THE CORPORATION AND A FOURTH

Evening Star, Issue 3323, 14 October 1873, Page 3

THE CORPORATION AND A FOURTH

SCHOOL. To the Editor. Sir, —I cannot agree with your leader in Saturday’s issue condemning the action of the Corporation in declining to grant a por tion of the Octagon reserve, for the purpose of erecting a fourth school in Dunedin. It is quite true, as you say, that the Council is trustee for the public, so far as this reserve goes ; but I think it is equally true that this ground was never intended for educational purposes, or it would have been made an education reserve. Besides, the cost of education, whether it be in purchasing building sites, erecting schools, or paying teachers’ salaries, should be a Provincial charge, paid for out of the general revenue of the Province, or mot by a special tax, and it appears to me’to be most unfair to say thtft Dunedin, which is only a part of the Province, should provide a site for this school. It is clearly the duty of the Government to do so, and if they have no suitable piece of ground, they should purchase one. If the population of Dunedin is so great as to fairly demand another school, and then have no more than her proper propertion as against any other part of the Province, then I think the justice of this proposition cannot bo denied. And can wy*

one say for a moment that four schools for Dunedin are too many, or that, having them, any injustice would be done to other parts of the Province ? I fancy not. The Provincial Council at its last sitting voted a large sum for school buildings, and I suppose the Government, when proposing this expenditure, took into consideration the possibility of a piece of ground being required in the event of the erection of a new school ; and because it happens that the Corporation has a reserve at present unused, they must pounce noon that. As I have before said, such a proposition is most unfair, arid an attempt to foist on the City a responsibility which is purely Provincial; and I therefore trust the City Council will adhere to their previous resolution. It is nonsense to pay, oh ! if the Council does not give this ground then the Government won’t build the school, and thus the citizens will be deprived of that which they stand greatly in nee 1 of. and that through the action of their own City Councillors ; and therefore it is the duty of the citiz -ns to bring pressure to bear upon the Councillors to induce them to give way. t say Dunedin must have another school. The want is so imperative, for the proper teaching of the children, and also for the preservation of their healthy that there can be no two opinions about it, and it is also quite patent that in the event of it not being provided, pressure by tbe citizens ought to be brought to bear upon someone that someone being, in my opinion, the Superintendent and Provincial Government. The site proposed to be taken is, I should say, quite unlit for a school. It should be, I fancy, more out of the town, not in the very heart of it ; and besides, it is a most valuable one, altogether too much so for that purpose. There can be no doubt, also, that everything points to the reserve as being the rite for Dunedin's principal market. It is quite true that at present only a small portion is used for this purpose, but it does not require us to look far into futurity to ase that, at no distant day, every inch will be required ; and if this is so, is it right to ask the City, on the ground of expediency—for that, I take it, is the only argument which can be used in its favor to give this ground, and thus destroy its use fulness for the purpose for which it is legitimately intended ? I opine not. By all means let us have another school, but don’t rob Peter to pay Paul in the getting of it.— I am, Ac., H. S, Fish, jun. Dunedin, October 13.