THE Southland Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro TUESDAY, 28th OCTOBER, 1902. THE ENGLISH EDUCATION BILL.

Southland Times, Issue 17077, 28 October 1902, Page 2

THE Southland Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro TUESDAY, 28th OCTOBER, 1902. THE ENGLISH EDUCATION BILL.

Mr Chamberlain’s declaration to the chief of the Liberal Unionist party at Birmingham, that the Government would stand or fall by the fate of the Education Bill, gives a new significance to this much-discussed measure.. The bill was introduced by the present Premier, the Hon. A. J. Balfour on March 24th of this year, and . the debates upon it have thus lasted for more than six months, and have rendered necessary a special Autumn Session of Parliament. The question has proved a boon to the Opposition, for it has for ogee united all its sections, and in particular has rallied the non-conformists in a body to its ranks. In the face of this opposition, Ministers have had to give way on point after point, till the bill has been christened with the title of the old play “The Deformed Transformed.” The measure at first sight appears innocent enough. It was announced in the King’s speech as a bill for the “ Coordination and Improvement of Primary and Secondary Education.” It provides for the abolition of School Boards, creating the County Council in rural districts, and the Borough Council in urban districts the local authority for Primary and Secondary Education, Technical Education, and the Training of teachers. The Council is to act for purposes of administration through an Education Committee, to be appointed as the Council itself may decide.' The Council, however, retains financial arrangements in its own hands and has the right of levying a rate , of Id in £1 for Primary, and 2d in £1 for Secondary Education. London offers special problems of its own, and the School Boards of London are therefore

for the present excepted from the bill. The special feature of the new measure is, however, the treatment of Voluntary Schools, and to understand this point'we must rapidly review the position of Education in England. It was not till 1833 that Parliament made its first annual grant in aid of Education, and this grant amounted to only £20,000. Its object was to cheapen and improve popular education by subsidising the existing schools, which were usually in the

lands of the clergy. This system was

continued up till 1870, when it was found to be inadequate. .'The Education Act of that year provided for the formation of School Boards in districts where the existing educational facilities were insufficient. The Board

had an almost unlimited power of

drawing on the rates for the maintenance of their schools, and were to be assisted in poor districts by a direct Parliamentary grant. The Board Schools were to provide a sound secular education, together with the study of the Bible as a moral and literary

exercise, but were expressly forbidden to teach any catechism or formula of any particular denomination. The existing schools, which were usually of a denominational character, were to be assisted as before by direct Parliamentary grant, but were to receive no assistance from the rates, nor were they in any way subject to the School Boards. There have thus been in England since 187 Q two entirely distinct classes of schools engaged in elementary education, the Board Schools, and the Voluntary oi Denominational Schools, and there has always been a certain amount of rivalry between them. The standard of efficiency in secular education has always been somewhat lower in the Voluntary Schools. Thus the average cost per child in the Board Schools is £2 17s 7|d, while in the Voluntary Schools it"is only £2 6s 4£d, and although the

