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A Compendium of Official Documents Relative to Native Affairs in the South Island. Volume Two.

Mr. Alexander Mackay, Native Commissioner, to the Under Secretary, Native Department, Wellington

Mr. Alexander Mackay, Native Commissioner, to the Under Secretary, Native Department, Wellington.

Dunedin, February 3rd, 1868.

Sir,

With reference to the admission of Native and half-caste children to the district schools, I beg to enclose herewith a copy of a letter received from Mr. Hislop, Secretary to the Education Board, Dunedin, in reply to a letter from me inquiring whether the Board contemplated establishing a side school at Taieri, in the vicinity of the Native settlement, by which you will perceive that Mr. Hislop expresses favorable concurrence with the views of the General Government for the admission of Native children to the local schools.

With respect to the school kept by Mr. and Mrs. Parry, at Otago Heads, to which allusion is made in the last paragraph of Mr. Hislop's letter, I am of opinion that it is not the sort of establishment which would meet with the approval of Government; neither are the persons who conduct it of a class to give entire satisfaction. Parry himself is a sort of religious enthusiast, and is held in great disfavour by the Natives, owing to his meddlesome disposition; they appear however to look on Mrs. Parry's efforts in a better spirit.

The facts of the case, as far as I can learn, are as follows:—The Parry's are squatters on the reserve, running a few pigs and cattle on it, and, in return for this privilege and further favours conferred, Mrs. Parry teaches any of the Native children who choose to attend the school which is held in their house.

There will be some difficulty in bringing school education within the reach of most of the Native settlements in the Province of Southland, owing to several causes, two of which are:—First, the absence of local schools in many districts, and second, that the small number of children in most of these outlying settlement renders it impossible that any one could be found who would Undertake to open a school merely for the purpose of teaching the few Native children who might attend.

The best plan, in my opinion, and one that I beg to submit for the consideration of the Government, is that the school at Ruapuke, now in the course of erection, should be made a central school to which the whole of the children in the neighbouring settlement of Stewart's Island should be sent. The whole number of the children, provided they were all sent, would only make a fair average attendance. The approximate number of children at the various settlements are as follows:—

Ruapuke 42
Aparima 18
Oraha 12
Kawakapatupatu 7
Stewart's Island 25
Omani 12
One 10
Total 126

The proposed plan would necessitate the formation of Ruapuke school into a boarding school for the reception of the children who came from a distance, this of course would make the establishment more expensive, and provision would have to be made accordingly.

Some of the children, if they are to receive the benefit of education, must necessarily be sent to Ruapuke; for instance, the children resident at Stewart's Island, and at One and Omani on the mainland, as there is not the least probability that schools will be brought into their neighbourhood, and, as I remarked before, the children are too few in number to make it worth the while of any one to undertake the training of these only.

I had hoped to have been able to effect an arrangement with the Local Committee at Riverton for the admission of Native children to the school there, but there appears to be an objection to it on account of the dirty habits of the children, and of their having a filthy itch. Mr. Austin, the Treasurer to the Committee, whom I saw on the subject, said it would be perfectly useless to submit the project to the consideration of the Board, as it would be certain to meet with strong opposition both from the Committee and also from the parents of the children, as the admission of Native children on a previous occasion bad nearly been the means of breaking up the whole school; it had now recovered from this blow, and was in a very flourishing condition, and the Committee would strongly object to sanction any project that would be likely to throw the school again into disfavour. Finding that there was no possibility of effecting any arrangement for the admission of the children to the local schools, I waited on Mr. Cameron, the master, to ascertain if he would be inclined to undertake to teach the Native children at their own little school—only a few minutes walk from his house—after his regular duties were over. His present school hours are from ten a.m. till noon, and from one to three p.m., and the fee is at the rate of £1 per quarter. He expressed himself quite willing to undertake the task, and proposed that he should devote a few hours each morning, before his regular school commenced, and give them the remainder of his time after his school closed in the afternoon; the fee to be paid to be the same as at the local school, viz., £1 per quarter. This he did not appear to consider a sufficient remuneration for the trouble of teaching the Native children separately, and expressed a hope that he might receive a higher rate of salary in consideration of his undertaking the duty. I explained to him that the Government could alone decide this, and that I would submit the case for their consideration.

If the Government should think favourably of this proposal, I would beg to suggest, as the Local Committee have declined accepting the responsibility in this case, that a Commissioner should be appointed to conduct the necessary business, as provided by Clause XII of the Act. Mr. Watt would no doubt undertake the duties, if required, or some one might be chosen on the spot; a European page 168should be selected, as no Maori is qualified to act individually or collectively in the matter. The only other person who would be in any way suited for the post, and on whom the Government could rely to take an interest in the matter, is a Mr. Honare, a missionary at Ruapuke, who lives about five miles away from the settlement of Riverton. If it was decided to appoint him to the post, it would be necessary to make him some slight recompense for his services, as his circumstances would not permit him to perform the duties gratuitously.

Mr. Wohlars, at Ruapuke, would no doubt undertake the necessary duties there, if the Government deemed it advisable to appoint him to the post.

I think it would be found on taking all points into consideration, that the suggestion of making Ruapuke a central school for the whole of the Native and half caste children would be the most feasible plan in the end, and one that would be of greater advantage for expending economically the Government subsidy, and the fund procurable from the £2000, than if the amount had to be apportioned to several small schools.

I have, &c.,
Alexander Mackay,
Native Commissioner.

The Under Secretary, Native Office, Wellington.