TRENTHAM SCHOLARSHIPS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 90, 10 January 1919, Page 6

TRENTHAM SCHOLARSHIPS

THE ART UNION SCHEME

APPEAL FOR ASSISTANCE

A meeting of the Trentham Dominion Art Union Committee was held .yesterday. There were present ?ilessrs. S. Kirkcnldio (chairman), J. M'Lellan, W. Wateon, \V. Appleton, H. G. Hill, Colonel Hughes, and Major O'Sullivan.

The chairman made the following statement to the. Press representatives, who had been specially invited to the meeting :—

"The reason .for our approaching the Press in Wellington is duo largely to the fact that as soon as our scheme of operations for the promotion of this art union .was undertaken the influenza epidemic* broke out, and seriously interfered with the spade work we were doing. Subsequently the declaration of the armistice also had an effect, which, it appeared, would 1m likely to prejudice tne ultimate success of the art union. We find extraordinary difficulty in obtamiiig adequate voluntary assistance for tlie sale of tickets. We have therefore found it necessary to apply to tho Minister of Internal Affairs .lor an extension of the time for the' drawing; of the art union, and also for permission to pay commission, not exceeding 5 per cent., on the saie of tickets where necessary. This course has been approved by the Minister.

"I should like to add now, with the consent of the members of the committee, that we are here as members of this supervisory committee practically at tho invitation of -the Government. Wben the original application for the holding <if the art union was mado by Dr. fliddell, the Minister of Internal Affairs declined to issue a license unless Dr. Riddell was supported by a strong committee of representative business men. Therefore, we cannot help feeling that in volunteering our services for this purpose we aro entitled to some consideration at the hands of .the Government. Unfortunately our application for ■ tree postages, and for free passages on the railways for the Trentham Band and bayonet fighters and for a subsidy upon our collections, was refused by, the. Government, the only concession granted being on tho railwaysreturn tickets at single, rate second class for the men louring tho country. "We feel wo are in a position necessitating our appealing to the New Zealand Press for their- 'assistance. /I'he prizes for this art union have been donated by the residents of tho Hawke's Bay district, and they are of the value of .£6385. In promoting an art union to aid suoh an object as the Trentham Scholarship Fund, we quite expected that we would have the hearty, cooperation of the Government.' As this has not been forthcoming, we now feel that we must appeal to the Press to tend us their assistance. The object of our appeah to the Press is' this: We have ready for distribution all; the tickets necessary for the urt oanion, and we would ' suggest that the various newspapers' throughout the Dominion might undertake tho sale of these tickets through their publishing offices, and allot us a reasonable amount of free space to record the daily sales, and so stimulate public interest. We know perfectly, well that the New Zealand Press has done a great deal for patriotic object during the war. This movement which we aro supporting is one that is well on its way in Australia, and in the Old Country, where I believe it has been given a considerable amount of support by the Government. I have an extract here from the committee of the Imperial Government on tho educational system of Great Britain, dated April .16, : 1918. .Tho.extract runs: 'We must by means of scholarship's and maintenance allowances put a complete course of training within the reach of every hoy ° r B' l ' l of. sufficient ability to profit by it. But this is not sufficient. We must not only provide opportunities; we must make our citizens eager to make full use of them. We must strive to make parents anxious to secure a se'condarv education for their children. This is the most'vital and the most difficult part of the question If science is tocoine into it's own the' nation as a whole must 1» brougnt Hi recognise the fundamental importance Ot the principles of science in the right o-dcting of our national life. Tho war gives no excuse for the postponement of a start to recover loss and to win new ground. Such ground, it. is true,will never be surely held unless it is slowly won, but •it nover:will be won at all unless- the present opportunity is 6eized.' "I think," continued Mr. Kirkoaldie, "that these words fittingly apply to the position we are in to-day. With regard f> the Australian undertaking, tho objective is set out in these terms by_ Mr. ]•'. G. Adaiuson, of Tauiworth, New bouth Wales:— , ~. . (a) To see that no soldiers or sailor's. child is neglected or overlooked, no matter what the conditions are, oven into the remotest parts of Australia. . _ (B) Need the only qualification, 'arouse enthusiasm for the loving care and education of those children. (d) As far as it is humanly possible, to bring each girl and boy up to the standard of the matriculation examination- of the universities of Australia. • The fund jyas originated by Colonel H. R. Potter, Camn-Commandant at Trentham. It was his original intention that it should consist only of the profits from tho sale of the book "Historic Trentham," henco the introduction of the name Trentham into the title of the fund. Siuc« then a much larger'enterprise has been set afoot, and it is hoped that - thousands instead of hundreds of pounds will'be-available for the purpose of endowing scholarships. Iris a Dominion fund, to provide scholarships for every part of New Zealand. The general object of the fund is to provide for the education of the children of soldiers of New Zealand, who have served ' during the present war. The precise nature of the assistance To be given to children cannot be determined until the amount of the fund is known, but the idea now-is that the money will be used to endow scholarships to provide for scholars while they are attending secondary schools and perhaps tho university.