THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1302, 10 July 1884, Page 2

THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.

! To the Editor. . S r, —Judging from the wild rhapsodi- ■ cal correspondence which has appeared in the columns of your valuable paper re- , cently re the School Committee, it is evident that a “ paper tiger” has been let loose in our midst, but beyond slightly intimidating one amiable member of that respectable body, its Howling has so far proved to be perfectly harmless. The i householders of Ashburton are too intelligent and business-like in their habits of thought to allow their minds to be influi ence by more sentimental twaddle Aud ■ while they are benevolently disposed towards their fellows, I hardly think they would be prepared to sacrifice the efficiency of our public school or the future welfare of the hundreds of children who • attend that institution to the personal interests o* two or three individuals who judging from their effusions in your columns—can scarcely be considered responsible for their utterances. The latest contribution by “ Comme il Faut ” does not seem to be any improvement on its predecessors. The writer may feel quite at home at “tea meetings” where the cravings of his stomach can be attended to, and where there are “ lots of nice girls to loos upon,” but evidently he gets out of his natural element the moment he attempts to utilise his intellectual faculties. To prove this it is only necessary to glance at his letter which appeared in your issue of July 8. In that wonderful production he vaguely complains that the Committee had the audacity to hold one of their special meetings privately. Surely, Sir, he knows very little of the ordinary procedure at meetings of this nature, or he would not place such a childish complaint before your readers. Is he not aware that the Borough Council, the County Council, ouc Education Board, or any similarly constituted body can at any timo resolve itself “ into committee” and by s > doing exclude all except members. In what respect does the constitution of School Committees differ from that of the bodies just mentioned ? Referring to the two special meetings recently held by the Committee, “ Comme il Faut” says that one “was open to the public,” while the other was “ held in obscurity and darkness, with closed doors,” he queries thus —“ Both were special meetings ; wherein lies t'ie difference V Well, Sir, herein lies the difference. In the one case the Committee with their usual courtesy placed no obstacle against the admission of strangers, while in the other they prudently took the precaution exclude busybodies by exercising the privilege to which they are lawfully entited. “Ate you answered yet V : Referring to a resolution passed at one of these meetings your correspondent says “ ho fails to see any consistency in it 1 whatever.” Sure y, Mr Eduor, he does ! n >t hold the Committee responsible for the weakness of his perceptive faculties ! •If he had taken tne trouble to observe the transactions at the Committee meetings during the last fevy months he could j hardly fail to see that they could. not consistently have taken any other course. They have all along been conscious ttyat a 1 weak spot exists in the school and that to remove that weakness there is only one remedy, i’hey have had a painful duty to perform, and instead of being censured ti

and misrepresented by one or two unreasoning fanatics th"y deserve the sympathy and gratitude of every intelligent householder for the courageous, conscien tious and straightforward manner in whi h they have endeavored to deal with the difficulty. The Committee, Sir, were evidently quite satisfied that their recommendation to the Board was correct, and for months they seem to have been satisfied that in justice to the children attending the school they could not conscientiously take any other course. The “enquiry” alluded. to by “O i F” simply amounts to an invitation to the Board to come and see for themselves. What your correspondent means by the lady coming “ out of a fire unscathed ” and those “ who, because of their prevarication," etc, are a * ill “ blazing under a pot," I must leave yout readers to isaagine. If he alludes to the mixed up correspondence which has been published re Mr Alcorn’s lette* I think there can only be one opinion regarding the “ prevarication” which has been tod clearly exposed in that connection. Indeed, Sir, between “ jumbled" ideas, loose “ statements," wavering “ prevarications " and the hot-headed interference of busy-bodies the heal mistress has reason to pray most fervently, •* Save me from my friends." It is clear, Sir, to those who can read between the lines that there exists among a certain small clique in the .community an undercurrent of strong feeling hostile to the Chairman, but from the services which that gentleman has rendered to the public in the past, and from the good sense always manifested by the 'shburton community in dealing with public questions, there is little, danger that they will allow themselves to be “ led by the nose” by such scribblers as “ Comma il Faut. ” . It is not my intention to criticise in this letter all the correspondence which has appeared on this subject, but I may be permitted to point out in concluding that no attempt whatever has been made to substantiate the vague charges which have been brought at random against the Committee. And I hereby challenge either “C i F” or “Householder” to attach their signatures to their letters and discuss the subject openly. Should my challenge be accepted I am quite willing to divulge my name and am quite prepared to defend the action of the Committee. Meantime I.am, etc..

Akti-Humboo.