CITY COUNCIL.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1218, 29 January 1878, Page 3

CITY COUNCIL.

Monday, Jantjaby 28, T 1 10 ordinary fortnightly meeting was held in the Council Chamber. Present —Crs. Ick, Pratt, Briggs, Ruddenklau, Radcliil'e, and Toomer. In the absence of the Mayor, Or. Ick was moved to the chair. LEAVE OF ABSENCE. On the motion of Cr. Pratt, seconded by Cr. Radcliffe, leave of absence for one mouth was granted to Cr. Bird. A letter was read from Cr. Bickerton regretting his absence that evening, having to attend another meeting. He desired permission to postpone ihp motion standing w his wme,

and suggested that a sub-committee should be appointed to meet the committee of the Local Board of Health. Cr. Ruddenklau said a committee had already been appointed for the purpose mentioned. In reply to the Chairman, the Town Clerk said that no official letter on this subject had yet been received from the Local Board of Health. After further remarks, it was decided to defer consideration of this matter until a later period of the meeting. FINANCIAL. The Town Clerk reported as follows :—Received for week ending January 19th, £1095 10s fid ; for week ending January 26th, £1242 fis 2d ; total for fortnight, £2337 Ifis Bd. Cr. balance on general account, £619 18s Id. Drainage loan account,|Cr. £194 2s. Drainage rate account, Cr., £1392 fis 10s; Drainage account No. 2, Cr., £157. Bills, Ac., paid and to be paid on general account, £l6lß 12a fid ; on Drainage Loan account, £l7 9s fid. Cr. Fra(t said there was one item in the accounts of £lO, received from himself as a subscription towards the construction of the Tuam street tank. A list had been handed to him with several names on it, and he had put his name down for the sum mentioned. He would like to know if any other persons who had promised subscriptions had yet paid them. The Town Clerk said that Messrs Montgomery and Co. had paid £2O, and Mr J. Anderson £lO. Other subscriptions would be paid at once. surveyor’s report. The Surveyor reported— No. 1. Matheson’s tank has been cleaned and repaired, and a new horse-trough and drinkingfountain constructed on one side of it. Since Saturday last the iron ladle for drinking purposes has been wrenched off and thrown into the tank. No. 2. The repairs of glass broken in the city lamps during the last six months has cost £22 lls 3d. A fractional part of this amount is no doubt caused by accident, but the remainder must be caused by boys and larrikins. _ No. 3. Concrete channel is being laid in Antigua street south, and also Colombo street south and Carter’s lane. Similar work will be commenced in Madras street north to-morrow. No. 4. Another portion of the North be.t has been formed, and the forming of one side of the South belt is being proceeded with. Clause No. 1 was approved. Some remarks were made on clause 2. The Chairman said this matter had been before the works committee that morning, and they had thought it of sufficient importance to bring it before- the Council. There was a standing reward of £5 to any person giving information which would lead to the conviction of the offenders. It was decided to write to the Inspector of Police on the subject. The remainder of the report was approved. In reply to Cr. Briggs, the Surveyor said a contract had been accepted for Barbadoes street. CHRISTCHURCH AVATER SUPPLY. The Chairman said that a letter had been received from some local engineers, saying the time for receiving designs for the watersupply was too short. As Mr Clark had not yet arrived, he (the Chairman) thought it would be advisable to extend the date. On the motion of Cr. Pratt, seconded by Cr. Radcliffe, it was resolved to extend the time for receiving designs until 19th February. SUBSIDY TO BOROUGH. A circular letter was read from the Treasury, Wellington, forwarding voucher for £Bl9 10s Bd, being the Borough’s share of the subsidy for the last half-year ending 31st December (inclusive of £584 13s deducted in excess for period ending 30th June, 1877), after deducting the Borough’s contribution towards the maintenance of the Hospital and charitable institutions. In conjunction with this letter, the following report was brought up by the Finance Committee : The finance committee beg to report that in conformity with a resolution passed at the previous meeting of the Council, they have investigated the balance-sheet for tho nine months ending December 31st, 1877, and find that the items of expenditure calling for remark are as follows : —ltem —Repairs to streets, £3432 7s 2d. This includes upwards of £IOOO spent upon the unemployed on the South town belt, of which sum £575 was refunded by the Government] last week. Items—Contracts : Labor £279, and material £lls 6s, arc also additional charges upon maintaining the streets in repair. Item —Ho ses and fodder, £2OO I6s Bcl, includes harness and repairs to ditto, shoeing, and veterinary’s charges Item—Plant and repairs, £llBB 6s 4d, includes £BOO for steam road roller, £l2O for three mud carts, the balance being repairs to carts and tools, and sundries. Item—Asphalting, £1775 6s 9d, includes £1440 pa-d Bmart on account of contract, balance being for sundry small works. Item —Fire prevention, £309 17s 6d, includes £153 lor men’s wages, repairing old tanks, and constructing new one in Tuam street. The finance committee also beg to re ort that finding a large sum of upwards of £3200 still uncollected, principally on last year’s rate, they have issued instructions that in all cases where the notices have been served more tha 1 - fourteen days summonses bo at once issued, and that the notices not already delivered be served at once. They purpose meeting again next Thursday to receive a report of the progre.-s made in tliis matter, and give it their immediate attention, in order that no portion of the Government subsidy be lost through non-collection of rates, upwards of £B2O having been lost in the half-year ending June 30th, 1877, from this cause. Since the Council last sat the finance committee have written two letters to the Government, one respecting the deduction made from the subsidy towards maintenance of hospital and charitable aid, to which they would ask the approval of the Council; and one in reply to an inquiry as to whether the Council would take over the charge of the hospital for the rest of the Government’s financial year. C. E. Briggs, Acting Chairman. City Council Office, January 28th, 1878. The -Town Clerk read a reply which had been forwarded by direction of the finance committee to the Colonial Treasurer, saying the amount of subsidy due to Christchurch for the half-year was stated as £3692 15s fid, from which a sum of £3457 17a lOd had been deducted as tho borough’s contribution towards maintaining tho Hospital and charitable institutions of tho provincial district of Canterbury. In the return for the half-year ending Juno 30th, 1877, the sum of £2327 19s fid was charged against the subsidy payable to Christchurch, of which an admitted overcharge of £584 13s had since been refunded, leaving the actual amount chargeable against the borough for that half-year as £1743 fis fid. The finance committee respectfully requested the Hon. the Colonial Treasurer to kindly state how the charge of £3692 15s fid for the last half-year had been arrived at, it being so very largely in excess of the amount deducted from the previous halfyear’s subsidy. CHRISTCHURCH* HOSPITAL. As hearing upon tho above report a letter was read from the Colonial Secretary requesting the Mayor to be good enough to inform him whether in the name of the municipality ho would be willing to take charge of the Christchurch Hospital until the end of the present financial year on the same terms as those on which it has been maintained Jduring the past year. The [Government would feel obliged if his Worship would undertake this charge, and felt assured his doing so would be for the benefit of the institution, and the city of Christchurch generally. To this letter a reply had been sent to the Hon the Colonial Treasurer,[asking the Council to be furnished with particulars of the terms referred to, the cost of the maintenance of the Hospital, and also as to what contributions were receivable from other local bodies. Tho report of the finance committee was received. Cr. Briggs said that a sum of £B2O subsidy had been lost to tho ratepayers through the non-collection of the rates. The assessment of the city for the year ending March, 1876, had been £7531 7s, but of that amount only £5890 18s had been collected, and the Government would only pay the subsidy on the amount of rates actually collected. In consequence of the dilatonnessof collection they had lost tho ton shillings in the £ on £1640 9s, which would amount to £B2O 4s fid, and though a groat portion of that sum had been collected in the following half year, it did not count. Through the want of energy on the part of the collector the Council had lost a sum of £B2O 4s which hare beeij for tho

benefit of the ratepayers. For the years 1874, 1875, and 1876 there were still rates outstanding amounting to say £l5O. Out of £8677 19s rates collectable for 1877 only £5603 4s had been collected up to IGfc’h January, leaving a balance to be collected on that year of £3074 15s, and which, added to the amount of the previous year, left a total now outstanding of £3224 15s. There were only two more months to collect this money in, and if they did not proceed quickly with the work they would lose £1 for every £ remaining uncollected up to the 31st March of the present year. He wished that this might go forth to the public to show that not oily were the Council doing their best to secure the subsidy, but that it became the duty of every good cit izen to pay his rates, in order that the Borough might receive its fair proportion of thosubsidy under the Financial Arrangements Act The letter to the Colonial Secretary asked for particulars as