THE PROPOSED PERIPATETIC SCHOOL OF MINES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 6351, 20 June 1882, Page 4

THE PROPOSED PERIPATETIC SCHOOL OF MINES.

TO THE EDITOB. • SIV-Your correspondent " Sigma » in your issue of thel2tb,inst., trying to make out?a case;in favour of.a.permanent School of Mines fixedinDunedm, as against a "peripatetic" one, besides overlooking the real bearing of the question, falls into a number of faUacits fatal to the proposuaon put by him and which he labours to maintain Although he does not state so, the inference to be drawn from hisletter is that m Sigma's" opinion those advocating a peripatetic" school of mines do so with a view of injuring the Dunedin School. I have not only closely followed the discussion on thia subjeot, but have also taken part in it and am.-therefore in a position to say that none of the goldfields correspondents wrote disparagingly of the work done by the School ■tU^v ™ P un, Bdm-" The quotations are from "Sigma's" letter; the itafics are mine! The complaint is thafc'aot more work is done th«■ Of« w» PFoi^ 3ora. oi. ?eology tell us that the hills of the Provincial.District of Otasro are teeming with gold, Bilver, and other ?v Ci°^ StoneM nd Hingis done to tunf this hidden wealth to account, aiid so long ™ a considerable sum of money is annuaUfexpendedin the education of one or two mininsengineer, so long will a discriminating mininf public■ squire with regard to the "bunedin bchool of Mines, Cut bono? and cast about for innovations calculated to develop ™ur mineral resoures. Of course I do notialame the gentleman j m charge of the School of Mines, nor do I- find fault with the institution itself.. The School was prematurely established. . During the yearf of its existence !t has plainly proved that there is no demand for theoretically and scientificallyeaucsued mining engineers in Otajro. This 5« ftfl S^ Own P «J?-«™lwr-.of students at the School: and until such a demand has been created, this undesirable state of things Mil continue, "^p mv The_ blame lies with the Government in establishing an expensive educational machinery for which there was, and is at present, no use • and by calling jn the aid of science to the assisgeological museum of local specimens as poa sible collected; then form a-School"of Mines in which, local, specimens, compared: with foreign ones formed the subjects of LtTu£ tion and indicate the locality f rom which thk local specimens were taken. This would have, created an interest amongst miners in the, 8?hool, which would not only have assured tha success of the institution, but, there can be no fiSSS : aye led t0 practical and ben^ ■ Nor is to too^late to proceed in some suchmanner. It M time that, geological surveys of the mineral portions of Otago were made Dunng.their progress;the gentfemen conduct: f&t e™T'? y'B coul*?ive instruction SV on the metals, occurring in the respective diitncts, and arrange and classify -local'perma nent museums of specimens iUusteitin^he mmeral wealth of the districts concerned ' A penpatotic school of mines, if it serve no H^ eri>VF Oi;e ' de«>6nstrate both to future ne S lde fSVK and in mana^rs' oi mines, the tW I- i the,P° 3Bession of a scientific and thorough .knowledge of mining in all its branches by.those.placed in chaige of sll ch undertakings; it will popularise thlwork performed at the school; it will turn the attention of many miners to the school with the view^of becoming- students, who otherwise would never have thought of taking such a. step Anything which will create an interest in the bchool of Mines will tend to its usefulness, and if something is not done to increase this, its coUapse will.only be, a question; of tune. It therefore follows that thosa who pamper its present condition are not the real friends^of the institution, nor of the minineindustry: increase the number of students and the welfare of both will be fostered •Entering on a newspanar controversy, onecannotbetooexplidt.svndl therefore must add that 1 do not by any means wish to insinuate that the duty of conducting theperipatetic- ;- school of mines should devolve upon ProfessorUlnch, whose time I believe to be fully occupied by his present engagements. As a goldfields correspondent, and as one who clamours far a peripatetic school o£ mines, I come within the range of "Sygma's" elegant and scaihing remark as one of those who don't know what they are talking: about," -1 therefore feel called upon—to place myself beyond the application of this remark to state that when the Dunedin School of Mines was about to become an established fact I procured a number of pamphlets issued bythe Board of the Ballarat School of Mines setting forth its curriculum,' its fees, its objects, &0., for my own information and that of my frieuds, and when the Dunedin University issued a Bimilar publication I did the same, so that I may claim a knowledge of what I am talking about, and may add that I have taken quite as deep and quite as honest an interest in the Dunedin Sohool of Mines as " Sigma" could have done, —lam, Ac., John A. Mexer. Arrowtown, July 14th.