162 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



subjects are enumerated in the standard work for boys and 

 twelve for girls. To these is added military drill for boys and 

 "physical training" for girls. Under "The Manual and 

 Technical Act, 1900," " school classes " may take in addition, 

 under Eegulatiou 19, a variety of subjects for children below 

 Standard III. ; under Eegulation 21 Standards III. to IV. 

 may take subjects including "bricklaying" (including the 

 necessary drawing) ; whilst in the two highest standards sub- 

 jects may be taken (of so various a character that it would 

 be a difficult matter to say what) including agriculture, 

 chemistry, physics, botany, geology, and physiography, and 

 the wonder is under what conditions the subjects are to be 

 taught. There is a minimum of twenty hours in a school 

 week, and our modern and model scheme of public education 

 deems it possible to teach some of the subjects enumerated in 

 the Manual and Technical Act in addition to the dozen com- 

 pulsory subjects enumerated in section 81 of the Education 

 Act. In order to foster the introduction of this "special in- 

 struction" there has been added to our "free system" of 

 education a capitation system of payment, by which I sup- 

 pose it is thought that the " special classes " under the Act 

 of 1900 will make headway somehow in the school course. 



I do not think any one will be found to suggest that I am 

 not anxious to see everything done for the benefit of our 

 children, so as to prepare them for the time when they will 

 be called upon to play their parts in this world of action, of 

 competition, and enterprise. My anxiety is that the best 

 efforts of parents, of teachers, and of educationists generally 

 should be directed to the proper upbringing of the children 

 for the fulfilment of duty, whether it be as a citizen, as a 

 merchant, a manufacturer, a workman, or even as a poli- 

 tician. Now, the question is, Does the Manual and Technical 

 Act, in combination with the Education Act of 1877, aim to 

 do this ? 



In the year 1889 a Technical Instruction Act was passed 

 in England. Section 8 of that Act defines " technical in- 

 struction " to be "instruction in the principles of science and 

 ark applicable to industries, and in the application of special 

 branches of science and art to specific industries or employ- 

 ments," and the expression " mauual instruction" is defined 

 as " instruction in the use of tools, processes of agriculture, 

 and modelling in clay, wood, or other material." The defini- 

 tions used in our Manual and Technical Instruction Act are 

 evidently taken from the English Act, except that in the 

 interpretation of the term " manual instruction " the words 

 " such exercises as shall train the hand in conjunction with 

 the eye and brain" have been added, much to the weakness 

 of the definition, for it would be difficult to conceive the hand 



