COLOMBO ROAD.

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 416, 12 October 1875, Page 4

COLOMBO ROAD.

The annual meeting of ratepayers was held in the new schoolroom. There was not a very large attendance, and Mr F. C. Hall, who took the chair, read the notice from the Deputy-Superintendent, authorising the meeting being held. The chairman also read the report of the last year’s committee, with minutes of meeting then held, which was adopted pro form a. The following annual report for the past year was then read : “ The committee have to report that the school now numbers 652 children on the roll, and has had an average attendance of 380 during the year. The average has been greatly reduced, owing to the great amount of sickness and the impassable state of the roads during the winter months. “ To enable the district to judge how much the school has suffered from those causes, the committee draw attention to the fact that during the quarter ending 31st December, 1874, the average attendance was 400 out of 524 on the roll; while during the last two quarters the average has only reached 382 and 322 out of totals of 668 and 652 respectively. The numbers last week on several days exceeded ',500, but a wet day brought the average to 472. “ The committee regret they cannot refer to such a flattering report from the Inspector as to the efficiency of the school as they were able to do last year; but taking into consideration that during the first half of the year the school was very much overcrowded, inadequately supplied with teaching power, and at the same time inconvenienced by the building operations in progress ; also that during the last half year the progress has been very much retarded by the irregular attendance, the committee think that on the whole the school is as efficient as can reasonably be expected. “ The school buildings were finished as far as practicable on the sth March last, but some necessary adjuncts to them, such as drainage, &c, have had to stand over until a further vote could be obtained from the Provincial Council.

“ A rate of tenpence in the £ has been levied on the district in order to provide the one-sixth of the cost of the school buildings, and your committee regret that though the rate was struck after the completion of the rate rolls for 1874 the rate was levied on the rolls for 1873. If the rate had been levied on the new roll and promptly collected, a smaller rate would have sufficed for the purpose required, jiff The annual treat for the children took place on 12th December in the Agricultural ■.Society’s Show Grounds (kindly lent for the occasion), at which 507 pupils were present, and was highly successful. After the treat an adjournment was made to the school where Lady and Sir Gracroft Wilson kindly presented the prizes gained during the year to the successful competitors. “ The committee opened negociations with a view of acquiring more land for enlarging the play grounds, but owing to the dissolution of the Board of Education it was not considered advisable to press the matter to an issue. The committee, however, still consider that it is absolutely necessary. “ The committee have endeavoured during the year to get the school placed on the same footing as regards 1 teaching power,’ as other schools in the province of a similar size, such as Lyttelton, Kaiapoi, and Timaru, but they regret that their efforts have met with no success.

“ Signed for the committee: “F. 0, Hall, “ Chairiran.” W The statement of accounts for the past year were as follows.—Balance from last year, £266 4s 7d. Receipts—Grants for maintenance, £989 16s 4d —£23 16a ; rates received, £lB 10a ; incidental, £l9 11s 6d ; sale of books, £23 9s 6d. Total, £1341 7s lid. Expenditure —salaries, &c, £1149 10s ; repairs, £l4 4s 3d ; books, £23 9s 6d ; incidental, £ll2 10s sd, Total, £1299 14s 3d. Leaving a balance in hand, £4l 13s 9d, He (the chairman) had to report that the statement which he had just read had been examined and certified to by the Provincial Auditor.

Some discussion took place on a copy of a letter addressed to the chairman, the original of which had been sent to the collector by the Provincial Auditor, asking why the amount of £IBO, balance of educational rate, had not been collected. The collector (Mr Wilson) who was present, read a copy of a letter which he had forwarded to Mr Ollivier in reply, stating the reason of the last year’s balance of rates being still unpaid into the treasury. Th 6 chairman said that the meeting must know—as all the inhabitants of the district already did—that the playground was far too small, for the number of children attending the school. He saw by Mr Charles Clark’s plan that a piece of ground adjoining was still unsold, and if no one ran him up too high it was his intention to purchase this piece of ground for the use of the children. [Hear, hear.] He felt it his duty to refer to the laxity displayed in the teaching of the infant department, and he hoped the new committee would make a rigid inquiry into that department of the school. In reply to a gentleman in the meeting, the chairman said that though the same amount of rate was paid by the inhabitantsof that district as in the Borough schools, and there was a fair comparative proportion of attendance of scholars, yet the teaching power (in the infant school particularly) was inferior to the first-named school.

Mr Whitelaw gave an instance of the system of teaching in that department, which had come under his own observation, and contended that as that school should be considered in all respects a borough school, parents ought not to be compelled to have prentice teaching forced on them to the disadvantage and detriment of the children. In answer to Mr Wilson, The chairman said the committee did not desire to send the report of the meetings of the committee to the newspapers. Mr Whitelaw thought a good end would be served by the reports of the committee appearing in print, as, among other reasons, they would show what was being done by the committee with the Government. At •one time when the proceedings of the Board of Education were so fully reported, this course was not so desirable, but now he thought it would only be politic to adopt that mode, and make their proceedings public. The East Christchurch Committee, he saw, had taken that step, and he really believed it would be wise if the incoming committee would consider the desirableness of imitating their example. The chairman gave an instance of publicity being not always considered advisable, as Mr Harman had remarked to him the other day that he (the chairman) and the corn puttee must be getting on weU at the

Colombo road school, as he never saw anything about them in the paper. [Applause.J Mr Harman also promised to give a prize at the next school treat. [Applause.l In reply to Mr Whitelaw, The chairman said the gross receipts for the use of the schoolroom during the past year had been £l9 11s 6d. On the chairman asking the meeting to propose the names of members for the new school committee, several of the old members refused to allow themselves to be again nominated, as they did not wish to repeat the farce of the last few months’ proceedings in the face of the peculiar line of action adopted by the Minister of Education, Several speakers spoke in a similar strain, after which the election of the committee took place, when the following gentlemen were declared to be elected for the ensuing six mouths :—Messrs F, C, Hall, Allison, McDouall, Cole, T. Russell, Yennal, Clarke, and Jones. A vote of thanks to the chairman concluded the proceedings. A committee meeting was held afterwards, when Mr F, C. Hall was unanimously elected chairman. The meeting then adjourned.