VICTORIA COLLEGE. OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 30, 5 February 1908, Page 7

VICTORIA COLLEGE. OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM.

REMARKS BY HON. O. FOWLDS AND SIR R. STOUT. To-day a deputation of students of Victoria College waited upon the Hon. G. Fowlds, Minister for Education, to urge upon him tho desirableness of tho Government giving a grant — siy of £ for £ — towards tho amount already in hand for a college gymnasium and meetingroom, or social hall, for the students. Mr. J. G. W. Aitken, M.P., introduced the deputation. Mr. U. F. O'Leary, who acted as spokesman, said there was already £572 lls in hand, and in reply to Hon. Mr. Fowlds he wid it was thought tho building would cost about £900, but tho expense of levelling the giround for tke edte would be very great. AIDING COLLEGE WORK. Sir Robert Ptout said he attended as a member of the College Council. He understood that a grant for a similar purpose was made by the Government in the ca.«e of the college at Chris tchurch. A gymnasium was now looked upon as one. of tho necessary adjuncts of a university — especially in America — where students were also provided with halls in which to hold social meetings. He said that was an exceedingly necessary thing. If students had to go to other buildings in which to hold their meetings, he thought that would be calamitous to college life. No stud&nts had worked: more strenuously for their college than had the students of Victoria, College. Ho hoped the Minister would bo able to give them assistance. Perknps the people of Wellington had not responded 1 in the past so much as they ought to have done in the way of aiding college work. They in New Zealand, perhaps, did not yet appreciate what college life here should be. Ho might mention that the town council of Aberdeen voted £30,000 for tho purposes of a university. Our people were not sufficiently impressed with the need of pushing on higher education, he maintained, lhe diffusion of knowledge amongst the people was c most important thing for the country. Ho was a member of a Iloyal Commission, and advocated in 1873 that the university *hould be free just as the primary schools were now free. W© should have free- education light through from the primary school to the university. That would make the university fax more popular than it was now. But we had not reached th?t stag© yet. He hoped some aicl might be- given to the students in their anxiety to help themselves. THE MINISTER'S REPLY. The Hon. Mr. Fowldf, in reply, said he had very great sympathy with the object they had in view, and ho quite recognised that any educational institution, to be moderately complete, required something in the nature' of a gymnasium and a hall for social purposes. He would be glad to put their (representations before his colleagues. He did not knowthat there was any exact precedent. The gymnasium referred to by Sir Robert Stout was the Christchurch High School gymnasium. *Sir Robert Stout said it was similar to the High School. The High School at Christohurck was Teally under the college council. They were under one trust, and cf course they had a large revenue from endowments. Hon. Mr. Fowlds said the law provided for capitation for voluntary contributions to , secondary cchools. He Tecognifead that Victoria College and the Auckland College- were differently situated from the colleges in the South Island, in the matter of endowments, and in the absence of public spirit which would bring forth large benefactions or contributions towards the objects, it was ueces-sa-ry that the Government should look with a kindly eye on movements of this kind in connection with there colleges. He was not in a position to make a definite promise, but their rcpresantations would be placed before his colleagues and he dared say something would result from them.