THE COLLEGE TRUSTS COMMISSION.

Evening Post, Volume LXXI, Issue 144, 19 June 1906, Page 2

THE COLLEGE TRUSTS COMMISSION.

Tho Te Aut.e-Wanganui College Trusts Commission hag returned to Wellington to take further evidence and deliberate upon the report to be drawn up. The first witness examined yesterday was Hone Heke, M.H.R,, who gave hifi opinion that religious instruction should not be given in schools which were meant to be used by children of all denominations. Jlo recognised that the stipulation in the grants of lands to Wanganui and Te Auto Colltiges meant religious instruction in the tonets of the Church of England, but he strongly contended that thit> did not mean tho barring of children from attendance at the college if they objected to receiving such instruction. Deponent would say the same of grants made by Sir Gtoiw Wrej (h« xnude aU the wwjts^

to Roman Catholic, Wesleyan, or any other denominations. It was the duty of all men to respect the religious tenents of each other, and where boys and gins had their own churches within cail of the caK leges surely they should be all wed to attend them. The main principle of the trust was to impart education in the ordinary sense, and it was never intended to administer religious instruction contrary to the desire o/ children or parents. He believed that more facilities for secondary education were needed for Maons. When he spoke of higher education, he did not mean the classical education that probably English people spoke of; he meant more of the higher education, more of the American system/ of practical demonstration and actual work. He would not be averse to expunging dead languages frgm Te Aute curriculum. The English of the pupils in tho primary eohools and at St. Stephen's was not 'good in the present day. The pronunciation was not good, and they had no confidence in their knowledge of tlie, meaning of words.. If the boys who came from Te Aute were asked to write a business letter they could not do co with confidence, and there would be a likelihood of mistakes. In the old days the pupils of St. Stephen's epoke the English language as well or better than the average Englishman spoke it. He, did 11Q* know why the change had come; it might have been the fault of the sobqlara or of the teachers. George Hogben, Inspector-Genera! of Schools, gave evidence that in a report he prepared on St. Stephen's school he pointed out that the English spoken in the fifth and sixth standards was not so good as that spoken in the lower forms, His explanation was that this was due to the immense advance there bad been in the teaching of English in the primary native schools during the last few years. The falling-ofi in the English of the higher classes was due to the fact that there was a teacher over them who was evidently not so good as he used to be. A change had since been made, and imI provement was now manifest. He thought it would be well to regard the trusts' as part of the general educational system of the colony. The early trust,? were given to the religious bpdies as trustees because they were the bßst orgnnised bpdies at the time. Later trusts had been vested in special bodies. In the various towns of N<!W Zealand there were district high schools, giving secondary education, but in towns of large size it was desirable that secondary education should be given in poparate schools. Witnesa estimated that there were 4500 pupils receiving secondary education. At Wanganui there were at present from 10Q, to 150 pupils qualified to receive secondary education ; so that If a high school were established there that number would como forward. Wanganui Collegiate School could not admit those- pupils on the revenue it was at present receiving. Twenty acres from the trust should be vested as a grant for the purposes of a high school. Wnnganui wiis not placed in the same position as other parts of the colony in regard to secondary education. ll© suggested the establishment at Wanganui of a high school for day scholars, giving it an endowment of .land from the lands comprised in the Wanganui Trust, There was no such thing in Wanganui now as a high school devoted entirely to secondary education. At such a school as he had outlined no question of religious difficulty whatever could enter into the question. With regard to the college, he thought there should be a complete conscience clause, both for day pupils-and boarders. He advocated introduction "of the "set" system to replace the present "form" system. He quite agreed with the present tendency to do away with school boardingbouses run for the private profit of the masters ; houses should be established which would be hotels dependent upon the Board of Governors. ' Boarding scholarships should be provided at Wanganui to meet the cases of 'poor people living at Wangan,ui, throughout New Zealand, and in the Pacific Islands. Summarising his proposals,' Mr. Hogben said that if twenty acres were given to the proposed high sclioql and^flve for the public school, thirty taken for the Wanganui Collegiate School itself, and fifty acres spent in roading the trust, " thero would bo one hundred and fifty acres left for endowment of the school. In carrying out the Msheme« he had suggested, something like £30,000 would be necessary for improvements. The new buildings would consist of three boardinghouses, v headmaster's house, ftnd^a school boardinghouse jn brick, > which would QQ»t £4000. The. headmaster's house would cost from.*!l2QQ to. £2000, the latter was an outside estimate. The school he had outlined would be better built than the present one at a cost of from £5000 to £6000. The? buildings would accommodate 300 boys— being 100 more than they had now. All his estimates of expense were minimum ones. Ho figured that interest and sinking fund on £50,000 would come to about £300 per annum. About twenty years would be necessary to develop this scheme ; he saw no necessity for putting any considerable portion of the buildings up for five or ten years. By the time the- loan had been paid off by tho sinking fund the income of the schools would be £4500 on the lowest estimate. Then a great number of boarding scholarships could be given. The commission adjourned until this morning.