BOARD OF EDUCATION.

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 326, 29 June 1875, Page 3

BOARD OF EDUCATION.

Monday, June 28.

The usual weekly meeting of the Board was held at 7 p.m. Present —Messrs Inglis (chairman), Tosswill, Maude, Duncan, Montgomery, Webb. The minutes of the previous weekly meeting were read and confirmed. EXPENDITURE OF MONEY. The chairman said that a letter had been written to the Government asking whether the money sent in on the estimates by the Board for the various schools was available for expenditure, and whether the Board should proceed with the erection of the dwarf wall at the Normal school. To this an answer had been received stating that the dwarf wall and cement pointing at the Normal school might be proceeded with. It was for the Board to say what should be done in this matter, evidently the only thing the Government intended the Board to proceed with was the dwarf wall and pointing. It was resolved that an answer be forwarded to the Government stating that the Board did not see their way clear to take any steps whatever in the matter, DISSOLUTION OP THE BOARD, The following letter was read from his Honor the Superintendent — “Superintendent’s Office, 28th June. “ Sir, —An Ordinance, intituled The Education Ordinance, 1875, was passed by the Provincial Council during its recent session, repealing the Ordinance under (which theßoard of Education now hold office, and providing that on the appointment of a Secretary for Education the Board should cease to exist. “ The Ordinance will come into operation on the Ist day of July next, and it is the intention of the Provincial Government to give effect on that day to its provisions as to the appointment of the Secretary for Education. “ It only remains for me to tender to you, as chairman, and through you to the other members of the Board, the thanks of the Provincial Government for the very valuable services which have been gratuitously rendered by you to the province in the time during which you have adminstered the Department of Education. “ I have the honor to be, sir, “ Your obedient servant, “ W. Rolleston, “Superintendent.” “ The Chairman, Board of Education, Chrißtchqrch,”

Mr Webb moved—“ That the chairman acknowledge the receipt of his Honor’s letter, and on behalf of the members of the Board to express their gratification that the manner in which the business has been conducted has met with thej approval of his Honor and the Provincial Government.” Mr J. N. Tosswill seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. SCHOLARSHIPS. A certificate of his son’s birth in New South Wales, forwarded by Mr Eobison, was approved by the Board. A similar certificate from Mr J. H. Green, of his son’s age under Class 0, was also approved. A letter from Mr Partridge conveying a similar application was agreed to, PUBLICATION. The Chairman laid a pamphlet on the table entitled “ The Letters of Janus on Irish National Education,” by Mr Thomas Adair, presented by the author. It was resolved to acknowledge the receipt of the pamphlet, with thanks. A letter was read from Mr Nairn, applying that his son might be permitted to attend the Lincoln road school for the remainder of the term. The Board agreed to the request. A similar request from Mr J. Inglis, that his son might continue to attend Christ’s College Grammar School, was also agreed to. PLAXTON. A memorial was read from certain inhabitants of Flaxton relative to the removal of the school and putting it on another site, praying that the Board would not accede to the request of the committee to remove the school, as the railway ran right in front of the school, and would, therefore, deter parents from sending their |children, owing to the danger. The present buildings were well adapted to the purposes of the school, and the memorialists hoped the Board would not accede to a request which would be very expensive and useless. The matter was referred to the new Minister for Education. NETHERBY. An application from Netherby for a new district, to be called Waikanui, was also referred. COLOMBO ROAD. Miss Clements was appointed as pupil teacher of the first year in room of Miss Somerset, resigned, owingtoill health, WINCHESTER. A letter was read from the local committee, respecting certain tenders for building. It appeared that an error had occurred in the report of the proceedings of the board, as appearing in the newspapers, it being stated that “ No tenders had been received for additions to Winchester district school,” whereas it should have read that “ No tenders had been sanctioned by the Board for additions to the Winchester district school.” The chairman was requested to reply to the committee, explaining how the mistake had arisen, and forwarding extract from minutes of the Board. BUSINESS DONE BY THE CHAIRMAN. The business done by the chairman during the week was agreed to. VOTE OF THANKS TO THE CHAIRMAN.

