The Manawatu Herald. Tuesday, February 13, 1912. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 1006, 13 February 1912, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Tuesday, February 13, 1912. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

The Horowhenua Mineral Prospecting Association is sanguine that rich minerals will be discovered in the mountains behind Eevin. Old settlers, says our Eevin contemporary, who remember rich specimens being found in the ranges years ago, have great faith in the mineral bearing wealth of t he Tararua ranges, and are said to be confident that when scientifically prospected rich mineral deposits will be discovered. We remember specimens of gold-bearing quartz being discovered in these ranges on the eastern side, by Greytowu prospectors, many years ago, also goldbearing stone being discovered along the Waiohiue riverbed, but no properly organised or equipped party has been at work in prospecting the ranges. We are satisfied that there is a rich “jugular’ ’ in the ranges, but it may beat a great depth. We wish the Horowhenua Society success in their efforts to locate precious metals, and feel certain, if a meeting under the auspices of the Society were held in the Wairarapa, financial assistance as well as valuable information would be forthcoming.

During the hearing of the Stagpoole appeal case at Waugauui on Saturday, the question ot classification came under discussion. It will be remembered that the classification of the scholars of the local State school a few years ago, raised a storm of protest by a number of parents. We said then and still maintain that that teacher acted in the best interests of the school and had Mr Stagpoole followed a similar course at Linton, shortly after he took control, it is possible that the present trouble, at least so far as the Board is concerned, would not have cropped up. Mr Gray, who appeared on behalf of Stagpoole, said the school had been overclassified by Mr otagpoole’s predecessor, but added: “It would take a considerable time lor Mr Stagpoole to ascertain the individual acquirements ot the pupils, and had Mr Stagpoole reclassified the pupils he would have placed every parent in antagonism to him,” Mr W. T. Grundy, one of the ablest educationalists m the Dominion, during the course of his evidence, touching on the question of school inspection and classification said : “The methods and programme of work, were in the hands of the head teacher ot the school. He admitted that it would be impossible for an Inspector to judge a teacher’s control ot his school by a one-day visit. A teacher had power to classify his pupils and generally it was done at ihe commencement ot the year. It would depend upon the condition ot the school whether Mr Stagpoole should re-classiiy the school when he took it over. If witness took charge of a school and at an examination held a month afterwards he found that the pupils were over-classified, he did not think he would have left the pupils in the same classes for another six mouths ; pei sonally, he would insist on putting the classification right. 01 course, if you reduced the scholars iu grade, you did not please the parents. If a pupil was unfit to be promoted from the second standard and a teacher, at the request of a parent, promoted that pupil to the lourth standard, he would say the teacher was not capable.”