to how the cha g's for charitable institutions this half-year should have been so much in excess of those of the last halfyear. It seemed so strange to the finance committee that the comparative charges should be so excessive, but until a reply was received the con mittee could not take any action. In the ab eme of the Mayor the letter referring to the maintenance of the hospital had been referred to the committee, and under the circumstances they could not see their way to reply otherwise than by asking another question, as they could not possibly assume what the terms were under which the hospital had previously been conducted. Cr. Ruddenklau was verv much surprised to hear of such a state of things as so large an amount of rates being at present uncollected. He thought the finance committee ought to initiate some stringent system for the collection of rates, and he considered that the Borough as well as the Road Boards should receive some portion out of the land fund, alluded to by Mr Rolleston on Saturday evening. The up-country bodies were rolling in wealth, and the result would be that, people would be driven out of living in town. He thought the Council should give this matter their most serious consideration. The Chairman said the Council ought to be T very thankful to the finance committee for their exhaustive report, and for giving the subject so much consideration. lie had for years complained of the laxity shown in the collection of the rates, by which the Council had lost a great deal of money through people leaving town. He thought the responsibility ought to be transferred to the town clerk, who should see that all the rates were collected as speedily as possible, Cr, Pratt quite endorsed the chairman's remarks as to giving the town clerk power to take any action in getting in the rates that might be thought desirable. At present a subordinate officer felt that he was only responsible to the Council, and if this responsibility were transferred to the town clerk it would strengthen the hands of the finance committee. He would move—“ That the finance committee be authorised to define the duties of the rate collector.” Or. Briggs would second the resolution, and would like to say that this was the outcome of two lengthy meetings of the finance committee. They had found the present system a most unsatisfactory one,and the Council would endorse this statement when he told them that though ten months of the financial year had expired, if the whole of the notices had been served it must have been during the last few days, and all these notices should have been delivered at least six months ago. Not only were they losing the Bank interest, but also the£ for £ subsidy from the Q-overnmcnt. If a stringent system had be en in force the ratepayers would not have lost £B2O. Cr. Ruddenklau said it would bo absolutely necessary to enforce some stricter system than at present obtained. He was always under the belief that the town clerk was the executive officer of the Council, and that the other officers were under his instructions. The Chairman said that the late finance committee had repeatedly impressed upon the collector the necessity of getting in the rates as speedily as possible. The power of summonsing for outstanding rates had rested with the rate collector, who was a good tempered easy going person, and had acted rather too leniently. Or. Briggs would mention by way of explanation that, at a meeting of the finance committee held on Thursday last, when the sheet was drawn out by the town clerk, under instructions from the committee he had ordered that fifty summonses should be taken out at once, and had written a memorandum to this effect, adding that no rates were to be applied for again. In the face of all this the instructions had not been carried out, and only that morning some of the ratepayers had called at the office and paid their rates because they had heard that they were going to be summoned. The committee had found that in many cases no action could be taken, as the . t ces had not been served on them. It wan to put this matter on a proper footing that the committee desired to transfer the responsibility, so that the town clerk and rate collector would have their duties in this direction distinctly defined. The motion was put and agreed to. “ EIBH HAWKERS. Cr. Pratt said that the by-law committee had met, and as they were at present engaged with the Building Act he could not bring up a complete report. The committee had considered the nuisance arising from fishhawkers standing in busy thoroughfares opposite business premises, to the annoyance of the public, and they had prepared a resolution asking that the motion of 21st December, 1874, giving permission to Brighting to stand with his fish-barrow for fifteen minutes should be rescinded, and in lieu thereof that a space be marked off in the Market place for the use of fish-hawkers, and that when travelling the streets for the purpose of selling