LAW REPORTS

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 908, 30 August 1910, Page 3

LAW REPORTS

INFANTS AS HIGH SCHOOL PUPILS. MAY THEY BE SHUT OUT? INTERESTING WANGANUI CASE. Mr. Justice Chapman, was engaged for some lime yesterday morning hearing argument, in Banco, in regard to n-dis-pute'between, the-New Zealand Educational Institute- and the Wanganui Education Board, as to the -power.-of an education board'under the Education Act, 1908, and its amendments, to prevent any children -of- school age attending a district high school. The circumstances leading up to the dispute, as set forth 'in -the affidavit 'of Wm. Foster, Petone, secretary to the Educational• Institute, .were as follow:—■ 'Some-time ago the Wanganui Education Board passed a resolution to the effect that'children below Standard ll'should not Mie allowed .to attend the local District High School, ■of which Mr. Jas. Aitken is headmaster. Th« school in question is one. to which both boys and girls : are admitted andtho effect of the board's resolution was' to-leduce the number of on the roll, reduce-the grade of the school;. impair its efficiency (by,. reducing tho staff), and , also affect the salaries of the teachers.. The Wanganui .Education' Board was the - only bodj' 'of.', tho kind-in New Zealand which |iad taken uny such action in regard to a district high .- school, or had in any way, attempted to prevent any children of school age from attending such a school. The.action uf tho hoard' had been protested against, by. both teachers and parents as.'well as by !thc .Educational Institute, but the board claimed that> its action was, justified by law. ; The Court was asked to .determine the following questions by declaratory order:—(l) Has ' an. education , ' board' power to exclude children (pro- ■'■ vided- th<-y ■ are' 'of school age) from attending . and receiving instruction ..at a; district) high-.school or a "mixed school" under its control? (2).' Has an education board power to prevent , the headmaster of a district- high ; school or of a --"mixed school".'from , ' receiving .'for instruction ;at such school .any children of school age? (3) Has an education board the power to require.or, insist that no.children below Standard II Shall attend or bo received- as pupilsat a-district high school or a "mixed school"?. (4) Hoir ■ the costs .of .and incidental .'to this application are to be borne?, 11r..-Myers, in opening for the Educational Institute, said', that Hie Wanganui -, Education Board churned the right to exclude children' below ..a particular standard; •■ If the board held.'that power in : regard to children, below \- the Third Standard or. Second -Standard, '■■ as the case. might be, they ■ might. equally, claim to ,have the same power hi regard to children ,of Standard IV or Standard "V. .The, Wanganui Education Board was the only body that had adopted this' attitur'u, and had only dono.. so recently. The District-.High School was .very dif-ferent-from, an ordinary ' high school, being simply "an ordinary school with , a secondary, department. One of the main objects-of the present Education 'Act was ■ to ■ establish: (a).'uniformity; of system,' (b) uniformity of staffing, nml (c) uniformity 'of..salary.' Of course, tho latter varied in', accordance, with .the attendance, and meant ■ uniformity; of salary under- .like.conditions..... A "mixed school" was a-school to. which all boys and. girls of school age were admitted. This application ' was ,brought. forward in the interests of tho members of tho Teachers' Institute,- as -well-as of. a section of ,the public. It wae an import,nut .matter to the teachers'because they r wcre not getting'- the salaries ; t(i which they.', would be entitled -. - under ' the schedule, owing to ■a- number of children to. whose attendance they,-.were, entitled being .excluded.'-. He submitted that' no provision existed in.the.statute -for. any "mixed school."', except a "mixed school" of ( all standards, including also infants, and that the. questions submitted to the Court "should bo.. answered by saying that the Education Board had no such power as that claimed. . - Mr; Hu'ttdn.'on the other side, argued that under the principal Act'.theni , was' provision for "main schools" and "side schools/' and that there were two ways in which this infant school at St. John's, Wanganui,' could be constituted; It could be-constituted as a "side school to -'the District High' School/ br'as a separate infants' school. The board had preferred to constitute a-separate infants', in. order.that-.it might get. more capable; teachers.^.and.-it had its own headmaster, who would- thereby be enabled to earn a higher salary.His Honor.: The -board preferred an infants' school to a .side, school?, Mr.. Huttori:' Exactly so. . These are the circumstances .'.under which .this trouble arose.'. After' the, separate infant school' had jjeen biiilt, which , only kept children-np!to Standards 1 and If, the main establishment the old school—was burned down.' This had existed as a sepnrato school for a nuinber of years. This trouble had to .some extent arisen from the fact that it'is. alleged that as a result of the new accommodation there would be sufficient; provision 'for.-infants at the District-High School,' but 'the board has decided, that it'is better that tho infants should be educated by themselves—that all 'the' infants, should be brought together under specially qualified infant .teachers, and • .there • taught tcethe'n and thai' there.are many diS: advantages in 'having infants taughtin schools- with older children, and being on playgrounds ' with: older. children. . His Honour observed • that, the , whole question was to as - whether the. board had • power- •to exclude children of. a school age but of- another standard. .' Air. Eutton.held that it verj good .case of .the "tail wagging the, dog. llis learned friend had , relied on. tho presence of the word, "all" in-a section which only made provision for the salary of the-teachers and-did not govern or indicate what pupils might be admitted, or might be excluded. If that were to be allowed.to upset the whole system created by this Act, hiv contended, the, conMruction placed upon it must fall. • Mr. Myers replied that the argument put forward by the other , side .meant chaos,( or. the possibility of. chaos. ■ , His Honour intimated that, he would take time to consider his decision. -.; ALLEGED ABSCONDING DEBTOR. •Mr; T. Young, on behalf of Messrs. Thompson Bros, and other creditors,' applied for immediate • adjudicahon as a bankrupt, to be heard immediately,' iu the case of an alleged absconding debtor named . Alfred Frank. Higgins, storekeeper, Wellington, for whoso arrest a warrant was obtained last week in tho belief that ho was within the Dominion, but who is now stated to bo at Hobart, Tasmania, and under surveillance there. Tho application was based on the ground that Higgins had left without providing for his creditors. . His Honour, in making the order sought for, said; if there was anything wrong, the debtor could move to set it aside. Ho thought it was proper to grant such an order where a man had left his place of business and his home without communicating with his creditors, or leiiving them provided for. Mr. Young further asked tho Court to dispense with the attendanco ■ of the petitioning creditors. His Honour: Very well. DIVORCE, IN CAMERA, ' Tho petition-for.divorce filed by Lilian May: Nichol, Roua Bay, Wellington, against Arthur Clias, Nichol, Jlartinborough, on tho grounds of drunkenness and failure to maintain,' had been set down for hearing before a jury, a defence having been entered; but, on the cose being called, thero was no appearance for the respondent. His Honour accordingly discharged the jury panel from attendance until this morning, and directed that tho ease should be heard in camera. Ou the application of Mr. T. M. Wilford, M.P...-for the petitioner, publication of the details was also prohibited. His Honour, after hearing evidence, grunted a decree nisi with costs on tho higher scale and custody of the children. The Court adjourned until this morning..