The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1908. THE MINISTERIAL VISIT.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2120, 20 February 1908, Page 2

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1908. THE MINISTERIAL VISIT.

Though ft is difficult to say much in favor of Air .Fowhls’ attitude in connection with the needs ol the Alangapapa school, the visit ot the 'Alinistor of Education to Gisborne, will have created a very favorable impression. The various deputations must Iliavo been struck by the fact -that They wore dealing with a keen business man, capable ol 'fully appreciating at onoo the various points nut before hint, yet wit'll ample firmness to withstand press lire when the limitations of the resources of his department Tendered this necessary. In the past, the type ol politician fulfilling the chief .portfolios have been men whose motto was “Peace at any price,” or, in another form, “Votes' at liny price.” They would listen sympathetically to every little deputation that cared to hunt them up, and promptly send the petitioners away with a half sort of promise that was sufficiently definite to keep them quiet, and not definite enough to pin the politicians to, when the day of reckoning came. The two Ministers who have recently been in Gisborne have evinced quite different qualities to those of their predecessors, and viewed simply as administrators of public departments they must be credited with at least one important essential for success. Air. Fowhls listened patiently to those wiho interviewed him on educational requirements, and when he could not say his way clear to grant what was asked for, he did not hesitate to say so. ‘Regarding the Alangapapa. .school, incident, one can scarcely be so complimentary, because it is,.clear tint Air. Fowlds not only permitted'-'hiinsobf to bo misled by false advisors, but also departed from the sound principle of trusting the local officials of his own Department *on matters of fact. Obviously the best judges of the necessities of the Alangapapa residents Were the inspectors, the Gisborne members of the Hawke’s Bay Board ami the local Committee. That -their representations were correct was practically admitted by the Minister, inasmuch •as he agreed to the long-standing request after a brief personal inspection of the load conditions. That he should have so persistently refused to take this action until he could personally visit Alangapapa can only be taken as a 'reflection upon those who had formerly recommended it. Howover, Air. Fowlds has given a distinct assurance tint his attitude invest not be construed as an indication that he intends to still further centralise the work of the Department, and we may reasonably hope that tho results of the Alangapapa incident will furnish a useful guide to the Alinistor in the future.

Air. Morgan, one of the members of tho Hawke’s Bay Education Board, -raised a most important question when lie asked that the regulations might he relaxed so as to permit of more attention being given to rural education in this district, and-the reply, though non-committal, showed Air. Fowlds to he thoroughly sympathetic to tho position put before him. The time should come when manufacturing will take a prominent place in Gisborne industry, 'but in the meantime the .community depends almost entirely upon its primary products, and It his fact should he given due prominence in our educational syllabus.

Coming to matters outside his own special department, it is eminently sitisfactory that local ircsidents took the opportunity to place our necessities, from the point of view of railway communication, before the Minister. It y -tile .other day I'liat a simitar eojiVsc was taken when the Minister of .Lauds was bene, hut the position cannot be pressed too 'persistently, and in this respect we have merely followed the advice of Mr. •McNiib. himself. Mr. Fowlds as an Aucklander was naturally more conversant with the conditions of the 'railway than his colleague, hut even he received 'information that was quite new to him. As a business proposition, the fact which seemed to impress Air. Fowlds most strongly was the unique place the line holds at present in showing u handsome profit over working expenses, though still far from completion. TIE Worship the Mayor was by no means unreasonable in suggesting that a railway which was paying all the way should be advanced wt least ten miles in a twelve-month, and the prospects of some substantial headway being made, certainly seem to have 'been improved hy the recent visit of two Alinisters of the Crown. Such tours as those at present being made by Messrs. AlcNab and Fowlds are undoubtedly justified, and rest on an entirely different basis to the electioneering trips that appear to be most- in favor with Alin'stors. It ■is to the interests of the Dominion as a whole that, the heads of the public services should be personally intimate with as much of the country as possible.