EDUCATION BOARDS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1557, 13 September 1905, Page 2

EDUCATION BOARDS.

;(F*r Press Asaooiati.«a.> Wellington, last night. A conference of delegatee from the Eduoation Boards of the oolony met in Weiling to-day. Mr G. W. Rnseell, a member of the North Canterbury Board, woe eleoied ohairman. It was decided that the inspectors and secretaries should have full privileges of speaking and vottag. Some disoussion took place concerning the position of departmental officers at the conference. Mr T. MacKenzie: If you have the department here you will have the whole thing overshadowed anal it will be'a joint conference between the deportment and Boards. Bev. G, Barolay (South Canterbury) : If this is done our confer&noß will cease to be a conference of Boards. It is not good taotics to take in some persons against whom we have very grave' complaints and doubts for blunders committed in the paßt. I strongly object, to them coming in.

It was decided to allow officers of tbo department to be preeent. Mr T. MacKenzie, M.H.B. (Otago), moved that in the opinii of this conference the Education CVtnmittees' recommendations regarding e: tp*ondituro of the ordinary building vote adopted by the House two years ago havtXproved I unsatisfactory in praotioe, and this .'wafer- ! enoe recommends that the same be re- j pealed, and that the powers forLUetly enjoyed by Education Boards regar. ding erection of new [sohools or additions' be | restored. Mr Mackenzie said they shou id have restored to them discretion as i'o additions and new schools. The Education Committee’s recommendation had, he believed, been acted upon since. The Chairman said that what had been happening lately in respect to new buildings showed the necessity for such a conference. There must be something wrong when some oommittees thought it necessary to ask ?he Minister to make a personal visit to see if an additional room waß required or not. Everything should tend to increase the powers of the Boards { so as to give the purest fo cm of local selfgovernment possible. The Bev. G. Barclay (South Canterbury) said there was not yr.t any school at Bosewill settlement, although it had been settled two years.

Sir William Bussell ('ffav/ka’s Bay) said the question was one of, th e independence of Boards from department al oontrol. In Hawke’s Bay, where sett) ement wbb extending back into the bush , the Board had never for twenty years b een in anything but a state of helpless imj pecuniosity. In one place where they w ai oted to erect a sohool for natives, the Bot ,rd was actually overrated by a road oversi er. Mr Wade (Taranaki) ess id the experienoe in Taranaki was quitei in favor of the Education Committee's recommendation, from whioh Taranaki h ad received, con-

siderable benefit. He ■ would object to going back to the old sysl em. During the last two years they bod 1 not once asked a member of Parliament to iDtervono.

Discussion on tlta qjia estion lasted the whole afternoon, The me lotion was oarried

nnanimously. The order paper for: if ie conference is of a formidable lengths $ he conference will laeti over a week.