THE WANGANUI CHRONICLE AND RANGITIKEI MESSENGER. "Vérité sans peur.” Wanganui, July 25, 1861.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 5, Issue 245, 25 July 1861, Page 2

THE WANGANUI CHRONICLE AND RANGITIKEI MESSENGER. "Vérité sans peur.” Wanganui, July 25, 1861.

Last week we learned that the Stafford ministry had beendefeated on a vote of want of?’

confidence.. This week’s post brings .intellf-’ gencedhat. Mr. Fox has formed a ministry, the composition of which' gives some assurance that it will command the confidence of the countryi and devise: a v mode of extricating' it from its;' present difficulties' without war, and, without compromising the dignify or authority of the tvas done in the case’of tile Wahara dispute.- The members of it are.Dr; Teatherstoh, Colonial Secretary ; u Mr. Header Wood, Treasurer *Attorney General, and Tje'a'der bf the Mouse of Representatives ; Mr. Crosbie Ward (if lie will accept ), ' Postmaster General and Secretary of Crown Zands; Mr. Mantel!, Native minister'; Mr. ff illiamsotr and'MV 7/en'dersoh are members without-’ office. ; Mr. Fox mentioned, when the botise’ met oiV T’iiesday the' 9th, that lie expected to-be able to-form) a ihinistry, and the bouse adjourned to the 12th. It was expected- that he would ask for a month's adjournment to enable him ; to : visit the 1 W«aikat<jS iu I>erson, and endeavour to come to an understandingwith them. : If the house objected to this request,,and> his Excellency did hot prorogue the house for that time, Mr. Fox would decline accepting office. If negociation fail iiY bringing about: peace, die.will'be prepared to cany on war with all ;tbe vigour which the necessities of the case,so urgently require. JVf*. expected the7fphgaWongfi would liave brought intelligence to : a lateridate* We shall ptiblish J aq extra 1 with the latest news as soon;after her arrival as possible.

•I heke seems to be an impression abro&d here Jhat ,Pr. Featlierstoifs acceptance 1 of office will oblige bjra to,.resign :the Supcrintendentship. Z’lie.impossibility - of properly discharging tUe.., duties of both offices simultaneously, occasions ' a real, ;i if; not a legal disqualification; but aa‘ ( Dr. Fpatherston has < only accepted ‘office i6mr ’ porarily, con.equent on Mr. Swajnsoids dev cliiiiiig to take a seat, and the absence of Mr* Gillies, bad he been in A ucklaud, would probably have been offered the post.of Attorney " General, no riocessity for his. resignation Exists*. '■

The shooting for the Government prizes has iiatu: ally excited considerable interest. 7’he here has pn the whole.not been-equal to’ what was anticipated, some of the-craolt shots of the’various companies having Come 1 far below their' usual scores one, who has gone as high as 21,' ohlyliiiadp 13; and.anr other nearly equally, good only got the length of 6. This is not to be wondered at. ,The ‘ little practice which has .been allowed .the Vo-> ■ lunteefs precludes all from any. chance of win- 1 ning, who haye not had long and great ex- ; . perience in shooting. The coolness and nerve 1 , requisite in such a trial can best be acquired . in the field* where instant,'action';> steadiness/; and presence of ffiihd are needed-to bring do\vri ' the bird or beast' fired at. /t will be remembered that the winner 'of the, Queen’s prize at' Wimbledon lastyear was .hereditarily and perl' sonally a practised shot, if is father is known as one of the bestdeer-stalkers in ScqtlatifL’ His f motherV'a lady. of comparatively small stature, is a keen sportswoman. ; One of her : recorded feats' witht>the. gun is her killing a grouse with a single,-rifle bullet at a distanch of. a hundred yards.' Under such instruction, and, with the trained eye and steady nerve which constant boyhood gave ‘ him, young Ross was no fit competitor for men , coming from r the , desk or • the workshop, with' but fevv opportunities sinceVthey cPtnmenced the business of life for acquiring- or retaining skill in using > the rifle.. ' The shooting here has had ; somewhat- silhilar results, those highest on-tbplift ,being gentlemen who have' been in the frequent habit of using tlieir guns as sportsmen before the present rifle movement began, the short tima-thUt the Wang&riui WblihteeVs have liad for practice, the average of the shooting is compared with the scores', of the great Wim-; bledon rifle match it is not contemptible. At’. V Wimbledon the Ganges were so mticb longer,—^... the 1 greater' iluiubcr 'being 1 from 'SOO to .iQQ&

