ST. MARY'S SCHOOLS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 17, 20 January 1875, Page 2

ST. MARY'S SCHOOLS.

The 2*ith anniversary of these schools was celebrated yesterday. During the afternoon there were games of every description for the children, and at five o'clock 250 of them, and about 50 adultp, eat down to an excellent tea that had been provided for them. At seven p.m., the prizes were distributed by Binhop Redwood, who, when this part of the proceedings waa over, addressed the scholars aa follows : — i Dear Children—lt has been a groat pleasure to me to take part in the distribution of the prizes to-day, and I must congratalate you upon your success at the end of the scbool-yrar. What constitutes the special worth of ihese prizes is, not the intrinsic v«lue of each, but the whole sum ol tbe efforts they suppose. Ihey indicate continued efforts throughout the yesr, the strmalheniog ot the wdl to compete for the well-earned rewards, nnd assiduity and perseverance in study which, after all, is frequently the hardest and raosi difficult of all kinds of jjerßeverance. Their worth, to , is added to by the bearing thsy have upon your future, looked upon, as they may be, as the tokens of hnp?. At present you are lifeo the budding trees, burfting out in flower and blushing honors, but whoso bet-uty does not so much consist in what we actually see, a3 the promise they hold f*ut of a rich crop of fruit, and iv you I tee vtry great prcmite of thia To my eye you are surrounded by that halo which c-ncirelej thoße in wbom we take tin interest, and to whose future we look forward with bope. You are to form a paitof thi* flourishing coloay„which is now beginning to make ior itself a name, and it 13 to you, and

