Evening Post FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1903. NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS.

Evening Post, Volume LXVI, Issue 135, 4 December 1903, Page 4

Evening Post FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1903. NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS.

Tho prinoiple underlying the Education Aolfl tliat have been placed on the Statute-book is that tho first duty of the demooratio State is to educate its aubjects up to tho measure of their capacity. Tho reason for this is obvious. In democrotio States subject and sovereign indicate the same person from different points of view. An educated subject means a wise and self-reliant sovereign. Admirable as the principle undoubtedly is, a glance- at tho Acts through which it is expressed shows tie limited insight of tho men who framed and established them. W© drew attention to some of the most glaring defects of the Secondary Schools Act some time ago. These defects aro still moro patent in the National Scholarships Act. What, then, is the object which this Act is intended to advance? It ia an Act framed "for the purpoßO of bringing higher education within the reach of deserving scholars." It enables a certain number of scholars to pass from the primary schools through tho secondary schools to the University by means of scholarships. For this purpose tho scholarships are divided into two classes, named respectively junior and senior scholarships. The junior scholarships are for boys or girls under tho age of fourteen, awarded on the result* of an examination in the subjects prescribed for the Fifth Standard of the I publio school syllabus. Tho tenure of

tho scholarships is three years, but it may be extended to four yeara if tho Board, with, tho approval of the Minister, deem it advisable. Theao scholarships aro twenty-eight iv number, und distributed over the eoJony iv proportion to the population of the various Education Board districts. So far the conception is admirably worked out, and tho scholarships may be fitly deecribed as National Scholarships. They are provided for the children of the State, und awarded to tho most deserving scholars, irrespective of any artificial distinctions. But at this point our satisfaction experiences an unpleasant shock, for we find on leading tho provisions of clause 4 that the junior Kcholarohipn aro not national at all. Sub-clause (g) states "that a scholarship ehu.il not be awarded to or be held by any person if the total net profits, income, and emoluments of his parents are equivalent for any year during tho currency of the scholarship to an annual income of over two hundred nnd iifty pounds per annum." This violates the national scope of the scholarships. Why draw the line at £260? Surely there are "deserving scholars" above this limit. Why should they bo debarred from onjoying tho benefits of "higher education"? It may be said that parents whoso incomo oxcecd.s £250 can afford to pay for the higher education of thoir children -without the ufssistunoo of tho State. But what of tho relative ability of parents in receipt of an income of, say, £300 with «ix children, und those whose income is £250 with only one child? To eelect the scholars according to incomo and not according to capacity is to foster artificial distinctions that ought not to be encouraged in a democratic community. The quality of brain power which tho nation should encourage by 'means of scholarfihips is not Confined to any' class, and only as this fact is recognised can any system of scholarships be regarded as being truly national. To drag in tho class oloment into our educational system is to attack that syetcm^in il« most vital part. The Btato knows no distinction of class in this department of its operations. • Its main concern is to discover tho best brains, and to provide tho means necessary to cultivate and develop them to the best possible advantage. Every man of culturo belongs to the community, from wJud«ver class he has arisen, and his influence elevates and ennobles the community to which he belongs. Wo cannot believe that Parliament has seriously considered this aspect of the subject; if it has, then it possesses less insight and capacity than we have given it credit for. That it has not considered this phase of tho matter is confirmed when we pass from the junior to the senior division of tho National Scholarships. The senior scholarships entitle their holders to a throe years' course at a University. They are awarded on the result of the junior scholarship examination of tho University. The bwis of the senior scholarship ia wider than that of tho junior, in that it includes the Boards' scholarships. Consequently we have this anomaly — tho junior scholarship is not national, rather it must be regarded as anti-national, but tho senior i» national. Tho Act, then, denies its titl« in the first part only to reaffirm it in tbe second part. Now the reason th»t convinced Parlinmenfc in dealing with the senior scholarships had tho same validity as regards tho junior. Why, then, was it not applied to both parts? Is not the reason to be found in the impatience bred by exhaustion? We havo drawn attention to tho irrational methods which characterised the business of the session — week after week \rns wasted by the loquacity of tho members, egged on by the Premier and his satellites, until the necessary result had been produced. And when tho House had bceu reduced almost to the stage of physical and mental collapse tho most important legislation was iutroduced and; rushed through with inordinate haste, with the result that we have already pointed out. Wo must, howover, be thankful for the promise that these Educational Acts contain. The principle is affirmed that it is the function of tlie Stnte to secure for its subjects tho most efficient training that the most modern mind can discover and the most plastio brain can receive. Bub we would point out, in conclusion, that the prime necessity of tho colony is not so much quantity as quality, and this can only bo securod when a much more generous provision had been made for up-to-date equipment throughout tho wholo four educational institutions, from the primary schools to tho Universities. Legislative machinery without the funds necessary to work it successfully is worse thun no machinery at all.

