THE BAY OF PLENTY TIMES. “The spirit of the times shall teach.” KING JOHN, ACT IV. SATURDAY, JULY 5, 1873.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume I, Issue 88, 5 July 1873, Page 2

THE BAY OF PLENTY TIMES. “ The spirit of the times shall teach.” KIN G JOHN, ACT IV. SATURDAY, JULY 5, 1873.

We published in our last a r “One who has not paid the rate?’ substance of that cheerful dkhW* lh . e « m pl y absurd, and the akCttSl » does not know of th* „ ?. v upon which he writes. ° H e desW 1 education at the District School^ 8 tarce, a delusion, and a snare ” Y«f Inspector of Schools lately exnrL j himself “ pleased with the progress by the pupils,” and complicated School Committee upon the same «n? who has not paid the rate” also recom mends that the present committee Z caHed upon to resign, and that sensible men be got in their place. He seems t forget that this committee have L? recently been elected by the parent* 0 f children, and were evidently considered sensible men by them. For our own part we think the public evinced great ifid* ment m the election. As to the “ funds’’ being squandered, we are in a position to state that the present committee have no funds at all. “ One who has not paid the rate cannot be conversant with the sub* ject of district school management under the Education Act of 1873 or he would never write such rubbish ; and as to the “ venom” he complains of, we would su* gest to him that he again reads his own letter and applies to himself the proverb “ Physician heal thyself.” " 5 We cannot let this matter drop without bearing testimony to what we believe to be the heartfelt interest displayed by every member of the committee in anything connected with education ; and we congratulate the community at and parents especially, upon the happy selection mode in their appointment. It is to be hoped that we shall not again be called upon to insert an unjust attack upon gentlemen who take a great deal of trouble and sacrifice valuable time to carry out conscientiously the trust reposed in them by the public.

Tt is pleasing to find that the natives in, the neighbourhood of Tauranga contemplate again putting in large quantities of wheat. We have heard that 200 sacks of seed will be used for planting this nest season by our sable friends alone. Europeans would do well to follow their good example- Mr Ryan, engineer, is down ; here with most of the machinery for the flour mill on the spot —and we trust he \ may see sufficient inducement to at once erect the mill as originally intended. It would be a great boon to the whole district, an incentive to the grower, a convenience to the consumer, and, we sincerely believe, a profitable investment to Messrs Ryan and Co.

It is probable that the opening of the next session of Parliament, gazetted to take place on the 15th instant, will be again postponed, in consequence of the Otago elections occurring simultaneously, which would prevent many of the Southern, members from being present.

“ One who knows ” writes very tersely of tbe members of the Town Board, but we think at the same time, in one or two instances, rather hardly. We cannot agree with him in saying that Captain Tanks is a “cipher.” We believe the gallant Captain has a will of his own, and certainly when he shows it, it is to the benefit of tbe public. Captain Tovey we have always found far from “ obtuse,” He has, on every occasion we have heard him in public, appeared to take a lively interest in the matter under discussion j aud certainly his remarks and actions have displayed anything but obtuseneas. Again, how Mr Wrigley has had an opportunity of displaying his liking for number one, at the meetings of the Board, we fail to discover. “Oae vho knows does not allege that public interest has been sacri* ficed for private ends, but be decidedly insinuates as much when alluding to the diversion of the drain in "W barf Street. This, wa believe, thy Engineer of the Board is responsible for, and it is hardly fair for our correspondent to cal! in question work performed under the supsrinten* deuce of a regularly appointed and most efficient officer. We advocate “fresh blood” because we believe a change does good, but at the gams time do not wish to impugn tbe actions or motives of those who for the last year have held the office ot Trustees. Of course it is for the public to decide upon their perils and demerits, and as the annual election is near at band every ratepayer will have a practical opportunity of expressing his opinion on the subject.