BOARD OF COLLEGE GOVERNORS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4961, 15 February 1877, Page 2

BOARD OF COLLEGE GOVERNORS.

A special meeting, convened by circular, was held in the Education Board office, yesterday, at half-past 12 o'clock, the object being to institute enquiries into alleged improper conduct on the part of the Principal, Mr. Wilson. There were present : Mr. Bunny (chairman), Messrs. Hutchison, Travers, Buckley, Jackson, the Rev. Mr. Paterson.

After some little time spent in considering the line of enquiry to be adopted, during which representatives of the Press were excluded, Mr. Buckland, one of the masters at the College, was called and examined as- follows: Mr. Bonny : Will you state, Mr. Buckland, what took place on the morning of the 7th?— It was on Wednesday morning. A number of boys came to the school very wet, and Mr. Wilson instructed me to see if my boys were wet, being little fellows, and if necessary to send them home. Two of them were very wet, being drenched to the skin, and on asking the others they said they were wet about the feet. I told Mr. Wilson, and they were sent home.

Mr. Bunny: The whole of them?—No, nine of my class, . Mr. Travers: What were they expected to do?—I set them their morning lessons to do at home, telling them that in case they should not find time to do them at home in the morning, they might bring them up on the morning following. .'■'.'_ Mr. Travers: Was anything said that might lead the boys to understand that they were sent home for the remainder of the day ?—I said nothing of the kind. It was raining in the morning when the boys were sent away, but it cleared up in the afternoon. Mr. Travers : Did any of the seven other boys return ?—Yes, one ; and the others told me that they would have returned had their clothes been dry. Mr. Bunny : Were the exercises you gave them exercises for the afternoon ?—No ; it was work for that morning. Mr. Bunny : Did you tell them to bring it next morning ?—Not exactly ; I told them that under the circumstances I have already mentioned they might bring the work up next morning.

Mr. Buckley : Do you remember any previous occasion on which you Bent boys home inconsequence of their clothes being wet, or from other causes ?—I am not sure, but I think we have one or two boys once or twice. Mr. Buckley : In such cases are the boys in the habit of returning to school on the same day?—l cannot say. ; Mr. Paterson : Was nothing said as to their coming back ?—Mr. Wilson| gave it, out to the boys that if the afternoon was fine they would be expected to return ; but I am not sure that he said that in the hearing of these boys before they left. Mr. Bunny : How many left ?—There were fourteen altogether, and Bix of them did not return, among them being the brothers Turnbull. Mr. Bunny : What time was it you saw the boy at the cricket ground > —About half-past two o'clock. ■" : i -,■--. Mr. Hutchison : What did you do there ? —Mr. Wilson told me I might go, there being only six of my boys present in school. Mr. Hutchison : About the other boys who were absent, did you consider they were play-' ing truant ?—I did not report them; because I did not see them on the cricket ground. Mr. Hutchison : But supposing you had caught them fishing, would you ?—Decidedly. _ Mr. Traveks thought the real question was, did Mr. Buckland lead the boys to believe they were not to return ? Mr. Buckley : What was the actual report you made to Mr. Wilson in reference to theboys?—Next morning I told him that I had seen one of the Turnbulls on the cricket ground, and that the others did not return because their clothes were wet.

f Mr. Buckley, : When did you ask the other boys why they did not come back ?—The next dav - :..' ' ...•''■ .■'..■ •' Mr. Buckley : What was your object in reporting Mr. Turhbull's boy ?—Because I thought if his clothes were dry enough to go to the cricket grounathey were dry enough for him to have come to school. Mr. Hutchison : Are you in the habit of reporting to the head master things that you see the boys do about the streets or out of school?—No, sir, I think if anything I report less than the "other teachers, •, Mr. Buckley : Was there anything in what you said to them that would lead them to suppose that they were not to come back?— No, if I had not intended them to come back I should have, given them the afternoon's work as well. The work for the.afternoon is separate from' that of the morning.: I know nothing of the third TurnbulK--he was not in my class. 1 The two boys who i were in- my class are twelve and ten years of age. Mr. Graham ' here suggested • that Mr. Turnbull should be- admitted to the Boardroom to give him an opportunity of questioning Mr. Buckland, as he had.impugned the latter's veracity. Mr. Tbavers said he could not see that. If the boys, when questioned, had stated that they had been under the "impression they were dismissed for the day; the position would have been entirely different. If what Mr. Wilson said were true, the boys did not plead that as their excuse, but that they did not return because their clothes were wet. I

