A BILL

Lyttelton Times, Volume V, Issue 254, 7 April 1855, Page 3

A BILL

To provide for the Education of Youth within the Province of Canterbury in Hew Zealand. ; Preamble. ~yrjr7"HEREAS an Ordinance was passed hy the. Lieutenant-Governor and Legislative Council of New Zealand, entituled "an Ordinance for promoting the Education of youth in the colony of New Zealand," Session 8, No. 10 ; and whereas it is expedient that the said-recited Ordinance should be repealed, and that other provision should be made in that behalf within the Province of Canterbury :— Be it therefore enacted by the Superintendent of the said Province* with the ad-, vice and consent of the Provincial Council thereof, as follows:-—' Repealing the present Ordinance. 1. From and after the passing of this Ordinance, the said-recited Ordinance so far as it relates to the Province of Canterbury, shall be, and the same is hereby repealed. To be a board of Education, composed of ex officio and elected members. 2. There "shall be within the said Province a public Board to be called " The Board of Education for the Province of Canterbury" which shall consist of a certainnumber of ex officio members and of six elected members as hereinafter provided. .■■;.:■, Who to be ex officio members. 3. The following officers, or persons for the time being lawfully acting in the several capacities hereinafter mentioned, shall be the ex officio] members of the Board of Education, that is to say—The President and Vice-President of the Board, appointed as hereinafter provided, every Judge of the Supreme Court residing in the Province, the Provincial Secretary, the Provincial Treasurer, the Provincial Solicitor, every member of the Executive Council of the Province, the speaker of the Provincial Council, the Collector of Customs, the Commissioner of Crown Lands, the Registrar of Deeds, the Keeper of Public Records, every Resident-magistrate, every Deputy Registrar of Births and Deaths and Registrar of marriage* every chairman of a Town Council, or other chief civic officer in any towns possessing municipal corporations, every Inspector of schools, appointed as hereinafter provided, every head master of any upper or Grammar School, established or maintained or receiving aid under tbe provisions of this Ordinance, and every officiating minister of religion within the meaning of an Act of the General Assembly, entituled the Marriage Act, 1854. Elected Members. 4. The six elected members shall be elected from time to time, at special meetings of the Board to be called for that purpose, by a majority of the- votes of those present at any such meeting■: and such members shall be elected out of the inhabitants of the Province most distinguished for sound learning, and shall hold office for five years from the day of their election severally; and the first six ejected members shall be elected at the first meeting of the Board, and before the transaction of any other business thereat. Mow Vacancies may occur. f 5. If any member of the Board shall resign his seat,*'by writing sunder his hand addressed to'the .President, or shall become of unsound mind, or shall have been convicted of felony, or of any infamous crime, or shall become a bankrupt, or insolvent, or shall compound by deed' with/his credit tors, or shall cease to reside in the Province, or if any elected member shall, without the special permission of the Board, be* absent from any six consecutive meetings thereof, or from any six consecutive meetings of the secular committee thereof,"

