The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. THURSDAY, MAY 3, 1888. EDUCATIONAL FRANCHISE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1831, 3 May 1888, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. THURSDAY, MAY 3, 1888. EDUCATIONAL FRANCHISE.

Major Steward's " Educational Franchise Bill " recently drafted and submitted to the various School Committees Conferences, has met with most hearty approval at the hands of the Dunedin and Suburban Schools Committees Conference, which wo may say is the strongest Conference of the kind m the colony, not only m the number of schools represented but also m the mental calibre of its delegates. Fourteen School Committees were represented at the Conference m Dunedin on Monday, and 27 delegates were present to take part m the debate on the matter contained m the Bill. Messrs J. Allan, H. S. Fish and W. D. Stewart, M.H.R.'s, were also present by invitation to discuss the measure, and express an opinion concerning it. Mr M. Cohen, than whom no ono m Dunedin" takes a deeper interest m the Schools question, opened the discussion and stated that he concurred m a very large degree with the provisions of the bill. " A material clause was section 2, which proposed to define the word ''householder," and m doing so to make the franchise as wide as possible The electoral roll for the House of Representatives was to be taken for that purpose, and also parentg and guardians of children attending the schools were to be allowed to vote. Another very important clause was that which proposed to abolish the cumulative vote. On that matter the Conference had m years past given forth no uncertain pound. Another claneo was to provide for prior nomination of candidates for School Committees ; and the remaining <al#uses dealt with technical matters. The jGon- i ference had on several occasions passed ; resolutions dealing with matters of administration. Among others was that of the inspectors, and Mr Cohen was strongly of opinion that those officers should be travelled round — that their districts Bhould b 8 changed from time to time — but that and other matters might be held over until a general amending Act was brought down., and m th« meantime they should endeavor to get the Amendments, £he desirability of which had been go often, affirmed, and regarding which there was substantial unanimity of opinion. He considered that for these reasons all pogjsible support phould be given to Major Steward to enable him to carry his Bill, and he trusted that all their members would tmite iv agreeing with the principles." In the remarks which followed one of the speakers said he thought it was a pretty well understood thing that the whole of New Zealand <de#red the abolition of the cumulative vote. SJr Robert Stout was one who was m favor of it, but the speaker failed to understand how any reasonable man could defend it. There were woeful examples of the wroi'jt m g °f the cumulative vote system to be fcapd throughout the colony, and men who <*&t£s nothing for their institutions, and who had no flesire for the welfare of the colony had been elected for the purpose of making fun i of the election, and to the exclusion of ' men who Imd done good service m the \ cause of education, Mr W. D. Stewart, i

1.H.8. for Dnnedin West, thought the till dealt with many practical objections 3 the present Aot. There was no oubt that the definition of the word householder" was vague and unsatisaCtory, and to its rectification and also he proposed form of nomination he was irepared to assent. The cumulative ote had been the blot m the Act that tad given rise to most discussion } but t was given for the special purpose of souciliatinur a section of the community mown to be hostile to an Act for secular sducation, and it had utterly failed to Accomplish the purpose for which it was lesigned, and had worked mischievously, rhe first question he would ask the Conference was : Should the functions )f school committees be enlarged or not ; 3hould they have a say m the appointment and renewal of teachers ? When a member of a school committee, he had fbnud the committee's work to be almost af a mechanical character, and that m matters of moment the Committee had very little influence. The dispute between the Kaikorai School Committee and the Education Board had raised for the first time -m a practical way the question of the functions of a Committee with regard to the removal of a teacher. It seemed to him a very important question, and it was one that was likely to come up during the coming or the succeeding session of Parliament. It would therefore be reasonable to get the opinion of the Committee upon the question whether the functions of the Committees should be enlarged or retained as at present. He thought that the theory was that the parents of the ghildren should have the control or management of the school, and it waß. undesirable that teachers who had not the sympathy of the parents of the children nhould not be placed m the schools. Mr H. S. Fish, M.H.R. for Dunedin South, expressed himself as being m favor of a change being made m the definition of a 'householder,' and the abolition of the cumulative vote. Experience proved that Roman Catholics would not, with very rare exceptions, take advantage of the secular system of education, and he thought that from their standpoint they were right. Then, as to other sects, such as Jews and Freethinkers, it was not likely that any intelligent body of householders would decline on religious grounds to return them if otherwise they were fitted to act on school committees ; and, indeed, past experience had shown that eligible candidates were elected irrespective of religious questions and opinions. For these reasons he agreed that the cumulative vote should be swept away. As to a remark about a sweep having been elected, he might say that he was extremely democratic, and he saw no objection to a sweep per si. A sweep was a working man, and what were they all present, with perhaps one or two exceptions — and they worked with their brains — but working men ? It was all very well to talk a lot of nonsense about the working man— he often talked about him himself — but the simple fact was that they were all working men. He was not m favor of the clause re defining a householder, and did not think, for instance, that a man who had been m the colony only six weeks should have a vote. It would be far better to go by the municipal roll, or say that all bona fide residents, householders, or parents of children should have votes. There were, it appeared to him, difficulties m the way ot taking the roll for the House of Representatives as the roll of persons entitled to vote, at a meeting for the election of School Committees, and he would not be prepared, without further consideration, to allow the electoral roll of the district to be used for the purpose. As to the clause re nominations, he was strongly m favor of it, and he was also m accord with the suggestion as to the moving about of the inspectors. r Jhe outcome of the discussion was that the Bill waß remitted to the Executive Committee to take such steps as might soem desirable to influence the Legislative Council m its favor. So far the proposed measure is meeting with favor. It is one which will overcome many absurdities m the present style of School Committee elections, and relievo many a school district from unnecessary trouble over its annual elections.