LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 12, Issue 951, 13 June 1868, Page 3

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

-The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by correspondents. Siß,r-It lias long been felt by those who. ''take an interest in the . education of the rising generation, that a change is needed from the course which has been for some time pursued in "this province. The standard of qualification for schooh......ters and schoolmistresses should be raised, but, in order to secure any improvement, there -'-must be a.n; adequate' increase in the remuneration given for their services. • The bill which is how lying on the table of/. the .Provincial. Council furnishes me with material for making a few observations on this subject. In clause 2 the bill proposes that the province. shall be divided into educational districts, t6 be presided over by local boards, which are to act independently of each bther. A rate is to be levied in any given district: (clause 9) ; which shall be expended by the board of the district in which thesame shall be levied (clause 16) ; for the erection of school houses, and for keeping them in repair ; also for the salaries of teachers' (clause 18) ; the said board to send, to -the Superintendent a report, setting forth the state of each school, the number jof scholars, course of education, &c, and therefore, it is presumed, to dis- , charge ;the duties of the Inspector (clause 20) ; to appoint and engage teachers upon such terms and conditions' as they snail think„fi|. (clause 28.) The act, moreover, is not generalih its operation, bnt it is made to depend upon the application of two4hirds of the householders of any locality, whether there shall be any rate or school at all (olause 34:) It does not appear whether it is proposed that the said educational district k shall include a number of lbcalioie-., each requiring. a separate school, or whether each looallty is to be district. By mention being made , of the school-house in each;<Jistricfc (clause 23,) it would appear that the latter is intended. Various objections present themselves agaihst these proposals. 1. A 'larger number of ratepayers, in proportion to the wants of the community, are to be found in Napier than in the country districts. If then, a country district, thinly inhabited, has to support its own , schoolmaster out of the funds, collected exclusively ih that locality — either the rate'inust be very heavy or the teacher will be allowed an insufficient salary. It was, I imagine, with reference to the '''-greater need ot the country districts, that a suta of £50 has hitherto been < allowed annually, to the country teachers, from . the Government chest. ;♦ .2, If the local board is to appoint and engage teachers upon such terms and con- , ditions as they shall. think fit, it is to be feared that a local influence may sometimes be brought to bear nnduly, and the stipend also of the teacher be reduced to a limit which is not desirable. I beg to offer the following suggestions : — 1. Thst there shall be five educational districts— ; ; a. Waipukurau, Porangahau. b. Waipawa, TeAute, Hampdon. -, , c. Havelook, Clive, Meanee, _ Puke- • ' tapu. d. Napier, Petane. c. Wairoa, Mohaka, Table Cape. Each of these districts to be managed by a local board. - 2. That there be one central board, at Napier,,to.beniadenpin due proportion from thedVaripus local boards, and to meet once a year,\.r oftener if need require. 3. That the teachers shall be appointed, and that their salaries shall, be . fixed by , the central board. 4. That a common fund shall be raised for. the whole province, by a rate upon houses. The term house to include stores, shops, woolsheds, ahd other buildings. 5. That the rateable value of a house or collection of buildings be fixed by officers appointed hy the Government.' 6. That houses be classified, and the rate fixed according to a scale, say, — No. 1. Eent, £100, to pay £3 to £5. ••- . - '2,774 : £70 ■ •.-..■'••'& ::V '.'- ;::'£40 ; .. ,-V, .■■■£.., • £20 15s ;' : 5. ;;,," £10 no rate. 7. That an inspector be appointed annually by the central board, and that his salary be paid as a first charge upon the money collected. 8j Tha. |h©, money collected from the Eoihan'Cathohc population be dispensed by a board of their own. 9, That the money collected from the Protestant community be dispensed by a Protestant board. Those who have watched the progress of events at. home, are aware that the strongest objections are raised by the Eomanist-. against the mixed system of education. It is in a recent paper I read the; following ;: — " Archbishop Manning, in hia Senten -Pastoral, states his views on the subject of education. He strongly denounces 1 secular, education, which he still hopes, notwithstanding the efforts made in its favor, will not be established in England. But the so-called national system of Ireland was, he maintained, a real grievance. :He , demanded that it should be superseded in theory, as t& a great extent it is in practice, so far as Eoman Catholics are concerned, by a denominational* system such as prevails in England." 10- That in order fo meet the wishes of .persons whose views on subjects of religion may differ, it be a recognized principle of these schools, that religious instruction shall bo given either at the beginning or _at the end of the school hours; at which, upon the requisition of any parent,. a child shall not attend. . Further,- that with the limitation above noted- ministers of religion shall have the liberty lof giving religious instruction upon due notification to the master. 11. That a fee of two shillings and sixpence be paid by the parent of each child quarterly, in advance, which shall be the perquisite '.of the- master or mistress, in addition to the salary. 12., I propose for consideration the following scale of salaries for teachers : — Napier Boys' School ... £150 Napier Girls'. School ... 100 .Port School 70 Wairoa School ... ... 100 Mohaka School 70 Table Cape School .;] 60 Petanei School ... „. 60 Meanee School 100 P'uketapu School 60 Weat Cliye School ... 70 havelock School ... 7o Waipada School... ... 100 Waipukurau School ... 80 Te Atite School ... ... 60 • rHampden School ... 60 The chief argument used in favor of a uniform; rate, beginning with the £10 householder, is, that it is chiefly for this clasjpthat the common schools are provi-ded,-'and; that, it, is unreasonable that the i'nhioT^ler;;and the merchant should have . to contribute in a larger proportion, when . - their-eMdreh areTriotlikely to attend the schools, j But surely it is to the interest .of ,tlie :riph lasVwell as the poor, that as . good^an^educatioh as may bo. should be ffif&fe eyery, member of the community. V Thw^end;. cannot, be, obtained .by a parsi77m^oua7jip^xsp^ If .the rich are to be 74 .mryj .Qut the principle of pay;^gi^\ileasfc pos&ible^' sum cf paoney, a .^^jll^^^be^io^tained which shall be

