The Bruce Herald. "Nemo me impune lacessit." TOKOMAIRIRO, APRIL 1, 1873.

Bruce Herald, Volume VI, Issue 476, 1 April 1873, Page 5

The Bruce Herald. "Nemo me impune lacessit." TOKOMAIRIRO, APRIL 1, 1873.

Few there are who will not acknowledge that the question of the higher education of women is one of the most important that can well engage the attention of the community at large. Recognised as being of paramount importance in older and more settled countries, where the method and system of business leaves to the male portion of the community more time to devote to the instruction and training of the young and rising generation, how much greater must its claims be in a new colony, where tve know so much of the youthful training ; indeed, in many hundreds of cases the only early education of children depends on the zeal, energy, and ability of the maternal head of the home. Give us truly educated girls, not mere glittering gew-gaws, whose principal attractions are their gaudy feathers ; but those that have received such an education as will prepare the humblest of them to be fit and intelligent companions to map in whatever sphere of life they may be placed in, and we will find that in them we will have our most efficient reformers. Thoroughly sympathising with the views expressed by Miss L. W. Dalrymple, of Port Chalmers, in a letter addressed to the combined working corps of the University of Otago, and printed and circulated by the Committee for the establishment of Ladies' Scholarships in the University of Otao-o, *c feel that we cannot do better than publish the following extracts from it with the object of directing public attention to the subject, and of encouraging what we conceive to be sound and excellent views. After referring to the proposal jto collect funds to establish Girls' Scholarships, and the probabil : ty of its being accomplished, this lady writes:— "The question to solve is, how to utilise this scholarship so as to confer the highest possible benefit upon woman, recognised as a responsible, and an immortal being, and as bearing a most important part in the educational, domestic, and social duties of life? Is it an extraordinary or a presumptuous sentiment when I express my conviction, that the higher education of women—- as generally conducted— is wholly mis-directadi more, that even amongst well-iaforoied people, tkere is absolute misconception of what true education really is. (In October, 1871, Br Goss, a learned bishop, delivered a speech at Liverpool, in which he says, • That ignorance is not necessarily an evil to any one, educate a servant girl and she spends her tiwe in writing love letters, and when she should be sweeping the rooms, she is reading, the last new*novel.' Strange logic to come from a bishop ; this the jesult of education !) ; It appears to me, that the result of this so-called higher «ducat*an received by' women now and; of iate j^arj at schools and colleges, is to dis r c place them from their true position, and