difference may be due in part to greater economy of management it is alsoajmark of the inferiority oftheeducation given. Further, iu 1891 all fees were abolished in State-aided chools, and the Voluntary Schools have since then had to depend on revenue from endowments, voluntary subscriptions and their Parliamentary subsidy. It has become of late years increasingly evident that these schools could not struggle on under their present disadvantages, and at the same time maintain the efficiency of the Board Schools, or pursue the progressive policy which modern educational methods demand. The difficulty is not a small one, for the Voluntary Schools in England and Wales number 14,000, and educate over three millions of children. Now to lake over these schools, and replace them by universal Board Schools, would throw upon the taxpayers an additional burden of two millions per annum, while it would offend the convictions of those parents who desire that their children should receive an : education more distinctly religious ! than can be given in the Board > Schools. ! The present bill proposes to meet the difficulty by making these schools partially subject to the local educational authority. The managers of 3 such schools are to provide the building and keep it in repair, are to admit to 1 their board of management a repre- ‘ sentation of the local educational ■ authority amounting to one-third of their number, and are to be subject to any direction the local authority may give with reference to secular instruction, the latest amendment being that the locality authority have power to dismiss on educational grounds any teacher appointed by the managers. In. return, these schools are to be maintained " and kept efficient out of the rates. It is this clause which has met with such determined and united opposition from the Non-conformists, for, in the first place, out of the 14,000 schools mentioned above which would benefit by the new arrangement 11,777 are Church of England Schools, and 1045 are Roman Catholics. Of the Church Schools, too, the greater number are in the hands of the Ritualists, that party having always been specially . active in matters of education. The Nonconformists, therefore, regard the Bill as opening up a new path to Rome, or at any rate to Ritualism. Further, it must be remembered that by the - Bill of 1870 a School Board could not be formed, or a new school receive a Parliamentary grant in a district in which the school accommodation was already sufficient for the population. It thus frequently happens that a Church school is the only one in a neighbourhood where a number oi : parents are Nonconformists. This difficulty naturally presses most heavily in the country, where distance prevents the children from being sent out 1 of their own district. In some such cases a second school has been opened, but has had to make its way unaided, nor will it reap the benefits of the new Bill. This state of things was bear ’ able while the State-aided Voluntary School depended largely on private subscriptions, but is regarded as intolerable now that it is to be supported by the people. An appeal may in deed be made to the Board of Edu--3 cation for England in these cases, but this provision is regarded as int sufficient. 3 As to the alternative to the Govern- - meat proposal, the Nonconformists are not themselves agreed, and within the b ranks of the opposition generally a still i greater divergence of opinion exists. . It is, however, generally conceded that r the appointment of one-third of the . board of management is not sufficient i to give the local authority a hold ovei i the schools, and according to the cable of Octobet 13 th the Government have ’ now consented to establish absolute s popular control over secular education in all State-aided schools, preserving . denominational control of religious t instruction in denominational schools, i This would include the appointment 7 by the local authority of a majority oi 3 the board of management. With ret gard to the religious difficulty, the 3 solution most generally approved is . one brought forward in the rejected . Education Bill of 1896, that all t schools be open on demand to external 1 teachers of any denomination for the 1 purpose of religious instruction. This i would be similar to the scheme of 1 combined secular and separate religij ous instruction which is found to work well in Ireland. It is of course open ’ to the objection of practical difficulty r in arranging the time-table. Another i proposal is the abolition of the Cowper- | Temple clause of the Education Act of j 1870 which forbidsthe givingof denom- . inational religious instruction in the i Board Schools, thusleaving thelocalau- ! thority f ree to decide whether any, or ■ what, denominational teaching shall be given in its district. That the i feeling of the Nonconformists is bitterly hostile is shown bv the fact that,

nt a recent conference, out of 489 Councils of the Evangelical Free Churches, 412 voted for a refusal to pay taxes under the Bill. It is to be noted that many who oppose the Bill in some of its details, heartily approve its general principle. Lord Rosebery expressed himself on May 30th as strongly in favour of one local authority for Primary and Secondary Education. Professional opinion in England, which has certainly a right to be heard, is generallyfavourable. Thus the Council of the Incorporated Association of Headmasters passed on May 7th a resolution that “the Education Bill is satisfactory as a | means of co-ordinating the various existing educational institutions within a county area.” The criticism is, however, frequently brought against the Bill that it is elastic to the verge of vagueness on certain points; for instance, the appointment and working of the Education Committee of the County Council. One such blemish has been removed by the substitution of “ shall ’’ for “ may ” in the clause dealing with the assumption by the County Council of authority over the education of its district, the Bill originally having left it optional for it to do so. The Bill will certainly have to undergo further modification before it is acceptable to the majority of the nation, but Mr Balfour is confident of ■ his ability to secure its passage, and - the decision of tile Government to link ■ its fate with its own has rallied the i Unionists to its support. There is I little doubt that with all its faults the • Education Bill represents an honest attempt to grapple with the problems ’ of a most difficult and perplexing ques- ■ tion.

j ' ' The Licensing Poll. —On Thursday ■ evening Mr J. F. Deegan (of Melbourne) 5 will lecture in the Theatre on the “ Liquor Traffic and Liquor Legislation,” opposing 3 Prohibition. He will be followed on Friday 3 night by the Rev J. Gibson Smith who will > champion the cause of Prohibition, s Trinity College, Practical Exams.- . Mr Alfred Mistowski, Mus. Bac. (Oxon), . wires Mr Chas. Gray, local secretary, that ; the approximate date of the exams, at the

