AGRICULTURAL COURSES.

Wanganui Chronicle, Issue 20128, 16 July 1914, Page 7

AGRICULTURAL COURSES.

REPLY TO COUNCILLOR FLETCHER. MR PURNELL'S CONCISE STATEMENT. The acting-chairman (Mr F. Purnell) of the Wanganui Education Board, at tli e meeting last evening referred to the interesting discussion at a recent meeting of the Wanganui County Council on the question of granting £25 to the Wanganui Technical College. The Board, he said, is indebted to Councillors Higgie, Alien and Collier for their spirited defence of the. Board's actions in providing an up-to-date agricultural course, and also in a lesser degree to Crs Fletcher and Poison for making the matter prominent and giving publicity to the strenuous efforts of the Board's members and officials to meet a very long felt want, namely, practical farm training in the district.

In continuing h.is remarks Mr Purnell expressed himself as follows: —Fortunately it has been the Board's experience to receive an almost unanimous approval of the leading farmers of the district and very general support and encouragement have been given to the Board in these classes; means have been provided to still further enlarge their scope and extend their usefulness. Very many farmers, too, have received valuable advice and practical assistance from the Board's expert instructors, particularly in the Hawera district.

"Of course. Councillors Fletcher and Poison are quite entitled to their opinion ; and as they have been officially expressed they deserve some attention and reply. It is difficult to understand why farmers object to these practical working classes, in the field, in the orchard, in the woolshed. at Alnxadale camp, etc., and it would be interesting to know how many visits, these gentlemen have made to these camps when the students were at work. Obviously they have made none, therefore Councillor Poison must have drawn on his imagination when ha described ,the visits of the students to Marton faiim as 'expensive foolery.' After all this Marton fanm is only a small portion of the agricultural course. These opinions are in striking contrast to that held by prominent farmers in other portions O f the district, who, after closely watching tlie students at work in these so-called picnic camps, have- been bo impressed and. delighted1 with tihe practical value of the training that they not only subscribed liberally to the classes and induced associations and local .bodies to do likewise, but also made liberal personal donations to provide prizes for judging stock and' other competitions by the pupils; and at present there is an agitation by the FeiMing farmers for the establishment of n. Residential Agricultural College as th c natural frequence of these farm classes and damps. Parents or pupils have the option, of taking either a professional or agricultural course, and- it is a striking" testimony to the educative value of the latter that- it is generally taken not only by the boy who is to go on the land, but al:o by those destined to become artisans.

" While wo cannot object to Councillor Fletcher having his own opinions, we certainly do object to his making inaccurate and misleading statements. It is quite incorrect that the primary education lias been robbed in the past for secondary and technical schools to t-ho extent of 99 out of ©very 100 schools. No statement could be more incorrect, and Or. Fletcher is challenged to prove this wen in one school in a hundred. It cannot be so, because accounts for every technical cchool and class- are kept separate, and the first consideration in theid establishment lias always been that they must pay their way, and results have already borne this out. We admit having had an uphill fight financially with the War.gaiiii.i Technical College in making it in every respect worthy of the district, but thisis now on a good footing. The Board has appealed for funds from local bodies and others 'interested to assist in this being done. Th© response has been generous and we must not forget that every contribution em-ries £1 for £1 subsidy from the Government, a^d every donation is therebore doubly welcome. Councillor Fletcher's statement that he had children attending the Technical Colleger and found it almost as expensive as sending them to the Girls' College, is pure moonshine. For a pupil attending the commercial course at the Technical College, Or. Fletcher is expected to pay 5s pea* year for stationery, 5s per year for the games fund, and 7s 6d per year for the use of a typewriter— a total cost of 17s 6d per annum —not a. large sum for an up-to-date commercial training, •while the fees for a daygir] at the Girls' College amount to £13 5s per annum. Finally, the Aeting-Chalrmian remarked that at plicnies peotple often worked! 'much harder than they did at their own regular occupations, and this perhaps fairly described the pupils at the farm schools; not only that, but during their own timo and on holidays these pupils often made considerable (sums of money by their work for farmers who are glad to employ them, having regard to their proficiency—the result of practical teaching by the Board's exp'eit instructors. Mr Puniell renfarKed tku ?nany written testimonials bad beea handed in by practical farmers. Messrs Dixon and Bennett vigorously supported Mr PuriieH'ii remarks.