1.—14 a.

20

[g. geoege.

child are the brick walls and the machinery and the factories that you see about the place, or can you take into the town something of the surroundings of the country, and, by training the town children to love these, get them back into the country ?—Of course, you can, especially in New Zealand. There is no town in New Zealand of the large size that you find in the older countries. They are all what you might term " country towns." 135. Mr. Hardy.] Do you nob think it would be better to do something to keep the children that are in the country, in the country ?—That is what we are providing for. 136. Do you not think a better idea would be to keep there the children that are in the country and are continually going into the towns ?—That is the object of this education. 137. Mr. Allen says, " Teach the children in the towns something that will take them into the country." Would it not be better to train the children in the country so well that they will have a desire to remain there and will not wish to go into the town ?—I do not see why both cannot be done. 138. You idea is that if we could make the children interested in the country, we should have very little difficulty in dealing with those who would afterwards congregate in the towns ?—I am quite sure of it. 139. You, as a witness, think that this Committee should take into consideration some means by which the children in the country could be better educated in order to keep them there ? —That is so. That is my idea. Approximate Cost of Paper.— Preparation, not given; printing (1,500 copies), £11 Is.

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