TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXV, Issue 85, 16 April 1901, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

In his annual report on the public schools of Marlborough, Inspector Smith, referring to the morale of the children, pays a compliment to the teachers. He says :—lt is a somewhattrite remg,r|f that the passing of children through tha standards in the shortest possible time is not the solo, or even the chief, duty of the public school teacher; but, inasmuch as the system under which he works, is secular, &$ \fell as free and compulsory, so much greatei? is the obligation nesting upon him, not only that the characters of his pupils should be influenced as far as possible by the. inculcation of lessons having a sound moral application, but thap hjs own character should be above repr.oach as muah in the general tenor of his daily lifo as an ordinary member of society, as in connection with the discharge of his duties inside the wail* of the schoolroom. Happily the day has gone by nevev to return, when any person who had failed at Qifo&p peculations was thought lf good enough £©■ teach 3, school,'' and when almost any kind o£ misconduct outside, the school was regarded with indifference, provided that the Avork of the school was not grossly neglected, I believe that the teachers in this dis» ti'ict are fully alive to the importance of this unspecified portion of their duties, and that as they realise the relief of escaping f'rflm tUo gallingfetters of the Standard Pass, they wiJi have more heart, as well as more time, for what Wight then truly, bo called a " delightful task," The old idea that the conduct of tlie children AvJ)t vn Qi!t. ; side the class room is no business"^f the teachers, has, I hope, quite disappeared 5 and I cannot call to mind a single instance oi: impopQr language or behaviour amongst the children "in the play-ground or the immediate neighborhood of the schools. Tlie only weak spot that "has opmg under my notice in connection with'the manag^ ment of our schools is, that in a few cases, an appearance of indill'oronco

and want of zeal in the service, which is crystallised in the old "fashioned expression, "Come night, come ninepence," is produced when the teacher arrives at the school exactly at the hour of opening (sometimes a little Liter) and exhibits a corresponding alacrity in quitting the precints directly the hour for closing arrives, hkich conduct, although leaving no room for formal complaint, has nevertheless an unfavorable effect upon the school,- as well as upon the general public, who are more observant of such matters than perhaps is generally supposed, and in such cases are apt to form opinions on the condition of the school, more unfavourable than perhaps the circumstances really justify.

Pi'.OFEssou Ei,ivb!{ O.vxis has been giving' a few predictions as to the future of electricity to an American newspaper. Hero are a few of them : — Means of electrical communication will be developed to an extent ■ now incredible. Wireless telegraphy, telephony, and telep'ioty, for all distances over and through the earth,' will be accomplished, so that-we may speak to persons in distant countries, and see them while we are talking to them; and this art will bo perfected .so that an entertainment given hi London will be heard and witnessed in San Francisco in natural colours, natural size, etc. In like manner mechanical' po'-ver will be transmitted through the other to short distances- without wires to' many different machines in the same or adjacent buildings. Electric printing will displace all present forms of printing, and it will print in colours. The printing will be done without ink or without inked ribbons upon electrochemically prepared paper. With electric pens we will write "on chemically prepared paper without ink or leads. The energy of fuels, continues the professor, will be directly, converted into electricity without intermediate transformations of energy through batteries and dynamos. Practical results.will be obtained in the utilisation of the power of natural electric waves, in the circumambient, intcrmolecular ether. Just as we now use natural waterfalls in producing power, so we utilise natural electric waves of the ether to turn our wheels. Electricity will be an important factor in the accomplishment of aerial navigation, the practical solution'of which will be accomplished early in the next century. It will profoundly modify industrial and social conditions ; it will turn the whole world into a neighbourhood ; it will profoundly alter many forms of industry. Electricity, magnetism, and cataphoresis will be applied to the separation of all lands of powdered or particled substances from each other, as bran from flour, gluten from starch, particled impurities from powdered substances; gold, copper, and iron, from, sands, gravels," and crushed rocks ; in fact, anything that is in particles whatsoever can be electrically separated from anything else.

Buckingham Palace is to be the London residence of the new King and Queen. It is being completely overhauled and renovated for this purpose. It has fallen into a state of partial neglect during its long virtual disuse, and much needs to be done to bring it thoroughly up-to-date as a modern State residence. It is understood that the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall will have Marlborough House. The future 'of Balmoral and Gsborno remains still unsettled. The King has expressed his regret that lie cannot visit Ireland this year, as he hoped to do, but has promised to come next year if possible. An Irish Royal residence is one of the novelties vaguely foreshadowed. The Eiiiig and Queen are, it is said, going to add a new wing to Sandrlngham, to accommodate the increased household which their position now more or less compels them to have about thqm. Provision is also to be made in 61ie vicinity of Sandringham for his Majesty's Household Troops, and a representative of thy War Office has, it is stated, been selecting a site..foi\ the new barracks.

At tlie meeting of the City and Suburban Burgesses' Association at Christchurch last week, Mr Gr. Laurenson, M.H.E,, made some forcible remarks concerning the system of education. Some time ago, he said, .this system had been considered above discussion. Jt was still on trial, and for his own jgapp l)p Relieved that, proud as we had be/3'n p'f it, it was behind not Cf f ly the English, but nearly all the Continental systems. Children had been pushed through the standards at a younger age every year, and this "cram " system, he thought, instead of strengthening their minds, even weakened them. He cited a case of a child in his own experience, who passed all the stand^ds pefpre reaching the age of twelve,"and had forgpttoii clip simplest questions a few months aj^er.. He believed himself in teaching a boy so that he should be prepared "to %ht life's battle, as technical and manual education would help him to do, not in cramming him with superfluous information which he would soon forget. It was it fact £hat sjineo IB7Q th.c population of Now Zealand had hiftreasect 50 per cent., while the number 6i' the insane had increased by 300 per cent. Now, it would generally be allowed fillet thp average colonial was not greatly ' trpiiWpcl )ij reljgipus perplexities, so that these could not explain the disproportionate increase of insanity. Neither would alcoholism give an explanation, for less liquor was jinmk per. head npv/ th^n in I.S7G. But, eoiitempovanepusly with' the increase of insanity, there had been "this increase of the system of eramiAing. PJe would not say for a moment that it s»r(.s a cas«a qf effect and cause—but there were the two facts.