CANTERBURY DECISION

Evening Star, Issue 19351, 10 September 1926, Page 9

CANTERBURY DECISION

LINCOLN OFFERED TO STATE. A highly interesting development took plaoe in the discussion when an offer of Lincoln College to the Government was announced by Mr Jones, member for Ellesmere. He stated that the Minister of Agriculture had. declared that Lincoln College came too late into, the field, but as a matter of fact when the Primo-Minister had mentioned that Lincoln College' made no offer he had secured the consent of a majority of its Board of Governors to the offer that if Lincoln College was made the agricultural college for New Zealand Canterbury would hand over that magnificent institution to the people of Now Zealand. It was worth at least £200,000. Mr Sullivan: That’s a far bigger gift than the Palmerston site.

Mr Jones: “ It is a magnificent gift. Lincoln College has been training students from all over New Zealand, and usually half are from the North Island.” He pointed out that the institution owned 900 acres of good land, which it was farming, and another area of lighter country outside that. This was the gift Canterbury province was prepared to hand over to the people of New Zealand.

“It is said the gift is too late,” continued Mr Jones. “ Personally I do not think it is, and I hope the Government will consider it in the light not of what they have_ been committed to in the past, but will review the whole position as it exists to-day. I know it takes a strong man to change his line of policy, but a strong man will take all the facts into consideration when developments arise, and I think tho developments which have arisen in connection with agricultural education are sufficiently important for tho Government to reconsider the whole position.” Mr Jones assured his bearers that he was not approaching the subject from a provincial point of view. He would emphasise that an agricultural oollcffe was not the most important institution needed in connection with agriculture, and if this college remained in the South Island it was only going to become one of a chain of many stations which would be of the greatest service to the country. He would like North Island people to look at it from that point of view realising that New Zealand’s main industry was too big a subject to visualise from the viewpoint of one island of the other. “ I know that this offer may be embarrassing to the Government,” concluded Mr Jones, “ and the people of Canterbury may be wrong for coming in late, hut, after all, though it may

be embarrassing to the Government, I 'am satisfied that the Government is big enough to review the whole position m the light of the necessity of the biggest industry wo have in this country.” . Mr Bidey (Dunedin South) sought to gain the Minister’s opinion on the oner, it had been said officially that one of the reasons why the Government could not assist Lincoln College was because it could not be regarded as a Government institution. He would point out to tho Minister that the Bill under discussion proposed to set up an institution which was no more a Government ment college than lan coin. It. would be quite distinct, and would be just as independent as Lincoln, _ Mr Hawken: Lincoln College belongs to Canterbury. . Mr Sidey: And this institution, once set up, will be governed by a board. Mr Hawken: But it belongs to New Zealand.