Educational Eccentricities.

Certain of those gentlemen whom our American friends denominate « cranks » have been making themselves very busy in educational matters in Auckland. A year or two ago, the teachers decided—perhaps not very judiciously—that a single set of reading-books should be adopted in all the schools; and after full consideration, the choice fell upon Macmillan's « Globe » series, which accordingly came into general use. A few weeks ago, a fierce crusade against these books was instituted and persistently carried on by one or more anonymous writers. In the columns of indignant denunciation against the books two charges only seem to have been formulated. First, that the earlier books, intended for children up to seven years, contain fairy tales; secondly, that their geographical and astronomical references apply to the opposite hemisphere, and are therefore misleading to children in New Zealand. There might have been some reason in these objections had they applied solely to the reading-books in question; but they may be brought with equal truth against any other of the excellent books in use in the schools. The first objection shows great ignorance of the elementary principles of education. The reading-books are an introduction to literature, as well as to serious studies. The beginner has to be allured by interesting reading as well as instructed by that of a more solid kind. Would the critics eliminate from literature all the imaginative element? and especially at the period of life when the imagination is most vivid, and there is a natural and healthy appetite for that very class of reading? If so, they would deprive the teacher of one of the most effective means of training, moral as well as intellectual. The second objection applies to our whole heritage of literature, from the Scriptures downwards. The skilled teacher, so far from finding this a disadvantage, knows well how to turn it to account. When the reading book states that if we turn to the rising sun our right hand is to the north, the question naturally arises, how it is that the opposite state of things exists here? Similarly with the seasons. Is all English literature to be excluded from our schools because it falsely represents Christmas as coming in winter, May as the time of spring-flowers, and November as a month of fogs? Yet influenced by an agitation based on no better grounds than these, the local education board has prohibited the use of the Globe reading-books in the Auckland schools! We should much like to know the real reason of the agitation. There appears to be a clue in the suggestion that special books should be prepared for the Auckland schools on the protective system—the imported article to be abolished, and all the reading-lessons, in verse and prose, to be of strictly local manufacture. We hope the children will be spared such an infliction as this. Meantime, the Auckland booksellers have had a sharp lesson as to the risky character of schoolbooks as stock.

Another schoolbook, of the most rigidly scientific kind, has been placed by the collective wisdom of Auckland in the Index Expurgatorius. Parliament has, with commendable wisdom, decided that the physiological course of lessons should include instruction in the effects of alcohol and other narcotics on the human system. The authorized text-book in use is by Dr. Richardson, the greatest authority on the subject. At the last meeting of householders, after the election of the new committee and other formal business had been disposed of, and a large part of the audience had dispersed, certain individuals connected with the liquor interest proposed and carried a resolution prohibiting the use of Dr. Richardson's book in the schools. The irregularity of the proceeding, however, is so manifest, that it is hardly likely any successful attempt will be made to carry out the resolution.

Yet another exhibition of eccentricity remains to be noted. One of those anonymous gentlemen whose mission it is to fill a weekly column of platitudes in one of the big papers, has run full tilt at the study of the dead languages. Imitating a certain historic monk of Wittenberg, our anonymous friend nailed his thesis to a college door. In this he undertook to prove against all comers, that the study of the classics was absolutely useless. The monk of old « shook the world »—the Auckland press man has failed to shake anything. He may continue to cry « New lamps for old, » but he will not persuade any but very superficial readers that the past has no lessons for the present.

The Rev. J. A. Dowie, who has just completed a mission in New Zealand as « faith-healer, » has also assumed the position of general censor. Upon the press in particular, he has poured out his wrath. The ground of offence was always the same. The reporters took the trouble to look up some of his cases, and found that to say the least, the rev. gentleman had been guilty of exaggeration. The way he spoke of the Nelson papers is a fair sample of his style in relation to the press:—

If he were a press man he would start here and knock them both out of time. Pleasantly alluding to the presence of « literary liars » in the room, Mr Dowie said the « Evening Wail » (Mail) had decided to ignore him. « This was a truly awful thing, but he thanked God he had survived it. » [A Mr Colin Campbell here remarked that Mr Dowie was not being ignored that night—the reporters were present.] « Thank you » said Mr Dowie. « I do not know them by sight, but I can generally tell their faces by the look they have of pale brandy. I never knew a reporter who did not stink of brandy or tobacco or beer, or some such beastly stuff. » He then referred to the Colonist. « God Almighty, » he said, « would punish it for its abominable lying, and if he was not a real Christian he would smash it by serving it with a writ for libel—£2,000 damages. » When Mr Dowie had finished, the Mail reporter left the room, the lecturer calling after him, « Oh, ye generation of vipers! »

It is to be noted that the speaker claimed to be « a real Christian. » Certainly no one could have guessed it. We are glad that he appears to belong to no recognized Christian sect. He is pastor of a « Free Christian Tabernacle » in Victoria. In Wellington, he was quite epigrammatic. « The printing press was the greatest power on earth in the present generation. The daily newspaper press was in the hands of Satan, and was a disseminator of lies. » He gave a lecture in Wellington on « The Doctrines of Devils, and the Healing Impostures of Seducing Spirits. » This was not, however, a disclosure of his own doctrines and methods, but an attack on Spiritism, and a very stormy meeting was the result. Strangely enough, after all this, the Auckland press received Mr Dowie favorably; but they very soon were compelled to expose his inaccuracies, whereupon they came in for a full share of vituperation. But the « healer » was quite impartial. He attacked the medical profession in the grossest terms; he abused the churches and ministers of religion all around; he; poured out his wrath on the Government, which included « a Jew and two infidels » (with adjectives which it is not necessary to quote); and absolutely refused to « heal » a Freemason, because the patient declined page 35to forsake the Order, and « called men brethren who were going to hell. » Mr Dowie informed a Wellington audience that he had been persecuted and twice imprisoned in Victoria. We wish him a safe and speedy passage back to that colony.

A correspondent with a taste for figures sends us a classified list of the hundred-and-sixty-eight periodicals registered in New Zealand at the beginning of March, 1887. They include 47 daily, 15 thrice-weekly, 19 semi-weekly, 62 weekly, 2 fortnightly, and 23 monthly. The following is a list of the titles, sub-titles being excluded:

and one each of the following:

There is a notable absence of originality in the above list. We have, however, a small collection of titles invented by New Zealand journalists to describe their contemporaries, in which much more freedom is displayed.

From the official returns for 1886, just to hand, we extract the following figures relating to imports into New Zealand during the year:

In the item of writing ink, £102 worth, for Government use, was imported duty-free, and £5,253 worth of stationery came in duty-free for the same reason.

The reception Typo has received from the go-ahead printers beyond the Pacific has been very gratifying to us. There had not been time when the mail left for many of our exchanges to respond; but the notices in those to hand are of a very appreciative kind, as are also private letters from some of the prominent men in the craft. One of these gentlemen, who conducts a leading trade organ, notifies us of his intention to « steal » from our columns « with persistent regularity. »

Book-keeping should be done in the office books, and not in printed entries at the foot of advertisements. The largest advertising businesses in the world are managed without resort to this clumsy device. It is a sign of bad system. In a contemporary we notice memoranda like these in the advertising columns:—« 524 hsp30-8f » and « 646 b ap30 my 14 28. »