TARANAKI SCHOLARSHIPS

Taranaki Daily News, 5 October 1929, Page 11

TARANAKI SCHOLARSHIPS

PLEA FOR lISE AT COLLEGE -. •. ' ;i • :" z - 5 •' > HINT AT DIVERSION OF FUNDS.' VARM PROTEST FROM MEMBERS. I (By Reporte r l)• v ... Wellington, Last Night The plea that holders of Taranaki scholarships should be allowed’ to jiso them at Massey Ag-iicultural College was made by Mr. H. G. Dickie (Pa’tea) when the education estimates were, before the House to-day. There were large endowments in Taranaki to providei a fund for the scholarships, he said,, and the fund had increased to. ,a great 1 lextent in recent years because the first period of,the,lease had expired and .the ground rents accruing were on thd jincrease. Last year only seven students, four males: and three., females;', obtained the scholarship; consequently the fund was glowing. Mr. Dickie thought it would be a splendid idea if the scholarships wrire made tenable at Massey > Agricultural College so that Taranaki students could , have a chance of taking, the diplpma and degree in agriculture. The Minister of Education, the Hon. 11. Atmore, said the endowment for the *. Taranaki Scholarships was provided out of-a public estate and there .was a general feeling that when the moneys were taken from a public estate for scholarships the scholarships should be thrown open for competition amongst children throughout New Zealand and not for particular district. However, the point raised was being considered. Mr. Dickie said the answer given ,by the Minister not only filled him with a •great deal of misgiving but would come as a shock to the whole of the people of Taranaki. Any diversion of the funds outside Taranaki would nicet with a strong protest. Taranaki people had had too many of their reserves and domains taken from them, in the past. INTENTION OF THE ACT. Under the Taranaki Scholarships Act the. whole of the revenue from the en*. dowment was to provide -higher education for Taranaki scholars. Any tampering with the funds would nieet with a protest from the whole of Taranaki. The Minister would recollect that when in Hawera he interrogated tho • children at one school, and not one of them said that they were going on;the land. The Minister had been stressing the need for an agricultural bias inj the education system and the matter* i he (Mr. Dickie) was raising had a’ direct bearing on what the Minister had been saying. It was a matter of varying the Taranaki Scholarships to cnaible them to be taken up at Massey College. It was a matter for the Minister and the' University Senate to provide suitable examinations. Last year half of the revenue of the endowment fund * was used for the endowment of scholarships. They were most anxious in Taranaki that some of the money should be used in the direction of providing agri- . cultural scholarships. Mr. C. A. Wilkinson (Egmont) sad that if there was any attempt on the part of the Government to take the reserve which provided tho endowment for the scholarships it could depend on very strong opposition from every one in the district. The annual rents of the reserve in 1920 were over £1266 per annum, with an accumulated fund of about £15,600. Many attempts had been made to get control of that revenue, and up to the. present every attempt- had been successfully resisted. If there was any serious intention on tho part of tho Government to take the reserve tho same thing would happen again, ’’n no circumstances would the people of Taranaki consent to have that valuable asset taken from them. GOVERNMENT “GIVEN NOTICE.” Mr. Wiminson said ho was not going .to say that the money should not ;b& • used. I tdid not seem sound that rhe money should accumulate indefinitely : and that nothing be done. It was possible some proper method might be devised. whereby the full benefit of the money could be obtained. Any attempt ■to take tlio reserve from Taranaki and endow it to Victoria College would 'be resisted. He ihopeS some useful decis-.-ion would be reached. -j I want to give the Government very definite notice,” said Mr. Wilkinson, “that any attempt to take tho land will be resisted by every means in our power.” The said he did not state that the Government was taking the: ie- . . serve. He had been asked whether jit would be possible to unable the holders of Taranaki (Scholarships to use them at Massey College. He had replied that one point of view was that as the endowment was taken from the na- - ' tional estate it had been suggested that the scholarships should be thrown into a common pool. That was only a statement made in regard to the matter.;*' Mr. JV. J. Polson (Stratford) sajdt "You can count on the combined opposition of Taranaki to putting them into a ' common pool.” He was sure if, Mr.-S. G. Smith, who was chairman of Committees, was able to address the Hou’se from his chair he’would be able to thrdw a great deal of light on the question,.. He paid a compliment to Mr. Smith’s able chairmanship of tho Taranaki Eduction - Board and said ho was sure Mr. Smith, would agree that any attempt to interfere with tlio reserve would be resisted by all the inembers for Taranaki scats and by the people of Taranaki generiilJ y- "•