as hereinafter provided, in every such case his seat at the Board shall become ipso facto vacant. Vacancies how to befilled. Q, If any vacancy shall occur in the elected Members of the Board, the same shall be immediately filled by a fresh election : provided that any member so vacating his seat shall unless otherwise disqualified be capable of re-election. Board of Education to be a Corporation. 7. The Board of Education for the Province of Canterbury, shall be a body corporate in name and in deed; and Under such their ne.me shall have perpetual succession, and a common seal, and shall be able and capable in the law to do and to suffer all such things as can be lawfully done and suffered, and to have and enjoy all such rights and privileges as may be bad and enjoyed by any body corporate^ And to hold property in trust for purposes of Education. 8. The Board of Education shall have power to accept, take, and pm-chase any property whatever, real or personal, and to hold the same in trust, either for general purposes of education within the Province, or for any specific educational purposes, to which the same shall have been dedicated: and shall have power to mortgage, lease, demise, assign, and transfer any such property : provided that no such property shall be alienated otherwise than by lease for a term not exceeding twenty-one years, in which the best rent shall be reserved that can be reasonably obtained for the same, without fine ; except under the authority of an Ordinance or Ordinances of the Superintendent and Provincial Council, to be passed in that behalf. Duties and powers of the Board. 9. It shall be the duty of the Board of Education, and it is hereby empowered, to provide for the establishment, maintenance, and endowment of schools, and for the general regulation of all such schools, and for the appointment of fit and competent persons to be schoolmasters and schoolmistresses therein ; and for granting such aid as the Board shall think fit towards the maintenance and support of any schools established, or which may hereafter be established, otherwise than under the provisions of this Ordinance, by any person or persons, or by any religious or other body ; and for the founding and maintaining public libraries &nd reading rooms; and for the conduct and management of all the property of the Board ; amd for the regulation of all meetings of the Board; and for the governance of all officers thereof; and generally for ordering all matters and things necessary for carrying this Ordinance into effect; and, except as hereinafter provided, to make such bye-laws, minutes, orders, and resolutions, as the said Board may think fit, for or in relation to the objects aforesaid. Provided, that anj r such bye-law, minute, order, or resolution, which shall be contrary to, or shall interfere with, the operation of any Law or Ordinance for the time being in force within the said Province, shall be absolutely null and void. -Annual Meeting. 10. There shall be a general meeting to be termed the annual meeting of the board, to be holden on the 20th day of February in each year (unless such day shall fall upon a Sunday, in which case such meeting shall be holden on the Monday following) for receiving the annual statement of accounts, and the annual reports of the inspectors of schools as hereinafter provided. Ordinary Meetings—Special Meetings. 11. Ordinary meetings of the board shall be held at such stated times as shall be directed by any bye-laws to be made ia that

behalf; and a special meeting may be called at any time, by the President, or by any five members of the Board; provided that 'six clear days notice> of every such special meeting shall be given, either by leaving the salme in writing at the ordinary place'", 0f... abode of each member of the board, or by advertisement in all the Public Newspapers of the Province : provided; also, that such notice shall state the business for which such special meeting is called; and that no business, except that set forth in the said notice shall be transacted at any, such special meeting. Who to be Chairman of Meetings. 12. The President, and in his absence, the yice-President, and in the absence of both the President and Vice-Presideut, then some member, to be chosen by the meeting, shall be chairman of such meeting of the board, and shall have an original, and also a casting vote thereat. .' Secular Committee. 13. There shall be a Committee of the board, to be^ called the Secular Committee, which shall consist of the President, VicePresidents, the Inspectors of schools, the Head Masters of Upper or Grammar schools, being members of the board, and all the elected members of the board. Who to be Chairman of Secular Committee. 14. The President, and in his absence the Vice-President, and in the absence of both President and Vice-President, then some member of the Committee to be chosen by those present, shall be the Chairman of such meeting of the Committee, and shall have an original, and also a casting vote thereat. Secular Committee to have control of Secular Instruction* , „ 15. The Secular Committee shall have the entire and exclusive control in all matters relating to the course of secular instruction pursued in all the schools established by the board, and shall select and approve of all the books used for the purposes of such instruction. Denominational Committees. 16. For every religious Denomination there shall be a Committee, consisting of the officiating ministers of such denomination, being members of the beard, and such Committees shall be called the Denominational Committees. Denominational Committeest to have charge of religious .instruction. 17. The Denominational Committee for each religious body shall have the entire and exclusive control over the course of religious instruction to be pursued in all schools established by the board, so far as regards the children of parents belonging to such religious body, and shall select and approve of all the books used for the purpose of such instruction. Committees to keep minutes of proceedings. 18. Every Commiltee of the board shall cause full and correct minutes of its proceedings to be kept in books to be provided for that purpose : and all such minutes shaH be laid before the board at every meeting thereof. Board may rescind confiictory minutes of Committees. 19. If the minutes of the several Committees shall appear to the board to conflict one with another, it shall be lawful for the board to rescind so much of any of the said conflicting minutes as it shall think fit, and the board shall cause its reasons for rescinding such minutes to be recorded, and shall send a copy of the order rescinding the said minutes, together with the reasons for so doing, to the several committees. B^ard not otherwise to interfere with minutes of Committee. 20. It shall not be lawful for the board, except in cases coming before it under the operation of the last clause, to make any

