The Southland Times. PUBLISHED DAILY. Luceo Non Uro. THURSDAY MARCH 6.

Southland Times, Issue 3341, 6 March 1879, Page 2

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED DAILY. Luceo Non Uro. THURSDAY MARCH 6.

*: * Whilst awaiting the report of the Commission on- Higher Education in this colony, it may be profitable to consider the subject ,in some of its general and abstract bearings as affecting the interests of the community. -Whatever may bo the exact condition of our higher education, it is still, a question whether i the State is justified in promoting it at this purpose 'large reserves of public prothe public expense, when it is not clear that a' corresponding . public advantage will be gained. The exact condition of. higher education, as will no doubt' be disclosed by the report, of the Commission, will, of course, be an important element in coming to a definite conclusion as ' to whether .the . Government" i& JastiScd'"in J , proTiclingJ the "higher branches- in our .educational system ; but there are other important considerations which must not be lost sight of iix the general result. Higher education is not like primary education, a necessity of' government ; it is one of those undertakings the propriety of which depends oil/ the balance of the profit and loss account. It becomes, then, a 'question of carefully estimating and balancing the losses and gains to the community," and of accurate judgment .as. to -its. future tendencies _and. effects for good or -for evil. To avoid' this laborious' process of thinking- and' 'judging, of going into minute details 'and Integrating the differentials, politicians, of the colonial type are very apt to follow the example of older and larger States; forget ting that the difference of circumstance may make all the difference in the result. In planting institutions in' a, new country, - it is therefore- necessary, if we mean to make them fit our circumstances, to ascertain the exact want to be supplied. "This, like the analysis of the ; problem; suggests its solution, or in oilier words points out 'the simplest Organization'; to- 1 supply the want., Now,, if, we only ask" '-ourselves what, is the want we mean higher education 'to supply, ' it mi^ht simplify our ideas regarding its machinery. Do jvre waut a supply of professional men ? It- -is unquestionable - that : we can import 'this article ■ ' more' cheaply than we can 'manufacture it. In every profession with, perhaps, that of teachers, there is an abundant supply from the old countries, where they can Jbe prepared much more thoroughly for their work than can be done here even at a large expense. Do we want educated men, without a profession, drawn from the industrial ranks ? The answer must be, we have plenty already, in the clerks, commission agents, &c, which swarm from the universities and high schools of older countries where they were not wanted. On no subject do people entertain more hazy ideas than on higher education, ■ A hard-working man, for instance, reared in a more rigorous social clime, where school days were short and wintry, and chequered with other cares, has raised himself in. this favored country not only to affluent, but to general respect for his sterling qualities. AH his energies have, been/ caucentratcjl on one pomt — getting on — and every implement he could command has been employed to hew his way to his present position. Education 'he has always understood to be the most potent instrument of success — a literal fortune to the possessor — a mysterious power which could procure luxuries and comforts without the toil he has always had to pay for them, and now that he can afford it, he determines to put this magic wand of education i* to his son's hand, that he may summon up the powerful genius which has always eluded him, unaware that he has acquired insensibly, from shrewdness and experience, all the elements of a higher education, and that it was the key to all his success.. •He therefore gives his son the benefit of the highest education provided so cheaply by the State, and so very probably unfits him, through implicitly trusting to mere education, to pursue a similar career of usefulness? the product of shrewdness and frugality, by which hV' (the father) raised' himself/ "Another man may think, that a smattering of the classics and "mathamatics, constitute the compliment of a gentleman^ and so is satisfied if his soil returns from school 1 able to scan. Very well, he has a right to be so, but at the same time we, do not see why the- State should • have to< pay the cost of hi's hobby. In thus writing on the subject, ,vre have no intention of decrying the establishment of higher educational institutions in the colonies. They are part of a national, Jife. and as such", "are, to be fostered and cherished. But. what we do object to is that they should be rated too cheaply. We think the State vail lave done all that is required of it if, out of the 'vasfhess of 'its'

landed-estate, it fairly endows the higher educational . systems, which -^afterwards should be self-supporting. We are convinced on this point, and also that the luxury of higher education is worth thewining. .■ Above we instanced the hypothetical ""bases, of men > who, -having gained affluent by their oivn exertions, naturally desired that their sons should be in advance of them, and selected higher education as a means to that end. But , whilst they clearly had a right -to do as , they liked, they were equally .obligated to pay the cost, lt is altogether -another thing with primary education, the plain bread and flesh necessary to the sustenance of intellectual life, to elevate humanity above brute level. Herein we think the duty .of the State is very clearly laid, down, to provide for and in- j sist upon the administratibn'of a certain modicum of education "to all alike. If "more than this is * required, those who want -it should be made to pay. The State has clone its work inlaying the foundation. Superstruction should be> lpft to the people themselves. There \vill then be something to aspire to, something to hope • and work tor, and thereby is developed those grand virtues - — resolution, perseverance, and application, and the self-denial, without .which the end becomes impossible of attainment. All these considerations will no doubt be duly weighed by the Commission. The report should be decisive. . ,