yards,—that a strict comparison .is But fv»r all comers there was a set of prizes given to be . shpt for at 200 an>l 300 yards, each man Tiring five, rounds. The average number of points made by the winners of the seven prizes at 200 yards was 11.14,-10 being the lowest and 12 the highest. The average numberofcip’oints made ‘at 300 yards was 8.57, —four’of the wiiiners making 9 and three 8. Not taking into account the. No;-3 and 4 companies of.our Volunteers, who fired at a great disadvantage from-' various causes, but taking the Militia and No. 1 and 2 companies Volunteers, we find their average number of points at '2OO yards 1 " 3.57, and at "300 yards'2.;' /Supposing that each had fired five rounds instead of three,’with tlie same average success, the result would have" been at 200 yards 5.93; at 300 yards 3.33. But those firing at Wimbledon were all picked men, aiid the scores given are the scores of the not of all;.-who fired;? Taking the best nine shots here,’the score ' witfi 'five shots would have averaged at 200;yards 10 points, at 300 yards 7.22 points; and taking only the best shot as';: < in -' 1 these 1 cases it ’sttfi ids at‘2oo'yards 10 pointsi'amßiit'3oo yards 10 points., Thus in the shdotihg by Our' pickediiieri i (nine',out', of ninety height); the average, is below that of the winners at Wimbledon. But the winner here nude a' higher score than the successful men there. : ‘He made as much as their least at 200 yards, and at 300 yards he made one point more than their.best shot; the average being in our champion’s favour. Thus there is no reason for our being ashamed when compared with the crack, shots of Switzerland and Great Britain, wh'o have been' practising all their live« Vj witlr'' > th'e'''KfleV’''wlncfiltd-’iiis-is''eu-' tirely a new weapon. At longer distances the Swiss’ did not equal the English,land prubably the‘ski 11 of our. marksmen at long ranges would also be found deficient. If there is any: superiority in the rifle over . Brown'Bess,?it .is: in the power, it gives; of picking off ail enemy tit a great .distance; and; therefore tlie next aim of our, rifle., yplunteers- ,must be to .majce themselves'.good marksmen. at . any: distance; between 30(3 anil IQOO yards. ; No ffoubt the' Government wili next year recognize the ne : , cessity of this, in. varying. , the conditions on which the prizes are offered.. ■ .:..s- ; \V In themonth-of March list,Cat- a meeting in Zondon of the commanding officers of the Volunteers, .a , series of resolutions was brought forward by Lord Elcho, and passed, declaring the necessity Ipif ; Goyernment, assistance, in making provision for drill , and musketry in-, structi6ii^A]&yy‘ i fur ! nishing;. no ; n.-coniinissipned officers from the army’as teachers,, in-the proportion of one. to every. 300. effectives in,consolidated, and every. 200 effoctiyesin admiuistrative, battalions,. or independent corps; by an anuuat,.; grantfor'.practice ranges, and for the.due.care and. preseryiition of the Volunteers’ arms; {anT by Turn isliing targets, mantlets, flags,. &c.-free of. cost. It would be well that a provision, were made here to a similar effect. But in.,regard to drill.it would.be still better if . the , instruction were given to the officers, to be by them communicated to their companies. ! In this way officers would learn their duties more^thoroughlyHhan~ they will ever dp, if ia company drills always having a prompter at their back in the shape of a commissioned or non-commissioned army officer The prize shooting of the National Association was to / begin, ; at ort Ist 3 uly, when .42000 was; to be giveii away -iii prizes. This stimulus’ to excellence in ! one'of the rifleman’s mostimportant accomplishments, will no doubt.haye the.'desired effect.’ Could the local associations in iVew ’Zealand riot form themselves; into brancilies ‘of, a' General: A ssor ciation, taking upon itself the same duties as its elderfsister ih England ? Such an association i s espe daily necessary, in order, that 'jtfje w Zealand Volunteers may shootjfbr the /Sliver Medal offered by the National Rifle Association.

Various circumstances seem to show that there is some’ need for the' community ■turning over in their minds the subject Of Education, in order that theyI’may 1 ’ may 'cbme to some decision as to the., best mode off ensuring a sound and liberal education to the‘youthful population, he- seen in another ifeoluran, the Governor’s attentioh' is* ’directed to obtaining for the Maoris means Of education apar t from those with which thby -haye ' for a ' long time been favoured through- the missionaries. An<\ at least equal care should'be taken that the European population are not allowed to' sink into comparative, ignorance: Then "there' is the apparent intention of ;ohr Provincial Govern merit not .to continue the aid which they have hitherto afforded t<r 'schools’ established under their rules/ from the conviction, it is to be presumecl t -,that as population increases ini any district Supli.help is hot needed. .And a third reason for believing thatsome change is needed in the provision for education is,' that a:higher style of instruction is now wanted; A common education does not meet the requirements of the community ; and in order to obtain instruction iu the higher branches of education our young people must be sent either to-Auck-land Canterbury or elsewhere.« This should* not be necessary in a community so large as ours. 1 The system .hitherto infuse :has worked exceedingly we]l. f The granting of a sum equal to the amount raised j.by school fees and subscriptions has . obliged, the settlers to take a personal and . liberal interest in the Subject,’ while it has, enabled them to obtain educational advantages greatly superior to what they would otherwise, nave enjoyed. At :the same time there rVtlie objection to this system, .that the proportion/granted, from Jibe. Government funds may be,,varied ,at pleasure, by,the.Provincial'Executive, so that if a. new Executive were formed, having ' what are called;. Vqjun-r tory tiews" on educaticri^that-.-is; tbat- tbe