bye-law, minute, order, or resolution, contrary to or interfering .with the operation of the minutes of the several committees relating to the course of instruction to be pursued, or the books to be used in any school established by the board: and every such bye-law, minute, order, or resolution, shall be absolutely null and void. Officers of the Board. 21. There shall be the following officers of the board, —a President, who shall be the Superintendent of the Province for the time being; a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and so many inspectors of schools as the board shall think fit; and such officers, excepting the President, shall be elected, at special meetings of the board to be called for that purpose, by a majority of the votes of those present at any such meeting; and shall hold their respective offices at the pleasure of the board : provided that any two or more of such offices may be held by one and the same person, if the Board shall think fit: and it shall be lawful for the Board from time to time to appoint all such other officers, agents and servants, as may be necessary to carry this Ordinance into effect: and to manage the property held intrust by the board; and from time to time to remove any such officers, agents, or servants, and appoint others in "their stead; and to fix such amount of salaries to be paid to all such officers, agents, and servants as the Board shall think fit. Duties of Secretary. 22. It shall be the duty of the Secretary \ to attend all meetings of the Board, to keep , accurate and faithful minutes of all pro- | ceedings of the Board, and to record and I publish all byelaws thereof, and generally I to conduct all the business of the Board. ; Duties of Treasurer. 23. It shall be the duly of the Treasurer to receive and keep all monies belonging to or at the disposal of the Board, and to expend the same in such manner as the board shall from time to time direct: and to keep all accounts [of Eeceipts and Expenditure, in such manner as the board shall direct. Moneypaid to Treasurer to be the property of the Board. ' 24. All sums of money which shall be paid to the Treasurer on account of the Board shall be deemed to be the property of the Board, and shall be held in trust for the general purposes of this Ordinance, or'for an} r specific purpose to which the same may have been lawfully dedicated, and shall be expended accordingly. Provincial Auditor to audit all accounts of Board. 25. All the accounts of the Board shall be from time to time audited by the Provincial Auditor in such manner as the Superintendent, with the advice of his Executive Council shall direct. Treasurer to make annual Balance-Sheet. 26. The Treasurer shall in the month .of January in each year, make a full and detailed account, in the'form of a balancesheet, setting forth all the receipts and expenditure jof the Board on account of the funds held by the Board in trust for the general purposes of this Ordinance, and a similar account of every fundheldby theboard in trust for any specific purpose : and the Treasurer shall transmit the same, on or before the last day of January to the Provincial Auditor : and the Provincial Auditor, having duly audited the same, shall lay them before the annual 'meeting of the Board, and the Board shall transmit a correct copy thereof to the Superintendent who shall lay the same before the Provincial Council within ten days after the commencement of the next session thereof. Treasurer to give Security. 27. The Treasurer shall give security for the due performance of his duties, in such

form, and to such amount as the Board shall direct.. -: ..'■.-.'-.'. [■■„.. .':v"-"«.'' ■..'■'■•■.-.. •.' ;• Auditors to have access to all papers and accounts. 28. The Provincial Auditor shall have full access to all books, minutes, papers, accounts, and vouchers, at all such reasonable times as may be necessary to enable him to audit the accounts of the Board. Inspectors to visit and inspect Schools. 29. The inspectors of Schools shall, from time to time, at such times as the Board shall direct, visit and inspect all the schools established and maintained or in the/receipt of any aid under the authority of this OrdU nance, and shall report thereon to the Board.,. •■/ -■ : '■■■ '■;.;. '■: "' .'■'■' • ■ .■. •''•: '.■ Inspectors to make annual report on the schools. 30. The inspectors of Schools shall lay before the annual meeting of the board in each year, full and detailed reports as to the condition and progress of every such school, and also a return of the number of children in every such school, and also of the number of the children in the district in which such school shall be situate, so far as they shalljbe able to ascertain the same, and all such reports and returns shall 'be laid before the Superintendent, and shall by him be laid before the Provincial |Council within ten days after the commencement of the next Session thereof. Papers to be open to inspection. 31. All byelawSj'minutes, orders and resolutions of the Board and all accounts thereof, shall be open at all reasonable times to the inspection of every '.member, of the Board, and to the inspection of any person wishing to inspect the same, upon the payment of two shillings and fsixpence [at such times as the Board shall direct. ■■■■/■■ ■• •. :-: -.' Title. :' \ ■.:■■.■ ■' ■■■.. . .;■ 32. This Ordinance shall be entituled and may be cited as the Education Ordinance, Session 4; No.