1 Invercargill local centre will be 19th Nov. The Revival.—An illustrated memento i of the recent ibrrey-Alexander mission has y been issued by the Outlook, Dunedin, and a ycopy forwarded to this office has been perused with interest. An “ introductory s word ” speaks in glowing terms of the work s done by the American Evangelists, and then >- follow a pen portrait of Dr Torrey, and e some Ministers impressions of Mr Alexander, with portraits. A day to day history e of the tour is then given with numerous portraits and groups. Some twenty pages i,- are also filled with Dr Torrey’s Bible readj. ings and sermons and this completes an interesting, and well illustrated booklet of e 57 pages. The publishers state that the d edition is limited to 20,000 copies and that e as no reprints will be possible those wishing w to secure copies should order without delay. >- Musical Union.—Being unable to get the theatre for rehearsal, and in order not to ’ clashwithotherimportantpublic functions the n committee of the Uni-n has decided to poster pone the concert, originally fixed for Friday 1- next, to Monday, 3rd November. Their , e action in standing aside in the public interest is commendable, and the alteration of ,n the date of the concert should not in any is way affect the support invariably accorded •d to performances of this popular and useful organisation. Members of the orchestra 3 (. are reminded of the rehearsal this evening. i, Band Contest.—There will be keen competition among the bands at the contest held sl ' under the auspices of the Otago and Southof land Brass Bands Association, which opens at Mosgiel on Thursday. Last year, when i.q the competition was held at the Bluff, the D excitement was very keen, and it is undere" stood that several of the bands have al improved considerably in the meanof time Tune was the outstanding fault to last year, and it will probably again prove the principal stumbling block in i y in the way of success. The Bluff and Winc- ton representatives will pass through Itivercargill this morning. The Portites were sadly disappointed at the last contest and have been practising assiduously. Their a ' chances are looked upon as good, especially p- in the quickstep, their marching in which n, has been brought to a high state of perfection by Mr Sweney. The Winton baud goes i forth again animated by determination rather than belief in their powers, and ffi their perseverance should one day be rein warded. st Police Court. — Yesterday, before Mr n . McCarthy, 8.M., W. T. Stroud was charged, „ on the information of the Borough Inspector, with neglecting to provide fire re escapes from the building formerly known id as the Supreme Court hotel. The defendant ie did not appear, and W. Rennie gave evidence that Stroud had intimated that he would plead guilty to the charge. 'I he ;s > prosecution was the first that had been inly stituted locally under the Act, and it was ,e desired to give dilatory parties notice that they must comply with the law. A line of Is, costs 7s, was imposed. x Peter Hughes, e > arrested at Timaru, on a charge of stealing ii’, ama e, value £6O, from David Davie?, on ie 4th July, at Charlton, was remanded till next day. Ha offered objection to the remand, and said that he intended to plead a guilty. 11 Southland High Schools BoAiiD.v-The [IS monthly meeting of the Board, held yestern. day evening, was attended by Messrs W. a Macalister (chairman), Longuet and Hawke. Steps were taken with the view to having an a exhibition of gymnastics on the occasion of °f the opening of the gymnasium within a lis month. The building not being suitable for )y the accommodation of a large body of specp tutors, there will be a more public exhibi- ’ tion of skill, probably in the Zealandia Hall, a little later. It was decided that, as some ill persons and corporate bodies might desire to J give special prizes at the end of the school a’ year, an opportunity for them to do so ’ should be afforded. This practice was lW carried out for many years, but of late it <r- has fallen into disuse. Accounts amounting ry to £448 6s 2d were passed for payment, te “ We are Seven.”—So numerous are the queer beliefs concerning the number seven j (says a contemporary) that a narration of them all would fill a volume, but we may n- mention a few. From the very earliest ages U- the seven great planets were known, and ruled this world and the dwellers in it, and their number entered into every conceivable n " matter that concerned man. There are seven days in the week, “seven holes in the n _ head for the master stars are seven,” seven ages both for man and the world in which re he lives. There were seven material ie heavens, and in the under world described ill by Dante, the great pagan dead who were ;g not good enough for heaven or bad enough ' ' for hades reposed in a seven-walled or " seven-gated city. There are seven colours in the spectrum and seven notes in the it diatonic octave, and the “leading” note of er the scale is the seventh. Be it noted that , the seventh son is not always gifted with e beneficent powers. In Portugal he is beve lieved to be subject to the powers of darkle ness, and to be compelled every Saturday m evening to assume the likeness of an ass ig Mr Chamberlain as a Teacher.—The US Colonial Secretary was at one time a teacher I in a night school, serving in that capacity—s’ of course, quite voluntarily at Edgbaston ut before the passing of the Education Act. of So interested in the work was he that he ■ e . became first president of the School Mutual Improvement Society, and often took part . in the penny readings. His reading of 13 “ Sam Weller’s Love Letter” is still rememid bered, and the,story is told that once, when JI one of the young men in his class was parJ ticularly stupid, Mr Chamberlain called to him and said : “Look here, Brown, if you don’t know any better is I forgive you; but if I thought you 3 f said these words wilfully I would give • you a downright good thrashing. Mr Chamberlain was no mere platform advocate of education; not only did he give up his in nights to teaching, and formed a night iy school for his workpeople, but for years he Jr taught on Sundays when Sunday schools were of a more educational character than r " they are to-day. He rarely used the Bible ; )f it was his delight rather to take his illustra- -- tions from nature or to give the boys homely ie talks on books and practical things. He was fond of quoting Shakespere to them, l * and, though he rarely, if ever, mentioned ir politics, he was never tired of impressing ; .1 the boys with a sense of their responsibility : e in life. “ My religion,” he would frequently , * say, “ consists in doing my duty to my | r fellow men and in alleviating the lot of the 1 j poor.” • i

