TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN NEW ZEALAND.

Marlborough Press, Volume XX, Issue 1195, 7 November 1879, Page 4

TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN NEW ZEALAND.

have been

asked to solicit-the kind offices of American , 7inyentorvrnaaufacturors;xndiOtl>trfriendaof industriar education on. behalf of a worthy institution in far New Zea- ; -iand.^. . ’To provide, " all. classes and denominntiods' 1 of ttieNew Zetland population with facilities for pursuing a rOguhrr and liberal ■ r courseliof'bddoatlon,* Canterbury' College basiibeen established at Cliristehurch, tho prijUpipal; town; of tho province of Canterbury, and is now in good, working condition. In connection with this College there has been founded a, scientific museum, housed in a* handsome stone building, ereetod at a cost of upward of IOU.OOOdoIs., and comprising a valuable objection of specimens of natural -history, and type collections of minerals and fossils An effort is being made to establish in this museum a department of .technical science, for which contributions of tnodols of machinery, imnlements, and the like are now solicited t The reception of such contributions, and their shipment to Now Zealand (freight charges to be paid there), will be undertaken by ■ D - a publishers of this paper | ;ii ‘ I,i! ’So^aW^lr tor ilie'toess'age committed to -1 us. A Word or ! two with'respect to the reasons why the request should be cheerfully and abundantly met. . New Zealand is one of the most worthy and promising of,.the youngor members of the Great .Britain made up of all the English speaking countries of the globe. As the too, among the rising nations allied to ua by blood, and bound to us by rapidlystrengthening commercial ties, New Zealand is. in every way deserving of all - the educational assistance we can give her ; and itobau ibe safely promised that her people will be duly grateful for anything we may do in this way. There is a lower (possibly to some a more cogent) reason why this request should be gratred ;it will: pay commercially. Already New Zealand is one of the most inviting of foreign markets for American manufactured products; and there is no Wiy by which manufacturers can place machinery, implements, and other wares more effectively before the New Zealanders than by having them thus favorably placed on perpetual exhibition at the chiof ceutre of intelligence in the colony. It is not yet-f.my’ years since the first white settlers landed in Now Zealand, and r already the population numbers something like half a million of wide awake, active, / and intelligent English people. The idands have an area of over 100 0.00 square miles ; -a trifle less.than that of Great Britain and and something more than twiee >ihat of the State of New York. About 212,000,0u0 acres arc fit fur agriculture ; -50,000,000 acres are suitable fur pasturage ; ■-20,000,000 ate forest lands. The climate -is much like that of England, but Vimru equable. There is more sunshine arid a smaller range of temperature. The annual mean; for the North Island is 57d**gs , that of the' South Island is 52<legs The mean annual temperature of London an 1 New York is sldegs. The country is rich in minerals, and its .resources are being developed rapidly. In 1876 tho foreign commerce of Zealand wa9 equal to that oi Norway. Ifciwus more than that of any of the South American states except Brazil ; more than that of any African states except Egypt and Algeria; greater than that of Japan ; and was exceeded in Asia only by China, Java, And the Straits Settlements It was exceeded in Australia only bv Victoria and New South Wales In 1875 its trade with ,-frhe United States exceeded 10,000,000d01s In 1876 the col.my had 600 miles .o c railway, and in 1878 something like 1000 miles In 1875 there were in operation over 3000 miles of teler.c graph lines, with n /7 mileage of telegraph wire exceeding.7ooo miles 'These aro rhe . latest statistics »than<i; and the rate of . . progress is such, that they must he largely increased to bring them up to tho probible figures required to indicate the present conjdition of the colony. It is'to a country possessing such notable capacities for commercial developments, and offering so many inducements for tho '‘ cultivation of friendly relations, that the asked for models and specimens of mu- - and industrial appliances are to go, to be placed on view, as already said, under - the most favorable conditions possible. In very many instances doubtless the • most efficient as well as most ecoriumical representation to send, will be a perfect machine or implement of regular make. The photographs,of the museum rooms which may be seen at this qffi-o by anyono who is interested— show an abundance of “ space for the proper display of contributions ; and as the museum is a place of s;: ' popular ‘resort,•"not only fur the people of cCbristohuroh, but for all visitors to that ,'hcapital, a more attractive mode of exhibitJpg matters suitable for the markets of tho . .oolppy could not .be devised. We sincerely trust that our.energetic, generous, and farseeing manufacturers will take the matter ,in h/wd earnestly, and that while Canterbury College is enriched by specimens of -high educational value, the industries of the United, States will have in them a full and honorable presentation before the r students, of tbx institution and [the. public l v..U -I, , < It.otay, properly be suggested hero that J 0 should affiic to u «a«jh, ’ a special iablei! hearing, tho .inscrintiop-p- ---‘ ‘ to tbp Toonnofogicarj&olleVUOo >Choi i eh^Nfe# i ZealahdTby, , et ! n , eie., w ''givjifg - the ddnof’s narael .kh'd^pfisfe'^ffic^ddd^slT^