LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1075, 17 August 1869, Page 2

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

The Editor does nob hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by correspondents. ' MILITIMSQUAD APPLIED TO Mil"V/ATE PURPOSES. Sib,-;-! do iwft think it adds much to the dignity of a dignified officer to use his men for the purpose of discovering the writer of an anonymous letter to .a .public : journal. It is, however, a fact that t,his Patangata squad was so used whilst on parade, by its Lieut., who felt himself sorely aggrieved -\ lately .by " One of No. 10 Company " setting forth that his servants attended drill so very irregularly. Consequently i the following drill day he gave his men an oration on the subject and asked each ? Was it you P was it you P right down the ranks. In these warlike times it does not behove any man, much less a real officer, to bo clothed in so thin a skin as to wince under so mild an infliction, and his showing such only gives the author a victory over such an invincible personage. •■ Whilst on the subject of Militia, can you inform me, as well as those concerned, whether the report is well founded .that in future Militia officers will be allowed; to wear gold lace. Jf so, there will be. an awful scramble for that article, I'm sure, and there will be none left for Your obedient servant, P. J. T. i Elm's Hill, August 10. . Sx«, — I read with pleasure Father Forest's! letter published in your issue of the 13th instant* not because I at all agree with % , but booause I think that the subject should be . ventilated in your columns, before any practical step is taken. . He criticises the proposed application of the educational' endowments chiefly on the following heads : — First, that it is ex^ travagant. This criticism seems merely to he the result of some unaccountable delusion on his part that £600 a year isJ to be applied to the support of common schools. "We know that only £200 is available for such a purpose. Second, that it would bo useless. He proves that it would be useless thus. Education is already provided by the Roman Catholics as cheap as any school could possibly provide it. If any parents do not choose to avail themselves of it for their boys, neither would they avail themselves of the education provided by an unsectarian common school, were such an institution brought into existence. How absurd this is when we see it stated at full length ! The reason why they do not send them to Roman Catholic schools is that thej fear. Roman Catholic influence, not that they grudge the trifle that might be charged for their education. Whether their dread of Roman Catholic influence is wise or foolish it is not necessary for us to decide ; enough that it exists. As long as it exists they will not send their children to Roman Catholic schools. , So as long as it exists an unsectarian school is the thing, and the only thing, that will remedy the evil which Father Forest confesses exists— the fact, viz., that a large proportion of the boys of Napier are not attending any school at present. Another reason why Father Forest thinks that the proposed application of the endowment would be useless or worse is, that it would make the master independent of school fees, and so tend to make him careless and lazy. This might be true if ifc were proposed to endow the common schools with a large sum like £600 a year. But as long as the teacher is mainly dependent on the school fees for his income it does not come intoeffect. Its only effect in this will be a good one. It will enable us 1p secure a teacher much superior to any that we could secure without it. It is on tbisr principle that the educational endowments at home will be applied. See Mr. Forster's speech on the Endowed Schools | Bill passim. The third point on which he criticises it is, that an unsectarian school is an essentially mischievous institution, calculated to undermine the foundation of religion. But he bases his argument in favor of endowing the Roman Catholic schools on the assertion that they are virtually unsectarian as regards non-Catholic children. But if this be true, according to his opinion they are, as regards nonCatholic children, most mischievous institutions, calculated to undermine the foundations of their religion. He might answer that it was possible to inculcate religion to a certain extent without touching on denominational differences. But he shuts up this way of escape for himself by saying that lie can see no middle path between denominational and purely secular teaching. We would ask— ls, then* your teaching as regards non-Catholic children denominational P You answer — No, certainly not. Is it, then, purely secular P If so, it is by your own account essentially mischievous. Could we have a'neater specimen of logical suicide P My own idea on the subject is, that it is quite possible to communicate religious instruction without touching on sectarian differences. Practically, however, this would most likely be found unworkable. If so, then have we not an efficient body of religious instructors in the clergy. Let them undertake — as indeed they do already — the religious instruction of the children, and leave the schoolmaster to his own calling — purely secular education. His fourth criticism is directed specially against the clause proposing the endowment of a Grammar School. He says that the money was originally subscribed , for a common school ; that.it is a piece of. injustice now to apply any of it to a Grammar School. There might be some force in this argument if it were the State \or. any other body of inen-oxcept the subscribers themselves who had to decide with regard to the application of the money. If they think fit to apply a por- ' tion of it to the endowment of a Grammar. School, they have surely a right to do what they choose with their own. It is answered (not in Father Forest's letter) — " Some of the subscribers are dead ; some have left the place. Those who remain liave no right to apply the money to any purposo except that lor which it was intended by the original whole body of subscribers." It seems almost ridiculous to see the big wigs of this twopenny-half-penny bit of a locality airing their over-strained scruples at the very time when the English nation has decided to be guided in this very matter, viz., educational endow- ! ments, by a regard to the public benefit only, applying afl. existing educational endowments, as they think fit, without paying the slightest regard to the testaments of the founders. Thereby, no doubt, as Mr. Forster said in his great speech on the subject, carrying put 'what would have been the desire of the founders, had they been alive now-a-days, as they were the most enlightened men of their own days. Whether the endowing of a grammar school, is the best way of applying a porof the money, is a question which lies with the subscribers to decide. It seems to me that no man, in any class of life, would like to think that a liberal education is a thing which it is altogether impossible' for his sons to obtain. Unless some Buoh scheme as the one proposed is oarried into effect, all but the very- rich must be content to give up all hope of evpr seeing their sons • rise in the world, by any road except farming or business. Viewed in this light, it is not the richest

wHpm' it 'would; chiefly benefit; they could send their sons tope educated elsewhere*j- : rT|f6se whom it would chiefly benefit, are poor aspiring men, who have promising lads, who they think, if justice were done them, would some day take a good position in some profession or other; but wno, if a liberal education is ; &, thing tirely out of their reach, would necessarily: be condemned ; to. .^poverty and obscurity;. : In order to bring such an education more easily within their reach; £ would suggest that some portion of the money, say £20 per annum, or. more, if. ifc be thought fit, might be devoted to founding one oaf two scholarships, to enable the boys who I shewed themselves most proficient in the common school to attend the grammar school. It is in this way that a considerable portion of the money, placed at the disposal of the state, by the appropriation of the educational endowments at home, will be applied. At any rate, we recommend the subscribers to study what has been said and written with regard to educational endowments, within the last few months, in England. We refer them for instance, to Mr. Forster's speech on . the Endowed School Bjili and Mr. Mill's, paper on Educational Endowments, in the Fortiktighfly Bevieti). — lam,&c, : William w; oAfcMii.