equal to our wants, and we must be content with such teachers as we can get, becauso we are unable to hold out an inducement to those who are competent. In these days of reform, when improvements are sought for in every department of life, and more particularly in the instruction of the young, it would ill become the legislature of an enterprising province of New Zealand to be satisfied with any tiling^ short of the best possible system of education. — I am, &c, William Waiapu. Sib, —l should very much Jike to know, , through you or some other source, how itis that on the roads or streets of the town some one or two carters must do all the work that the Provincial Engineer may find requisite to do on the said roads or j streets, to the exclusion of othors who are ! as well prepared to do the work ? Under j the parochial systom of England, every owner of a horse and cart is allowed to do his share of work on the roads in his parish or township, if he wishes. This is what we call fair play, and I contend the same system would only be fair play here in these hard times. The same exclusive system rules at the Spit, I am told, but of that anon. —l am, &c, Faie Play. Napier, June 8. Sib, —As a Wairoa settler, I am grieved, to see the tone which has been imparted to recent correspondence appearing in your journal, by the publication of a letter signed •" Fact," in your issue of the 6th instant. Skipping the entire business of the vituperation with which this last writer has so plentifully bespattered the subject, the questions at issue resolve themselves into these :— • Did the memorialists behave in that gentlemanly and becoming manner towards the -X..M., which he was clearly entitled to expect ? I say, emphatically, No. Is the case, as represented by " Pact," strictly a true representation or not ? I have personal knowledge on the subject, which enables me to say that the whole truth has not been given, and, as recited by " Fact," an unfair view is given to it. This last letter has gone far to lower the entire district in the estimation of the ' public ; and I would advise, as a perfectly disinterested party, that the matter be allowed to rest where it is. —I am, &c, John Francis Reedeb. Napier, June 8, 1868. Sir, —l would feel obliged if you will kindly allot me a small space in your public journal, for the purpose of directing the attention of the proper authorities to the fact that it is time a paid police officer was stationed in this particular locality ;• and. if a lock-up was built also, it might prove to be useful if not ornamental. There are at present not less than twenty-four dwel-ling-houses in this township, and I do not suppose that the houses at Waipawa exceed twice that number. At Waipawa there are three public-houses, and at Hampden two. Now premising that forty-eight dwellings go to make two policemen (the number appointed for Waipawa), we surely are entitled to have one for our share. Perhaps it may be considered necessary that some great infringement of the laws should first take j place, before we presume to sue for a j Peeler, in spite of the maxim that " pre- j vention is always better than cure." If i that be the case, all that can be said about ! it is, that we are beginning to think we ! are in a fair way towards earning our ; rights. To be sure we cannot yet testify I that, any horrid murder has been done *. \ but we are getting on. A barefaced bur- j glary has just been discovered to have been j committed in this town, and the crime traced to a youth who was given in charge to an unpaid policeman, upon which the mother of the delinquent threatened to stab him with a knife if he did not immediately let him go free. Most likely a paid official would have held him in custody in spite of suchimfeminine language. Nor is this all that has taken place in this ill-protected-town. No linen hung out to dry is safe unless watched; poultry and eggs have been stolen from fowl houses during the night time; axes, adzes, or other tools, carelessly left out of doors, are snre to vanish; and for a long period many of ns have suffered great loss in pigs, which have been stolen during the night, from our enclosures. And since certain parties of well known thieving propensities first took up their residence amongst us, no person ever thinks of leaving liis house with the doors unlocked. As may be supposed, so uncomfortable a state of things is trying enough to our patience, and it is time that an attempt should be made to put a stop to it by E lacing a paid policeman in the town. I ope that our representative in the Council will consider this a fitting opportunity for Stirling himself on our behalf. —l am, Ac, A Sufferer from Thieves. Hampden, June 5, 1868. . ? » : ■ » ! t * . i i . ■ i - i .