NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 740, 12 February 1910, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

. Ajteb : reading tho very vague— and, to be quite frank, the somewhat platitudinous—opening, addresses 1 of Messrs. Fowlds- and Hogben _ to' thi Education Conference, 'wo'i didriot dare to hope that ■ the Confefeno>. would engage ill so useful and, practical. a discussion as that which took place yesterday on the various. mor' ti6ns 'dealing with the; "free-place'! Beholars. "When hc movcd his prOp'osition that a condition! of,the' free place should be"an undertaking" by: the; parent; or guardian that the wholar would' remain.. in a secondary school "for a fixed stated minimum period," Mr. Marshall, of the Dunedin ■ Technical .School.• .placed;';his..finger.., on what; as the subsequent , discussion showed, is; in the, 'opinion: of'experienced..teachers' ; the great , weakness of the system.;'. It ; s very bad for the secondary: schools that they should be flooded with now pupils who, while ;_not : remaining long enough to . receive', any; real or lasting benefit whatever, will re-', main long enough to. dilute the efficiency of the school. Nor, of course, is it good for •eitHor;..the. parents or, the children that the' freo-placM system should _ lead .to the ' waste, of, time arid' life ' involved in having children conducted a -little way along a by-path that they, are not, intended to follow to any clear end. Mr. Bevan-Bboavn, the veteran head ofa very succcssful secondary school,. seesclearly;,the. merits'•■ of a ■ system which, nefa , for. the . ..State what may be called good investments for;,education, but he sees also the ,n(»d : ..for-.',."spme'_;-'iort';:.of.Vay'sqrtirig : , means whereby . the free-place system can be worked: with the .minimum of waste of human enorgVj. the ' minimum of injury.: to the' efficiency of. seoondary' school;: teaching, and tiie minimum of harm to the morale of the State. The Conference, however, twice- rejected the proposal—Professob Haslam's motion, when : amended, was the same: in-.'efiectjas. Mb;,_Marshall's— that secondary education! and also the community,- should be protected from the unrestricted and 'undirected'working of . the institution of 1 "free :plaoos." Instead it affirmed the principle that. "the avenue :to secondary education should .be quit# free and. unrestricted"—a principle, I that we . bnt.'think' objectionI able unless the Conference can also affirm that everybody , could and should profit from' a course at a 'secondary school, and a course /also ' for that inatter,, at a ■ University College." Mb. Gray, who moved thi motion, supplied a theoretical corrective'by moving '/that the; course of instruction should be determined by the aptitudes of the pupil and the probable duration-of his study. But : this is' quite '~ an'/unpractical' idea: How often caw a child's aptitudes be discovered / during' his course at,a primary school?.- and what development could they reoeive in one or two years of secondary tuition \ when discovered? A financial guarantee of a minimum • attendance is not desirable for many reasons, but it is to be regretted that the/Conference did, not, by carrying Me. Marshall's motion, lay down for the guidanoe of parents a maxim to which we cannot conceive anybody making objection.., If we. must have no restrictions on the free-place system, at least let there be an authoritative warning to parents, as': to-ats limitations as well as an expansive proclamation of its possibilities. '',

Nothing could be'better than the 'reply of Mr. Fisheb, the Leader of 'the Australian Labour/party, to the Daily Mail's '• application : for his opinion' on the reformed House of Lords outlined by one of < the Union: ; ist members of .the' new British Par-, liament: "I think," Mb. Fisheb cabled, "that any attempt; todrag the Dominions into the ; Consfcitu- ■ tional dispute between the. Commons . and the Lords ( is unstatosmanlike and mischievous." _ Mb'.- Fisher's views on most questions are exactly opposed to our own, but we congratulate 1 him' very' heartily on His blunt reproof to those people, on both sides of politics both in: the Dominions and in Great Britain, who,. .when it suits' the - purpose of the moment, _ do. not scruple to use "colonial: opinion"; as a weapon in the domestic quarrels of the British party politicians. Formerly it used to bo the Tariff Reformers who committed this 1 offence' against the Empire: the people of 'Britain used to be asked to give an ear to the pationt/and persistent entroaty of the ooloaios tnat Free-trado Bboald ba

