The record-union., 1892-10-15

al tHe congregational Clurcn last even
ing before the Sacramento Lecture Asso-
citation. His subject was Australia, the
Sea-Girt Continent" It was a thor
oughly good lecture; one full of sound
advice, practical information. the curious,
historical, philosophical and the humor-
Gus.
No one will pronounce Major Dane an
elocutionist; he pays small attention to
the conventional in oratory; he speaks
with an earnestness, directness and sin
certify, however, that constitute him an
eloquent speaker, however much he may
fall short of the conventional arts of the
rostrum. Just how he managed to crowd
so much useful information into a lecture
Of an hour and half is puzzle. Ger
tainly no one was weary, and no one
measured the time, and certainly every
one present went away with enlarged
ideas Of economic government and an
increased store Of historical and geograph-
zeal knowledge.
The speaker began his sketch with the
landing of the first convictS 104 years ago
in Sydney Bay, one of the ships being
historic. In that it was one of those from
which our revolutionists OF America cast
the tea in Boston harbor. Australia he
described as large as the United States,
greatly more varied in climate, as rich in
precious metals and abundant in the
more common ores. Her soils are of
many qualities, in the. main rich and
fruitful. Her territory lies within two
zones, and her shores exhibit the growth
both Of tie tropics and the Temperate
Zones, of the lowlands of the Mississippi,
the table-lands of Mexico and the uplands
of the Northern States.
he went into detail in sketching the
topography OF the western and southern
shores of the continent and the character
of their products. He then described the
"bush," the wooded regions and the vast
and but partly conquered interior, which
very largely resemble a saucer in its de.
preston, in that it is below sea level and
seemed TO him to have been worn down
in remote ages by whirling masses OF ice,
theory he was at some pains to impress
upon his hearers.
From the boundless mineral wealth. the
wonderful productive capacity of the soil
and the climatic peculiarities and charac-
teristics of Australia, where he resided
as a close observer and engaged in ex-
tended travel for three years, he passed
to the question of population, cities, edu-
cation, government and society.
To follow him through all these sub
jects would to greatly extend these
notes. Some Of the more salient of his
points may be very briefly indicated.
however. Education is compulsory, rig
idly so. The State exercises its right to
have citizens raised up intelligent. 1t
beyieves that the best preventive of crime
is correct training of youth. 1t believes
in giving the boys and girls chance and
holds that crime is oftenest the result of
neglect.
In the system there is one head. A
university for each State or colony.
There are colleges that are feeders. and
all the schools down to the primaries
have a direction towards these. The
teachers simply teach; they do not exam
inc, or coach, or pony pupils up to good
reports. Inspectors visit the schools, and
wholly independent of the teachers ex-
anime the classes. The result is reported
to the Minister of Education, who is the
single official head.
Perfect discipline is the result; no
political intermeddling; no school board
manipulation or wrangling. Ii a child
is unruly, it it goes wrong, it is not
committed" to a reformatory but il is
decreed that it may go to the home"
That is an institution without uniform
or badge of dishonor, where all possible
home influences are thrown about the
child and every possible effort made to
stimulate it's pride and cultivate selfre-
into private home, but only under rigid
regulations as to the care, discipline, train
ing in neatneSS and orderly conduct, ETC.
1t is visited frequently by inspectors and
if not well treated is taken back to the
home. Thus the system keeps the youth
under it until the boy or girl is fully q.
Here Mr.. Dane took occasion to pay
warm tribute to the Whittier State School
of California, and to pray that the cruel
hand of party may be kept off of this first
and noble effort of this State in a right
direction to save youth to useful lives.
Society has its keynote from the Gov
ernment House. The Governor is the
Queens representative all social aspira-
ton, therefore, is to have recognition
there. 1t does not require title or rank to
secure it, but only to be gentlemanlike
and ladylike. So, he said, one can spend
weeks in city club where men alone
congregate and never hear a grossly pro-
fame word or vulgar term, because every
man knows that indulgence in such I'M
cleanness tabooS him for social recogni-
ton at the Government House. The re-
down through all grades of society, and
is felt inssome degree even on the lower
levels.
Paternalism largely prevails in Aus
tralian government, but Australians are
firing of it and will throw it off. 1t is
destructive OF Selt-helpfulneSS; 1t is in
imical to individuality; it is non-pro-
gressive. People come to look upon the
Government as the one to do what they
ought themselves TO do. Major Dane de-
clared that paternaliStic tendencies in this
country were bad, and Australians expe-
rience proves it; that paternalism and
the ballot-box cannot long exist in a
Government-one or the other must 90.
Ownership of railroads and telegraphs by
the Government he declared to be the
gravest of mistakes. Should it come to
that in America, only a bloody conflict
could GUST the party that, once IN au-
thority with such vast patronage, resolved
to retain power.
The whole social drift in Australia has
constituted the main population. But
the Governors said to these, now you are
in a new world, look up and be born into
a new manhood and new womahood. So
it has come that in the trades, the profess
sions, the sciences and the arts, COM
mcgee, law, the pulpit, education and fine
arts, there are leaders by the score, men
and women of high character who spranp
from convict parents.
Ii is not in Australia question of pedi-
gree, but what are you," rather than
what were your progenitors. Men are
in the poorest of business anywhere who
look up their pedigrees; they had better
ask "what are WEI instead of inquiring
whether their grandfathers wore spurs.
1t does not always DO to look too far
back. He told OF one Chief Justice OF
one OF the provinces. a man eminent for
learning, character. and the recognition
he had won at home and in England, and