THE Manawatu Times. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 1881. EDUCATION.

Manawatu Times, Volume V, Issue 125, 16 March 1881, Page 2

THE Manawatu Times.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 1881. EDUCATION.

"Words ar« tklufi, and » drop ef imk falling likt daw upoa a theught, produeai that wkiah maltti tkaiuattda, parhapa millions think."

In our/last article we drew attention to the support afforded the Wellington "College, and protested against such a waste of money, and the expenditure of such money will appear the more foolish; when it is shown that that institution has only some eighty-five regular scholars, and that we are paying such an enormous premium for the education of % few youths whose fathers are well able to pay for ttieir schooling at a coßt greater than that charged by the -present-institutiQiK — Tire-report of the Nelson College, -however, presents a .more cheering- aspect, and shows some surplus of profits over the expenditure, and one. cannot help contrasting the two institutions and their successes at the examinations, and without doubt the Nelson College must be regarded as the most successful of the two, both m a pecuniary and educational point of view. "But on the other hand the contrast i 8 a painful one for the Wellington College, nevertheless tH"§ mere success of one institu--tion, backed up with endowments, is no answer to our arguments. The present educational system is unsuited, not only on the ground of expense, but also as being the offspring of a system which is unsuitable for a young colony, and which wo believe must eventually fall into decay, bankruptcy; and death. We have already one University m New Zealand— namely, the one established m Canterbury — and all were gratified to learn a s'aort time ago that the proposal to establish one m Otago had met with a decided check, and that the charter had been refused by the authorities at Home on. the ground that one University was sufficient- f or ; the requirements of this colony. The proposal was the emanation of that senseless jealousy ; that unfortunately exists between th e different j?ro YJnces^ia..New..Zea"lanili each one believing that it is entitled to such privileges and rank as the chief one. We look with"disfavor upon the foundation of Universities and Medical Colleges m the colonies, believing that they could be dispensed with for many years to come, and that their absence would not be materially felt. The vast stride that has been made of late years. in England- and America m mechanics, and navigation and the cutting of tbe Suez Canal has placed us within, comparatively easy reach of the Old Country, and the expense of the voyage Home is being continually decreased; and colonists are thus able now to send their sons to the first universities m the world at an expense comparatively trifling to -what it would -have cost them a few years "ago. Again when the Panama -Cana-Hs-Tjompleted^ the voyage and expense will be further reduced, and by placing their sons under the care and tuition of the.first masters of he day at Home, they will place their sons m the first universities of the day, where the student's range of inquiry may be unlimited and his experience may be of the widest. While m the colonies they will be placed m raw institutions with every department cramped and confined, and their range of observation consequently limited.