Racing.—To-morrow the “royal sport” will be inaugurated iu the Centre Bush dis- I trict, with the first meeting of the Centre i Bush Hack Racing Club. The list of ac- 1 ceptances, which appear in this issue, indi- i cates that the meeting is receiving much 1 stronger support than is usually accorded to hack races, both in quality and quantity, i and the racing should prove a good day’s I spor(.. For the principal event, the Centre i Bush Cup, there are six acceptors, all wall i known on Southland courses, and likely i to be competing at meetings ih Winton and i Invercargill, so that the result will be in- < teresting to the racing fraternity. The Railway Department has arranged special train i facilities, consequently there should be a good attendance of enthusiasts from outside < the district. The Marionettes. —Objection has (says a contemporary) been taken in some quarters to Mr Seddon apparently ignoring the existence of a Parliament in this country by his frequent statement that he would do certain things, without any reference to the representatives of the people. When he was leaving England he made a speech in the cabin of the Tongariro, which the Plymouth Mercury alludes to as an amusing instance of his egotism. “He spoke of the New Zealand Parliament as * my Parliament’ ” and added that notwithstanding his absence for several months he had not had a moment’s anxiety for the welfare of the colony. “ I am pleased,” he said, “with ray Parliament.” Strange as ft may seem to our English contemporary—existing as it does in a country with " a free Parliament —Mr Seddon was quite right in his use of the possessive. The New Zealand Parliament has been his Parliament, and his alone, and his party are even now striving hard to secure the return of those members only who will bow to his will and pledge themselves to give him unwavering support in all his schemes and actions. We admit 'hat our Parliament should be the people’s, but it has not been theirs for a considerable time. It will, however, rest with the people themselves to say next month whether they will have a representative Parliament or will continue to pay £3OO a year to each of the Premier’s puppets. Progressive Japan.—Pamphlets issued by the Japanese Consulate in England show that the foreign trade of Japan has increased at an astonishing rate during recent years. In 1901 the total value of imports and exports amounted to £50,816,000, a sum twelve times larger than in 1871, eight times larger than in 1881, and three and onehalf larger than in 1891. ihe decennial progress of the foreign trade is all the more remarkable since it owes but little to the increase of population, which has been slightly over 10 per tent, in each decade. The value of exports and imports per head of the population was, in 1879, 3s sd; in 1889, 6s lOd ; and in 1899, 19s Bd. A Woman’s Dilemma.—Mrs Walden, a married woman, came up for sentence at Wellington yesterday on a charge of making a false declaration in connection with the registration of a child, which she passed off as her own. The Chief Justice ordered her to come up for sentence when called upon. In the Magistrate’s Court evidence was given that a person to take care ef this child had been advertised for, and accused answered the advertisement. She represented that she wished to obtain the child for a rich lady, and having thus obtained possession, of the child, represented that it had been born to her ; registered it as her own, and, after the police had made enquiries, persisted in her statement. Her counsel admitted that accused, who had a girl, very much wanted a male child, and thought she was doing nothing wrong, after having ob--1 tained possession of the child in representing it as her own, and thus registering it. ’ She denied emphatically having said that she wished to obtain the child for a rich lady. It was pointed out that serious wrong might arise from such misrepresenta--1 tion and false registration, and that it : would also falsify the records from which the statistics were compiled, as one child „was j now represented by two registrations, i Less Quid and More Quo.—The decline in the rates of wanes in the United Kingdom, which was foreshadowed towards the i end of 1900, the year in which the level of pay stood higher than in any other period of ' which we have accurate knowledge, has un- ’ fortunately maintained itself through the 1 whole of 1901 and shows no signs of a maJ terial change at the present time.. The statistical materials which prove this un--3 palatable conclusion as to 1901 til! the ’ Report of the Labour Department of the b Board of Trade with that bewildering array 1 of tabulated results which we are accus--1 tomed to in official publications of the ‘ kind ; but the net result of these calculations is clear enough. There was last year , a net weekly decrease of £77,000 in the 1 amount of wages paid, as against a rise of r £91,000 in 1899, and of not less than £209,000 in 1900. By far the most heavily 1 affected in the past year was the mining in- ' dustry, and next to it the metal trades ; 8 but though the decline still continues, so ! far as the materials for forming a judgment