tends to make the nig [clever, restless, and unf'erainine. Now the -truth of the matter is, the world does ' not ; require women to be clever or learned, it rather wants them educated to be useful and good. Knowledge ; to. a w^man is not i like -the learning .of a man4-re<juired to fit him for becominga pleader at- the bar, or an orator in th'a 'senate ; riorj'has she so much tp be exercis«d iri iHose studies which develope .distinct individur; ality of character, as to ha7e lief mind and f understanding trained to habits of thoughtfully considering how to apply the know» ledge she has, in her active relations with: her fellow-beings in the daily intercourse of life.- is not mental power, neither is. it wisdom, and much that now forms the modern curriculum, might well be .dispensed with, for the more profitable pursuit of those studies which, as Hannah More says, :f will teach a woman to elicit truth ; lead her to be intent upon realities ; will give precision to her ideas, and make an exact 'mind.'' That knowledge is power has passed into an axiom, but let it be sacred to man if he likes, it; fondly, I claim goodness as the talisman of • a woman's power, and were she educated, so as to develop in her,, the Gbdf 'like attribute of enlightened goodness, she would be in possession of a power, beside which, mere knowledge sinks into itnpbtence. The present system of education is conventional and traditional ; it uiterly fails to develope the higher powers and faculties of human nature, and that peace and wellbeing 1 which ought to be its accompaniments and outcome are not experienced ; hence, much ot the malaise from which mankind suffer ; and among women, the disappointment finds expression in such manifestations as the present wild cry for rights and privileges and an impossible equality with man — as if the laws of God and nature could be set aside. There is terrible and grievous error somewhere, and, whilst the watchword of the day is education, and philosophers, and statesmen, and ministers, and teachers are toiling to set the world right, it is labor at once barren and unfruitful; and, until education be that process which, in every individual man or woman, shall lead to the practical recognition of the great and mighty responsibilities of life — so shall sin, and wretchedness, and unhappiness prevail. Much impressed, then, with the necessity of some radical change in the system of education, and, as a woman, deeply interested in the well-being of her sex, I venture to ask your consideration of a few ideas that have occurred to me. Instead of your University following in the track of others, and confining its curriculum to those studies which are calculated mostly to train the intellect and memory — comprising what may be called ' speculative knowledge' and languages, could you not initiate and arrange a scheme of education which would more especially tend to the culture of the understanding and affections, that with knowledge might also come wisdom ? Dr Hodgson advocates the ' introduction of such teaching as shall place the pupil en rapport with the world into which he or she is about to enter, as shall explain the mechanism, or rather the dynamics of society, and the relation between the individual and it ;' and— to make some slight transpositions — * which shall inculcate and inspire truth, honor, integrity, industry, self-reliance, self-control, a reverence for all that is great and good, and a steady self-advancement, not for the sake of herself only, but for others also." ' But,' adds the Doctor, ' it may well seem an idle dream to anticipate such a thing.' Why so ? I ask. Would the inauguration of such a course of study as should have in view the accomplishment of these ends be wholly impossible ? Por instance, would not set studies from such works as certain of Locke's, Sydney Smith's, Whately's, and to name one or two speci* ally, Dr Forbes' ' Lecture on Happiness in its Relation to Work and knowledge, 1 Channing's ' Self-Culture,' and Coleridge's ' Essay on Method,' directly tend to ennoble the character, and make one wiser, truer, greater, humbler, and more real ? Would, the thoughts of these writers, grafted on woman's mind, not make her have a higher estimation of herself as a child qf G-od, and impress upon her a hitherto unfielt sense of the dignity of life ? Has woman less need than man, of the refining and. elevating influence of being able, from time to time, to quit material earth, and reflect on life's mysterious problems ? No, for she, not less than he Jjas " feelings to her given, With less of earth in them £han heaven." but it is a significant blot in a woman's education, that in her, these feelings are never exercised or trained — have hardly An acknowledged existence— and thus she remains mentally inferior to, and separate from man. • Would not studies from Dr AndrewJCombe's ' Physiology of Health,' or such another work, not teach a woman the religious duty of physical develop-: ment as ope of the fundamental lawo of

