EDUCATION IN OTAGO.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 17 May 1907, Page 3

EDUCATION IN OTAGO.

DECREASE IN f-'CHOOL A'ITENDANCI".

PREVALENCE OF UNCERTIFICATED TEACHERS.

UNDERSTAFFED SCHOOL?.

[UsiTEn PitEss Association.]

DUNBDIN. Fiidiv. The annual oducaticnal nport slnws tbat. in 1906 there was a decrea-p of 328 in the number of pupils, tbe Dune lin ■whools contributing 171. Th-; :. vera '.pa attendance of pnpUi for thn w'i >le Education District was In v.-r bst year ••han for any year sin':e lSi's. i]ne lar!f i'v to the meiu'es cpkleinic Atlention is ooinledly drawn to lhe larg! ii cretse in the number of une rliii-aied or ivlicensed teaeliers. most of whom art eSngle-ljj-mtlcl xu (JUttying listiibts. Of 4G4 adult teachers 13.8 per cent db not possess the es.ential tertifica'63 cf competence. Tbe.opinion is emphatically expressed that the p-esent age limit for free places in •lecondary schools is mischievous in i s results. Tho Inspactors complain that owing to the increase 'of work and changes in the melhods the schools are inadequately staffed,

j A good story is told of a well-knonn jockey who went up to town to consult a specialist abcutsome ailment. '• Ycu.habits, I conclude, are sedentary?'' mil the specialist, " Well, yes, I no sit* a good deal. "My work, indeed, is most'y done sitting, was the reply. " Just so. Well, if you want to g-et well you .must lake io horse exenjis?." A candidate for municipal honourswas in the'middj'e of an impassioned sp ecb. •'Can anyone here sell me sixpenny worth of common Bense?" shouted a man at the back oi the hall. The candidate paused for a moment. " Yea, I can sell you Bix • pennyworth," he then said; "but you have notbing to put it in, I'm afraid." The finest and most costly steeds in the Prilish Array are those fjr the Household Cavalry, which cost anything ' from .£SO upwards. The horse must be oerfeclly sound, big, nnd strong, and •ilack in colour, the combination of these qualities accounting for the price. With a stalwart Guardnnan, fully equipped, j m his back, the horse's burden averages ' _3?t. Horses for the Artillery, Engin» ..era, and Sorv'ce Corps cost about £45 ipiece. Cavalry of the lino are mounted in i.' lo 1 orses, light and swift. For i-fmoj-M-irt s;-rv-c e the animals cost about 30. Tl.e stable charges of the army run to about hOf a million a year. In•ilutlel in th's i> th9 subsidy of 10s a io.s.- iiiiniilly p.iid to ownera fjr tho rijht of purchas? i>y the Government at .my time- a right exercised to the full ii the Boer war. Most army horses are browns and bays. Tbere are chestnuts in the Artillery, while greys must Le ! provided, for the Scots Greys, and a few I piebald ror cavalry drummers. I