The Clutha Leader. THURSDAY, DEC 17, 1874.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 23, 17 December 1874, Page 5

The Clutha Leader. THURSDAY, DEC 17, 1874.

"Byents are rapidly developing themselves, and are affording to the careful observer undeniable indications of the probable future of the North Island Provinces, and, as a consequence, sooner of later, of the Provinces of. the Middle Island. Let us take, for instance, the correspondence between the Colonial Secretary and the Superintendent of Auckland, MrWiLLiAMsoN, as published in the Auckland Provincial ' Government Gazette,' of the 27th of, last November. Mr Williamson is amongst the ablest of colonists ; has given many of the best years of his life to the service of the Province, 'and has secured the respect and confidence of" | the settlers—as may be inferred from his having been elected on several occasions to the honorable position of Superintendent. He, has always been a firm advocate of the principle which declares that immigration without settlement is not to be desired, and that quality, and not quantity only, is to be looked for. So convinced was he of this, that he was desirous of proceeding to the United Kingdom in order to select immigrants for special settlements ; but the General Government put an effectual stop to any action in this direction by declining to admit of any delegation of his powers to a deputy. He was informed that Mr Vogel, who was in the old country, could do all that was practicable, and that an " independent, and possibly antagonis"tic action," such as Mr Williamson was said to propose, could " have no other effect than to embarrass the gene- " ral operations of the Government." Bnt the Superintendent was not disposed to submit without a protest; and his letter to the Colonial Secretary of the 17th ultimo was the result. > Mr Williamson very ably points out, " that the immigrants are almost en--11 tirely selected from one class of the v . home population, and are almost ex- " clusively composed of labourers and il artizans, who, having no knowledge " of farming or country pursuits, are " disposed to remain about the centres of tl population, thus adding to the number " of the inhabitants of towns which are " already too populous in proportion to 11 the sparsepopulation and settlement of " the country districts." And not only " so, but that the few who might othertl wise be eligible, have not the means " to enable them to take up land, arid " to become settlers on their own ac- " count." Mr Williamson frankly acknowledges that the large demands for the execution of public works absorbs a large amount of their imported labour; but he earnestly and prophetically points to the time, a no distant date, " when the bulk of the Colonial {l works will have been finished, and " then thousands of men will be thrown " upon the ordinary labor market, <l and that as a remedy for much hard- * { ship and distress, there will probably v ensue a large exodus of the people of " the Colony, thus bringing" it to pass *' that the money of the people of New " Zealand will have been expended for " the ultimate benefit of other colonies. '* Regarding Auckland -as the third " Province in New Zealand, we meet *'• with this startling fact, this remark- *' able circumstance, that little or no " occupation of 'new country is taking " place within the Province under the "present system, of immigration, and " that out of the whole number of peo- " pie who have come into the Province " since the beginning of the present " year, not one per cent, have taken up « land:*

Sad and humiliating as this fact is, there was nothing but submission left to the Superintendent; but he records his views in the most permanent and public way by the insertion of the correspondence in the Provincial Government ' Gazette,' declaring '* that time " alone will show, and that before long, v whether or not my anticipations are " correct, of the mischiefs which I have " enumerated as likely to arise out of il the present system of immigration " If his fears should prove correct, he declares " that the responsibility for the " trouble and hardships which will be- " fall the immigrants, and for the losses " which will accrue to the Province, " will rest upon those who placed ob- " stacles in the way of measures being " taken, which, in my opinion, and that " of many others, are calculated to " avert the evils I have pointed out" And if the Superintendent's fears should prove to be true, what will be our condition when the loans authorised since 1870 have been expended ? The Canterbury ' Press' reviewing Sir Donald M'Lean's address to his constituents at Napier, and correcting his figures, affirms, and indisputably proves that the total debt of tbe Colony, incurred or authorised, stands on the Native Minister's own showing, at upwards of £20,000,000, involving an annualliability of morethan-£1,000,000. The same authority, when reviewing the traffic refurns of the Canterbury railways, observes, "One thing is certain that if old established railways, running from the port to a metropolitan town like Christchurch, .and thence through settled districts of great fertility, cannot he worked except at a

