PRESS OPINIONS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 120, 13 February 1908, Page 5

PRESS OPINIONS.

THE OTEKAIKE ESTATE: v;lt is not quijto clear what tho precise effect will bo of the singular interpretation tho Soli-citor-General, has given to clauso 80 of tho Land Act of last year in its bearing upon the. settlement "of • the Otokaiko Estate. The meaning of tho clause depends upon the construction to be placed on plain English terms. No subtle, rulo of law affects,the interpretation. And while .tho Solicitor-General has been brought to tho rescue of tho Government, evidontly to enable it to effect its oscapo from an. unpopular predicament, we question whether . tho interpretation he has placed on tho clauso would be endorsed by any Court in Now Zealand. It is rather significant, moreover, that tho Attorney-General has'not committed himself to any such curious'construction of the law as that to-which tho'Solicitor-General lias given the authority of his namo: ' Whatever tho.outcomo of. the reference to the. Solicitor-General,- howover, all tho'odium still attaches to the Government of having contemplated and .of having proposed to carry, out a species of preference that is'genorally regarded as objectionable. Tho law expressly.imposed.upon tho Minister the onus of deciding, whether leases should be granted in such cases. In tho circumstances, tho announcement which has emanated from tho; Prime Minister that the attention of the Land Board has been drawn to tho alleged fact that, apparently'the recommendation it mado is outside tho statute, and that it will haro to be reconsidered, seems specially designed to "save. the. face" of tho Minister for Lands. 'There'are only two grounds, if any. upon which the Land Board can be said to have exceeded 1 its powers .'in- recommending the Minister .to grant thi ; leases that aro objected' that tho law does not contemplate that'.a preference should bo'granted-'to ox-employees who. were not' engaged on the

, estato specially affected, and, sccond, that the ex-employees who ; not hiaying been engaged a( Otekaike, have still been' granted tho benefit of %e: preference, clause' were not,, in fact, deprived /of thejr'employment through the salo of Otokaiko'to the State. Upon tlie latter point tho Board,must have been guujed by tho information jieridored to it'by Messrs. It.; Campbell, and Sons,' Limited, and by : their ox-employee's./-It of satisfying itself' witH, 'regard/to :tho matter other" than by direct inquiry, from the persons interested, ind' it may,- be.isurmised that no amount of reconsideration of the question would lead it to ;'ariy- conclusion different 1 from that already formed by it witli'respect to;the' qualifications''of ' the ' ex-employees 'concerned to obtain .' the ' benefit' .of,' thes. preference'.' Tho other'arid moro, important point has reference to'the interpretation of the clause.. And here the' Land. Board, .if it had any responsibility at all in_thpimatter, might'appropriately cite tho Miiiisterifor' Lands, himself t)ie author of the clause, in support, of tho interpretation it placed ' upon tho; provision.—"Otago Daily Times." .... .. . , , - SCHOOL' TEACHERS AND' THEIR' ' LEISURE. ; ' .An incident; which at the last meeting of the Education Board raises a somewhat interesting question." Presuming that a 'teacber faithfully discharges his duty to. his pupils-in school hours, and allows nothing to'interfere work lib undertakes to"do fdr'the ! Education' Board, arid forwhich it pays himi has tho Board any right of control whatever over his employment of his spare time?', Wd very_ much doubt it.- If it has, the teacher's lot-is still lers enviable than wo'.thought it. . The avorago salary is generally admitted to be altogether inadequate. Highly intellectual, responsible, and trjjng duties requiring years of preparation are paid for,, only too often, at a less rato than mere mechanical pick and shovel' work. A teacher has a certain maintain, is expected to be well read and'-well clothed; and: to>set an example to his pupils and those about him .in social matters. His wife and children-share something of the samo responsibilities, and it. frequently becomcs. a very 'hard' struggle'to make both ends meet. If a schoolmaster may not be permitted to 'utilise his leisur.e in remunerative/work, to increase his income out of- hours in any way that may seem good to him and that'.does yot conflict with his' teaching efficiency, hard is his lot. .- Even .if, .in",th'o "opinion of tho inspector, tho school is: not quite, all it should' bo, it seems to us'that before the teacher's liberty of. action out of school hours is interfered with, in any: w'ay whatever, it ought- to be incontest'ably proved' that 'tho inefficiency, does not result from : causes'beyond his control.. Other Boards hav'o, recognised this principle and uniformly acted-upon''it.' ; In the particular caso brought under the notice/,of. , .the Auckland Board .of Education, A there may' have'been' special' circunistancqs which rendered it undesirable for the teacher to employ his leisure in the mariner he is said to have done, but we think tho Board'might-havo laid it down as a broad principle that its teachers wero at liberty to devote .'their spare hours to such pursuits as,did,not-conflict-with their ordinary duties—"f\ T .Z. Herald."

SCHOOL'ATTENDANCES' AND SALARIES,

In discussing afterwards the staffing question, the conference showed plainly what teachers feel on tho matter. Tlioy are expected 'to produce results which can only be obtained'-under more favourablo'staffing conditions,''ahtl; naturally they ask'for an im-l pro'yoment." .in these ' , conditions. V■ It is 'not .only' aquestion of money. It is• quite': : true that' without additional 'expenditure, no."-great increase in staffing can be : obtained,'but'if education is really'wanted by. the public 'it'has to be'paid for, and it is far cheaper • in'tho ond to have an officie'nt and sufficient 'educationar staff,' and to get good results'than'to attempt' to .work sliort- ' handed.'- wid get-poor results: • For tho pupil;'teacher system-.'there'is really nothing to bo said excepting that it looks cheap; in reality,-'likbi fiiany other cheap'" things, it is the dearest' and most unsatisfactory : possible,' now. that ..the. wholo .educational conceptions of ; : the; community'- have 'changed. Possibly , lt .nqver-was a ; good system, but it certainly is not ; a. good system now. And thero can nover be entirely satisfactory staffing of our public. schools as long as the pupil teacher remains. For .by this system wo not only get inferior teaching, but inferior teachers.' leaching is not merely an occupation/ but a profession—and oiio; of- the most difficult of professions. It calls for natural 'aptitude and deniands special training, as wqll. as requiring that -its members shall themselves attain a high standard of general education. A trained and capablo teacher can handlo with comparative ease classes which an untrained and - comparatively fin trained teachcr ' can only drivo along with tho energy of dospair. To solve.the staffing problem, the State'must train its teachers' properly, must pay them enough to obtain.'a good class of recruits, and to keep its best servants, and must see that _ they are.,not overworked. Not .until this is dono can wo obtain the best possible results from any educational system, or say definitely ■ what are the natural limitations of any syllabus.—"N.Z.'Herald."