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New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4174, 6 August 1874, Page 2

The Commissioner of Customs, Mr. Reynolds, in moving the second reading of the Bill for the establishment of Naval Training Schools, supplied some statistics relating to the shipping trade of the Colony which it way be well to record. At the beginning of the present year, he said, there were registered in the Colony 411 vessels, representing in the aggregate 3035 tons, and the crews employed in navigating these vessels numbered 2003 souls. In addition, he thought we were justified in including in Colonial shipping the eight vessels of firstclass character and large dimensions belonging to the New Zealand Shipping Company—ships which would require, as crews, about two hundred seamen. As yet, these ships were not registered in the Colony, but in all probability it would not be long before they would be so registered, and there was reason to suppose that, in the course of a little time, the ships of that company, and of other , Colonial owners, would supersede, in the carrying trade, the ships of other parts of the world, and that the Colony would, in that particular, be independent of other countries. It was, he said, to supply seamen for this Colonial fleet that the present Bill had been introduced, and he contended that it was not by any means too early to take up the question with which it dealt. The Bill simply provided for the establishment of naval training schools either on shore or afloat, in which boys could receive a thorough training in seamanship, and, with that object, the Government intended to take steps to procure from the Imperial Government one or more of the old men-of-war, at the same time making provision that the boys under instruction should go to sea for four months in the year. In the Australian Colonies, the great difficulty, Mr. Reynolds remarked, had been that the boys were put on board stationary ships in harbor, but by the plan proposed here the boys would be trained at sea as well as in port. The department was to be presided over by a Minister, probably the Commissioner of Customs, who had charge of the Marine Department, and all the moneys necessary were to be voted by the General Assembly. The Commissioner furnished the House ■with further information as to the details of the Bill, and the intentions of the Government; and, judging by his brief and simple statement of its contents, it seems to be a measure which was not inaptly described when the member for Auckland City West said it was worthy of hearty support. The education of sons of Native chiefs was the subject of a question in the House of Representatives last night. In reply, Mr. McLean stated that the subject had received the earnest attention of the Government. It was desired to encourage the village schools for the education of the Native youth ; and the Ministry were desirous that the sons of Native chiefs ; should receive the beat education possible in English institutions, where they would be brought in contact witli youths of the other race. A beginning had been made in Auckland, and also in Wellington ; and one young Maori gentleman, trained in Wellington, had passed a very creditable examination. The education of the two races in the same classes would effectually, remove tho difficulties between the two races. We lately made some extracts from articles in the Melbourne Argus on the subject of the correspondence between Sir James Fergusson and Sir George Bowen on the proclamations relating to tho importation of cattle. The Argus is decidedly of opinion that the Victorian Government was rightj the Age and Telegraph are as decidedly of opinion that the New Zealand Government was wrong. The actual state of feeling in the other Colony is, perhaps, fairly represented in tho .following paragraph in the last letter of the Melbourne correspondent of the Otfaye Daily Times: —- “ There is very little real difference of opinion hero on tho merits of tho discussion that was for some time in progress between our Governor and Mr. Francis on the one side, and your Governor and Mr, Vogel on the other. It is pretty.evident that we came off only second best in that encounter of wits. It is beyond dispute that our proclamation was a blunder into which our Government was frightened by an erroneous press telegram from Sydney, that Mi*. Francis blundered by trying to misrepresent the action of Sir James Fergusson, and that he blundered seriously in the Constitutional dicta that lie laid down on the position and duties of a Governor, in respect to'tho scheme tendered him by, his Ministers. It is difficult to understand what was the cause of the irritation and temper displayed, in Mr, Francis’s letters. Indeed, it is only too visible

in all of the correspondence that our brusque Chief - Secretary has had to conduct with the Ministers of other Colonies during his term of office. " There is an unpleasant tone of arrogance and roughness in his diplomatic letters that is quite at variance with the really genial although rather crusty nature of the man himself. The correspondence, amongst other things, shows us that the statement made by the Melbourne papers ‘on authority,’ and I think reported at the time by me, that Sir James Fergusson was seeking to introduce a new system of conducting the communications between the Governments of different Colonies, by virtue of which they would correspond always through the medium of their respective Governors, was a very unfair and practically untrue statement of Sir James’s position in the matter.”