THE PELORUS GUARDIAN, AND MINERS’ ADVOCATE TUESDAY, 10th MAY, 1904. Fostering the Imperial Instinct.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 15, Issue 37, 10 May 1904, Page 4

THE PELORUS GUARDIAN, AND MINERS’ ADVOCATE TUESDAY, 10th MAY, 1904. Fostering the Imperial Instinct.

Lord Ranfurly is nothing if not an Imperialist, and he has never, during his term as Governor of this colony, missed an opportunity of descanting on the advisableness of the very closest cohesion between the colonies and the motherland. He will be best remembered by colonists on account of the and practical interest he has always taken in the occupations, sports and pastimes of the people, and in the larger social and political questions that have been dealt with since his arrival. He has shown himself to ba a practical gentleman with a great capacity for personally investigating our conditions of life and the various portions of the colony that offer attractions to those who are willing to undergo the hardships necessary dor their exploration. His splendid e J fforts in connection with the Veterans’ Home scheme will cause his name to he remembered and honoured in New Zealand for all time; nothing but a fitting sense of what was due the old pioneers—“the legion that never was ’listed ” —the heroes who had fought for the old flag in all parts of the world— could have stirred his Excellency to the enthusiasm that marked his every reference to his pet scheme. We honour him as a gentleman whose influence for good has been very marked, and regret that he will soon sever his connection with our colony. But before he leaves, the Governor will have laid the foundation of as grand a scheme as was ever initiated for inculcating the Inperial instinct in the present and future generations of New Zealanders; for we learn that he recently laid before the Auckland Education Board a plan that provides for the delivery of specially arranged courses of evening lectures, illustrated by lantern slides, at the various schools throughout the colony. The lectures will give the scholars instructinn as to the history of the rise and formation of the British Empire; the lives and doings of its great men —its great statesmen, soldiers, sailors, scientists and others who have helped to make the glorious I

traditions of which all Britishers are so proud. The Auckland Education Board very heartily endorsed the scheme, and it is to be laid before the other Education Boards in the colony. There can be little doubt as to its •ultimate adoption, for it offers a marvellous opportunity of acquiring, by a series of lectures, what would ordinarily take a clever child several years of careful and patient study to learn. As for the financial part of the scheme, the Governor stated that the cost would be comparatively trifling, and might be met by a Government grant. There is no doubt that a Government grant could not be put to a better purpose, and it would probably have the unanimous sanction of Parliament. A specimen lecture is to be delivered in Auckland on 20th i ist,, and we will await with interest a report as to its effectiveness.