Wellington Independent SATURDAY, MARCH 4. 1871.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3139, 4 March 1871, Page 2

Wellington Independent SATURDAY, MARCH 4. 1871.

The London " Times" thought it worth while recently (on the 28th of December) to call attention to the want of industrial education in England, having been moved to refer to the subject by a very well-written letter which had appeared in its columns a few days previously, from some one who signed herself " A French Lady." The "lady" describes her observations at an English wateringplace, and while giving due honor to that which struck her as being excellent in English character and customs, she yet deplored that girls were not taught to knit and sew, aud that wives and mothers seemed to know so little about cookery, and were so deficient, either in skill or industry, that husbands and children were allowed to go with their clothes torn and ragged, while a Frenchwomen, out of far less promising materials, would have made those about her look neat and even smart. The " Times." commenting on this, attributes it to a great extent to the manner in which machinery has been caused to produce so much more cheaply all or most of the articles that were formerly produced by hand-labor, so that " the sewing machine has superseded the sempstress." Yet it admits that this is far from being an unmix-

edgood. Itsaysthat through the division of labor — by which unquestionably articles are made better than they could be by a single hands— the " handy man, who could do almost anything," is becoming more and more rare every year. It says also that while the stoclungfrarne has made the artof knitting almost obsolete, still it is observable that children who can knit, have good stockings, and as a rule are well shod, and that the cause of this may be that the children feel an interest in the preservation of their own work, and so are careful not to damage it by letting their shoes fall into disrepair. It adds that there is, therefore, a moral as well as an economical view to be taken of this question, , and that it may be even wise to turn 1 away to some extent from the teachings of political economists in this and similar matters. If such a " power in the state" as the " Times" could devote one of its leaders to this subject, it needs no apology from us for taking up such a homelymatter, especially as it touches on a point of female education that there is a disposition to undervalue and set aside. In the girl's schools of even a few years ago, instruction in sewing, and all the elaborate arts of the accomplished needlewoman, was as regularly given as in spelling and reading, and in many of such schools is so still, but there are not a few speakers and writers who in their zeal for merely literary instruction, are asking why any portion of the school period of a girl's life should be occupied in mere work, whilst the whole of a boy's time at school is given to literary pursuits alone. Perhaps the portentous " samplers " of an earlier, day may have something to do with this objection, but it may be doubted whether those who make it have sufficiently considered the difference between teaching and education. As a matter of teaching, cooking and sewing may be quite indefensible, but as a part of education, they may be — and we believe are — quite as important as many other things that now fill up the school-hours. But if these considerations have weight even in England, and the notice in the " Times" most certainly recog- J nises this, they have vastly greater weight in a colony like New Zealand. We should be prepared, indeed, to give them a much wider scope, and apply them equally to boys and girls. The " handy man who can do almost anything" is the very beau-ideal of a colonist. Who so fit as he to found a new home, say in the district of Manawatu ? He can build his house and furnish it, make his plough and use it, build his cart, shoe his horse, make or mend his j harness, and then drive to " kirk or market." All may be done much more roughly than if some dozen or more of tradesmen had been employed, but all will be sufficiently good for his own use, and will tend directly to his comfort and advantage. Hia own labor gives him what he must have long waited for, if it had only been obtainable by money, which is an especially scarce article in the early home of a country settler. We have seen more than one of the homeß where such settlers live, and can thoroughly appreciate the home comfort which they afford. These, too, are the houses in which books are found and made good use of. The " handy man" is necessarily intelligent and thrifty. Unfortunately the phrase " an industrial school" has got associated in -the public mind with the idea of a reformatory, or at best an orphanage or 6ome similar eleemosynary institution. There is also so much " snobbishness," not only among school boys and girls, but among their parents too, that the " in- i dustrial" school — the school in which lads and lasses would be really " edu- j cated" as colonists — would be looked down upon and despised. Yet we put it to every thoughtful person, whether, after all, this is not the kind of education which this colony requires. While we will never relax our efforts until the means of literary instruction are placed within the reach of every child, and will even be prepared to compel un- | willing parents to have their children taught, we shall always advocate such a training for both boys and gills as will tend directly to enable them to come to the front in " the battle of life," and successfully to take their place in the industrial army that in another generation is to do the work of the world. There is no nobler work for a teacher than to train up earnest, hard-working, God-fearing men and women, who, whether as servants or masters and mistresses, shall be equally prepared to discharge their I several duties with intelligence and zeal. This will do more than can be done by governments or legislatures to secure the true prosperity of the whole community. There is anothor subject connected with this on which we must venture to say a word. It is to be feared that there is a growing unwillingness on the part of parents to bring up their sons to mechanical trades. It may be admitted that the old custom of a seven years 1 apprenticeship would not be consistent with the circumstances of the present time, but still this does not prove that it is not wise that boys should learn some useful trade. Yet there seems a sort of tacit understanding that the boy who has won honors at school, would be throwing away or losing that which he has acquired if he were to be put to the workman's bench. Hence a number of lads are growing up with no other view in life than to become clerks in some office, and as the number of such aspirants far exceeds the demand for their services, they are practically condemned to employments far less remunerative than those of artisans, having had no training to fit them for anything beside mere office work. This would be counteracted in some degree by industrial training in our schools. The " dignity of labor" would become something more than a mere clap- trap, if boys and girls were accustomed to useful work. The famous establishment of Fellenberg at Hofwjl has shown that this is quite compatible with a

high standard of literary attainments, while there the lahor of the boys made the institution almost, if not quite, selfsupporting. It is therefore to be hoped that in any comprehensive scheme for ' public education, this important feature may have a place ; and as we shall be equally surprised and disappointed if the large measure now being brought into successful operation in England does not incite our Legislature to some j effort of similar character, we think this an opportune time to call attention to the subject.