The Waikato Times, THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE, AND KAWHIA ADVOCATE. Established Thirty-Four Years. THE OLDEST DAILY NEWSPAPER IN THE WAIKATO. THE LARGEST CIRCULATION OF ANY DAILY PAPER SOUTH OF AUCKLAND. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1906. ESPERANTO IN SCHOOLS.

Waikato Times, Volume LVII, Issue 8079, 15 December 1906, Page 2

The Waikato Times, THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE, AND KAWHIA ADVOCATE. Established Thirty-Four Years. THE OLDEST DAILY NEWSPAPER IN THE WAIKATO. THE LARGEST CIRCULATION OF ANY DAILY PAPER SOUTH OF AUCKLAND. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1906. ESPERANTO IN SCHOOLS.

Tin: remarks by Sir Joseph Ward at Napier a few days ago on the subject of Esperanto in schools, aie worthy of moib than passing notice. The course of modern iaiiguqpes taken in our secondary schools is necessarily restricted, and those studenjuji who do not follow up the grounding they Qbiain at the high scJiool by a few years at the University, lea'-'e .school with but a slight acquaintance of languages other than their own, and frequently with too little knowledge of that. A good knowledge ot French and German is invaluable to the man w"h 0 *« business extends into other countries, but iCT business purposes a much more extended course than the opportunities school life aL'ords, is necessary for the accomplishment to be of real service. The necessity of a simpler universal language led to the study resulting in Esperanto being offered to the woild as h means of communication, simple, easily acquired and in every way suitable for use in international intercourse. French, as the language of diplomacy, seems likely to be displaced by the new tongue. In urging the teaching of Esperanto in schools, the Premier made a point of the fact that lie had recently attended a great international Conference, at which (here were a large number of delegates from all parts of the world. .Men from China had to have interpreters who understood French and Chinese ; those from Austria required men who understood Austrian and French ; those from Cuba had to have interpreters who understood Austrian and French ; those from Cuba had to have interpreters who understood Spanish and French —and so on. Those who did not understand French missed a great deal of what was being said. The difficulties with which representatives at such a gathering had to contend may he easily understood. Esperanto presents few of the dilliculties of acquisition of French or German. The man who has perhaps the smartest theoretical knowledge of those languages, not infrequently discovers that in conversation he is unintelligible to his auditors, owing to the various foims of pronunciation. Sir Joseph developed his theme from a broader standpoint, that of the fraternity of nations. He said that through literary men might not altogether agree with it, he was satisfied in his own mind that considering what was being done in the way of bringing the different nations together some language of a general and common character that might be used by the people of all countries ought to he taught, so that the people who were unable to speak I French or German would not he quite at sea. He admitted it might take a few years to educate people up

to accepting this suggestion, but it was not many years since shorthand j anil typewriting were looked upon as almost impossible of adoption, and now of course they were almost universal in commercial ollices. It is not the first time, we fancy, that the expediency of introducing the study of Esperanto into, at any rate, the secondary schools of the colony, has been brought before the educational authorities. The curriculum tit present certainly contains many subjects that could make way with advantage for such a useful study, and we hope that the proposal will receive the consideration it deserves. CHRISTMAS APPEALS. Tin: season is approaching when the hearts of men are popularly supposed to warm towards their fellow creatures, and when goodwill and peace should reign. At this time it is usual for the many institutions engaged in the praiseworthy work of alleviating distress in the community, and of caring for those unfortunates who have lost by various means the power of looking after themselves, to appeal to the generous to assist in making Christmastide a season of joy and gladness. A huge number of philanthropise bodies are engaged in our midst in this most commendable work, and the funds at their disposal, frequently quite inadequate to the every day calls made upon them, are naturally insufficient to provide good cheer at Christinas time. Many appeals have been addressed to the public during the last few days, through the Press, by circular and other means, and it is to be hoped that the response this year will be no less hearty than on previous occasions. Life contains little poetry for those who have fallen upon evil times, and have had to seek refuge in public institutions, and it is the duty of those in happier circumstances to help in distinguishing the glad season from the rest of the year by making them feel that all charity is not necessarily cold, and that though this is a commercial age when we have but little time for sentiment, yet we are not insensible to the calls and traditions of the festive season.