abandoned. Lately, however, the Liberals have retaliated, and nearly every Liberal newspaper received by, recent mails has in the most unscrupulous manner declared that the: colonies are bitterly opposed to the rejection of the Budget and keenlyanxious for the destruction of; the Lords. They can plead the example of their. opponents, of course, and tho examplo set by Lord Crewe, who did not scruple to descend to an appeal to the ooloniea for %aid on behalf of his party. Two wrongs, >however, do not make a right; Tho only sound attitude is that which Mr. Fisher has taken up. Hut if the Liberals at Home are blameworthy in "dragging in the colonics" after having, donouneed their opponents for doing so, what -is to be said of those colonial newspapers which,, after condemning Mr. Balfour's talk of "the colonial offer," rapturously applauded, Lord Ceewe when he committed the same offence as. Mr. Balfoue with less excuse and in a grosser : form ? The JPerfminstef Gazette and .the' Manchester Guardian were very' glad .to reprint our articles of 1 protest , against Mr. Balfour's action? nine months ago. They were splendidly virtuous in- their endorsement,of the principle of. "non-interference." Lately they have.Bp far" repudiated that principle as to print every pro Budget -opinion discoverable in the Canadian and Australian press,' accompanied'by articles declaring that the colonies are against the Union: ists. - As Lord Rosebery says, political controversy at Home does not take place in a palace of truth; and it 'is therefore the. duty of colonial statesmen to. afford neither party at Home any better handle; for appeal and misrepresentation than Mr. Fisher ;has supplied to the Daily Mail.

. The frank way .in which a member of a country deputation to the Minister for Bailways' yesterday claimed a railway conccssioii for his district on the ground that most ofthe settlers; there supported the Government must have proved somewhat embarrassing to. the representative of the Government' in; question. As a rule those. who seek favours at. the hands of Ministers are more circumspect;-: Tho fact remains, however, that_ the idea that 'Ministers have a right 'to : use the' public's money to purchase political support has been so- well cultivated.-and is so widespread that it is at times openly advanoed without rebuke or protest of. any kind. In the case under: review ;the deputation may have had very good grounds for the request it was' making to: the Min-, ister. Its suggestion may have been a very proper -one—the change in stqpping-plaoes asked for may. have been in the interests of the railway service as'-.well'.Win.the,interests of the district as a whole. Wo .are not in a .position;'to, express any opinion on' this. What we are concerned with;. and -what the public should conoern_ .itself with, is tho state, of things, indicated ' by'.:.the;;candouf , of ; the-- member of . the deputation in question; '-Unless you give,us.something -at the - expense, pf . some other part of the ' Dominion;" so this attitude must be interpreted, "the Government cannot hope to retain our support.■" It is merely another illustration of' the. evils which have arjsen out of political oontrol of. the railways.. and .tho handling of the Public Works -Fund ,with an jeye to serving political ■party i ;opds; | ; We have-.n0 ,; doubt";''that.:' Ministers' at times. find • the pressure that, is : brought., to. bear i. on. them; extremely irksome - and. that- they often ..resent it.;. . But tho thing 'grown: tab strong!' for'.:' them;": .'ForVyears "'past they have (educa ted; a - very large section of the public to look to' them for ■ fa'vo'urs where they- should; only look lor what they can ask for as a.right. The public has been taught ■to believe', that -it' is better to'be on friendly tems .-^th-a: Minister, than'; to havo a just, claim to consideration at his hands. And. the public's money »has been woefully mis-spent .in consequence. - Possibly out-', spoken member of .yesterday's deputation may have unintentionally done good service in helping forward the time when tho control of the railways and of the' Public Works Fund will be removed from political influences .and-temptation, to abuse their trust be thus , placed ; beyond the reach of Ministers of the ; Crown.