fish a hawker be not allowed to stand fer more than ten minutes at one place, and when moving on that he be not allowed to stop at a less distance than 100 feet. Also that the police be empowered to order his removal from the front of any business premises if desired to do so by a proprietor, or the return to a place previously occupied. He would move a resolution to that effect. Cr. Briggs seconded the motion. * Cr. Ruddenklau moved —“ That consideration of the resolution be postponed until next meeting.” Cr. Radcliffe seconded the amendment. On being put, the amendment was declared to bo carried. DRIVING ROUND STREET CORNERS. Cr. Briggs moved the following motion, of which he had given notice, altering it slightly at the request of the Council-“ That the by-law regulating the speed of driving round street corners bo made to apply to the intersection of Colombo and Cashel streets, Cashel and High streets, Colombo and Gloucester streets, and Colombo street and north-east corner of Cathedral square, near Hobbs’s corner.” . Or Ruddenklau seconded the motion, which was agreed to. ril ' ■ _ Cr. Briggs asked what action had been taken to carry out the by-law so far as the Bank of New Zealand was concerned. The Town Clerk replied that the by-law had been advertised, and placards put up at the corner. As the works committee had considered that permanent notices were necessary, some hoards had been painted and would he erected. The police had also been instructed, and the Inspector of Police had returned a copy of the by-law, asking that it might be duly stamped to secure a conviction. Cr. Pratt thought it somewhat an unusim] course for an Inspector of Police to usurp the functions of a magistrate, and hold that a conviction could not ho secured without a stamped by-law were produced in Court. | After further remarks, the Town Clerk was instructed to see that the provisions of the by-law were strictly carried out in future.

' CORRESPONDENCE. [ A petition was road from a person affected with blindness, asking for remission of rates for the current year, as he had been unable ‘ to work through his affliction. Cr. Briggs said he knew this was a deserving case, and would move —“■ That the petition be granted.” The motion was seconded and agro id to. A letter was read from Messrs Bain and ; Waraey with xchpsuce to the fttfwtoegjeijt

for competitive designs for a water sup ly scheme, saying they they thought the time for sending in the designs was too short. This request had been attended to at an earlier portion of the evening. A letter was read from Mr D. Christie, asking a reconsideration of his application for reduction of his assessment. The Chairman said that he had visited the place, and similar premises next door, and by comparison of the buildings he felt certain that some mistake had been made. Cr. Pratt said he had opposed the reduction at last meeting, but having heard the explanation, and as he learnt that many of the notices had not been served, he would move—“ That Mr Christie’s request be complied with.” The motion was not seconded, and fell through. SANITARY. With reference to the sub • committee alluded to in Cr. Biekerton’s letter, it was resolved—“ That the Sanitary Committee meet the committee of the Local Board of Health to consider the sanitary condition of the city.” RESERVES. The not ice of motion given by Cr. Bickerton was adjourned for a fortnight. LICENSES. A number of licenses were granted, and others postponed until next meeting. The Council then adjourned, ___ SCHOOL COMMITTEE ELECTIONS. * The annual elections of school committees took place last evening, as follows : EAST CHRISTCHURCH. The meeting of householders in this district was held at the Gloucester street main school. On the motion of Mr J. P. Jameson, Mr G. L. Lee took the chair. The chairman opened the proceedings by reading the advertisement issued by the Board of Education convening the meeting. It might be as well, as this was the first meeting under the Act, and the householders had not, had an opportunity of reading it, to refer briefly to the changes which had been made. The Board was now elective instead of nominated, the education -was free, and the committees went out of office altogether instead of in part. There were also some clauses referring to compulsory education, which could bo brought into work by the vote of the committees in each district. These were the main features in the new Act, and he would now read the report of the outgoing committee. It was very short, as everything had, he was happy to say, gone on very smootldy. The report was as follows, and it must be recollected that the report covered nine months and not a year : In accordance with the provisions of The Education Act, 1877, the committee of the East Christchnrch district school beg to lay before the meeting the following report for the past year. The committee have held seventeen ordinary and two extraordinary meetings, at which much detail business