EDUCATION IN NEW ZEALAND.

Manawatu Times, Volume V, Issue 147, 29 June 1881, Page 3

EDUCATION IN NEW ZEALAND.

Fbom Melbourne papers we have b fore us, we learn that on the 16th May, Mr W. 0.. I lard Smith, Miuister of Education, delivered a speech at the opening of the Kensington State School, m the course of which he. referred to what he had learned during h\n recent visit to New Zealan I. 'Vhe'Age report Bn.ys: — Mr Smith, m declaring the school open, said that he dt-Mreil, to address the-as etiibiy and ttic coutitry ujhmi one or two mutters with regard to the educational system of the Colony as compared with that of two of the udjoiiiiti^ Colonies. He wa» iv a position to furnish some infotmation vp f »n this points, and he was sure that it would be iuteresti.g to his hearers to know what his impressions were m travelling through ' New Z aland, and on paying a visit to the ca|»it 1 of New ! South Wales. It would b gratifying to tne'in to know the proud po<wti'>n which Victoria, m his opinion, occupied m relation to the other Colonies. He hud to acknowledge that he had rec ived the greatest kindness an 1 consideration, due; nodoubt, principally t" his position a Mini ter of Public Instruction 'Ihe first port at which lie arrived was Diinedin, where he was- met. by the muuber* of the KdiKational Roard of the district, and shown over the schools, and he would say that of the towns which he ; yi»ited m New Zealand, Dunedin m educational importance undoubtedly held flr.-t place. One thing, at all events, m which it excelled was m the very large average attendance of pupils m proportion to the number on the roll. The average iin Victoria m a school of 500 was about half that for the year, hut he found that m. the schools of Duaedin the average m a school of 450 was more than 400. He attributed that result m a large m» asurc to the fact that the prtponderating ».le ment m the city was Scotch, bi c .use it was proverbial for the parents of that icountry to insist upon their chi dren takihg the utmost advautagi- of the mean? of education presented to them , He' also visited the High School f Dunedin and tbe Uoive-sity. and s^oke jwith several of the profosors of th. latter institution, and whilst he whs I prepared to' acknowledge that Dunedin surpassed Victoria m the matter of attendance, be must say that it was his experience m that city an I every provi cc lie visited that, a. very coqsidcrable number : of the bes bad been educated m Victoria. One fact he had noiiced m New Zealitnrl, was that m almost every newsp per advertisements appeared for qualified teachers, which c >n'trasted' very markedly with the st; te of things m Vicroria, wh<re for fouryiar . since he had been Minister of Public In struction, he had never had to supply their own requirements, bu' thiy a's > contributed largely to the te chng staff 'of the adjoining Colonits. At pie rnt there were 250 qualified teachers ay aiting emplyment ... ... New Zealand bad furnished the answer which he jwould submit as the ; be-t means of reducing the cost of the educational W\ stenMo the^ counti y. 'They bad done t hero what he would venture to say Victoria and the other Colonies' should have done— that was, they had endowed tneUnivcrsi'y, high c nbo>lp, : and p iiuary schools with -land/ Professor Shand ot Dunedin, bad toh! him that the fees of the University were I-ks than a third of what they were iij Melbourne,- tliar the institution was endowed with 300,000 •forts of errazing land. Although tbp» my ree ved £4000 per annum from the property at present, it was expecte when the current leases expired that tbe revenue would be tri-b'e the amount.