loss, the prospects of New Zealand, with her hunreds of miles of railways running from insignificant villages through poverty-stricken districts, are dark indeed." If these facts are unassailable, then our only hope is in the speedy settlement of the country, in retaining- the population we have secured at so great an expense, and in utilising the railroads for the tillers of the soil, not for the speculative purchasers who have bought large properties to break up into small farms, when the fertilising influence of millions of public money has made them valuable. The immigrant has a right to purchase land from the Government at a reasonable figure, and on easy terms, and should not be driven into the hands of the large land-owner. One of the most valuable pieces of information which could be furnished at the present moment would be a list of the landed proprietors of. the Province—showing the acreage possessed by each, and the amount uncultivated. This information might easily be obtained from the Road Board's valuation returns, supplemented by information to be called for outside of Road Districts- There is a valuable table in the Victorian Statistics termed the " Classification of Holdings," which we might adopt with profit—it shows the nuber of holdings of 5-to 15 acres, 15 to 30, 30 to 50, 50 to -100, 100 to 200,200 to 350,350 tosoo, and from 500 and upwards. A very useful lesson may be borrowed from the study of these statistics, viz., that the per cent, acreage of cultivation of the smallest holdings to the total quantity held is nearly 80 5 in the 50 to 100 are holdings about 3G; and in the 500 acres and upwards, holdings, 2. If the Government would give us the means of testing this question in Otago, the result would doubtless show the value of middle-sized holdings as against those consisting of thousands and tens of thousands of acres. Mr Superintendent Williamson's warning is a startling one, may it not be a useless one. Settlement on the land is an essential part of the Immigration policy —it has been delegated to the Provinces to carry out; on the Provinces there be theblameif the people aredenied the right of settlement.

Clinton, at all events that section of it represented by the district school committee, would seem to be lamentably defective in its powers of appreciation. Upon no other hypothesis can we account for the extraordinary degeneracy exhibited by it in the election of a schoolmaster. With a young gentleman, a distinguished student of the Otago University, whose " char- " ter and qualifications are of the vei'y " highest order," willing to place his time and talents, at their disposal, .it seems incredible that they should prefer the less pretentious claims of a candidate who could boast of nothing more than his training under the " National Institution of Ireland," coupled with his subsequent admission as a qualified teacher under that system. It is but right, however, to add, that obtuse as the benighted denizens of Clinton are as a whole, the place can boast of at least one noble exception to the prevailing rule; one- who has never bowed a knee to the vulgar assumptions of an Irish National School system, but who continues to worship in spirit and in truth classic lore, as taught in the University of Otago.

The Rev. Mr Connor, the Presby-" 1 terian clergyman of the district, is the gentleman who has won such proud distinction ' from amongst this generation of vipers. Like many other faithful witnesses to the truth, Mr Connor has lifted up his testimony against the errors of the day, and in a voice of thunder, warned all whom it may concern of the wrath to come. No one who has perused the admonitory epistle issued under his hand—a copy of which will be found in another column—can doubt, but that the Clinton pastor is a man not at all likely to compound a folony. On the contrary, the cutting off a refractory limb, the plucking out ah offending eye, and the forwarding of his flock, otherwise halt and maimed, to their final reward, would seem to be a branch of the pursuit in every respect congenial to his tastes and feeling's. Arriving at Clinton, we fancy the great adversary of mankind, himself, would not have far to look for a "foeman worthy of his steel."

Unfortunately, however, for the attitude assumed by Mr Connor on this occasion, the disinterested aspect of his motives is liable to be misconstrued; at all events, we are justified in believing that' the unqualified' testimony borne by him to the high order of attainment belonging to the rejected candidate may be the result of that overweening estimate which fond and indulgent parents are sometimes accredited with in matters relating to their offspring. Be that as it may, Mr. Connor, junr., would seem to have displayed a trifle more of that retiring modesty which is so closely allied to prudence, in "the treatment of his defeat, than the elder branch of the family has done. In Mr Connor senr.'s letter to the Education Board, he explains that in deference to the wishes of the son he had " changed his intention" and did not mean to protest against the election, although in the same, breath he adds—"Some one ought to do it." Again, we are told that Mr Connor, junr., in company with a friend of his, who had been similarly treated by an equally refractory school. committee,

located at Waihola, is enjoying himself "at the manse ; their late rejection " by committees utterly incapable of " appreciating University certificates" adding no small zest to their entertainment. These facts place Mr Connor, junr,'s character in a more favorable light than it might otherwise present itself, and although we are not prepared to go the whole length of saying that in their social and domestic relations the Messrs Connor afford a striking example of the "child the " father of the man," we are nevertheless prepared to assert that it is matter for regret that the patient endurance of the son did not induce the lather to hear his share of the disappointment with more forbearance and Christian resignation. Seriously speaking, this unfortunate affair discloses a principle of paramount importance to the interests of our educational system. It opens up the whole question of the preference to be shown in matters where special training and particular qualifications are to be considered an essential. In the case in pbint what was sought to be done practically amounts to this. The committee were asked to exclude a duly qualified man, one who had devoted himself and his energies to the work, who had been regularly trained to the discharge of its duties, and who had already labored in a similar sphere with success and acceptation. Such was the testimony borne to the characteristics of the successful applicant, by the Secretary of the Education Board. On the other hand, Mr Connor is admittedly a person of good character, and, as we read it, his educational endowments are not disputed. He lacked, however, the one thingneedful. He has no experience whatever as a teacher. He has no intention of becoming one, at all events of following the profession of teacher as a settled pursuit. In short, his sole aim and object appears to have been to make the mastership of Clinton school a temporary convenience—a mere steppingstone to other and higher branches of labor. If makeshifts of this kind are to be tolerated, to the detriment of the, so to speak, "fair trader," or, as the phrase would be more properly rendered in this particular instance, the " fair teacher," we venture to say that teaching as a profession would be about the last thing any right-minded man would care about devoting himself to. Certainly no young-man of " talent and " spirit," such ns Mr Connor would have us believe his son possesses, would ever think of seeking admission into its ranks. We know for a fact that the profession of the teacher is regarded by a certain class as a sort of refuge for the destitute; a last resort for those who fail in other professional pursuits; and so long as an opinion of that kind receives the smallest measure of countenance, we never can expect to have our educational establishments placed solely under the charge of men duly qualified for the work. Mr Connoji's action in the matter is nothing more nor less than an attempt to propogate this abuse, although done in a different form. Instead of making it a refuge for the fallen, he would make it a kind of probationary state for the aspiring-, to be relinquished so soon as the candidate had settled the question of Ins fitness for, or succeeded in identifying himself with other pursuits.

