a great measure at will, or are often
employed collecting firewood, etc. about the park lands, a place almost
constantly occupied by the grown up natives, there is consequently nearly
as much intercourse between the school children and the other natives,
and as great an influence exercised over them by the parents and elders,
as if they were still allowed to frequent the camps.

Another evil is, that no inducement is held out to the parents, to put
their children to school, or to allow them to remain there. They cannot
comprehend the advantage of having their children clothed, fed, or
educated, whilst they lose their services; on the contrary, they find
that all the instruction, advice, or influence of the European, tends to
undermine among the children their own customs and authority, and that
when compelled to enforce these upon them, they themselves incur the
odium of the white men. Independently, however, of this consideration,
and of the natural desire of a parent to have his family about him, he is
in reality a loser by their absence, for in many of the methods adopted
for hunting, fishing, or similar pursuits, the services even of young
children are often very important. For the deprivation of these, which he
suffers when his children are at school, he receives no equivalent, and
it is no wonder therefore, that by far the great majority of natives
would prefer keeping their children to travel with them, and assist in
hunting or fishing. It is a rare occurrence, for parents to send, or even
willingly [Note 107 at end of para.] to permit their children to go to
school, and the masters have consequently to go round the native
encampments to collect and bring away the children against their wishes.
This is tacitly submitted to at the time, but whenever the parents
remove to another locality, the children are informed of it, and at
once run away to join them; so that the good that has been done in school,
is much more rapidly undone at the native camp. I have often heard the
parents complain indignantly of their children being thus taken; and
one old man who had been so treated, but whose children had run away
and joined him again, used vehemently to declare, that if taken any more,
he would steal some European children instead, and take them into the
bush to teach them; he said he could learn them something useful,
to make weapons and nets, to hunt, or to fish, but what good did the
Europeans communicate to his childr