EDUCATION.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXIV, Issue 2921, 27 November 1869, Page 5

EDUCATION.

TO THE EDITOB OF THE INDEPENDENT, Kangitikei, 18th November 1869. Sib, — Perhaps you will allow of a few remarks on the " Perry, Euclid" letters, a place in your columns, aa all such tend to open the mind on the very important subject of education. Mr Perry pointa oufc his objections to the present Education Act and I must say his opinions meet with much sympathy among the settlers of the country, I clont think that he or they will ever be brought to admire the charity displayed in the present Education Act ; for, in my opinion, its first principle aims at educating the poor, and while the poor pay the same amount a3 the rich, it follows that the poor are paying for the education of the rich. As a case in point, one of my next neighbors has had to remove hia children from the Western Rangitikei School, as he was unable to pay the fees, while the better off settlers have their children there, and the consequence is, he is obliged to contribute to it, if his own should starve. To expect to get common Bense men, suoh as Mr Perry, to stomach such a system, is absurd in the extreme. If a sytem of education must be fixed by law, let us do away with such a rotten hypocritical Bystetn — but not till we get a better one — and if the philanthropy of our legislators- is genuine, let them show it by imposing an acreage rate of a penny on freehold and a half-penny on runhold property. I dont know Mr or Mra Perry, although near neighbors of my own, I never saw one or the other to my knowledge. I dont know Mr or Mra Euclid, but am inclined to think that if the Perry's are like other settlers they must pay a larger amount of taxation than " Euclid" gives them credit for, and which I will now endeavor to show. Mr " Euclid" appears to guage Mr Perry by his own false measure, and it would be useless to attempt to follow him through his flimsy, clever, shallow twaddle — for it is not reasoning. His own lotters show that he is totally ignorant of tho aubjoct he twaddles on and the persons it mo3t concerns, that is country ones. He appears, however, to be quite satisfied in his ignorance, and does not fail to treat Perry to a second lecture. " Euclid" iv his bliss of iguoranca and self-sufficiency, Beta too very cleverly to make oufc Perry's bill of tase3, and in his clever claptrap fashion tries to bring Perry and family into contempt as living on suction and disdaining charity ; but, sir, allow me to shew what a few of the items which constitute or go to constitute a' part of Mr Perry's bill of tuxes, or a settler's bill of taxes like Mr Perry, and the public will be better able to judge of Mr ," Euclid's" claptrap statements of taxes for a year : — BECEIPT3.

Now, it appears from these figures that Mr Perry or any other man like him pays a tax on these two items alone of £9 lOs Bd. This is clearly what he pays as tax, but I by no means say that the Government get that sum, but I Bay that their tax cause him to pay it. If Mr Perry should uae 81b of tobacco in a year, which, duty free, would cost not inoro than 7s 6d, he pays £2 8s 6d as a tax upon it. If Mr Perry used a dozen bottlea of port or sherry, which ought to coat, duty free, about 21s, he would pay on that a tax, to him, of from 35s to 50a, depending on where and how he bought it. I could go on enumerating a hundred other item?, which, I doubt not, would shew Mr Perry's bill of taxes to amount from £60 to £75, without any exaggeration. "Euclid" is a dundy, and for one pair of breeks that he would wear out Perry would knock out three, and consequently pays three times the taxes " Euclid" does; but " Euclid" would, in his logical deductions, make Perry out to bo a Highlander or a Maori to go breekless. In conclusion, " Euclid" shows the greatness of his heart and his philanthropy when he proposes to teach, or educate the rich at the expense of the poor, and buy his potatoes of the Maoris instead of his countrymen, of whom he get 3 his bread. " Euclid" ought to know that if there was no country there would bo no town. In taking leave of "Euclid" I don't think Perry would care about whether be came )to Bath or went to Coventry. As to tho question of whether education forwards Heaven or not, or whether it forwards the opposite or not, I won't say. Undoubtedly it is a matter of conscience with Mr Perry as with others, but the present age seems to favor the latter view, judging from the case of Prussia, which is allowed to be the most highly educated nation in the world; proof of that I refer you and your readers to the recent case where young Riland shot at the Minister as a liar while the reverend gentleman was reading the belief in the cathedral, in relating whiqh occurrence the " Times" correspondent states that three-fourths of Prussia believe Christianity to be a lie and a perjury, and quite agree with Eiland, who was educated for the Church. So much for education in Prussia. — I am, &c, A Man in the Cototby.

£ s. a. 52lbs of tea, duty free, at Is Id ... 2 16 4 3121b3 of sugar, duty free, at 3£d ... 411 0 Mr Perry's taxes 9 10 8 £16 18 0 EXPENDITUBE. £ 8. d. 521bs of tea from store, at 3s ... 7 16 0 3121bs sugar from store, at 7d ... 9 2 0 £16 18 0