We have no desire to magnify the evil arising- out of this transaction, at the same time we cannot, to use the mildest possible phrase, disguise the fact that very strong- measures were resorted to for the purpose of promoting- Mr Connor's election. For evidence of this we have to go no further than the pages of the letter penned by Mr Connor, senr., to the Education Board. His threat that " young- men (i of talent and spirit will not submit to " «?uch treatment." and that the result would be that "the Board will lose " the services of both these young- " men," amounts by itself to ' nothing-. Taken in conjunction with the further avowal that he (the writer) had resig-ned all connection with the school, and the school committee is significant as showing- the spirit of determination with which he must have pursued his object. In fact, it may he fairly taken as a reflex of the arrangements made, and the plans laid for prosecuting- the success of the young- student's candidature.- Then, we have the singular coincidence alluded to by the Secretary to the Board, of the article which appeared in the Guardian. We will no doubt be told that Mr Connor is not to he held responsible for what may appear in that or any other journal. Still, he will experience considerable difficulty in disabusingthe public mind of an impression that he succeeded in bringing the influence and authority of that newspaper to bear upon his own fancied grievance.

Altogether the matter, as it has been presented to the public, bears a most unsavory aspect. The only redeeming feature is to be found in the fact that the cause of good government has triumphed. The School committee of Clinton is to be admired for the pluck, steadfastness, and forbearance it has shown in the matter. The Education Board is to be thanked for the uncompromising- determination evinced by it, in maintaining- intact a sound principle in its administrations, and the public at large congratulated upon the overthrow of this unwarrantable attempt to interfere with-the proper working of the education system.

Further action has been taken by the 4 •inhabitants of Waitepeka respecting the proposed railway deviation. A public meeting was held on the evening of Friday last, at which the reply received to the memorial sent to the Minister of Public Works, and endorsed by his Honor the Superintendent, was read and considered. The tone of the meeting showed plainly that the suggestion thrown out by the Hon. Mr Richardson about the construction of a branch line to do away with the proposed deviation, did not meet with approval ; the deviation being considered the only feasable plan to meet the requirements of the case. A standing committee was appointed to urge the subject more strenuously on the attention of the authorities, and otherwise attend to, and watch over the interests of the district in railway matters generally. With the view of enlisting personal influence on their behalf at head quarters, a deputation was also named to proceed to Dunedin and bring the whole matter under the notice of the Hon. Mr Reynolds, who is at present sojourning in that city. There can be no doubt but that 'both proceedings on the part of the meeting were wise and prudent. Standing committees of this nature have done much good in other places. The success achieved by the Southland railway committee, affords strong evidence of what may be accomplished by the steady application of a well organised body. At present Southland has something like 230 miles of railway completed, and in course of being formed. Indeed, we are in a position to say that no project taken in liand by that committee has either failed or been neglected. That fact alone should encourage our Waitepeka friends to persevere energetically in the course they have chalked'out for themselves. The deputation as proposed can, we opine, have little difficulty in securing the good offices of Mr Reynolds, if indeed they do not succeed in enlisting his sympathies on behalf of their proposal. With his intervention at head quarters, their success will be rendered much less problematical than it otherwise might be. A telegraphic message from Mr Reynolds suggests that, the purpose might be served by addressing him fully by letter. That advice was no doubt prompted by a desire to save the deputation the trouble of a journey to Dunedin. Still, the matter is one of such vital importance to the intei-ests of the district, that we question very much if it would be at all wise to abandon the original intention. Personal explanations are at all times more satisfactory than written communications, and in a matter of this kind, questions are likely to crop up, which can only be satisfactorily answered by,word of mouth.