THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 1875.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 1885, 18 January 1875, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 1875.

In the New Zealand Herald of Saturday appeared an article commenting upon the loss of the Cospatrick, anything in connection with, which will possess a melancholy interest for a. long time to come. The Herald has raised one or two points which were overlooked when the dreadful news first reached the colony. The writer says:—

Taking the telegram as it reached us, there is a great deal that demands explanation. We are told that theCostpatrick Was burned off the Cape on the 19th NoTember. ' • Only the mate and two of the crew were saved, and it is supposed that the remainder of the crew and immigrants, 460 souls in all, have perished." We fear there is too little room to doubt that they have perished* ; And the whole of the rest of the news goes to confirm the loss ; but why the insertion of these words in the telegram? Could it be thatthe si^yr, reported as leaving in the two boats did not 1 wait to see the end? If so, how should it be inowh that "Captain A. Elinslie and Dr. Cadle stayed by the ship till the last moment and thenj jumped overboard and were drowned ? " ' ■ '■"

"No doubt the idea which has struck the writer has occurred to many other persons, especially to those who may have tad some cruel experience of the launching of boats from a ship's side to escape from a threatened danger ; and the explanation in detail pf the survivors of the. Cospatrick will be looked for anxiously, because if they can confirm the telegraphic report, that, the Captain and Doctor " stayed by the ship till the last moment and then jumped overboard," they should also be able to furnish reliable particulars as to the cause or causes which prevented more than two boats from being launched; the circumstances •which led to at least one boat leaving the ill-fated ship without water and provisions to sustain life in the occupamts for even ten days. They should, in addition, be in a position to say what bungling—what mismanagement — what incapacity was manifested in the trying hour which appears to have been all that elapsed between the alarm of fire and the last scene in the mournful event. That mismanagement or incapacity was manifested seems certain, or else more than two boats would have been set adrift, and some effort would have been made to save the helpless women and children from a terrible fate; these, the weakest of God's creatures, generally receiving consideration first at the hands of brave British seamen. These and many other details the three survivers of the Cospatrick should be able to tell if their story of the fate of the Captain and Doctor be founded on personal observation. We may of course assume that all these particulars, and many others, have been communicated by the three men who escaped the terrible fate of their comrades ; but it must be remembered that the cablegrams from home cost a great deal of money. As furnished, the news must have entailed an unusual expenditure

on the Australian press ; and it is not to be wondered at if the compiler omitted some items which would have been interesting here at the expense of details possessing a general interest.

In connection with telegrams the Herald deals severely with the AgentGeneral for disdaining to acquaint the Government officially with the disaster, and thus setting at rest the doubts as to the correctness of -the passenger list of the Cospatrick. On this point the press of the Colony is unanimous. No more culpable act could be charged against the Agent-General than this, of ignoring all consideration for the natural anxiety of persons in the Colony who had, or were supposed to hare, friends on board tho Cospatrick. To hare telegraphed that the list asforwarded to the Immigration Officer in Auckland (the destination of the ill-fated ship) was correct would hare involved but a comparatively trifling expenditure ; and if any alterations had been made at the last moment, the names of the persons omitted would not have entailed a cost to the Government equal to that which a few newspaper proprietors in Australia had to pay for the transmission of the details which form the narrative of the Cospatrick's loss. A few words from the Agent-General's Office, accompanying the Press message, would have relieved many persons of a horrible suspense, more painful to bear than a certainty that the worst had happened to near and dear relatives. /

It would appear that the Kauaeranga School Committee have exceeded their powers in advertising the opening of a Superior School in connection with the Common School at the Volunteer Hall, the consent of the Board of Education not having been obtained. Clause 19 of the Education Act Amendment Act says:—" It shall be lawful for the Board, on receiving an application in "writing from the School Committee having the management of ■a District School established under the said Act, to convert any such school into, and establish the same as a Superior School." The power of " establishing " a Superior School is clearly reserved by the Board ; and the necessary authority for such " establishment" not having been obtained, the Superior School announced to be opened to-day by the Key. E. Brown has no legal status under the Education Act. There are other conditions to be arranged of which no mention is made in the Kauaeranga Committee's bulletin ; school fees have to be fixed —by the Board; said fees to be apportioned for the payment of the teacher or teachers of the school, the Board may require as a condition of admission that a minimum age and standard of attainment be fixed, to be reached by all candidates requiring admission to such Superior School. We think we have said enough to maintain the assertion with which we commenced, that the Kauaeranga School Committee have exceeded their powers. The Volunteier'Hall Schooli we maintain, is not, nor can it be a Superior School until th e sanction of the Central Board has been obtained; the Eev. Brown is a common School., teacher and cannot levy fees. "We refer our readers to an extract from the report of proceedings of the Board of Education at their meeting on Thursday last. The application from the Kauaeranga Com* mittee for establishing a Superior School was referredback to the applicants, withinstritctions to confer with other Committees in the district. We can only suppose that the Kauaeranga Committee nave been misled; they would scarcely act in opposition to the Central Board and the Education Act itself. .

We should be very glad to see a Superior School established on the, Thames, or even a High School, because we are convinced that some of the advanced pupils in the Common Schools are kept back in their acquirement of knowledge for Want of a Superior School. The number of teachers employed in our schools is not equal to the work required of them, and it would be to the detriment of Common School education to reduce the teaching power at present employed. The Superior School, when established, should be in a central position with regard to the four school districts, and properly provided with teachers and the necessary appliances for imparting a knowledge of the higher branches of education intended to be offered by the establishment of Superior Schools. Anything short of this will create local jealousies, and be utterly futile in accomplishing the object intended by the Act.