has been transacted, but which is not of such a nature as to demand special mention in this report. The only work of any magnitude has been the completion of the infant school, which, after much delay arising from causes over which the committee had no control, is now finished, and will be in occupation in the course of a few days, and appears well suited for the purpose for which it is intended. It is calculated to accommodate from 400 to 500 children, and will afford much relief to the main school, which was becoming overcrowded. The alterations in the Bingsland schoolroom which were in progress at the time of the last annual meeting have hceu completed, and the school working well. The number of children at present on the books of the different schools in the district are as follows: Main school ... ... ... 1652 Biugslaud school 324 South Belt school 250 Philips town school 107 Total _ ... 2393 The average daily attendance for the year ending 31st December has been as follows : Main school 8 '1 Bingsland school 140 South Belt school ... ... 93 Philipstown school 72 Total 1104 The number of children presented for examination at the last visit of the Inspector (Mr Restdl), in the month of November, were as follows: — Main school 953 Bingsland school 168 South Belt school... ... ... 136 ' Philipstown school 76 Total 1323 The inspector’s reports on the progress of the several schools continue most satu factory, and the committee feel that their thanks are 'due to Mr Loughrey and the staff of teachers for the highly satisfactory manner in which their very onerous duties have been carried out. A statement of receipts and expenditure for the past year is appended, hut they regret that owing to some difficulty about the appointment of a auditor the accounts have not been audited. G. L. Lee, Chairman. Mr Lee then vend the abstract of receipts and expenditure from January let, 1877, to December 31st, 1877, as follows : Dr.—To balance in hand from 1877, -£279 16s 8d; Board of Education for salaries, £3135 10s lid; do. incidentals, .£400; do. buildings account, ,£227 10s 9d ; incidental receipts, <£l2 12s. Total, £4055 10s 4d. Ck. —By salaries, rents, augmentation grants, &c., £3159 12s 7d; incidental expenses, £574 12s 7d; added to stock of books in teachers’ hands, £5 ; expenditure on building sites, &c , £231 9s. Total, £3970 5s lid. Balance carried forward, £BS 4s sd. The accounts, as he had said, had not been audited, but he had no doubt that it would be found correct when it came before the auditor. Mr Rose said he would like the meeting to understand why the accounts had not been audited. The Chairman said that no auditor had been appointed, and the only information the committee received was that given by an advertisement appearing in the papers issued by the Secretary of the Board of Education, to the effect that a telegram had been received from the G overnment, stating that an auditor was to bo appointed, but that this must be done throe clear days prior to the date of meeting. As the telegram was only received he thought on Thursday, and the advertisement appeared on Friday, this was of course impossible to be done, and the committee had communicated this to the Board of Education. A note had been received from the Board empowering the committee to proceed as they thought best in the matter, and no doubt the first thing the new committee would have to do was to appoint an auditor. Perhaps some gentleman would now move that the report and balance-sheet be adopted. Mr Mitchell desired to point out that, although the accounts had not been audited, the whole of the payments had to he made with the sanction of the Board of Education, so that reallySthere was no great motive in the accounts being audited. Mr Sandalein moved— 1 " That the report and balance-sheet as read bo adopted.” Mr McDougal seconded the motion, which was agreed to. The nomination of candidates was then proceeded with, when the following gentlemen were proposed—Messrs Q-. L. Lee, E. C. J. Stevens, W. R. Mitchell, A. Rose, J. P. Jameson, H. Thomson, A. R. Kirk, S. C.Torr, Frederick Hobbi, W. B. Bray, land ,W. McDougal. On a ballot, the following was the result — Messrs Lee, Stevens, Mitchell, Kirk, Hobbs, Jameson, being elected. A tie taking place between Messrs Bray and Thomson, it remained for the chairman < o give his casting vote in favor of one or other. Mr Lee said that he would give his vote for Mr Thomson, he being an old member of the committee, and one who had worked well in the cause of education. The whole committee therefore consists of Messrs G-. L. Lee, E. O. J. Stevens, W. E. Mitchell, A. Kirk, F. Hobbs, J. P. Jameson, and H. Thomson. On the motion of Mr Bray, seconded by Mr E. Hobbs, a vote of thanks to the retiring chairman and committee was unanimously agreed to. At a meeting of the new committee held immediately after the general mooting, Mr E. 0. J. Stevens was elected as chaiHOMl of fiasco jwaitico lav llifi etoeiiujg ytar.