Mr. Bunny (to Mr. Buckland):'tVere you present when Mr. Wilson questioned the boys on the following day ?—Yes ; but I hardly remember what he said. I think he asked them why they had not returned, and the 'eldest answered because their clothes were wet. Ido not think the younger made such an excuse, but admitted to having been outSide the fence of the cricket ground. Mr. Paterson said it appeared to him,. and he had no doubt Mr. Buckland also had it in his own mind, that the intention was that the boys should come back providing the day cleared up. But (addressing Mr.' Buckland) you still think it was natural that these boys should be under the impression, having been sent home, that they should not return that day, as boys would be apt to take a liberal view of the case ?—I think it would rest chiefly with the parents. Mr. Trayers : I should suppose, notwithstanding what Mr. Buckland says, that the boys imagined they were dismissed for the day. Did you make any remark to them on the cricket ground ?—No ; I was some distance from the boy I saw. Mr. Tbavers pointed out that the boy when questioned by Mr. Wilson did not tell him that Mr. Buckland had given him permission to absent themselves for the afternoon, but made the excuse that his boots were wet. • Mr. Paterson : I do not attach much importance to that. Mr. Travers : Nor do I much. Mr. Paterson : I do not think they had any intention to deceive. Mr. Tbavers : Very possibly not. Mr. Paterson : The question, it appears to me, is, was there anything to justify Mr. Wilson in the course he adopted ? Mr. Hutchison (to Mr. Buckland): Does Mr. Wilson flog boys on the report of the masters, without making further inquiries. Mr. Buckland : No; he questions them himself.

A question being asked as to whether there was any regulation of the Board affecting corporal, punishment at the College, Mr. Graham stated that he had looked up the minutes, and had found the following resolution, passed some time ago, viz,:—" That no corporal punishment

shall be inflicted except in extreme cases, and then only by direction of the head master, and the head master shall keep a record of the time and place at which pupils are so chastised, the amount;of such punishment, and the nature of the offence, and report the same to the secretary, for the information, of the Board of Governors."

Mr. Travers : Have you been present, Mr. Buckland, when pupils have been so punished? Mr. Buckland : I have, and do not consider the punishment by any means severe. I was not present when these boys were flogged. I believe it was done privately. The Board here decided that Mr. Wilson should be requested to attend. Mr. Buckland, before leaving the room, said he wished to give an emphatic denial to the charge made against him by Mr. Turnbull, who had accused him of showing partiality to other boys rather than his own. Mr. Wilson and Mr. Turnbull then entered the room.

