WORKERS' CLASSES

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3199, 25 September 1917, Page 6

WORKERS' CLASSES

EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION

REQUEST FOR A GRANT

NO MONEY AVAILABLE

A deputation which waited on the Prime Minister (the Right Hon. W. F. Massey), Jhe Minister of Finance (Right Hon. Sir Joseph Ward), and the Minister of Education (Hon. J, A. Hanan) yesterday afternoon, to ask for financial assistance for the Workers'. Educational Association, did not receive much encouragement, the Ministers, while expressing themselves sympathetic with the aims and valuable work of the association, emphasising that the Government had no money to devote to such purpose during the war period. The deputation was a very largo one, and comprised members of Parliament from all parts of the Dominion, representatives of the Senate of the University of New Zealand, and of the Victoria College Council, and several prominent men in the Labour movement. The first speaker was Professor T. A. Hunter, who apologised for the absence of the Chancellor of the University (Sir Robert "Ktout). ■ He said that the work of the association could not be extended it more money was not forthcoming-, and he could not guarantee that it would not be reduced. Local bodies had shown their faith in the movement by making Bubetanial grants to the assoeiation,£soo in Wellington and Christchurcu, and proportionate amounts in smaller centre.'?. The State Governments of Australia were granting subsidies amounting to .£9OOO a Tear, and most ot them had increased their grants since the war started. The specific request of the deputation was that the Government should place on the Supplementary 'Estimates a vote of .£3OO for each of the four University colleges for the carrying on of the association's work. Ine present position was that some of the classes could not pay tho tutor his fees, and whereas most of the tutors were willing to go on with their work for nothing, this could not last for ever.

s The Coming Struggle. Mr. M. J. Reardon, speaking as one of the Labour representatives,on the committee ot the association, said that ihe lack of funds was preventing the formation of classes in many towns outside the chief centres, where the workers were ready and anxious to form them. With the sum asked for' Victoria College the work of the association could be extended throughout the provinces of Wellington', Msriborough, and Nelson. He flattered himself that he was ns good,intellectually as many a man who was earning XICOQ 'a year, but his disadvantage was that all "he could .show by way of .educational attainments was a iitLli Standard certificate, wliich, in the hands of an'unskilled labourer, was a poor asset indeed. The value of the work ot the association was shown by the very fine response of the workers to the invitation to form classes. Education ot the people, and especially of "young people, should be the principal industry of the country. (Hear, hear) ■ The Government should take care that it gave an- ■ efficient education to any body of people which expressed a desire to be.educated. He supposed the Minister of Finance would tell them that the first consideration at present nrotf be to win the war, but he wished to submit there would be a great battle for commercial supremacy Ho believed that now was tne time to make preparation for thnt-ttat-tle Hβ appealed to the Government to eee that the people had the education by means of which only could the Empire hold its own in the cominjr industrial struggle. A sum could easily be voted out of—well, he could hardly say out of the War Loan. , Mr. Massey : You certainly wont get anything out of that. Mr. G. Witty,;Jl.P.: Out of the sur. Pl Dr H. T. J. Thacker,' M.P.: Why not vote it out of the money you are going to' save by six o'clock closing? (LaughMr. .T. B. Struthers, of Christchnrch, pointed out that the grant asked for was merely for the purpose of carrying on the work of the association. They were not asking for a grant similar to that made in Australia, for organisation purposes,, although the work of the association needed to''be brought more closely under the notice of the workers. No Money to Spare. Sir Joseph AVard, in reply, said that in the main he agreed with the views of the deputation. It was not through lack of sympathy that he said that the votin" of a grant to the association must wait "until the war finished, , as many another thing had had to wait. The trouble of the Government was to provide for some of the things required by the general education system of the Dominion. It could not go as far as Hie officers of the Department wished it to eo in the matter of expenditure, and lie did not think it would do to establish a new seneme no*-to cost another ,£I2OO a year. Cabinet had decided for the last two years that it could not make a ETimt. If ft srant were made he would have to go before the House with u taxation proposal to provide for it. rlio matter had been fully discussed by Cabinet which had ' decided against taking up any new project. An' enormous sum Of money might yet be required by the Dominion for the purposes of the war, and the Treasurer could not ro out and pick it up. . It must bo raised by the people. ■ He Teadily admitted that it would be nn enormons advantage in the commercial struggle' after the war if We had ,a -highly-educated people. /"Industry of Education.'? Mr. Hanan said: "The country, that makes education its leading industry is the country tjiat is going to win o'ut in the commercial and industrial struggle that is coming after the war. The country that does not prepare is the one that to-lag behind,, and education is the" mightiest" factor in enabling a people to win out. My views on the matter have been placed before Cabinet or consideration, and it is for Cabinet to decide." Financial Stringency. 'The Prime Minister said that lie knew the good work the Workers' Educational Association was doing in many countries, and recognised that it was worthy and deserving of all the confidence and support possible. They all know what was going to happen when the war ended, but no one knew .when it would end. He believed that the people best educated economically" and industrially iwould come out on top- in the great commercial struggle. A man not properly educated was not prouerly equipped for tne battle of life. But the difficulty was finance; there was no question about that. The country had to face a decreasing revenue and a very rapidly-m----creasing expenditure. After the war conditions would rapidly recover, but at present the first thing to do was to continue the struggle until victory came. He for one, would sooner see tho lirapire keep on till the Day of Judgment, till the last trumpet sounded, rather than see an ignoble peace. \ he Finance Minister and himself would take an opportunity of placine the matter before their colleagues, but. he could not give a definite promise that anything would be done.- , ~. ~, Professor "Hunter pointed out that the grant was required, not for the establishment of a new body, but to preserve one already in existence. . ,