at present exist in the former industry, the decrease of wages in the metal trades appears to have been considerably lessened. Also the fall since the end of 1900 is only a small reduction by comparison with the long continued rise which was going on from 1896 till its highest point in the last year of the century.—St. James’s Budget.

Lecture on Woman.—lt is worthy of note, says a correspondent, that the biggest audience ever gathered in Dunedin, and probably the biggest in the history of the colony, assembled on the occasion that the Rev" J. R. Ward delivered his famous lecture “ Woman.” At 5.30 there were large numbets waiting to gain admission, at 6.30 a tremendous gathering clamouring for admission, at 6.40 the caretaker of the hall afraid for the doors, let in the struggling mass of humanity. Then ensued an amazing scene; wonted and men struggling violently to gain admission. Soma were knocked down, some fainted, at 7 o’clock the vast Agricultural Hall, holding 3000 persons, was filled. Never before had such an audience crowded into it, not fewer than seven or eight hundred people stood three solid hours. Outside from 7 till 8 p.m., the people were steadily arriving only to have to go away again. It is computed that 6000 people tried to get iu. The lecture itself was not quite so serious as Mr Ward’s other lectures, not quite so impassioned perhaps, but it so bubbled with gaiety, and was so earnest, sincere, and full of chivalry, as well as strong common sense that the mighty audience listened spell bound for two hours, to the silver-tongued eulogism of the fair sex.

Found Where the Shoe Pinches.—* 1 In going through the pay-sheet of the North Melbourne locomotive shed,” stated the Victorian Minister of Railways, “ I observed that certain hands were described as ‘skilled labourers.’ One of these men was shown to be in receipt of 10s 6d per day, and I wanted to know what it meant. It appears that some time ago a vision test was made in the various branches, and a great many officers were found not to be up to the standard. Arrangements were made that these men should be transferred to less responsible positions, their wages being reduced by 25 per cent. The man I referred to originally received 13s. Although unfitted even for a labourer’s duties, he draws 10s; 6d per day, and if he continues in the service for six years or more, he will be able to retire on a pension, based on a daily wage of 13s. This practice has been in vogue for years. Without being aware of the facts, 1 signed the papers in one case myself When I complained that the expenses of the North Melbourne shed were so heavy, the reason was advanced that high wages had to be paid to infirm workmen. This particular man ought to get only 7a as a labourer, but he was not even equal to that class of work. 1 am going to ascertain how far this practice extends, and what remedy can be applied. It is clear to me that Mr Fitzpatrick has never had a fair show to manage the department, when men getting 10s 6d per day are not earning half that amount.”

