A CANTERBURY APPEAL TO THE GOVERNMENT.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 10682, 14 June 1900, Page 4

A CANTERBURY APPEAL TO THE GOVERNMENT.

At the meeting which took place yesterday between the Board of Governors of Canterbury College and the Canterbury members in reference to the application which is to be made to the. Government during the ensuing session for aid to the Engineering School and -School of Art. the former had no difficulty in convincing the Parliamentary representatives that the application was worthy of their most cordial support. The Board ask first of all for a grant of £2000 to establish an electrical department- of the School of Engineering. are able to point to very satisfactory results from the training in engineering already given at the College. As Mr. Russell pointed out, 106 students attended the classes last year, and thanks to the training given under Professor Scott, a number of young New Zeai landers have already been fitted for a useful life, und some are on the road to distinguish themselves. No engineering school, however, can profess to be up-to-date which has not a section devoted to applied electricity and electrical engineering. New Zealand, with its abundant water power, is especially a country' where electricity is likely to pky a very important part- in its industrial life and development. In the supply of light and motive power to oxir towns, in facilitating the operations of dredging, and in other ways, f there is likely to be considerable demand within, the nest few years for young, men having a knowledge of engineering and electricity combined. At present there is absolutely no means provided whereby they can get the necessary training in the colony. It will bo a very great- reproach to New Zealand if this want is not supplied. Otherwise we shall have to import the trained men who will be required in the near future from other countries, our industrial development will in all probability be retarded, and at the very time when we find ourselves compelled to,import engineers and electricianit is quite possible that some of our own sons who might have fitted themselves for the work may be in want of employment, and finding none for which they arc fitted. So far as establishing the section of electrical engineering is concerned, therefore, we consider tliat the Board are engaged in a work of colonial importance which should receive 'colonial support. It is an excellent idea that each college should specialise in some particular department. Dunedin is doing excellent work with its medical school, and we hope that the Government will give such assistance to the engineering school of Canterbury College a_ will render it worthy of tho colony as a whole.

The Board of Governors are also asking for a special grant in aid of the School of Art, and here again they stand on the strongest possible ground. The School is already doing good work, having a most important hearing on technical training, and its usefulness will be very largely increased if the assistance ia granted. The Board also have a very strong moral claim in the fact that large sums in aid of technical education have been granted to other centres, while Canterbury as usual has had the melancholy satisfaction of paying a large share of those grants and getting little or nothing in return. Practically the only portion of the Board's programme which excited an i.ppearance of discussion on the part of the members yesterday, was their application for permission to mortgage the Public Library in order to build the new Public Reading Room which is so much needed. Some of the members expressed themselves as against the principle of allowing public buildings to be mortgaged, while more than one thought the City Council should take over the Library. We confess that, as a general role, we share in the strongest possible degree the view that power ought not to be given to mortgage public buildings or reserves. Th© chief danger to be guarded against is the possible alienation of public property or the diversion of original trusts. In the case of the library it appears that there is already a surplus revenue available for the purpose of paying the interest, and we see no great objection to the proposal, if suitable safeguards are introduced into the Bill. The Board of Governors have managed the Library very well on the whole, and with a„ due deference to our City Fathers we do not think lluvt the City Council would manage it any better. Wo strongly approve the idea, however, that the Library .ought to be made more useful to country residents. To secure this end Mr. Ward should be asked to transmit books to and from public libraries by rail at a merely nominal cost. This .would oe a simple way of alleviating the dujnesa of country life, and helping the education of the people. . The Library Committee might also devise some plan of passing on duplicate copies of new books to country libraries on very easy terms. Several copies of j a popular book are often bought, and when the first "rush" is over one copy is enough to keep in the Library. We are glad to see that the members fell in so cordially with the proposals made .to them. The Government now have an excellent opportunity not only of doing some measure of "justice to Canterbury," but of performing a good service to the colony at the same time. We hope that they will not let it slip.