auch as you, that we look to raise to greatness this country, for which there appears to be so g'orious a future in store. But the greatness of New Zealand depends upon the instruction of its mind, and the forming of its men. What raises and maintains a nation in a high p -gition, and prevents its falling into decay, is, tint good and true men are to be found in it in numbers. This can only bo attainel by c iucation, which takes a man and brings out all his faculties. His mind and intelligence must be developed by instruction, and his will strengthened by discipline And there is a yet higher faculty— conscience— which can only be brought into full play by teaching a man what is right and what wrong, by following him step by step until he is made one who is known and honour a;4 as a thorough'y conscientious man. ln order to <*o thi?, the work of education must begin with the boy. I must exhort you, therefore, to ooitinue to persevere a* you have done so far, and to encourage you in so doing I would point out some of the motives that should iaduce you to exert yourselves. You may find a motive in the master who teaches you and takes so much interest in you, and upon having whom Has your head you may well congratu'ate yourselves ; you have a motive in the good par* tor who devotes himself to you, and who will never be forgotten in Ntlson, having left his mark in the education of thousands of boys and girls, many of whom will never cease to honor and esteem him ; you bave a further motive to perseverance in the devoted Sisters who^havo leit their country for your sake, and are as willing as they are able, to ins! met you ; and you have yet another motive in the intereat taken in you by those who attend on such an occasion as the present. Among these I am glad to see Mr Simmons, the learned and distinguished head master of the Nelson College, which already occupiea a proud position in the front rank of the educational establishments of the colony. He comes to point out to you that there are higher grades of education before you, and to encourage yo.i to enter upon these. I must avail myself of his presence to acknowledge my appreci ition of the truly liberal, generou», and broad principles upon which that institution is conducted. I must also allude to Mr Broad, who has made every effort in his power to advance the cause of education. He, too, comes to encourage and to help you, aud to incite you to increased efforts. And now, it only remains for me to invoke the blessing of the Almighty — lhe God of science*?, the God of eternal tru'h I ask His bles*ing on all who promote the cause of education, aod on you, my dear children, who, I hope, will, all of you, prove a source of consolation to your parents, and a credit to yourselves by the deep and lasting influence you will have on eodety. Mr Broad said that it was a noticeable fact that during the time he had been in Nehon there had, at each distribution of the prizes, be?n some event to make it remarkable. First, there was the arrival of the Sutera, ■whoie efforts had been crowned with such happy results ; on the following year there had b.en the Inspector's report, which congratulated them on the almost miraculous impr< vement that had taken place in the school; and on the present occasion they had indeed reason to be pr-ud that the Bishop who had just addressed, them was one of St Miry's boys, and wa* an horor rot only to his church hut to the town ot Nelson. W" th this fact he might * point a moral and adorn a tale," for he was a notable i ximple of what they might all achieve by virtue and industry, as it waentirely o^in'g to his ability, perseverance, and eminent virtues that Bishop He.lwood oc cupi-d the high position whioh he held He desired to endorse nil that had fallen from the Bishop with regard to their dear friend Father Garin, of whom he could not speak in toa high terms, for the love they all bore him was too great for words to express. The Rev. A. M. Gakin was very glad to see on the platform Captain Rough a gentleman t-> whom the province of Nelson was deeply indebted for hia efforts in promotin? e '-cation. To himself, that d>yw»s one of special interest, being the tWfenty-fif h anr,i versiry of St Murv's Schools, and he was very plGf>s-*d that the Bishop was present to srive additional importance to tbe occasion. H* impre b ed upon the scholars the impnrtance of put-suing their studies regularly, and working not only at school but at home They might see the result of this in many boys and j-irls who had attended tha school, and a sinking instance of" the advantage ot pursuing mich a course was furnished by the Bish.vp who had jnst addressed them. Captain Rough wished to acknowledge the kindly mention made of him by his excellent friend Father Garin. He would also take the opportunity of spying that, although <Velf*o.-» wa3 highly mentionei everywhere for the excellence of her elcirentary schools. th*y did not come up to so high a standard as he could wish. This was chiefly owing to the irregularity of attendaric?, aad to the fact that the children were titken away at too early an age. This wasn t onlvharmful to thechildren hut most diccouraging to the masters and mistresses, and ho would earnestly impress upon the parents the desirability of allowing their children to remain at school at all events until they were fourteen, even though by so doing they might be putting themselves to inconvenience He desired to say that the examination of the pupils attending St. Mary's schio's had been a positive pleasur? to him, as tin elementary branches were much better understood by them, while their mannprs were most credit able toth°mse!vcr md their teachers, and their moral-- could not but be benefitted by the care of, and examp'o set by, the estimable ladies who had come out here to teach them To the chi'dren he would say that they could not too highly appreciate the efforts of those who took euch great pains in educating them. Mr Riohards thanked the Bishop f*r the ktndly reftrerice made to him, and those who were present for the eclat they had given to the distribution of the prizes, which had been fairly awarded according to the number of marks obtain d during tho year. ' He expressed satl* fiction at the progress made by the pupils, and alluded to the harmony that existed bitween them and their masters. The «• assi-luity" prizes, he paid, had been given in the belief that, by encouraging industry and peweveran'-e, they were making th** most of the natural povrers ot the children who he wished to see earnest aod energetic in the playground as well as in the school-room. Mr. Fimmons, after alluding in most complimentary terms fo Father Garin, whom he ooked upon as the model of a Christian man, and had always found kind, gocd, and chnritable to all men, said that the 7*ißhop had been good enough to refer to the Nelson College in tho mist .flittering manner, and for this he felt thankful, as he certainly was proud of that institution, and Mt that be had a right to be so.. He could assure his Lordship that fair play would always be accorded to all who attended it, whatever their creed might be. He spoke of the good that had been d no by the institution of Provincial scholarships, and rail that one of his best pupils had boen Daniel Connor, who, as the gainer of one of Jliem, had n trended the College, and h«I since passed a most creditable examination for the Civil Service. He trusted tbat his Lcrdsbip wou'd continue to retain hi* capfidence in the College, and could assure him tint r.othing would be left undone tojustify it. Cheers having been given for tfie Bishop» the masters and mistresses, and for Captain Rough, the proceedings terminated. We should have published the pr'Z9 list, but, although promised, it has not been sup- ' plied to us.