every good and happy life, and thereby bring home to her a truth which, with the present narrow and bigoted views she has : of Nature's laws, she does not know, viz.j that-rto quote a genial writer, Dr John 3ro wn- -'• she - has an internal j pers ona activity impiiante'd in her by her Creator for preserving ojp. recovering that fuV[ measure i ; pf ; sx> in&ness, of wholeness, of consentarieoua harmonious action, of wellbalariced, mutually, recuridng.forces— -that 'perfect diapason/ which constitutes health, or wholth, and for tie. use/and abuse of which* shej 'as a rational being, is answerable on soul and conscience: to heiv self and to her maker.' 'If this splendid exposition and a,j>plicati6h of the laws of health were,' continues Dr Brown, ' acted upon by men and women with" the same simplicity, energy, constancy, and intelligence,',which animated Dp Combe, ii would so; transform the whole face of society,, and' work such mighty changes in the very substance, so to speak, of. human nature, as would as much transcend the physical marvels and glories of our time, : , and. the progress made thereby in civilisation.and human well-being, as the heavens are higher than the earth, and as our moral relations, our conformity tp the will and the image of God, are-rmore than any advance in mere knowledge; and power — man's highest exercise and cnief end.' Would not the study of portions of such works as John Stuart Mill's, and Buskin's, not teach a woman, through the exercise of her reason, why it is a grave sin to be idle, and extravagant and wasteful of what she may, even legitimately, call her own ? — not teach her the. pauperising effects of the unwise indulgence of ! one of the best instincts of her nature which she brings about, by indiscriminate almsgiving ? ' Would not,' says Kingsley, ' a little knowledge of Political Economy, be to a woman, not only thrift of money, but thrift of brain, worry, anxiety, care — all of which eat our health as well as heart ?' A lady writer, Mrs Butler, says, ' Economics lie at the very root of practical morality, 1 and I believe it. The trite remark, often so lightly made, ' When poverty cornea in at the door, love flies out at the window,' is one, nevertheless, fraught with a deep meaning — intensely I sad, for, what depths of misery and woe might not humanity escape, if taught to guard against poverty, which has caused the desolation and wreck of countless, once happy homes ? The omission of Economics as a branch of education, in even our common schools, is one of those unaccountable things which no amount of reasoning can explain or justify. Surely I have said enough to indicate wherein, I think, the present system comes shorty and in what direction I believe reform to lie. After the acquirement of such knowledge as is indispensable to enabling the learner to proceed in any of the higher studies, were educators to give preference and prominence to such subjects as I have named, what a not only noble, but divine mission would be theirs ! Instead of this, glancing at the prospectus of the lately established College for Women atHitchen^ I find that the old routine is followed almost to the letter. The course of study comprises, divinity, modern languages, classics' mathematics, moral and natural science, chemistry, botany, music and drawing. Defining, in the first place, what Education professes to do, ought to do— Jit the individual to realise the path of duty — can an v thoughtful man or woman look at that list and fail to acknowledge that it is a grand mistake ? It were truer far, to call this a college for instruction, rather than one for education. Again, the subjects that I think should be paramount to all others, are equally conspicuous by their absence on the prospectuses of other colleges for women which stand high in repute. At Bedford College, one scholarship (the Arnott) is held for proficiency in two specified branches of the elements of physics, viz. — acoustics and heat •> another, for arithmetic and a branch of natural philosophy —the physical properties of the atmosphere, and so on. Is it right, is it just, is it being faithful to our trust, I ask, that the best part of a woman's youth should be sacrificed to such studies, to the almost total exclusion of those that intelligence and reason tell us are best calculated to fit her for fulfilling the duties of life usefully and worthily ? It cannot be. It may be said, that my ideas are visionary and impracticable, and, consequently, that what I suggest never could be resolved into any definite science or philosophy. Well, has it ever been tried ? It I were asked to give a name for the embodiment, as a whole, of such subjects as I have named, I should say, it was the study of " The Science of Duty." Other objections may be, that there is no precedent for such studies, and that it would be found that students would not readily en-o-a°-e in them. To the latter I have to say, that it has yet tp be proyed that they would not j and to the former, that every T thing must have a beginning, and we are here in a land where, it may be said with .truth, that we of to-day hare commenced

allanew, and to those who; would profit by experieDoe and observation,, and rear up a better state of things, it makes it all the easier that there are neither barriers to demolish nor tinie-hotio^ to deseorate, but rather the glorious privilege of being-able to shape and moulidafre3h.)f it were then possible, I should have this proposed scholarship used as a stimulus to: engage in studies only, as/reduced td a .system, should ;'help to fprni the cha- !■ racterj as should purport to. educate for the : wider object of providing the perfect woman } as should thoroughly train all he* -powers of mind, : to a just conception^of those duties which her place in the worlds as one of God's children, requires her ! to discharge, and which should jncreaje those qualities, that shall: enable her still more to cheer and enlighten the social system, which it is her special province and privilege to guide ' and to adorn. It is said, that a properly harmonised and consistent woman is, to this day, a rare and an unusual being to be met with; may you make posterity your debtor that, by 'adjusting effort to obstacle,' you may give the generation now rising the opportunity of educating themselves so as to live down so sad a reproach ; and also to win for the women of Otago the proud and enviable distinction of being Veilbalanced and consistent human beings."