Lamp accidents caused the loss of 323 lives in the county of London between July 1890 and March of this year. 8. McDonald "advertises the last eight days of his phenomenal sale of boots and shoes. As every article of his stock is reduced to clearing sale prices, intending purchasers should visit the City Boot Palace now.

The Lancet assures its readers that the vast network of tube railways soon to be crossing and recrossing each other in the clay below London will not subject the public health to the strain that has been suggested. Nowhere in Southland is the stock of boots and shoes so varied as at the City Boot Palace, and the’ prices now are reduced to bedrock for the last eight days. It is assumed that a very rare species of parrot, known as Guilding’s Amazon, has been extinguished in the eruptions of Soufriere, St. Vincent, no specimens of the bird having been seen since the catastrophe. The telephone service between the London Stock Exchange and the Paris Bourse is kept busy all day at a fee of 8s for three minutes, and pays handsomely.

. It is singular that the Imperial regiments, the Scots and Coldstream Guards, although raised in Scotland, have never been quartered north of the Tweed. Now, it is proposed to quarter the Scots Guards in Edinburgh. Thomson and Beattie’s Sunshades are unusually lovely this season, never before have they had anything so really choice in either quality or colourings, and they are in addition altogether exceptional value. When our long delayed summer comes, this stock of sunshades will add to the beauty of all out doors.

A. J. Park, the well-known patent agent, will be in town about the 29th inst., and he may be consulted at his Invercargill office (C. H. Roberts, architect, representative,) 53 Esk street. According to an affidavit just ’filed by the Steel Trust, that institution pays £20,000,000 a year in wages, while its annual turnover is £80,000,000. 25-Milb Road Race. — The Invercargill Cycling Club have received 25 entries for the above event, of which 15 are riding Red-Bird and Massey-Harris bicycles, a testimony tothe popularity of these maches for road racing. Up to the present 13,340 young people have emigrated, mostly to Canada, under the auspices of Dr Barnado.| Cure for Rheumatics.—l have been appointed sole agent in Southland for Rheumatic Rings, which through their secret properties have been recommended by the greatest authorities as a certain cure. N. J. M. Rein, Watchmaker and Jeweller, 46 Dee street.

Just opened, 25 Ladies’ Tailor made Costumes, the very latest cut, observe the prices : 45s 6d, 49s 6d, 55s 6d, 655, 70s, and if you require cheaper costumes, Price and Biilleid can show you stylish costumes at 255, 29s 6d,355,3956d ; also 100 White Skirts richly trimmed, 3s lid, 4s 6d, 5s 6d, 6s 6d. — Inspection invited. There are many indications of a desire on the part of the Continental Powers to come to an understanding for the mutual defence of their colonies in Africa and Asia as a check to the Anglo-Saxon expansion, and the possible consequences of the AngloJapanese alliance.— -clair, (Paris). 1 here is nothing sets off a room so well as a nice wallpaper with a good mantelpiece and a register grate with an art tile, such as is to be found at Smith and Laing’s, Esk street. SYNOPSIS OF NEW ADVERTISEMENTS. Don’t fail to see Thomson and Beattie’s lace curtains Masters’ Bargain Store for clothing and hats To let or sell—7 roomed house, North Road, W B Scandrett Special train arrangements re Centre Bush races See G W Woods and Co’s advt. re cycles, typewriters and repairs The funeral of the late William Loftus takes place to-morrow 104 acres for 5 years’ lease—Wm Todd and Co 254 acres near Wood end ut 50s per acre- Wm Todd and Co 4-roomed house near P.O. to let Wanted a good ploughman, also boy John Hamilton’s addresses to Winton riding ratepayers advertised Wm Todd and Co sell two desirable homes in Rialto ’on Saturday Lost, a lamp stand Two young men want board and lodging For sale, a draught gelding Wanted, girls for box-making Edison’s phonograph for £2o—Wm Todd and Co Wm Toda and Co sell 53 Collingwood sections on Saturday Invercargill Musical Union Date altered Acceptances Centre Bush Hack races Ad litlons to Mr T. Ayson’s list of addresses Notice to Richard Dall re divorce suit Great authorities on the drink question