Mr. Wilson said: May I be allowed, in the first place, to make a few remarks with regard to the general aspect of the question, which seems to involve a rather serious principle. When Mr. Turnbull came to me, I offered, with all courtesy I trust, as full and complete an explanation as I could of the circumstances of the case. When I heard from Mr. Graham that the question was put before you, sir, by Mr. Turnbull, I also wrote to you in explanation. But now that the question has come to be discussed formally before the Board, I feel bound to ask the Board to consider the conditions under which I accepted the office of Principal of the College. When Dr. Vaughan wrote to me offering me the appointment, he sent me a copy of a letter he had received from Mr. Fitzherbert, in which the following passage occurs:—"As the whole character and efficiency of the College depend on the qualifications of the head master, and as with, him practically the regulations of its conduct, must almost altogether rest, great power and responsibility will necessarily be placed in his hands." And Dr. Vaughan in a letter to me also said:—"Great power, will.be given to. .the Principal in reference to the selection'of his staff and regulations of the- College." I may state also that in the first interview I had with Mr. Fitzherbert, the then Chairman, on my arrival, he said the same thing, and it was only fair that I . should be left as far as possible unfettered in .my action, as the Governors were anxious for a reorganisation of the staff. I accepted that responsibility, and have endeavored to discharge my duty, conscientiously. I would now, with all due respect to the Board, suggest that if they qost • cuss this case on its merits, it practically establishes this principle, that if I at any time inflict punishment or enforce a regulation which does not meet with the approval of any one of some sixty or more gentlemen who have sons at the College, that punishment or regulation is liable at anytime to be reviewed by the Board; or if I perform any.single other administrative act, I do it with the knowledge that Lam liable to be called to account for my conduct. For my general conduct, of course, I am answerable to you, and if dissatisfied with the manner in which I discharge the duties of my office, you have your own remedy. But I would submit that if lam to be responsible for the good management of the school, I must have discretionary power, and that power is at once taken out of my hands if any single individual act of mine is liable to be called inquestion. Having said so: much, I-may add, gentlemen, that I have not done so with the intention.to prevent discussion. I thought. best for. .the interests of the school, and I shall be most happy to offer the Boar'd the fullest possible explanation. ■''■■- Mr. Bunny: Did you, Mr. Wilson, ever see a resolution, passed by the Board some two years ago, as to corporal punishment?—l am not aware that I did.

Mr. Graham, at the request of theChairman> then read the resolution referred to at an earlier part of the meeting. Mr. Bunny : That shows, you see, that the Board considered they had something to do with the question. - Mr. Travers stated his own opinion, before proceedings went further, which was that he was not prepared to enquire into the question of Mr. Wilson's discretionary power. That he thought should be admitted. He was prepared to consider the question whether undue severity had been exercised in the punishment inflicted in this special .case. Beyond that he was not prepared to go. He would support the head master in his authority over the boys. If he found a boy guilty of an offence that deserved punishment, the necessity of inflicting that punishment rested entirely with him; but if on the other hand it was alleged taut; the;ohastisement was excessively severe in character,, he thought an investigation should Be made.. He thought it would be utterly subservient of the discipline of the Collegeif the judgment of the head master was liable to form the subject of inquiry in every instance that it was found necessary to punish boys. He must assume that what Mr. Wilson said in the letter was true, and all he was prepared to inquire into, therefore, was as to whether the punishment inflicted was unnecessarily severe. Mr. Paterson understood Mr. Wilson to question the right of the Board to inquire into this case at all. Of cours e it would be understood that they were not going to inquire into every one—this was a special case,.reported-to them. : ■ ■ ■_■-.;-

Mr.i Wilson said his only object was that the position should be clearly understood, because sometimes precedents were established in this way which led to serious consequences. Mr. Bunny said he was not prepared to go l quite so far as Mr. Travers.had gone. If the Board had a right to go into the question whether half-a-dozen cuts were too-much or not, clearly he thought they had thiTright to inquire whether there ought to have been any cuts at all. Here they found that a father removed his children from the school, and made a statement of his reasons for doing so j in which case it was the duty of the Board to institute inquires. After further discussion, raised by a suggestion that Mr. Wilson should retire whilst the Board considered what form the inquiry should take, and of which suggestion nothing came, Mr. Wilson was asked to state the circumstances.