Mr Montgomery said that, before the Board separated, as this would be the last meeting, he wished it to be put on record, that the Board appreciated the admirable manner in which the work had been carried out by the chairman. It had been a labour of love on his part, and he (Mr Montgomery) might say that, as an old member of that Board, the work had been most satisfactorily and carefully carried out by their chairman. It was a matter of great regret, and to him personally a matter of deep sorrow, that they were now no longer directly engaged in the work of Education, and that they had not the opportunity of doing as much in a direct way as they had pteviously. He might however say that in their private capacity they would, he felt sure, take a deep interest and do all in their power to further the cause they had so much at heart, and for which they had worked together so long. He might say that their chairman had on many occasions taken home papers during the week and devoted a large amount of time in order to prepare the business to be brought before the Board, and generally during his term of office he had been most assiduous in the discharge of the very onerous duties of the office. He begged to move—“ That a cordial vote of thanks be recorded to the chairman for his services during his term of office.” Mr Maude said that, as the contemporary of his friend Mr Montgomery, he cordially seconded the motion of thanks to the chairman. The work of the office had been most satisfactorily carried out, and he was glad to be able to bear his testimony to this ” In all cases he had relied with the utmost confidence upon the chairman, feeling certain that in his hands the work of the Board was sure to be efficiently carried out. They, together with the chairman, had woiked together for the cause of education, and they must all agree that their present chairman had done his duty ably and well. He had very great pleasure in seconding the motion, Mr Inglis said he desired to thank the members of the Board very heartily for the cordial manner in which they had responded to the vote of thanks so kindly proposed by his friend Mr Montgomery, During the time he (Mr Inglis) had held the office of chairman he had endeavoured, so far as he could, to discharge those duties efficiently. [Hear, hear.] As the members of the Board knew, when he was asked to take the chairmanship he had done so with very great reluctance, and after it hadjbeen offered’to, and refused by, an old member of the Board, Mr Knight, who, by the |way, they were now told was to be the new Administrator of Education for the province. He (Mr Inglis) had hesitated to accept office because he felt that to undertake the duties and carry them out as he thought they should be performed, would entail a great deal of work. [Hear, hear.] However, the Board yielded to his request that an evening sitting should take place, and he had thus been enabled to give that attention to the affairs of the Board which otherwise he should not have been in a position to do. As regarded the work of the Board, as a whole, he thought they had great reason to congratulate themselves upon the unanimity and cordiality which, on all subjects coming before it, had alwaysexisted between them. [Hear, hear.) He thought he might say this, that they were at one completely as to the way in which the Education Ordinance, under which they were constituted, should be carried out. [Hear, hear.] Now during the late debate on the Ordinance coming into force on the Ist July, very wild charges of extravagance, &c, n d been made against the Board of Education, which had gone forth to the world a«I had created

