PARLIAMENTARY GOSSIP.

Grey River Argus, Volume XXXI, Issue 5250, 23 July 1885, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY GOSSIP.

[from our correspondent.] Wellington, July 21. Thirty members of both houses met at Vogel's residence yesterday to discuss the guarantee for the East and West Coa*t railway. There were six members of the Uppsr House present, 15 or 16 from Canterbury, and the remainder from Nelson and the West Coast. I learn that all present, except two, voted for the proposal submitted to the House. fn the lobbies it was rumored this morning that Yogel had extracted a promise tftat a block vote should be given for all the Government measures. That, however, must be taken cum grano. The proposals are likely to meet with strong opposition. It was also stated that he offered to renew the San Francisco mail service for five years, on condition that tlie northern members gave a -similar promise, and that to still further placate them the Native Lands Disposition Bill would be dropped after the second reading last week. Yogel was to be pushed aside this week, j but he appears still .to be cock of the walk. He has shown something of his old form again to-night. Stout delivered a long statement on the Edwin question. It would fill two or three pages of the Argus; lam unable to tell you much about it, as he refused to give any copies to the press till it had been delivered. Robert does not, thorough radical though he is, appreciate the freedom of the press when its criticisms are directed .against himself or his Government. I generally find that some of the loudest tongued Liberals ar«-the most illebral mortals in the world. The Mines Act, 1827,< -'Amendment introduced "by Larnacli ('Minister for Mines) provides that all agreements of lease entered heretofore shall be deemed to have been entered into with the Queen and Attorney-General. The SolicitorGeneral may sue for arrears or for ejectment. Receivers may sue, where the annual rent does not exceeckLso. Power is given to the Governor-in-Cojincil to reduce the fees paid for mining leases, licenses, or miners rights, and business licenses or machine sites. The Ohinemuri agricatural leases may acquire freeholds. The Goldfield 3 Mines Committee struck out a clause^providing that persons holdiug land for miningv.nurposes should keep an account of all minerals taken therefrom. ""-■■• _ A new clause was put into Seddon's" Bill allowing the Legislature to issue a new lease in place of one lost. July 22. There are various rumors afloat of a rather startling character in regard to the Government's East and West Coast railway proposal. Sir Julius Yogel moved this afternoon that the House go into committee of the whole on Friday to consider the matter. Sir George Grey wished to speak to the motion, but was ruled out of order, the Speaker pointing out that discussion would be allowable on the motion to go into committee on Friday. Thereupon Sir George said he would give notice of his intention to move for the production of all correspondence ...and agreements entered into-. respecting the railways. The Premier immediately replied that there was no objection whatever to the production of the documents. The motion was carried. It seems very doubtful whether the Government will be able to carry the proposal, noses having been carefully counted. It is computed that the Government can rely on 37 supporters in favor of it at present, but no more. That, however, has yet to be determined. It is said that the Canterbury members have been lobbying against the new San Francisco mail service, and the effect is that there will be great difficulties in the way of an arrangement being come to with North Island members to support the Government in the East and West Coast railway matters. The latest rumor is to the tffect that Major Atkinson will move a direct want of cohfinence motion to-night (Wednesday), but it appears very unlike that anything will be done until the motion go to go into committee comes up. Vincent Pyke has given notice of his intention to ask the Colonial Treasurer on Friday, 24th inst., whether the "well known" Harry Meiggs of Calif or nian, Mexican, Peruvian, and Tasmanian notoriety is in any way connected with the

firm of Messrs Meiggs and Sons referred to in the Treasurer's East and West Coast railway statement as a " well known firm of railway contractors and financiers," aud if Government, if it is not in possession of such information, whether they will make the necessary inquiries. The Post of to-night says that Dargaville has seceeded from the Ministry, and considers it not at all unlikely that the Government will be defeated. The Evening Post publishes the following summary of the education statement : " The Minister of Education yesterday delivered in the House of Representatives a very long Ministerial statement on education. He dealt exhaustively with what uur educational machinery is, what the State does for higher secondary, and primary education, what reforms were being made, and he also pointed out in what direction he thought there is need for further reforms. It was difficult to gauge accurately the result of an education system in seven years, but there were signs that ours is doing excellent work, and we could show as many university students in proportion to population as any country in the world ; and though our primary school system was not' equal, to that of other countries, it was gradually improving. The weaknesses of our system were threefold:— (l) The want | of proper, graduation between primary and secondary schools, (2) There had been more attention paid to the literary part of education than the scientific; and (3) technical education had been almost ignored. He thought there ought to be no admission into a high or grammar school until the four standard of the primary schools had been passed. After referring to what was being done in the matter of techinical education, the Minister went onto speak of the alteration he had effected in regard to the standards of primary school. They had been so arranged that a teacher would be able in country schools to reduce the number of his classes. The subjects to be taught in schools hod been decided under three heads — compulsory, class, and additional subjects. He proposed to include drawing in the former category. He proposed also to have attention paid to elementary science in country schools. Teachers should be able to, give a special i bias towards agriculture, and in town dis- ! trictsa special bias might be given towards manufacture. With these alterations he believed our schools would be made more efficient and practical, while the mental training would not suffer. He hoped to see by means of private munificence, if not from Government aid, some working school where the handling of tools might be- taught, to children. The Native and Industrial Schools were being carried on satisfactorily, the latter having exceeded expectation. On the subject of education there were diverse views held by some of his colleagues. Mr Stout went into a lengthy statement in defence of State Schools, under the existing condition of things, but expressed the .hope that as civilisation advances the State subsidies will not increase, but diminish,^ To the objection to our system that religion is, not taught^Jie asserted from a secular point of view that one of the blots, of our system was disclosed, as religion was tau "ht our school books being full of what might be termfid religious lessons. To show that no moral injury was being done by our State schools, he quoted statistics to show that so far as juvenile crime is concerned New Zealand is far more free from it than in other conntries, and he hoped after the fires he had given, we should hear no more about our State System tending to crime. Crime was yearly decreasing, and he doubted. not that as the ; education of the; people progressed crime would still de-: crease. He quoted figures also to show that the State system of education was' relatively as cheap as that of othercountries. As regards secondary instruc-" tibn, he held that it was more necessary for' the State to look after that, than primary education. The secondary schools required more attention, and the State required to give more aid to them than to primary schools ; and there were hundreds of youths obtaining education in secondary schools that have been endowed by the State who would have been deprived of that advantage had it not been for those endow-, m^nts. As to the ' university, there had been a danger of making them too liberally, but this was gradually being remedied, and he believed Universities should yet provide, not only for the best scientific teaching, but for the highest form ofteehinical education. They must also be the abodes of research, and that was a function not yet recognised in our university system. He felt sure that no Parliament would decree by the Abolition of aid to the University, and to the secondary schools, that New Zealand is to take an inferior position amongst the colonies of the empire or the nations of the world. He referred to the necessity of encouraging habits of thrift, and hoped yet to see inaugurated what was attempted in 1878-79, the establishment of a savings ba^k in connection with schools, and he hoped that the arbitration effected in the syllabus of our primary schools would make our education better and more practical, and that with scientific and technical education they might look forward to a great improvement in all our schools and i colleges in method and results.