Tho election of a new Board of Benevolent Trustees is to bo held at the Boardroom in Harris-street on Monday next. Wo congratulate the retiring mwnbeie of the Board on maintaining the decree of efficiency whiek hna marked its administration in the past. It has come to be regarded as tho model institution of the colony, both as regards its indoor and outdoor relief. *Tho Ohiro-ro#d Home is wisely managed, and the deserving poor aro well looked after. During the last year the administration was subjected to tho most searohing investigation by a Royal Commission, and the report of the Commissioners amply demonstrated the high state of efficiency which the administration has attained. It has been proved that the present trustees have saved the ratepayers many thousands of pounds by their economy and strict'supervision. We can, there/ore, endoree the remarks of_ the Chairman (Mr. O. H. Izurd) that the delegates from tbe various local bodies cannot do better on Monday next than return most of the members of tho old Board. It may be "that there will bo tbe desire to return direot representatives on the part of the local bodies, und while w« are in accord with the principle of direot representation where possible, yet we think that such a policy would b© fatal in this instance. To carry out the duties of the Benevolent Institution two things are necessary, local knowledge and personal supervision. Neither of these essentials could bo secured if the trustees wore elected wholly from without tho city ; for, besides tie weekly meeting of tho whole Board, the Chairman, and sometimes other trustees, attend daily ut noon. And this is necessary unless the whole administration is thrown upon the officers of the institution. Again, a sound knowledge of local conditions is an essential, and this can be acuired best by those who nro within easy distance of the city. These and other considerations that may be adduced, we loel sure, will incline the local bodies through their delegates to select those who have served them ' so faithfully in tho past. Our only suggestion in the direction of further increasing th© efficiency of the Board would bo that they should appoint as one of their trustees a woman of some experience nnd tact. This is no new experiment. Mrs. E. F. Allan,' who was on the Board two years ago, was one of its most efficient members. Mrs. G. W. Darvall, who is now v candidate, would mako a most suitable sue cessor. Sho is a woman of experience, having rendered good service among the poor of the city for some years, and i» now an energetic member of tho Committee of tho Society for tlie Protection of Women and Children. The letter headed "Keep to the Right," which we print on another page, calls attention to the need of bettor regulating the traffic on the street footjpatbs. which

at certain times arc in such a congested state that locomotion is a matter of difficulty. As our coriespondent points out, tho simple practice of keeping to the right, now general in most large towns, and nominally in force here, would jf generally adopted afford some measure of relief, and our City Fathers might well authorise a further expenditure on sign-plates to be placed in conspicuous positions, or huve the advice painted here and there on street lamps, so as to bring tho rule moro prominently under publio notice. But the roud liaffic as well as the footways requires the serious attention of tho Council. Tho much • abused cyclists aio not the sole offenders ; vehicles constantly dash round corners at v breakneck pace, and the rule of tho road ia frequently disregarded, to the imminent danger of- the public. It is stated thut doctors are among the worst sinners ; indeed, not long since a child was knocked down and seriously injured on Lambton-quay by a doctor's trap alleged to be on the wrong side of the road. The near completion of the eleotrio tramway •system makes it more than ever necessary that traffic regulation should be something more than a sham. One of tho first steps to make it a reality should bo the placing of inspectors at congested points or corners to keep vehicles in line, and with authority to prosecute in ca«e of drivers exceeding a reasonable speed. Wellington streets being so narrow, strict precautions are essential to ensure public safety.