The Daily News. SATURDAY, MAY 9, 1914.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 289, 9 May 1914, Page 14

The Daily News. SATURDAY, MAY 9, 1914.

A PROTEST FROM CHRISTCHURCH. It is rather curious that whilst tha good folk of Inglewood have, through their Chamber of Commerce, passed a resolution approving of the Government's action in lifting the reservation from the Everett road reserve, the people of Christchurch consider the matter important enough to interest themselves in and to urge the Government not to allow the bush at this picturesque spot to be destroyed. The Christchurch citizens truly remark that ' ; a reserve of primeval forest of the country does not belong to the people of the district, in which it exists, but to the people of the Dominion." They might have gone further, and declared that a scenic reserve does not belong to the people of the present alone, but to those of the future as well, and that once destroyed,' such a scenic asset (Sin never be reinstated. It takes hundreds of years for many of the trees forming part of bush like this to reach maturity, and man, resourceful and clever as he i 9, could never plant bush to equal in picturesi[ueness and general effect that adorning such places as the Everett road reserve. Tho manifestation of interest by the Christehiirch people in the fate of the reserve is not so surprising as the apathy and callousness of the. local residents. Why they should have gone out of their way to proclaim their desire to see the hush destroyed is diliicult to understand. It is stated that the bush is a breeding ground for noxious weeds. This is said of all our forest reserves. It is even said of the mountain reserve and tho Kaitiiiie. ranges. It is a favourite excuse for tho utilitarian anxious to secure the land for himself. But the fact is overlooked, that noxious weeds cannot make headway in the bush; they are soon starved or choked. It is in the clearing where they germinate and develop. But some excuse for destroying the primeval bush reserves that havo been carefully set aside in the past by wise administrators has to be found, and so the noxious weeds gag is trotted out, and, in the case of the Everett reserve not without success. Still, the Government has yet time to reconsider its decision to remove the reservation, and we hope the protest of the public-spirited people of the City of the Plains will not fall on deaf ears.

HI

cise, clothing, recreation, and so on. In Hie trade course the future citizen is taught liis daily business by tko aid of models and other appliances. Fiftyseven different trades are included, from chimney sweeping upwards; and it is thus evident that the German conception of citizenship has a severely practical as well as a theoretical side. But it is with the public rights and duties of the electors ithat this method of training is chiefly concerned. The course on "Civics" is given on Sundays, and deals with the knowledge of the various relations that subsist or ought to subsist between the individual citizen and other citizens, and his relations to the city itself, the Empire, the parish, the constitution of the Reichstag, the system of local government, the system of taxation, and of State insurance. One lesson describes the duties of mayors and other civic authorities; another lesson all that an elector requires to know about voting, a matter in which far more British and colonial electors are at sea than is generally supposed. Finally, there is a kind of finishing course to give the students some idea of culture, polish and literary taste. In the account given of these schools only the literary «ide of culture is dwelt upon, and the teaching of an appreciation of the masterpieces of German authors. Instruction is also given in polite letter-writ-ing, a subject more important amongst Germans than Britons, because :the Germans still identify high breeding with formal ceremony, etiquette, and the correct knowledge of titles of rank and courtesy. But in addition to this there arc civic continuation schools which are meant to educate backward youths who, though not mentally deficient, are, through lack of quickness and resourcefulness, less likely than their neighbors t> make a success of life. They are taught how to perform all the more simple and necessary acts and functions of a citizen, those which enter into the most ordinary relations ibetween fellow citizens, e.g., ! how to write letters, compose reports, give evidence in Court, manage business transactions of buying and selling. The students arc instructed in the care of their own bodies, and shown the bad effects of alcohol, the value of different kinds of food, and enough knowledge of law to keep them out of mischief. The object aimed at is to prevent the weaker members of the ••mmunity from sinking into useless burdens and becoming sources of trouble to others. In every school numbers of those backward children are found, ■always at the bottom' of their classes, unable to receive the instruction of the normal scholars. They leave the schools unlit, even if they wished, to cope with the ordinary routine of life, and soon fall into the 'habits of loafing, tramping, begging or stealing. It is largely from them that the ranks of the habitual criminals are recruited, and many are led into crime at first by sheer weakness of will, simplicity and ignorance. For such youths ito be equipped with a knowledge of the ordinary business relations with their fellows is to be provided with a certain amount of protection. They are not taught any trade, perhaps because few of them arc- capable of skilled work. Backward children are, however, often capable of working well at the routine departments of a trade, and probably more might be done for them than the mere training in some handicraft to cTvablo them to acquire manual dexterity. It i.-i much more important for them than for normal youths to be put in the way of finding sonic regular daily occupation, and many, of course, are better fitted for unskilled employment than for a trade, fn the case of the boys and young men who do not intend (jo take u]) any skilled trade, an effort 'is made, to develop their physical powers, and give them some preliminary training that may subsequently prove useful. To strengthen the muscles, physical exercise is taught in the form of gymnastics, swimming, vaulting and handball. Considering the progress that has been made by the feminist movement throughout Europe in recent years, it is not surprising to find that in Berlin girls arc given regular training in Civics at the continuation schools. It is a significant fact, however, that they receive no industrial training lest they should attempt to enter into competition with men. From all this it can be easily understood, remarks the Auckland Star, to whom we are indebted for the above information, that the Germans take a very broad and comprehensive view of citizenship, and that they have a very exalted conception of the duties of the State towards the citizen. U is certainly very remarkable that in :i country where .Socialism is officially regarded as a public enemy, the relations between the Government and its subjects .should have taken on this extremely Socialist guise. But if such things are possible in Germany, it is all the more remarkable that in 'England, Australia and New Zealand no sustained attempt has yet been made to fit the people as a whole for the efficient discharge of their social and political duties; and here, as in many other respects, we can well afford to follow the example set in educational matters by the Germans.