what he (Mr Inglis) was bound to say was a false impression [Hear, hear] —because the charges so made were incorrect in themselves. [Hear, bear.] Towards the latter portion of the debate however, he noticed that the charges so made had not been substantiated, and therefore had fallen to the ground. No doubt there might have been mistakes—in the initiation of an entirely new system this was unavoidable—but he (Mr Inglis) might say that so far from having anything to be ashamed of in the past acts of the Board, he thought they with him had reason to be proud of what had been done by the Board for the cause of education throughout the province, [Hear, hear.] Now as regarded the introduction of a totally new system, involving as it did radical changes, he must say that his opinion was that the Government should have had more information whereon to ground their calculations before proposing it to the Council; No men should go before the country with a scheme like that, unless based upon wellconsidered information. [Hear, hear.] He might say that in no instance had the Government applied to him (Mr Inglis), nor, so far as he was aware, to Mr Mainwaring, the secretary of the Board, on any matters necessary for them to frame their statements u pon, wi th the exception of th e manner in which the estimates of expenditure were framed. In several of their statements the Government were totally and entirely wrong—[Hear hear] —as had been proved by Mr Tosswill in the Provincial Council on one occasion. [Hear, hear.] Though the mischief had to a certain extent been done, and the present Government had taken what he could not but consider as a retrograde step in raising the fees, yet he hoped that something would yet interfere to stop the carrying out of the other provision of the Ordinance still in abeyance, viz, the provision for the finding of the one-half the cost of the buildings, &c, by the districts. As regarded what had been said of the amounts expended by the Board in the additions to school buildings, he might say that the expenditure of these amounts were in every instance required by the districts on account of the increased attendance at the schools. [Hear, hear.] Ifthe crowded state of the school in any district warranted an addition being made, the Board looked ahead, and thought if it was now necessary to spend a certain sum of money Jjto provide for the immediate and pressing requirements of any school by affording increased accommodation it would be folly only to spend that sum and no more then, when in perhaps a year or less, from the natural increase of the population of the district, and consequent larger demand for school accommodation, they would require again to spend more money. [Hear, hear.] He therefore thought what had been called extravagance on the part of the Board, was the proper and most economical way of dealing with the matter, and that they had taken, as was their duty, large and broad views in dealing with the question of education in the province. [Hear, hear.] He thought the Board would agree with him, that notwithstanding the adverse position in which they now found matters as regarded education and the gloomy times which appeared to have come upon them, education would yet progress in the province. [Hear, hear.] They as a Board were yet on the threshold of their work, and it appeared they were to go no further than the threshold. He might say that they would never be doing what they should do for the cause of education in this province unless some provision was made for going beyond mere primary education. [Hear, hear.] He (Mr Inglis) thought that this was contemplated in the clause referring to the subject of superior education in the old Bill, and he would appeal to those members of the Provincial Council present whether this was not the case. [Hear, hear.] The fact was that they were in this position, they had provided primary schools to some t xtent, but nothing had been provided between these schools and the College. However, he did not despair of yet seeing the cause of education put on a proper footing. They had established so many primary schools by means of the system now in force, and they must go on ; the people would insist on it ; and he thought it would be a hard case if, after having brought education so far, they stopped there. He certainly could not see how people could join in the cry of over education. He denied that they had done this as yet, and said that they were not yet up to the standard of many countries, Scotland for instance, where there were many parish grammar schools that were quite as good as the College Grammar School here. He (Mr Inglis) believed in going forward ; they should always be educating themselves, and he could not for one moment agree with what had been said that by giving the people education they were unfitting them for the ordinary duties of life. He believed that the more educated a people were the more they could be depended upon. He had spoken at some length on the subject, and perhaps he had wearied them; however, he begged to thank them very heartily for the vote of thanks they had recorded to him, and to express the pleasure he had felt at having been associated with them in the work of education. [Hear, hear.] THANKS TO THE REPORTERS. Mr Tosswill said before the Board separated he desired to move the thanks of the Board for the accurate and full reports of their proceedings which ‘had been furnished by the gentlemen representing the daily newspapers at the Board. He thought the Board was greatly indebted to these gentlemen for the accurate and careful way in which the proceedings of the Board had been given to the public. [Hear, hear.] He begged to move—“ That a vote of thanks be passed to the reporters of the daily newspapers attending the Board for the accurate and full reports of the proceedings of the Board furnished by them.” [Hear, hear.] Mr Webb seconded the motion with very great pleasure. In doing so, he desired to bear testimony to the care and accuracy with which the reports of the proceedings of the Board had been given, and also to say that, speaking generally, the reporting of the Canterbury newspapers was fully equal to anything he had seen in the Australian Colonies. [Hear, hear.] The chairman said he desired also to bear his testimony to the accuracy generally with which the reports had been furnished. This was one of the great points about the present Board, that it was always open to the public from its being open to the reporters, whereas now they were having a system substituted in which nothing would be known as to what was done.

The motion was then put anl carried unanimously. The meeting then concluded,