Mr." Wilson then said: Wednesday morning last was very wet, and a considerable number of the boys were very wet. Feeling that if the boys stopped in school with wet'clothes oa dangerous consequences might: ensue, T gave instructions to all the masters that any boy who was found to he wet or felt cold might go home. None of the classes were dismissed, and the work of the school went on as usual. Every form continued its regular work. It never enteredmy head, and I state it now in all truth, that any boy would suppose he was dismissed for the day. The sole object, of their being sent home was to prevent their : catching cold. _ Any boy who has been at the school any time knows how strongly I insist on regular attendance. I was surprised to hear that some of the boys thought they were dismissed! for the day. If I had thought so I should have stated it. It depended -entirely- on the state of the day whether they returned at all ; but I repeat, it never for a moment entered my head that they were to imagine that they were dismissed for the day, I do not, however, for an instant say that they did not so imagine. Most of the boys who were absent in the morning returned in the afternoon.': There were, however, I think, about 10 or 11 absent in the afternoon. I authorised the masters of the respective forms to enquire into the reasons for the absence of these boys, as a regular thing, in accordance with the rules of the school; and in the case of all the other boys the answers given were satisfactory. .'" The greater number of them lived at the Thorndot'"'™ end of the town, and had a long way to comev In the case of one boy, for instance, his second! pair of boots had gone to be mended; and the excuses, with the exceptions spoken of, were all satisfactory. A principle in our school is that a boy is never doubted until he proves himself to be unworthy of trust, and therefore no reasonable explanation is refused. >; When •Mr. Turnbull's sons were asked by Mr.- Bjickland why they- were not at .school, the elder oue replied—and, as I understand, the younger did not contradict him—that their clothes were not dry. I may mention here that one of the

masters in the afternoon 'ia'Jre/i whilst another takes his class, and when Mr. J Buckland asked me;forpermisißion.' to go to the cricket ■ ground, I allowed; Mr. Hardy to take his place while he went, and Mr. Hardy did take charge of such of Mr. Buckland's boys as were there. When he reached the cricket ground he'saw two of Mr. • Turnbull" s sons, and on Thursday he reported to me. For everything that occurred after, that I am alone responsible. I then questioned the boys myself at a quarter to 11 o'clock, when the school usually breaks up for five or ten minutes. The elder Turnbull said that his boots were not dry on the day previous. I asked him if he had not another pair of boots, and he answered yes, but that they had been wet the day before and were not then dry. I then asked him how it was that a pair of boots which had been wet on Tuesday were not dry enough to to school on Wednesday, while the boots which I had been wet on Wednesday were sufficiently dry for him to go to the cricket ground in the afternoon of that day. He never said he understood that the boys were not to return. If he had said that to me the case would j have been different. But it never entered my head that: the boys had such an impression. I told them to come to me at 12 o'clock, my view of punishment being that it should never be hastily administered. I told them why I caned them: because if they were able to go to the cricket match they were able to come to the school; and also because they had not given me a straightforward answer. The cane I used was a supplejack, Dot thicker than an ordinary cane such as one sees at Home. I gave the elder one eight cuts, and the younger one five, their coats being on at the time. Certainly it never occurred to me at the time that I was.inflicting cruel or unnecessarily severe punishment, and that marks should be seen on their backs I am not i surprised to hear. lam not prepared to admit that because : their backs were found to be slightly bruised the cuts were excessively severe. It would be strange if it were not so, the back being protected from exposure by always being covered, and thus prevented from becoming hardened. If the boys were really hurt I can safely say that I had no Intention that they should be. I certainly had doubts as to what I should do with the elder boy, and more so with the younger; and I was led by my experience of schools, and the difficulty of insuring regular attendance, to take the course I did, believing that it would have the effect of giving the boys a lesson which would prevent a repetition of the offence. These are the facts of the case, gentlemen. There is only one other thing I would' mention. I understood from Mr. Turnbull that he was not merely affected by the punishment or the degree of punishment Inflicted, but that he was under the impression that his boys had been exceptionally treated —that there were others in the same class who were not punished at all. That I consider the most serious charge, as affecting the reputation of the school. I therefore made inquiries myself, and bo far as I can ascertain, I find there had been no other boys absent during school hours who could not give a reasonable account of their absence. I consequently wrote to Mr. Turnbull expressing a hope that if he could : prove that partiality had been shown he would do" so. AIivHrTCHIsoN : Are you not aware that a boy with wet feet would be less likely to catch cold walking than sitting in a school ? Mr> Wilson : I think, sir, that is a scientific fact ■ which was not likely to present itself to the mind of Mr. Turnbull'a son.

