The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. TUESDAY, JULY 24, 1883. The School Committees Bill.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 1003, 24 July 1883, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. TUESDAY, JULY 24, 1883. The School Committees Bill.

Although Mr \V. J. Steward, the member for Waimate, is not one of the shining lights in the Parliamentary firmament, be is certainly among *he most useful representatives in the House. Like the great majority of the party to which he belongs, his views on general politics are rather vague and visionary; but to do him credit he holds aloof from those movements of the Opposition, the only apparent object ol which is to delay the business of the session. “Vox etpuetetta nihil" is the motto that might fitly be applied to most of the members of that party which at the present time represent the “ Outs”; but Mr Steward, albeit he can deliver an excellent speech when occasion requires him to speak, seldom if ever talks for talking’s sake. The member for Waimate might be nicknamed the “ Great Amcnder.” He does not attempt to originate vast and novel schemes of policy, but he is industrious in his search for flaws in existing Acts, and we can always feel certain that a session will not be allowed to pass without his bringing forward several measures for the purpose of improving the law as it at present stands.

True to his creed, Mr Steward has introduced a little Bill into Parliament dealing with the election of School Committees, and as this has to do with a matter which urgently calls for reform we hope that no difficulty will come in the way of its passing the Legislature. One of its provisions is that “ three of the members of every School Committee presently existing shall continue to hold office till the 30th day of April, 1885, and four of the members of each Commitiee shall retire from office on the 30th day of April, .884, the names of the four retiring members to be decided by the Committee by ballot; .

and therefore on the 30th day of April in every year, the three, or four, members, as the case may be, who have been longest in office shall be the retiring members.” By retaining men on the Committee who have become accustomed to the work, the system proposed by the Bill, should it become law, will materially increase the efficiency of these bodies, while the householders, recognising that certain members must necessarily hold office for two years, will be more careful m their choice. Mr Steward also proposes to abolish cumulative voting, a method of election that experience has taught us is nothing more nor less than a farce. Each householder is to be allowed the same number of votes as there are members to be elected, but no candidate is to receive more than one such vote. Should a vacancy occur, “ by death, resignation, or otherwise than by effluxion of time,” the remaining members of the Committee are to be empowered to elect a qualified person to fill up such vacancy ; and should any district omit to elect a Committee at the time prescribed by the Act the Education Board is to appoint a Commissioner to carry out the duties until the 30th April following, the necessary salary to be paid out of the school funds. These latter provisions are comparatively unimportant, and it is not unlikely that they will be amended during the passage of the Bill through the House. The measure, it may be mentioned, is the result of a careful enquiry made by Mr Steward, by means of circulars containing a number of questions put to the various School Committees throughout the colony, and the Bill may fairly be said to embody the views held by the bodies affected. There is, however, one feature in the existing mode of carrying out School

Committee elections that we should like to see repealed, but which is not dealt with in this measure of Mr Steward. As these affairs are managed now, only those people who are present at the annual meeting have a voice in the matter, and it cannot be said that under this arrangement the Committee chosen can in any way represent public opinion. Take for example the larger towns, where the householders number between 20,000 or 30,000; what building could be found capable of holding a tithe of them, even if it were possible to exclude from these meetings persons who have no right to vote? The Bill is incomplete without some provision being made for the more efficient carrying out of the elections, and we trust that Mr Steward will see his way to introduce a clause dealing with this part of the question.