NAPIER BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 181, 18 July 1911, Page 11

NAPIER BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL

VICTORIA LEAGUE" ESSAY. senior COMPETITION. The fallowing are the prize in tin? Victoria League's at the Napur High S.-U....1, They are of considerable • nerit. anti show the high standard ~f literary training that is being tzvven to the scholars. India, and Britain's treatment •it the Native Races. By H. V. McCarthy. The history of India is not that of a race < f people with common feelings of patriotism and nationality. It is the history of a continent differing more widely m race, language, institutions and customs than do the countries and peoples ef all Europe. It possesses one of the oldest civilisations of the world, and social traditions of caste and manner have existed for inanv thousands of years. India for long ages has been the envy and prey of different conquerors, until at the present day it enjoys a peace that never before existed. British connection with India really began in the year 1600, when , a charter was granted to the East India Company by Queen Elizabeth. Factories were formed at Madras. Bombay, and Calcutta, and England entered into competition with the Dutch and Portu-

guese. It is necessart’ now to see why we conquered India and how it was wr- undertook the political and moral education of three hundred million people. It is a stupendous task, and the final result will depend on whether England has peace for the necessary length of time. At this time when the East India Company were quietly trading. a French statesman named Duple ix conceived the idea of branding a French Empire in Inti ia by training the natives and lt ,ing them for the expulsion of the English traders. Unfortunately for his plan, the English, when attacked. dt fraud the French, and finally drove them out of the country. This, however, involved the company in Indian politics, and unwillingly they were obliged to annex land and fight the native irnlcrs in order to protect their trade. In this way largo tracts of land were annexed, and it was seen that it would be impossible for a private company to control such a large country. Accordingly Lord North's Regulating Act was passed, which provided that a Governor Li nt ral and Council of five were to rule India, and that the company'-; charter was to be renewed every twenty years. Pitt’s India Bill in 1781 gave the Home Government its first real power in Indian affairs. In 1813 the company’s charter was renewed, and the trade of India- was thrown open to all British subjects without distinction of race. All this time the company was annexing more land, but by 1815 all fear from French intrigue was passed, and so it would seem 1 - at the annexation of land wornd cea>e. But such was not to be -n? . ase, for a new danger in the shape of Russia presented .tn-H English statesmen had notice! with some alarm that Russia extending herself in Asia, and since India could not be invaded from the si aas lon gas Britain retained her supremacy. they thought that it would be s i inti statesmanship to push British territory up to ti e Himalaya', for

then India would be secure ns !< ng’ as the north-west passes v<--e kept-; I fortified. This is h>w at tie pres-1 ' --nt day we possess al! India except | a few settlements, some helui>g.m»| to native riders and some tc Frame, and Portugal. The conquest of) India would have been :n>| edible; if there had existed an Indian ni-; tion. but as it was, one rate ol people was often used n c’-e conquest of another. Trou-de with' India broke out in 1854. t hen thej Bengal army broke out in mutiny. > hut even this was checked by the! Ghurka and Punjabi troops Smet J then British statesmen ha e been; careful of the feelings of the oat-; ives in regard to their rel-.gian and; old customs. Trouble has oct-.-.-:-• mnally occurred with the pr-«pie,‘ but now India enjoys a peace that! was unknown before, and it is only a matter of time before India ue-, comes one of the great links of the Empire. Wr must now see how lu’-a was* governed and how reforms t.- ic ; place and new laws were passed.l Our administration in Ind a really | began with Clive in 1765. He at; once put a stop to rhe eurr. mdu and oppression which had r. suited j from every servant of th - e 'r.panv | k being engaged in private enterprise | and receiving presents and I raj s. ■ But his system did not last long. ■ because corrupt nati..--- .-till <ol-| leeted the revenue. fn - *i<-.etj was remedied by Has. mgs. v.ho ap- j pointed European c'"'>'-r-. ;!<■ I also established cou.’.s c-f justice'

and a police system. Bentinch was the next man who started a series of reforms. He abolished the ancient Hindoo custom of Suttee. or widow burning, and rooted out the brotherhoods of Thugs or hereditary murderers, who hail wandered over the country making a trail*- of strangling. He removed the old restrictions *>n missionaries| ami encouraged steam navigation on the (tangos. With Macaulay s advice he sought to educate the' higher class of natives in Western; literature ami the English langu-f age. Lord Dalhousie was the next j man whose administration aftected.