My. Turnbtjll, on being asked whether he wished to ask Mr. Wilson any questions or make a-statement to the Board, saidT No"; I have written my opinion, and I can''only repeat it; • I do not wish to go further in the matter, I believe, as my boys believe, that ihey were unjustly whipped. Mr. Travebs. had no hesitation in saying it was his ..opinion that the boys believed they were dismissed for the day, but pointed out that the boy Turnbull, iustead of the statement he made, should have said : "I was under the impression that we were not required to return." Mr. Wilson : And that would have ended thematter. ,l Mr. Turxbotl: I told Mr. "Wilson about two years ago that the boy was really dull, and that sometimes if asked a question it took him'about five minutes to answer it. Mr. Paterson questioned Mr. Turnbull as to the. marks of the caning referred to. Mr. Tcrsboll replied that it was just as Mr, ,Wil"on had Baid. The elder boy was worse than the younger. The marks on the hack of the latter were now gone, and one mark'still remained on the back of the elder.

MiC-Tbavebs : Were you ever flogged yourself, sir ? Mr. : Tcesboli. : That's not the question. recollection of energetic performances of the. kind in connection with my school-days. Mrv. TxmsBVLL mentioned that he was once flogged at school and had never forgotten it. A good deal of discussion followed, in which Bottling was. said but what some one or other of those present had said before. The general impression appeared to be that the boys thought they were dismissed for the day. Mr. Hutchison and Mr. Paterson were of opinion that the boys had given a strictly straightforward answer. Mr. Jackson thought Mr. Wilson was perfectly justified. Mr.'BuNirr: Except in the case of the little boy, who did not say his boots were wet, and admitted that he was at the cricket ground.

Mr. Patebsou said so far as the severity of the punishment went, he might say that he would not like his boy to be thrashed with a sflpplejack. "■ Mr, Tbavers thought it desirable that the resolution of the, Governors, passed some years ago, Bhould be communicated to Mr. Wilson. It was desirable that in every instance of corporal punishment being administered, whether lightly;:.or., not, the cause and circumstances should be recorded, so that when any eoniplaint was made it should be ho surprise to the Governors. At the same time Tie thought it would be seriously injurious to ths institution,"unless there was some plain and reasonable ground of complaint,, that they shonld inquire unto all cases where parents objected to punishment of their children. There were, for instance, parents who objected altogether to corporal punishment. - He thought in this case that the punishment was inflicted under a misunderstanding of the whole facts of the case, fori'which the boys were in some measure responsible, because the fact that the boys were under the. impression that they were dismissed for the day was not in the mind of Mr. Wilson at the time he flogged them.Mr. Hotchisojt wished to. put some questions to Mr 7 Wilson, but they were objected to by Mr. Travers on the ground that they in-' volved matters outside the present enquiry, and/affected the question of Mr. Wilson's discretionary power as Principal of the College. Mr. Hutchison .therefore refrained from putting■■the* questions. After some further conversation, the following motion was passed :—"That in the opinion of the Board, the two Turnbull boys, who were punished on the'Bth instant, had reasonable grounds for believing that they had been dismissed for the day on the morning of the 7th, but that when giving the punishment the head master was unaware that such was the belief of the boys, or that they had any grounds for such an impression ; and further, that in administering the punishment he acted in the belief that they had been wilfully absent without sufficient excuse, and that the excuse offered by them for such absence was not in accordance with the facts ; and further, that the punishment given was not excessive in its character." Mr. Hotchisojt moved an amendment, that the last three lines of the resolution bo omitted, and that the following words be inserted in lieu thereof :—"That under any circumstances the punishment inflicted was cruel In its character." Mr. Patebsoh said he could scarcely agree with the amendment, whilst he objected to the latter part of the original resolution, and suggested that any reference to excessive punishment should be altogether omitted. The amendment was then put and lost, the original resolution being carried.