A BUSY DAY.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18414, 22 June 1925, Page 6

A BUSY DAY.

SIR JAMES PARR IN CANTERBURY. Sir James Parr, Minister of Education and Postmaster-General, had a. very busy day on Saturday when, in addition to receiving several deputations, he opened the new consolidated school it Oxford, returning iu the evening to Wellington. School Overcrowded. In the morning Sir James was waited upon by a deputation from the Phillipstown School Committee, headed by Mr 1). G. Sullivan, M.P. The chairman of the committee, Mr J. Taylor, spoke of the overcrowding of the school, which, he said, was very serious, as there w::re 106 infants in one room. He requested that further buildings should be erected immediately, and that a grant should be made to increase the pkfying area. The Minister said that lie was greatly surprised to hear that there was one room which accommodated lOC children, and hoped the deputation would verify the statement. "Why did you not go to the Education fioard' ou the subjecti" he asked. Mr Taylor: We have had a deputation to the Education Board. At this stage, at Sir James's suggestion, the -Minister's secretary telephoned the secretary of the Canterbury Education Board; and stated, as a result, that the secretary of the Board informed him that he knew nothing about the subject, as the Board had not, been approached. The Minister replied that that seemed strange. At any rate ho could say that it was. Iho first that he had heard of it. The Department could not have thought there was anything serious, or it would have put .the matter before him. He added that he would have the position looked into, and if the Education Board said there was overcrowding, another room would bo provided at once. . He found sometimes that one room was overcrowded, whilo another was half-empty, showing that organisation'was the cause of the trouble. He asked if there wore room for some of the children at the East Christchurch School, close handy, and Mr Taylor replied that he thought there was.

Tho Minister: Well, why cannot some of the children go' there? Referring to the request regarding tho playing ground, tho Minister said that it was only a year or so ago that £I4OO was granted to provide another half-acre. Certainly he could do nothing further this year.

Removal of Port Office Desired. The residents of Cust met the Minister in the afternoon on his return from Oxford, and asked him, in his capacity a 8 Postmaster-General, to remove the Post Office from its present site at the railway station and place, it in the centre of the township.' Mr 11. Tallott, chairman of the Rangiora County Council, who headed the deputation, was introduced by the Hon. D. Buddo, M.P., the latter accompanying the Minister on his tour. . Mr Tallott said that a petition had been signed by 201 residents of Cust, asking for the removal of the Post Office. They grew in the Cust district, he said, a twentieth of the wheat produced by New Zealand, and also had a big flourmill in the district'. There were many reaspns why the Post Office should bo in a more convenient place.

The Rev. A. Aclieson said that they put through as much postal business as the district of Kaiapoi, the children of the farming community -doing all the necessary posting of mails for their parents find tho calling for the same, on their way to and from school. The present site of the Post Office was a dangerous one. It was down.in a hollow, by the station, and although no bad accidents had occurred, there had been some slight mishaps, and possibly more serious ones would come about. • The Post Office had been there-for a great, many years. The Minister: It's been there all that time without any disaster so far. Mr Acheson: We have! 'no lighting facilities there. If tho Post Office were placed in the township, ijeople would take up priv;£te boxes, which would bj a source of revenue. ■ .

Mr Buddo also spoke in support.of the request. The Minister: It is just by accident that I have been able to get here and. receive the deputation. Mr Buddo persuaded me to call. • I recognise the representative nature of the gathering, but J.'m quite jiqw to' the postal job, and I confess I do not know much about it. I have had from the Department, whose advice I must consider, a' statement of the, case. I understand that the stationro aster is the postmaster, and that you have au exchange clerk and' a message boy. U,ll less business \yarrants a new Post Office, I shall set my face against building a new office. The o.ountry'eannot afford it. _ New Zealand should not go in for a great deal of borrowing; it should taper off rather than increase. Mr '.Coates and. the Department had said that the business at Cust did not warrant separating the Post Office from the railway station, and erecting a new building as yet." I will not give an absolute no,-but will havo enquiries made, and act on the report.. View Hill Deputation. The Minister also received a deputation of View Hill residents, who asked for a consolidated school. The Minister replied that they could not be brought into the scheme at all. Sir James left for Wellington in the evening.