [ was a clod hopper in this Waikato.—l am, etc. Hakal'EPE.

P.S.—My neighbou* of the 4tli standard, lie who I wrote about some two or throe years ago is still flourishing, nil is increasing with him. I always tell him if lie had been (ill) standard man he would not have done as lie has, and he is not alone ; there are more ot my Ith standard neighbouta netting slowly and surely rieher <""_»ry lay, and i~ a year or two they will have buggies and ii"i on tick—damn Indies and pianos on thk. 11. liarapepe, November 7lh, IS'JI.