14 
This State is trying the new experiment of a free University, 
which is a great step forward in education, but with only six years 
of existence, four and a half of which were under more or less war 
conditions, l feel that the time is too short to say that the experi- 
ment has proved a failure. I am sure it would be a retrograde step 
to return to the old system of charging fees for tuition. 
One of the difficulties of any change or improvement in an 
educational system is the long time which must elapse before the 
real effects of a change can be understood or realised. Certainly 
it cannot be less than 20 years; not until the students of to-day 
have become factors in the life and development of the State, will 
the real value of University training be appreciated. 
The whole question of Education is undergoing a change, but 
it must of necessity be slow. A sound education for all is un- 
doubtedly the best investment of the State. The question is not,. 
“Can we afford free education,” but “Can we afford to do with- 
out it 1 ?” 
