BOARD OF EDUCATION.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1263, 5 April 1878, Page 3

BOARD OF EDUCATION.

A special meeting of the members of the Board of Education district of Canterbury was held yesterday afternoon. Present— Messrs Ingles (chairman), Montgomery, Webb, and Hall. The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting, which were confirmed. THE NEW BOARD OP EDUCATION. The Secretary reported as follows in reference to the election of the new Board:Eor the North Canterbury Board 100 committees had a right to vote, including two at Kaikoura. Seafield has no committee yet; French Farm did not vote, and the Longbeach vote is informal; 98 districts might give 882 votes, but Governor’s Bay voted for 8 only, Kowai Pass for 1, Lakeside for 4, Mount Somers for 2, Oxford West for 7, Stoke for 8, and Weedon for 2, so that 851 votes were given, distributed as follows —Inglis, 95; Montgomery, 90; Rolloston, 86; Tanered, 84; Duncan, 83; Bowen, 73; Webb, 46; Yeel, 38; Saunders, 37; Stevens, 35 ; Fraser, 33 ; Turnbull, 32 ; Lee, E. J., 21; Cunningham, 19; Higgins, 19 ; Grigg, 18 ; Ivees, 13 ; Fendall, 8 ; Cook, 7 ; Lee, G. L,, 7; Wilson, 5 ; Marshall, 1; Smith, 1. The nine persons first named have the greatest number of votes. For the South Canterbury Board out of 21 districts 3 districts have not voted, viz.:— Geraldine, Totara Yulley, where committee is only just elected, and Makikihi where the committee is not yet elected. Eighteen have voted having a right to 162 votes. But Hunter and Pleasant Yalloy have given only 8 votes each; Milford has given only 7, and Pleasant Point only 6. The remaining votes are distributed as follow .-—Barclay, 15; Belfield, 13; Gillies, 13 ; Goldsmith, 13 ; Tate, 13 ; Inwood, 12 ; Granger, 10 ; Postlethwaite, 10; Howell, 9 ; Cooper, 8 ; Stack, 8 ; McKerron, 6; Wilson, 6 ; Martin, 5 ; Cook, 4; Gray, 4; Balfour, 4 ; Ogilvic, 2. The nine persons first named have the greatest number of votes. APPROPRIATIONS AND APPOINTMENTS. The chairman’s report of appropriations and appointments made since the last meeting, was read and approved of. REPORTS. Mr Hammond’s annual report and reports on the Colombo road and Lyttelton schools were laid on the table and received. AUDIT. The secretary reported that the statement of receipts and expenditure for nine months and twelve months had been duly audited by Mr Ollivier. RESIGNATION OF THE SECRETARY. The chairman read the following letter from the secretary: — Christchurch, April 2nd, 1.878, John Inglis, Esq., Chairman Board of Education. Sir, —My acceptance of appointment to the office of Inspector-General under the Education Act, 1877, renders it necessary to me, as I intimated to the Board at its last meeting, to place in your hands my resignation, and to request that I may be relieved of my duties as secretary on the 31st May next. The time is short, but it will be long enough to enable me to attend to important matters connected with the transfer of the Board’s work to the two new Boapds of North and South Canterbury ; and I believe yon will feel that this district, equally with others, is deeply interested in many-ques-tions which call for early settlement, and with which in my new office I shall have to deal, I .trust, therefore, that you will not judge me incpneiderate in withdrawing so soon. I cannot retire without acknowledging the uniform confidence and kindness exhibited towards me by the Boai-d and by you as its chairman, and I desire particularly to tlmirk you for generous mention of me in the report just issued, I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, Wm, Jas. Habens. Mr Montgomery thought it would be only right that the Board should place on record some expression of their opinion as to the manner in which Mr Habens had discharged his duties. He would therefore propose the following resolution ; —“ The Board of Education, in accepting the resignation of Mi*

Habens, desire to express their appreciation of the admirable manner in which he has discharged the duties of secretary since his appointment, and to place on record the high sense they entertain of the value of his services to the cause of Education, and of his special fitness for the office of InspectorGeneral, which has been conferred upon him.” In moving the resolution ho felt certain that it would have the approval of every member of the Board, for they bad all had personal experience of the very great zeal and intelligence he had exhibited in the discharge of his duties. They must all regret the loss of Mr Habens’ services as secretary, but it was a cause for congratulation that that gentleman was now about to have a more extended sphere of usefulness in the cause of education, which they all had so much at heart. It w r as satisfactory to them to know that the secretary of that Board had been chosen as Inspector-General for the colony, and he was quite sure that the Minister of Education had not made the appointment without looking all over the colony in order to get the best man possible. Ho (Mr Montgomery) felt that the Minister had made a right choice. Mr Webb had great pleasure in seconding the resolution. The Board had found Mr Habens to be as good a secretary as could ho found. Ho for one deeply regretted, as far as the interests of the Board were concerned, that Mr Habens was resigning, but was glad that that gentleman was about to accept the appointment he was. He could speak on behalf of the committees, who had spoken in the highest manner of the way in which Mr Habens had conducted the duties of the office. The Board could not but be pleased to find that the Government had so much confidence in their late secretary. Mr Hall quite coincided with all that had been said. The Chairman said that no one could know so well as he did the merits of Mr Habens. He was sure that if they had not enjoyed the services of such a man, the educational department they were connected with would have been in a state of hopeless mess. The amount of work in the office was extraordinary ; the members had had their share at cho meeting; but ho, as chairman, had had still more. Ho had, as far as he was able, thrown a great deal of work upon the secretary, and could say that the careful and efficient manner in which everything had been done was deserving of the highest praise. Mr Habens, they were aware, had not been brought up to a mercantile career, but had shown in the conduct of the office a business aptitude which would be a credit to any one in a merchant’s office. Knowing how admirably their secretary had brought the Board business out of the state of chaos in which it was previous to his appointment, he (the chairman) concurred heartily in the resolution, and had great pleasure in supporting its adoption, Mr Habens, who had withdrawn during the preceding discussion, here returned to the room, and the chairman briefly informed him of what had been done. Mr Habens thanked [the Board for their kind expression of regard towards him, and at the same time expressed his appreciation of the comfort ho had felt in the discharge of his duties, owing to the facilities afforded him by the Board. ■ SECRETARIES TO COMMITTEES. Applications from some committees were read, asking for payment of their secretaries. The Board resolved to relegate the dealing with the whole question to the new Board. MIXED SCHOOLS. The question of mixed schools, which was raised at Rangiora, was taken into consideration. The opinion of the Board appeared to be that where the number of children was sufficiently numerous the sexes should be separated, but that no alteration in the present arrangements need be mode. After transacting a large amount of administrative business, the Board adjourned for a fortnight.