support.given to schools *apart.fiu>m fees shouldbe wholly voluntary the. opinions of the present/.Executive' were to assume .this complexion, -. .the ; coininuiiU.y.,,would lose,not .- a third,'.as,,.is the qiise with fFanganui. at pre.-. sent;.but,the-.-whole of- tlie.; grant hitherto.received, and -.thus, they ■ would be compelled at once to look-for-some other source ..oMncome; and the only source provided .by the acti.is the taxation of every house in the district, the only limit to suc.h .taxatio.n .being that- it shall not exceed one; pound, per. house for the year. This is indeed the .very point 'to which the inhabitants:.of;:W|anganui have arrived. . And the question before them to-morrow evening will be, how the deficiency in the annual income of the school, caused ..by. a partial , withdrawal of the Government grant is tp he met,., 7t is not our intention to' -discuss this point at. present. That will, no doubt be alone very thoroughly at the meeting ; but-.we consider.that the community in general should look beyond the dev cision of the question tP be .brought before tlie meeting, and ask themselves whether the act as it'at present stands is sufficient to meet the eduttitipnali reqpi.remqnlA of the province. As this act may not be iii every one’s bauds;,.we 'may mentioinits-pririfcipal 'object is, promote;:.-the',’general education of the colonists of this province.’’ It empowers the Superintendent to divide,the province into Educational districts;::and tc put -the Set iii

force in these .districts. -A ny -six electors- iMy call a public -meeting of the electors to makeprovision for the establishment and maiiitehance of Common Schools. This meeting -may pass a rate for this, purpose, .not exceeding one pound. per annum for. each house, and appoint a'collector; who within :14 days,- in case of neglect or.refusal -to pqy the rate, may recover it by summary .proceeding. This tax continues till the next yearly meeting of the rate-payers, when jt may he re imposed in the same or a modified form; or! taken-, th'e-rfext year. At the yearly meeting a committee is appointed for the management of all matters 1 relating to the school, including ! the appointment and removal: .of.- theviteaclier,-.. AH children resident in the district may- attend it on>.equal terms, The Bib e may be read as a. school book,;but only, at,a certain appo|nted ; and publicly, hour .each day, when children jmay:;beabsent- if- .the parents wish.it, —“ no notes -,, com men ts,. ;or .doctrinal or sectarian, in stru c tipn, ; are, r to be; used:therewith.”;. .The Superiiitendent .may., appoint inspectors, to. whom;; tlie schools sliai 1 always be open,The, Superintendent ..-may* further, with the advice of. his Executive Council, grant to : the various schools thus established any sum he pleases out of any amount voted for Educational purposes by the Provincial Council. y.

S* far as we-arc aware, no rate for -Educa , tional .purposes . lias yet been ~ levied.- inythe whole,province, all the aid to common schools having been given through the.channel opened by this last provision... -The given last year in this"way. was 6501, to a population of 13,837, in which, according to the proportion given in thq, census of 1858, there were 3850 between, the, .ages of 6 and 18. Assuming that three-fourths of. this Dumber should bA at school, we have 2380, which is but a few more ; thap the .number ,actually„at seliool f2520,—50, very Jarge a proportion of the population, that we doubt its correctness) of which 850 attend schools aided -by? Government, and 16j0>'private, s/chools.The sum of 650 Z has thus been given in aid of the education'of about .850' children, .which jsmqual-to 15s -3|'d for each child ; and yet the quality of the education is such that those schools only "attract:one-third; of the .children who are atthe census returns are correct; . and if so, this result shows that the, Education act of this province is not producing such .fruit as might he fairly expected from the...proper working of such a measure. ; ' - ! / . , •

IntEiXib-EJfCe.' "from up to the 13th May from ‘St. AOuis, has been,, received via San FifanciVco. The most important part of the news is the/ following-There. has been a reaction iii favor of . the Union in Baltimore, and the communication to Washing-, ton from the North'is re-opened. ~At •• Washington there were 13,000 troops, which.were to be increased to 50,000. /nsurrectipn.and Incendiarism have begun among the slaves in Maryland and Louisiana. Virginia has sece,-. ■died, .but the Governor has notified to. Presi-. dent Lincoln that, .ho/.Virginia troops, will march .against and ? that lie, will act strictly on the/ defehs ive.' “ Ziiicoln, has proclaimed an 'order . to . blockade the ports of r the Southern- States. The ’ Governors of Pensylvania; Ojiid, Michigan, /and Illinois . have agreed to co-operate in ing the Federal Government. At St,' Xoiiis six pieces of artillery were , taken/on the 10th May, by v the Federal troops from General Frost, -a secessionist.,: Eighteen of the mob and the soldiers were killed and twelve wounded. Frost and his officers were taken prisoners, but released on parole. Little is known Of what' is' doing in the Eouthi General Beauregard was repairing Fort Sumpter. Ail attempt at a se.ttießient by,arbitration had commenced ; but ‘ nothing was ‘expected from it. Five ex-Presidents were proposed as arbitrators. . ;