India greatly. He founded the Pui - lie Works Department, and brought j in roads, canals, cheap postage ’j and the telegraph. He finish-, ed the Ganges canal, and founded | the Indian railway system. He' opened up the Civil Service to all British subjects without distinction; <»f race. Lord Mayo was the next i man who started to develop India, j With great energy he set about to i develop the material and conimer- j cia! resources of India, but his a<--j tivity was cut short by his murder j in the Andaman Islands. He has been followed by a succession of ■

Viceroys who have all helped to develop India, and it is through their reforms and great works that the Indian people enjoy the peace and prosperity that exists at the present day. India at the present day consists of about 250 districts, each of which is under a collector-magis-trate. These, except in Madras, are divided into divisions which arc under a commissioner, and these are then grouped into provinces. under a governor, who is sent from England. Theso are all under the Viceroy, who is supreme, everywhere. These officials all leam the native language so that they may be better able to execute justice, and understand the. wants, desires ami strange customs of the people. They jealously guard the interests of the people and see that no unfair taxation is asked for, or that no unfair laws are made. In their hands rests the future of India, and to them is entrusted the education and government of the people of India. India at the present day enjoys a peace and material prosperity that was unknown before in hethistory. A series of public works, roads, bridges, canals and railways nil splendidly engineered, have helped to open up the country. Great irrigation schemes have made the land more fertile and provide*! a means against famine. Population increases now that war. pestilence and famine are almost a

thing of the past. The cotton mills of Bombay, the jute factories of Calcutta, the coal mines, the salt mines of the Punjab, where salt is found in solid cliffs, are all taking the surplus population and hold out a new era <>f enterprise in India. Sehools are scattered all over the country, anil universities are found in the big towns. Great attention is now being paid by the govemment t" the education ami moral uplifting of th<? people, ami tb.e Briii-h Government may well be proud t»f their efforts in this direction. India is awake, but it is still more than ever the land of contrasts, the land of old and new. th* 1 land of Fast ami AVest. The futiiii 1 of India rests entirely with England. She has undertaken the riolitical and moral education of three hundred million human beings. She deserves the praise of all friends of civilisation. Peace is the necessity for the successful completion of this task. It is the duty of the whole British nation to see that we have it. JUNIOR COMPETITION. “Aims of Boy and Girl Scouts

and Probable Effect on Y’oung New Zealanders.' - By L. Row. The Boy Scout scheme was first founded in England by Lieut. General Baden-Powell. He did not start this scheme with the idea of training boys for war, but he wanted “peace scouts.” He saw that the prosperity of a nation does not depend entirely upon its military and naval abilities. Good citizen-

ship, trade, and industry are needed to keep up the strength of a nation. The strength of the British Empire is being lessened by the number of men who go about doing nothing. ft would be almost impossible to walk through a town in New Zealand without coming across a crowd of young men drinking and smoking, it- has been estimated that £189,000,000 is spent e.very year on tobacco and drink. This sum would go a long way towards putting down the poverty of the people in some places. The Scouts were founded with the idea of keeping boys and girls away from the “hooligan’’ class. This great movement has thus spread to New Zealand and foreign countries all over the world. The New Zealand Government spends thousands of pounds every year on educating the boys and girls of the Dominion. They sav tliat the country- cannot get on well unless the people are educate I ; but we must remember that charac-

ter counts just as much as learning. The “peace scouts” are intended to traiu the boys to be gentlemen, and the girls to be ladies, in the true sense of the words. A child may be likened to a bar <jf red hut iron out of which fne blacksmith wishes to make a sirne. If he waits until the iron is cold, it is then useless to attempt to hammer it into the required shape. He must ‘’strike while the iron is hot.” It is so with boys and girls, you must, not wait until they have grown up before you start to train them in what is right. You must start while they are young if you want them to be of use t othe country. Men like Captain Cook and Dr. Livingstone, and women like Ho renee Nightingale and Grace Darling are needed more than men of war. There is a need of good, honest working men in New Zealand. To-day foreigners are flocking into the colony to make their fortunes. This is because the population contains such a large percentage of loafers and men who have never learned a trade. There is a large number of the boys of the Dominion who have started a “blind-

alley” career. They have taken on work which will bring in pay until they ari about eighteen ,but after that there is no chance of a rise, and thus they haven’t a chance of being successful in life. Scouts are trained so that they will be successful in after life, and know how to look after themselves. When Scouts are seen on parade the common idea is that they are hoys pl.iymg soldiers, but there is a fa/ higher aim in view. If the coming genet ation is trained to be clever, honest, patriotic, and industrious we can look forward to New Zealand becoming a very prosperous country. The Boy and Girl Scout movement is one scheme which has been founded for bringing about this desired prosperity. People all over the world are realising the necessity of bringing up their boys and girls so that they will not be a drag on the country, but more of a help to it. So it is that the Scouts are making headway in Italy, Australasia, South Africa, Germany, Chili, Canada, and the United States. At a parade in Toronto, Canada, over six thousand Scouts were present. All that we can hope is that they may be a great success in other countries as well as in New Zealand, so that humanity as a whole may be benefitted by this excellent scheme — which is, after all, but a practical realisation of the ideals taught by the best English public schools.