The Globe. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1876.

Globe, Volume VII, Issue 776, 15 December 1876, Page 2

The Globe. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1876.

In his address to his constituents at Akaroa on Tuesday night, there was one point, of which Mr Montgomery made a great deal, and that was the passing of the Education Boards Act. That Bill, he said, restored the old Board here, and placed upon it many of its old members. He thought, and we thoroughly agree with him, that the change was a most beneficial one. He did not wish to say one single word against the late Minister for Education as such, as he believed he

conscientiously did his best, but one gentleman could not be expected to know as much as seven or eight who have been laboring in the cause of education for years. This is all very true. The experience of the last twelve or eighteen months was enough to convince all the friends of Education in Canterbury that a change was urgently needed, and one which placed the management of education in the hands of a Board gave general satisfaction. But Mr. Montgomery looks forward to what he regards as a further improvement. He hopes that when the new Education Bill, which is to be introduced next year, is brought down, it will contain a provision for making the Board of Education elective. He is in favor of making the election to the Board, either by the ratepayers themselves, or by the school committees. We are sorry that Mr Montgomery has thought it his duty to take up this position regarding the appointment of the Board. His argument is that the ratepayers will be brought to feel more intimately that it is their Board, than can be the case with a nominated one. But education is just one of those matters which should be removed as far as possible from the arena of political strife. Ho good end is to be served, as far as we can see, in subjecting those gentlemen willing to take a seat at the Board to an expensive and laborious canvass. Will the best men be secured by such a process ? Would the majority of the present Board undergo the trouble ? And yet it is admitted on all sides that a better Board could not easily be found. It is necessary, of course, that the people should have some voice in the management of educational matters. They have it already through the school committees, and under the proposed new Bill they will have it through their representatives in Parliament, by whom the sums for the maintenance of education will, no doubt, be appropriated annually. In that case the Board of Education would be merely an executive body, whose duty would be to carry out the intentions of the Legislature. With almost equal reason it might be urged that our Judges and magistrates should be elected; and there are some people who hold that such should be the case. We hope, however, that such a principle will never be introduced into any British colony. Mr. Montgomery may have better reasons for holding the view which he does as to the election of the Board, but either he has not stated them, or they have not been reported. He may regard his proposal as a popular one, but we think the good sense of the people will be satisfied if the powers of the local school committees are increased, leaving the Boards of Education to be constituted as at present.