EDUCATIONAL ENDOWMENTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2527, 20 August 1902, Page 20

EDUCATIONAL ENDOWMENTS.

The Hawko's Bay Herald, in a leadingarticle in which it applauds the promptitude of the response of the citizens of Otago to the call for assistance for tho University, shows how membora of the wealthy classes in America, with an enlightened genorosity, subscribe munificently towards the support of higher education. The last year has witnessed some remarkable gifts of this kind, amd has, we are told, -broken all records in the numbsr and magnitude of benefaction. Mrs Lsland Stanford, it appears, leads all the .givers for 1901, tho total amount of her donations to the colleges founded in memory of her son being 30,400,000d0l last year. Andrew Carnegie cornea next with a total of 30,133,500d01, wiiich includes his gift of 10.000,000d0l to the United States Government for a national university. Jacob S. Rogers ranks third! with a gift of 5,000,000d0l to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. John D. Rockefeller distributed 1,646.503d01 ; J. Fierpoint Morgan, l,4S5,000dol ; Josephine L. Newcombe, of Ne.w York, bequeathed 1.500, OOOdol to Tulanc University; Mrs Philip D. Armour, of Chicago, gave 1,500,000d0l to th« Armour Institute of Technology ; Mrs Kmmons Blame, of Chicago, gave 1,630,000d0l to -education; c.id there are a number of gifts and bequests under 1,000,000d01, among which are 650,000d0l distributed by Mr Dnniel K. Poarson, of Chicago, and 422,000d0l distributed by Miss Helen Gould.

Our contemporary goes on to express th-a opinion that the university system in New Zealand is rapidly becoming inadequate to the requirements of the country, and the eudowmiaite, whirh Mere probably ample enough wliroi the system was inaugurated, are badly in need of a considerable e-xfcen-sion. As a matter of faot, the Government has done nothing for the higher education, with the exception of the establishment of a college in Wellington, for many y&a.ra. And its treatment of the Wellington College Council has bei?n a striking example of niggardliness and unintelligence. In oth-&r centres it has long been recognised that progress in industry k depend&nt on a. high grade of education. In New Zealand we have little or no adequate provision of the kind. Each of \h» four university college* requires an ampler endowment. It should bo recognised that it is just this stage of our educational system which is the mo9fc important of all. The primary and! eecondray schools, indeed, fill a necessary function, a1?a 1 ? everyone will admit, but it i*i to our university colleges that we should look for our future captains of industry. It seems to us (our contemporary gays) that the greatest problem of our educational system is to extend the sphere of usefulness of these institution's; to bring them into relation with tho practical interests of the people ; and for that purpose to place them in such a position that fchey may fulfil their functions efficiently, aad without L«ing hampered at every turn by ths «t<*rnal wanS of pence. After all, -tj*« expenditure which would" bo involved is probably a small amount compared with that we are making year by year on much lftss worthy object*.

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