Page image
Page image

P. TOMOANA.]

63

Qγ.—s.

97. But, generally speaking, have those you know had an advantage from the education they received? —Yes, they have. 98. The only thing you think might be improved is in regard to the instruction of technical education ?—Yes; that is the most important matter to teach the Maoris. It is more important than book-work. 99. Is there any great difficulty in getting into the school that you are aware of?— Yes, there is great difficulty in getting admission. Lots are refused. 100. Do you know why they are refused? —There are too many applicants. They have not room for them all. 101. Mr. Lee.] Have the boys refused passed the Sixth Standard in the ordinary Government Native schools ?—They are not all Sixth Standard boys. 102. Do you know of boys who have really passed the Sixth Standard in the Native schools being refused admission into Te Aute ?—I cannot mention any boy by name. 103. You are a farmer, and your education, of course, should have fitted you for that occupation : do you find, now you have left school, it would have been better for you if you had not learnt Latin but had learnt to express yourself well in English?—l think that learning Latin assists us in learning English. 104. Do you think that on the whole, though the Latin may have helped your English, you could have learnt to express yourself well in English if your instruction had been confined to English and you had not learnt Latin at all?—I think I should not have been able to make the English language clear to myself without the Latin. 105. When you say you are very much in favour of technical education, may I ask you what you understand by technical education :do you mean the teaching of a trade?— Yes. 106. Supposing you had had lectures in a room, and were shown by the teachers soils, and how they were formed, and what should be done to them to make them more fertile, and were shown also plants and parts of plants—the roots and fibres of the roots —and were told the purpose they served and how they required nourishment, and were shown how to use agricultural implements, and were then taken out and given a bit of land on which to put into practice the knowledge you had learnt, would you have considered that a satisfactory education ?—Yes; that is the way to bring the Maori and Pakeha together. 107. Is that what you mean by technical instruction? —Yes. 108. Mr. Eliott.] Is a boy's time fully occupied in the school now with book-learning?—l think so. 109. If you are going to have this industrial education, what classes of the book-learning would you recommend should be knocked out? —Well, Euclid. I never liked Euclid, and I told Mr. Thornton that Euclid was quite useless to Maoris. If you were to get Maori boys who have been at Te Aute together you would find they know more about-geography than Euclid, because geography is a thing they can grasp. 110. Do you think only Euclid need be dispensed with: how many days a week did you have Euclid? —Every day, I think. 111. How many books did you get through?— Two. 112. Is there anything else you could knock out?— No. 113. You are engaged in farming: do you keep accounts?— -Yes ; I keep them in my own way. 114. Have you a banking account? —No. We do not work the farm in the way the Pakehas work it—on business lines. We work it for the hapu on communistic lines. 115. Were you taught book-keeping at the College?— Not in my time, 116. Mr. Lee.] You said you had read two books of Euclid and had done a certain amount of algebra: how much? —I cannot say now. 117. Did you do equations?— Yes. 118. Did you get on with your arithmetic?— Yes, very well. 119. Did you like it?— Yes, very much. 120. Did you find generally that the boys got on in arithmetic?—l think so. 121. The Chairman.] Is there anything else you would like to say?—l would like to say something about the evidence given by Archdeacon Williams, because I am one of the old boys of the school. I have heard my parents talking about the reasons for which the land at Te Aute was given. What they had to say was not altogether in support of Archdeacon Williams, and we children, hearing them expressing these views, agreed with these views. Their views were that Archdeacon Williams was not managing the school weU. 122. What was wrong with it? —Well, I do not know in what way he was managing it badly. _ I did not hear that. Then, when the Commission was opened here I have seen what Archdeacon Williams said, and, as an old Te Aute boy, I wish to say I think he has made himself quite clear. I approve entirely of what he said, and confirm it. I have also seen Mr. Thornton's evidence, and I like what he said very much. One thing Mr. Thornton mentioned in regard to games—football. I, as an old Te Aute boy, think they should not devote so much, time to football as they do. They make a work of it, and they play for cups and trophies. Well, when we Maoris go in for that sort of thing it absorbs our whole time; we put our whole mind into it. I do not know if it is the same with Europeans. I think that has a great deal to do with the backwardness of some of the Te Aute children in their studies : their minds are taken up too much with football. In regard to the expressions of opinion that it would be better to cut up Te Aute into small farms, I think that the manner in which Archdeacon Williams has managed the place is better than that. Why I say this is because Archdeacon Williams knows that if another person came into Te Aute he would not devote the same time and attention to the school that Mr. Williams does. Of all the Europeans the old settlers living who know the Maori language and customs —Archdeacon Williams is the most Maori and the most sympathetic with the Maori people. In regard to the

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert