BOOK NOTICE.

Evening Star, Issue 7343, 15 October 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

BOOK NOTICE.

The Slate: The Rudiments of New Zealand Sociology. For the use of beginners. By James H. Pope, Inspector of Native Schools. Published by authority at the Government Printing Office, Wellington. Mr J. H. Pope, the author of this valuable work, is well known in Dunedin as one of the ablest of the early staff of teachers of both the Girls' and Boys' High Schools. Hiß removal to the North Island was much regretted by his many warm friends, who, however, will be consoled by the consideration that it has perhaps led to increased usefulness, as evinced by the work before us, which was suggested by his being brought in contact with the Maori race. Necessarily the laws and institutions of the Colony occasionally clash somewhat rudely with the traditions and customs of the Natives; and in order that future generations of both races may be content to dwell together in harmony, it is needful that they should acknowledge like social principles, and learn to think and act according to lawß based upon them, supported by a common literature, written in a common language. The colonists have not hitherto been supposed to need such training. From their childhood they have become obedient to the unwritten laws of their native land transmitted unquestioned through centuries, and but tew have troubled themselves to inquire into the reasons or principles of justice on which they are founded. The recognition of this fajt, as his work proceeded, naturally led Mr Pope to widen the original plan, and to adapt it not only to instruction of the Maoris, but to make it a manual of sociology suitable for all ages in all the schools of the Colony or for private study. In his preface he says:— The original intention with regard to this book was that it should be used by young Maoris able to understand easy English, and that the purpose of the book should be to give them clear ideas with regard to the institutions existing around them. Some progress had been made in that direction .... (when) it seemed plain that if the book could thus be made suitable for this class of readers it would also be easy, by somewhat extending the soope, to make it serve the purpose of a general introduction to sociological subjects for European beginners of any age. The design, even as originally projected, involved difficulties that few but teachers of the young will realise. Young Maoris, I though taught in English schools in the English language, can scarcely be expected to become so familiar with English ' phraseology as children accustomed to it from infancy. After school hours, in their Maori home, surrounded by Maori friends, relatives, and playfellows, they converse in their mother tongue, and years of tuition must pass before they can learn to think in what, to most of them, must be a foreign language. Many words expressing some of our ideas have no equivalents in the Maori tongue, and this is especially the case in sciences involving abstract thought. When, therefore, the doctrines of sociology have to be reduced to simple language, adapted to the comprehension of youth, but few there are capable of doing the work. As a preliminary, standard works on political and social science have to be consulted. Of these the author gives a list, which includes the names of Bastiat, Mill, George, Jevons, Senior, Ingram, Spencer, Dr Wines, Dr Glanville, J. R. Green, Bagehot, Sheldon Amos, W. R. Sorley, Rodgers, Mongredien, Hearn, Wallace. A. H. Dick, Mr and Mrs Fawcett, Whately, Adam Smith, Broom, Lewes, Hallam, and Creasy. The very mention of this array of authorities suggests the mental labor involved in preliminary study in preparing material for this volume; but nothing short of genius of a high order would enable a student of standard works to throw aside the language in which they were written, in which of necessity the doctrines presented themselves to his mind, and to put them in a form suited to the comprehension of the unlearned. This was the secret of Richard Cobden's convincing eloquence. This power is given to few; and among those gifted few is Mr Pope. Another difficulty was to produce a work suited to the strictly secular system of instruction in our schools. In a Colony where are drawn together families holding every variety of religious doctrines, it is hard indeed to produce even a scientific work that will offend no one. Some will condemn it because of the absence of what they may term religious teaching, notwithstanding the pure morality which pervades its pages. We have met with clergymen who, without having read a line written by one of the authors enumerated, have been horror-struck at the mention of their names. No such prejudice need be entertained regarding Mr Pope's work. People of every creed may read it with profit to themselves. They may differ from the author in his conclusions, but there is nothing in his method or his language to cause offence. _ But by far the greatest danger was the liability to clash with the prevalent political and economic notions of the period. No doubt many theories, held as incontrovertible by enthusiastic politicians, will prove utterly worthless when tested by the principles so clearly defined in this work. And it is for the very purposs of correcting error and establishing social and economic truth, that it has been written. Had the principles of sociology formed part of the education given at Home to those who emigrated to this Colony, much of the confusion of thought that has led to our colonial difficulties would have been avoided. Knowledge would have succeeded where empiricism has failed; our institutions would have been based on sound, economic principles, and many grievous blundeis resulting from imperfect education would have been avoided. Referring to this point, the preface informs us that:— 'The State' has no political significance. The author does not know even how far its contents are in accord with the views held by the Government, or how far they disagree with those views; and he has to thank the Government for allowing him to publish the book without any restrictions of a political kind. From what has been said regarding the difficulties to be overcome in compilation, it will be inferred that 'The State' is a work of considerable originality. It is so. In simple language, it traces the development of " the State " from the history of man. The earlier chapters especially interest, because of the pertinent illustrations drawn from familiar objects of everyday life. The author seems to have in his mind a model teacher whose method he has endeavored to follow. We gather this from a passage under the heading "Hospitals, Lunatic Asylums, Prisons." Under a subheading, "The cause of the growth of humane feelings among all classes of the community," he draws a comparison between the humanity of to-day and the cruelties of past ages; and, reasoning on the cause of the change, he says:— Nearly nineteen hundred years ago there lived a Teacher who. by some means which it is unnecessary for us to inquire about here, was gifted with a marvellous knowledge of men—of their weakness and their folly, of their tendency to evil, and of their capacity for good—a knowledge that has neither before nor since been surpassed, or even equalled. The accounts of him that have been handed down to us show that this Teacher had the greatest sympathy with and affection for all men, both in their joys and in their trials and sufferings, and an earnest dtsire to help them to get clean away from wickedness and ignorance. By his conduct, and by his treatment of those who came to be taught, he showed that he made no distinction between rich and poor, clever and foolish—between those who had lived low, vulgar, and wicked lives and those who had been respectable. All were allowed to come to him and learn what he had to teach them. One of the principal methods of instruction used by him was to tell short stories full of meaning. Among these well-known stories the following may be mentioned: "The Lost Sheep," "The Prodigal Son," "The Good Samaritan," "The Pharisee and the Publican," and " The Merciless Creditor." All these stories are of very simple construction, and when they have been heard once or twice they can hardly be forgotten. These stories teach, among other things, the foolishness of pride and vanity, the wickedness of harsh tsonduct to the helpless, and the noblenesß of generosity, kindness, meroy, and forgiveness. The work is well and progressively arranged under general and analytic headings, as easily remembered as the rules of syntax, and it may not inaptly be regarded as a grammar of sociology. If it has a fault —as no doubt scholars will affirm it has—it arises mainly 1 through striving after simplicity and intelligibility. To effect

these, occasionally new forms of expression are adopted which will scarcely be regarded as improvements. t'As an instance, it is endeavored to give a clear notion of " value in exchange" by rendering its meaning "strength in exchange." Reasons connected with the derivation of the word are given, and the illustrations sufficiently explain its meaning, while by some minds possibly it may be better understood through being robbed of its classic form. VVe heartily commend this valuable manual to all classes. It will be well for the future of New Zealand if it is made a text-book in schools and colleges ; and, better still, if ail future aspirants to Parliamentary honors should pass an examination in its theories as a guarantee of their fitness for the duties of members of the Legislature.