WEST CHRISTCHURCH. The annual meeting of the householders of this district was held in the schoolroom, Lincoln road. The chair was taten by F. G. Hawley, Esq., who, after saying ho was sorry to see such a small attendance of the householders of the district, called upon MrH. J. Tancred, as chairman of the retiring committee, to read the report. Mr Tancred accordingly read the following report;— The last report of the committee to the annual meeting of householders of the district was for the period ending March .'slst, 1877. The report now to be presented includes therefore a period which was reported upon at the .ast meeting. The first poii.t to which the committee draw attention relates to the change which has taken place in the teaching staff of the infant school. The former mistress having soft-rod from ill health, found that the arduous duties of her work were too much for her, and she accordingly sent in her resignation. Tfie committee have experienced great difficulty in filling up the vacancy thus created, as it w<is no easy matter to find a teacher with the qualifications required for this particular work. This part of the school has, theref re, for a considerable portion of the year, been conducted under such temporary arrangements as the committee were able to make It was only in last August that an appointment of a more permanent character could be made. The committee have been for some time iu correspondence with the Board of Education upon the subject of the establishment of a side school in the southern part of the district. A large population Ims lately sprung up in the neighbourhood of the southern part of the Windmill road. Some of those who have lately come to reside there are householders in this district; others, and probably the larger part, are outside the boundary. It appears that these last are not in any other school district. Under these circumstances it is thought that a site somewhere to the south of Addington, and near the Windmill road south, would meet the requirements of the case. A school so situated would have the double advantage of providing school accommodation for a locality at some considerable distance from the main school; and also that of affording facilities to those just outside the district for whom no provision has been yet made. The plan previously iu operation for the teaching of extras —such as French and drawing—not having been found to -work satisfactorily, has been abandoned. former arrangements the committee were practically made responsible for the salaries of the teachers. The Board made no grant for the purpose, as it w T as assumed that the fees received would cover the outlay. But then it was felt that if this expectation should not be realised, and that if the sum received in tecs should fall short of the amount payable in salaries, tbo deficiency would require to be made up out of the general school fund. For this reason the committee have ceased to enter into any engagements for the teaching of any suhj cts outside the ordinary school course. The committee are glad to be able to state that they have at last succeeded in providing a house for the master. A site has been obtained and a house erected in convenient proximity to the school. Various improvements have been effected in the school grounds which contribute to the comfort and convenience of the children. The progress of the school as regards the numbers in attendance, may be considered very satisfactory. The throe quarters which have elapsed since the date of the last report show a considerable increase, as will be seen from the following statement The numbers in attendance in the June quarter were 863; in the September quarter, 936; in the December quarter. 968 ; with an average iu this last period of 725.4. The numbers for the December quarter of the previous year, 1876, having been —Attendance, 902 ; average, 631. The accounts of the committee have been duly audited by Mr D. Craig. Mr Tancred drew the attention of the meeting to the fact that the attendance was steadiij' increasing, and ho trusted it would continue to do so. He wished to express the indebtedness of the committee to Mr D. Craig, who had audited the accounts for the past year. The Rev. J. Cummins, headmaster of the school, then made a few' remarks on the discipline and efficiency of the school, alluding especially to the Girls’ School, and he wished to express the thanks of the teachers generally, and his own for the kind and courteous way in which the committee had treated them during the year. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the retiring committee, also to Mr D. Craig for his assistance in auditing the accounts. The Chairman then proceeded with the election of a new committee, when the following gentlemen were elected by the meeting —Messrs D. Nairn, H. J. Tancred, J. T. Bell, G. Booth, A, Bickerton, Bowey, and F. G. Hawley. After a vote of thanks had been passed to the chairman, the meeting was closed. A meeting of the newly-elected committee w'as then held, when Mr' H. J. Tancred was elected chairman of the Board for the ensuing year. COLOMBO ROAD SCHOOL. A public meeting of the householders of the Colombo road district was held last night in the Colombo road school, for the purpose of hearing the report of the retiring committee read, and of electing a new committee. At half-past seven the attendance numbered thirteen. The chair was occupied by Mr Allison, the chairman of the outgoing committee, who opened the business by declaring his nonpossession of any special information as to the manner of conducting the proceedings. He read the clauses of the Act referring to the election of seven committee men, and then read the following REPORT. The committee have to report that during the past year the state of the school has continued to be generally satisfactory. The attendance does not show such a marked increase as in former years, but this the committee believe is due to the fact that during the winter months the roads in a considerable"portion of the district were quite impassable for children. ‘Whooping cough has also been very prevalent, and some vacancies through illness and other causes in the teaching staff occurred, which affected the classes concerned to a considerable extent. The committee regret that the strength of their teaching staff causes the absence of even a pupil teacher to be felt considerably, and that their efforts to increase the same have met with hut little success. Their efforts to get their teachers placed upon the same footing with regard to salaries as those employed in other similar schools have also been frustrated, the Board of Education having deferred giving a reply to the committee’s requests in the matter until they have decided upon a scale of salaries applicable to alt schools. Some months after, when this had been done, the committee were informed that it was only intended to apply to fresh appointments, and that the schools which possessed greater advantages in this respect than they would be entitled to by the scale would continue to enjoy them until the appointments became vacant. At the date of the last report made by the Board of Education, viz., March 31st, 1877, this school cost much less per child for maintenance than any other school of a similar size in the*Canterbury district, the salaries then paid being at the rate of =£2 Os 8d per annum for every child in average attendance during the quarter ending at that date. The average cost per child of three similar district schools was jg2 13s 9id, the cost being computed in the same manner, 3 lie increases to the teaching staff .and salaries which have since been granted have raised the cost per child to =£2 6* 6d on the average attendance for the quarter ending December 3!si, 1877, or £2 6s Hid on the average for the whole year. The daily average attendance for the year ending December 31st, 1877, has been 512, being 55 more than the average cf the previous year, the number on the roll at the same date being 758. The committee have much pleasure in bearing testimony to the assiduity displayed by the teachers in fulfilling their duties, and believe that their efforts have succeeded in maintaining the usual efficiency of the school. The committee are unable to compare its efficiency at the pre-ent time, as the report on the examination held last Christmas has not yet been re ceiyed. An enlargement of the school buildings for an infant school is now being carrh d out ; the great increase in the attendance in this department has caused the want of ’his to he felt for some time past. Owing to circumstances over wh ch the committee had no control, its commencement had to be deferred. They have also found it necessary to accept a contra t for the same which, when fini.-hod, will still leave the build ng incomp etc. The committee are glad to report that they have succeeded iu acquiring an additional halfacre of plojiwUfti Getewfa »ad*

have also had the hollows in the playground filled np, asphalte paths laid down, and a number of other minor improvements made to the school premises. The committee have endeavoured to get the name of the school changed, so as to be identical with that of the borough, but owing to legal objections it has not yet been effected. The annual distribution of prizes' took place on the 24th ult. They were made exceptionally numerous and valuable on account of the u‘ ual treat having been discontinued. The committee found that the treat entailed upon them a large amount of work from which no adequate benefit resulted to the school. The expense also was very great, and has hitherto been chiefly met by the subscriptions of the individual members of the committee, and they desire to draw attention to the necessity for a more general contributlon being made by the parents in aid of the prize fund. The receipts and expenditure for the year 1877 have been as follows : RECEIPTS.

