LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10, 9 May 1912, Page 8

LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

CONFERENCE AT WANGANUI. ? (Per Press Association.) Wanganui, May 8. A conference of local bodies inis morning appointed Mr Mackay (Mayer of Wanganui) and Mr Ritchie (chaiTman of the Wanganui County Co.iccii) to represent the bodies eoinpri;.-'.-:! in the Wanganui hospital district at the conference in Wellington. TARANAKI EDUCATION BOARD , DISCUSSION. ) The Taranaki Education Board held L a special meeting yesterday morning ’ in order to consider the edacai’-m clauses in the Local Government i ill j and to elect its representative on lac i\ conference of local bodies, to lie hold ) on the subject next Tuesday. ) Mr B. Trimble was in the chair, : and Messrs A. TL Halconibe, W. RugI evs, R. Masters, W. L. Kennedy-, W. Young, and G. A. Adlarn were also present. , Detailing the suggestions embodied J in tlie Bill, the chairman said thai i; 1 was proposed to transfer the functi ,ns ] of the hoard to the Provincial Coen--1 oil. The Council would appoint a ccm- - mittoo, to whdeh three outsiders would 1 bo admitted, and this committee weald have to report to the Council. The capitation scheme would be clone away with. The provinces would receivethe rents from educational rc&ei c:; (Tillich would provide only threesevenths of the revenue) within their area, and any balance required would have to come out of the general fu..ch; of the Council. The inode of election would he manhood suffrage, net as the case at present, where ody ratepayers could vote. To his mind there was no need to make these alterations, but it might be an advantage if the size of the education ho. r:.l districts was more uniform. In the opinion of Mr Kennedy, the representation might have been made i great deal better than it was, and Provincial Conferences could have been held. There were no two men in Taranaki who could represent all the v bodies, which were interested in the Bill. Education finance should not he driven into localities, hut,silo.,del he for the Dominion as a whole. Taranaki could not support its cducaton as a province. Motion Carried. The Board then carried the folic ving motion;—“That this Board 'views with manifest disfavour the proposals outlined in the proposed Local Government Bill, especially in so far ;.s tile abolition of education boards is concerned, and deems it more-.g-liiiaole that tiie boards should have more extended powers granted to them, v. an an assured system of income. Nelson Board’s Vbsks. In a letter to the Board the Secretary of the Nelson Education Board suggested that a conference of representatives of education boards I, should he held in Wellington during me month of June, to consider! what representations should be made to ue Government on this important •matter, if a majority of the boards were favourable to holding the confercnc'e, the Nelson Board would be pleased to make the necessary arrangements, and suggested that the proposed conference should be held a week or two before the meeting of Parliament. The suggestion led to some diversity of opinion. Jn tiie opinion of the chairman, it would be advisable to wait and see what the result of the conference of local bodies at Wellington was. in his opinion, the political situation was at present in such an unsettled'state that the Government could not put the Bill through the House. In falling in will the chairman’s suggestion, Mr Masters said that probably when the Bill came out of the nanus ■of the conference at Wellington, it would be unrecognisable. Messrs Kennedy, Adlarn, and Morton favoured the conference, being held. Finally the Board decided that it was agreeable that this course should ho adopted. The meeting delegated Mr A. Morton to represent it at the conference Vo he held at New Plymouth on Tuesday.—“ News.”