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New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9108, 17 July 1888, Page 4

With reference to our effort for reform in educational extravagance : have received a letter from one of the-ablest and most influential citizens ofDunedin, who has taken a stirring part in educational affairs. ! It was not > intended <i for publication, but it is so pertinent to. the point that we publish a lengthy]: extract. We may state that with; refer- j ence to the extension; of the Kinder--garten-,system, and to the deficiencies and abuses of the secondary system of education in New Zealand, we are entirely one with our esteemed correspondent. = But as to our being>"in-'.a' minority just now" we differ from the | opinion expressed by our correspondent. Our : conviction is that we have with us ! the [ consensus | of opinion •'of the great majoiity of the people, i in fact of all thinking men who are not biassed either by self-interest, or by a desire to play on the unreflecting passions of the mob,— who, unfortunately; for the cause • and triumph of democracy, are too easily led by ad captandum assertions that their"* interests are , attacked,; andlend their ear too readily ' to appeals to their baser' nature. '"Our correspondent should know that ■■ the public meeting which we had in this city to discuss the extravagance of the education system, was specially packed for the occasion ; a fact boasted of by some of those who took this means for suppressing* public 'opinion. Our conviction is unshaken that the great bulk of the people in this city and in the provincial district are with; us in our contention as to the necessity and. the '.Way for reducing the useless .extravagance of our education system. Our correspondent writes, "I am delighted to find you making such a valiant fight for educational reform. We are in a minority just now, because the vox pomdi, led; by the political ' bosses,' declares that the reformers are in league with the moneyed and pro-, pertied classes, and want to send the, poor man's child into the gutter, 1 and deny, him privileges that the other classes enjoy. At one time I had serious thoughts of getting up a public meeting here, i but I came to s the conclusion that the unthinking, controlled by a few voluble men, would never listt 1 to argument. Your meeting, the report of which I read with interest, has confirmed that opinion. I shall endeavour to work upon our Schools Conference, and School Committees. I think the Committees,* as the practical administrators of the Act, can be brought to see the question in its proper light. You have not made yourself clear on the point, but I do not gather that you contemplate preventing children learning anything until they are seven years old. I am an ardent advocate of the Kindergarten — the most; rational system of teaching infants, without harming them physically ; and I honestly believe that I shall yet succeed in convincing the educational authorities that this method can form part of our > primary school system, and be worked much cheaper than the existing infant schools. I am with you as to the necessity, in view of our financial difficulties, for stopping free education at a given point ; but, all things considered, I would make that point a revised fifth standard, which should be equal to the starting point in our secondary schools. . No child should be permitted to go into these latter, until he or she had passed such fifth standard. Why do our public men refuse to face this question of secondary education, its cost and its relation to our primaries 1 1 do not think any of the colonies—certainly rich Victoria does not — provides so lavishly for secondary education as we do ; nor is there any colony that receives less from her men of wealth towards the maintenance of our secondary schools and Universities. 1 am afraid I am about to be drawn into an unequal fight with the local supporters of our High School, because I have had the temerity to say these things, and to demand that our High Schools must, out of their endowments, provide for technical education. I have ventured to ask Sir George Grey to help me in this matter, and I sin

cerely trust that he will." To those in Auckland who are interested in educational reform, it will be ■ interesting thus to see that almost 1 tiie identical ? views which we have been endeavouring to maintain here, are being advocated strenuously in the Southern end of the colony. There, as here, there is * encountered the vis inertias of ignorant prejudice in the unreflecting and easily Damboozled mobpnithe one hand, and jvested interests- on the other. But there, as here, we feel assured > that the reason . and intelligence of the place •;-' will ultimately prevail over the vapourmgs of noisy demagogues, and the ; stupid and unreasoning parrot cry that " we must not tamper with the education system." \ „>