PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. Wednesday, May 13, 1896. THE BRUNNER ENQUIRY.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXI, Issue 109, 13 May 1896, Page 2

PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. Wednesday, May 13, 1896. THE BRUNNER ENQUIRY.

♦ Everyone, we feel sure, must agree that the official enquiry into the cause or causes which led- to the recent deplorable disaster at the Brunner mine should be as searching and complete as possible, and we therefore feel we are only expressing the opinions of the whole of our readers when we take serious exception to the manner m which, judging by latest news from the Coast, the investigation is being carried on. In the first place, we fail to see why the Commission should hold its sittings at Greymouth instead of at Brunnerton, where the majority of the witnesses reside." Further,, we , warmly coincide with and support the contention of the local paper, the Brunner News, that outside counsel, that is, some solicitor who is not a resident on the Coast, should be provided by the Crown to act on behalf of the men. A little consideration will easily show that this course is the only proper and wise one to adopt. The expert, Mr Hannan, who represents the Crown, is, we have no doubt, an earnest, fair-minded man, and one fully capable of and willing to do his best to get at the truth as to the causes which led to the awful catastrophe which has plunged so many happy homes into mourning and distress, but the influence of the colliery owners is very strong, and Mr Hannan, being only mortal, cannot fail to keep m mind the fact that someday or other he might have to go to one of these owners for employment or to otherwise solicit their influence and assistance. For many other reasons which it is unnecessary to specify, we certainly think it is the bounden duty .of the Crown to provide the men with the services of a solicitor from Wellington or elsewhere, who ought to have no share m, or connection direct or indirect with any one of the colliery mining companies. This solicitor would be able to enter upon the task of representing the interest of the widows and families of the dead men without any fear of ulterior bad consequences to himself by reason of his being outspoken or being determined, by severe and searching cross-examination of certain witnesses, to get at the truth, however unpleasant and awkward that truth may or may not be to certain interests. Mr Jellicoe, whose name has been suggested m this direction, bears the name of being a little rash, but he also enjoys the reputation of being absolutely fearless m the interests of his clients. Those who may remember his conduct of the case against the Wellington merchant, Mr Waring Taylor, when some years ago that person was charged with fraud, will testify as to Mr Jellicoe's contempt for what might be called the social influence possessed by a real or alleged offender, into whose doings the counsel has to make thorough investigation, and although of late years Mr Jellicoe has, on some occasions, gone a little too far and drawn upon himself the remonstrances and indeed openly expressed denunciation of the judges his reputation with the public for wariness and fearlessness on behalf of his clients has not suffered. Mr Jellicoe, would, we believe, be the right man m the right place when acting for the men before the Commission, and we hope, even at this late hour, his services may be retained. Lastly we come to a question of even greater importance than any already mentioned. We refer to the stupid and altogether most blameworthy, decision of the Commission to prohibit the representatives of the press from reporting the proceedings at the enquiry. What valid excuse or reasonable defence has been or can be put forward for such a highhanded and most unjustifiable determination on the part of the Com*

missioners, we are totally at a loss to imagine. It stands to reason that the attendance of the ordinary public at the enquiry, whether held at Brunnerton or Greymouth, must necessarily be very small, whilst on the other hand, the interest taken m the proceedings, not only by miners, but by people all along the Coast, and indeed, all over the colony, is absolutely enthralling. That the press should be muzzled m this outrageous manner when the causes of a calamity, by which 60 men lost their lives are being investigated, strikes us at least, as being an outrage, and we should very much like to know who is directly responsible for it, the members of the Commission or the Government, by whom the members of the said Commission were appointed. It is of the utmost importance, not only that the enquiry should be as full and complete as possible, but that the country should have an early, regular and complete resume of the . main facts as they are brought forth day by day before the Commission, and this is impossible unless the embargo upon press reports is at once withdrawn. We trust that before or soon after these lines are printed the Government may have appointed Mr Jellicoe or some other suitable solicitor to act on behalf of the men, and further that the Star Chamber-like decision of the Commission to prohibit its proceedings being fully reported will have been rescinded. Otherwise we fear the public will join with ourselves m regarding the enquiry with the gravest suspicion and its report whatever it may be, with the deepest distrust. A COBRHfPOSDENT Blgning hcmb himself "Teaoner" writes lessons. to a Dunedin paper as follows : — '• Sir, — The vexed queetion of home lessons and keeping m has again come to tho front, and the Board has again shirked the subject. I aappo6B another circular will bo issued, and will be ignored by teachers and inspectors, who know well that the work of the syllabus cannot bo done m school hours. Ihe proper work cf the syllabus cannot well be done m the four end a-half hours a day, and it is quite impossible m that time to do the work expected and required by the board's inspectors. Of late years about 50 per cent of the questions are well within the syllabus, 25 per cent are barely within, and 25 per cent are outside the Byllabus altogether. This is certainly the case m class subjects, taken viva vocc, when the inspector wanders away as he likes, without fear of being brought to book. Besides this, the questions are often put m such language that the scholars do not know what is asked from them, and of course do not give the desired answer. If the board really wishes to lessen the homo work, let the inepsotore be informed that upon no pretext is any question to be put upon any part of the work whioh is not well within the syllabus. And having issued tbeee orders to their inspectors, let the board see that they are obeyed, which is very unlikely to occur unless great care is taken. The Board did issue some instructions of the kind re arithmetic and grammar, and the result was that written arithmetic was made easier, but mental arithmetic was made harder, and the grammar examination last year was stiffer than m any previous year. If the board does not take some Euoh ctep home lessons, keeping m, and cram will continue, for teachers will prefer to take the risk of beiog blamed for these praotices rather than inour the certain condemnation of inspeotors, board, and parents if tho sohool makes a bad pass." We think the abova remarks apply to other diatriots besides Otago.