Pokeno School Roll of Honour.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 7, Issue 342, 4 January 1918, Page 1

Pokeno School Roll of Honour.

| To the Editor] Sir —The report in your paper on December 11th of the householders' meeting held to hear both sides of the above question did not mention the fact that a ballot was asked for and was not given effect to, and although your report records the fact that the majority of those present did not vote, it claims that the Committee's action was upheld. Judging from the reception accorded the promoters of the Roll of Honour it could easily be seen that honours were easy as any victory for the School Committee was gained on the votes of flappers and irresponsible ohildren.

The claim by the Chairman that the Committee was ignored and should have been consulted is not sound when against this contention we have the fact that the Committee held a special meeting at Mrs Lippiatt's request, when she attended and told them what arrangements she had made. They tentatively agreed and different members undertook special work and the lady then made fina: arrangements. Some days later the Chairman of the School Consulted resigned on the ground that the School Committee was being ignored. Another special meeting was held and the Committee got the Chairman to reconsider his resignation and sent a letter officially telling Mrs Lippiatt that as they considered had been ignored li.ey would tan. J; - ♦ficial part in the function for ■>. • that date complete arrangeU' 1 - : , Sll■ T been made, thus leaving Mrs Lippii.tt no alternative but y, cancel nil arrangements for the t/ IIPe hfing. When later differed were made for the unveiVng the Chairman of the SchooJ/Jommittee alont with a «ectoQlSf the Committee got very busy lind arranged for the Householders' meeting and sent a telegram to the Prime Minister asking him to make no definite arrangement until he heard the result of such meeting. How does the School Committee reconcile this action with their statement that they would take no otßcial part in the function ? Again the Chairman's statement that it was a " tin-pot'' Roll of Honour deserves severe censure. How could the rev gentleman judge when on his own showing he had not seen it. Also it is not the in trinsic value but the names which appear on the photos of 25 young men of this district that entitles the Roll to every honour and respect. Mr Lippiatt can very j ustlv he proud that so many of his "boys" have played| the game, two of them having made the supreme facrifice. Again the workmanship displayed and the tasteful way in which the photos are assembled and the general ornamentation belie the word " tinpot." The id if + hat Mr Lippiatt has been teaching lure 111 years surely entitles him to prom-*" •••-!*.? with h'f a tuiii of H'nn'ur, •-n ■ ing " bovs' : whom he taii r ! * i -'i""was done out of the Head Tea' her j iSiiiool Fund, controlled by himr-H: and was for presentation to the school. The Committee would have been doing a graceful action ha ! I th9y accepted the gift in the spirit ;u : which it was offered, and if they thought it was not complete enough they could easily have promoted another, When the Roll of Honour was purely a Pokeno school one why should the School Committee call on householders of surrounding districts to help them outlt is to be hoped that Pokeno householders are not going to sit still under thiv .insult which has been put upon them by a meeting which was not legally conducted, and which the writer claims does not represent the opinion of the householders. The red herring drawn across the trail by the Committee in putting a resolution, viz. : " That the Committee should themselves erect a Roll of Honour " falls flat when the people with sons at the front refuse to lend themselves to the project until the "Roil" in existence is unveiled. —I am, etc., AJAX Pokeno, '27 th J>ec., I'JIT.