Chas. Allison, Chairman. In answer to a question, the chairman stated that the average attendance was larger than it had been in previous years. The report was received. Mr Lockwood, in seconding the motion for its reception, expressed gratification at the great increase in the number o£ scholars as compared with the attendance at first. The school had been enlarged already twice. He regretted to see that the new Act had driven the Word of God out of the schools. The Chairman remarked that the new Act was no improvement upon the Canterbury Ordinance in many respects. It gave too much power to the Board, and took it away from the local committees. It also, by providing that not even the Bible should be read in school, carried, in his opinion, secular education too far. Mr Hall said that the electors should see that no member of a committee should be elected to the Board of Education. It was unfair that some schools should have a perpetual deputation seated at the Board, whilst other schools who had no representative on the Board were put to considerable trouble in bringing their wants before it. In answer to a question, the Chairman stated that the committee were aware that several of the more advanced pupils had gone to the Christchurch school, where they would have superior advantages, through the unfair distribution of the funds. The Rev. J. Smalley, while admitting that the members of the Education Board were honorable men, thought that it was not desirable to have any members of the school committees on the Board. With regard to the absence of the Bible, he did not much regret it, though his ideal school was a denominational one. However, that could not be obtained, and the best must be made of opportunities outside the school to give the children a knowledge of God. He referred to the unfortunate habit people had got into of taking their children away from school at so early an age. As to the prize money, it had been largely supplemented by the chairman giving his fees connected with the secretaryship. Mr Cocks concurred with the remarks made by his fellow-committeemen as to the religious question, and the desirability of the Board being thoroughly independent of any committee. After some discussion as to the manner in which the election should be conducted, the chairman stated that he would receive nominations, but would not allow any one to be elected who was not qualified. Nominations could not be received unless the consent of the nominees was given, either verbally or in writing. By the time the election took place the attendance numbered exactly a score. Nine candidates having been proposed, Messrs Ferguson and Russell acted as scrutineers, and declared the following to be the result of the ballot:— Rev. Smalley ... 25 Cocks ... 23 Allison 20 Andrew 16 Whitelaw 16 Hall 15 Jones 14 The other nominees received 9 and 8 votes * respectively. The gentlemen elected were the members of the last committee with the exception of one who had declined to be reelected. A vote of thanks to the chairman was heartily carried, and the public meeting closed. The newly-elected committee then met and elected as their chairman Mr J. Whitelaw. ST. ALBANS. The annual meeting of the ratepayers of this district was held last evening in the schoolroom, when there was a large attendance. The Chairman of the retiring committee (Mr J. L. Wilson) presided, and opened the meeting by reading the advertisement convening it. The minutes of the last annual meeting were read and confirmed. Mr Wilson then vacated the chair, but was unanimously re-elected. The Chairman proceeded to read the report. He regretted that it was not quite so satisfactory as those hitherto presented. A searching examination into the causes of this had been made by the committee, and satisfactory explanations had been produced. A number of the children at the beginning of the past year had been placed in standards for which they were not sufficiently qualified. To remedy this had caused a great deal of labor. Many of the elder children had left school, and gone into business, while others had been sent to the Normal School, their parents thinking that that institution offered greater advantages for education than the district school. This left the higher standards bare. With regard to the Normal School he failed to see what advantages it offered, with the exception of music. He thought that in the end parents would find that little benefit would be derived from the change. Too much was made of the Normal School to the detriment of suburban schools, but steps he understood were being taken to remove this impression. In regard to attendance he showed that there had been an increase of 70 last quarter, and that the av erage attendance during the past year was 289. He had been told by the head master that there had been a fair increase on the opening day of this year over the last. The committee were not satisfied with the examination as regarded the examiner. They had strenuously urged the Board to let them have another. Relative to the teachers, Mr Wilson said t lie committee had received the greatest possible sat isfaction from them, but the Board of Education had forced them, through Government financial arrangements, to reduce the teaching staff. It was found t he stuff was above the regulations drawn out by the Beard, and they had been requested to dispense with one of their leading teachers. In the face of this the committee had with great regret parted with the mistress. He trusted the school would still succeed under that arrangement, and in conclusion showed that the school premises and appliances were in good order. The Rev. Flavcll then proposed a vote of thanks to the retiring committee, which was carried by acclamation. The following gentlemen were then proposed and seconded as members of the new committee:—Messrs Billon, Hey wood, Luke, T. Gordon, Saywell, C. Salter, PhilpoM. Crabtree, Butterfield, Bowbyes, Wilson, Dickenson, Kerr, and Rev. Flavcll. Messrs Mitchell and J. Maun were appointed scrutineers. voting was then proceeded with, the following gentlemen being declared duly elected :—Messrs Bilton, T. Gordon, Saywell, Wilson, Dickenson, Rev. Flavcll, and W. Smith. A vote of thanks having been passed to Mr Wilson for his long services as chairman of thd cpprpiittegj the meeting dispersed*

£ s. d. To balance brought forward 12 10 2 Salaries received from .board of Education ... 1237 IF 5 Incidental expenses ... 370 9 1 Building sites, &c EXPENDITURE. ... 126 13 7 <£1777 11 3 £ 8. d. By salaries, &c ... 1265 5 1 Incidental expenses ... 310 10 5 Building, &c. ... 12 i 10 11 Balance 77 4 10 .£1777 11 3