TEACHERS' INSTITUTE.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 August 1915, Page 3

TEACHERS' INSTITUTE.

THE AXX UAL .MEETING. The annual meeting' of the Taranaki Teachers' Institute was lield at Xew Plymouth on Saturday. Mr. 11. A. Stratford presided over .a good attendance. AXXUAL REPORT. The annual report stated that on July 1, 11)14, there were 15t> members. During the year 14 members left and l(i new members were elected, making the present membership l.~>B. There are nearly ISO teachers who have not availed themselves of the privileges of membership. Five meetings were" held during the year, three at Xew Plymouth and two at Stratford, all of whieli were fair-' ly well attended. The leading feature' of the year was the passing of the Edu-j cation Aet, which made a distinct advance in education, the chief improvements being the Council of Education, tile enlarging of education districts, the centralisation of the inspectorate, and a considerable increase in salaries. The executive considered the question of revising the geography and composition schemes, but decided that, in view of the unsettled state of affairs regarding the boundaries of districts, it would I be better to leave the matter over for | the present. A scheme of sewing had been drawn up by the -Women Teachers' Association and approved by the inspee. tors, and would be sent to members in a few days. Taranaki, in common with all other parts of the country, had responded nobly to the call of the Empire, the following teachers having offered their services:— ii . F. Bertram!, J. L, Pennington, 11. J. Pennington, 11. ,1. Mackie, L. Buckler, ■I, Cresswell, 11. J. Thompson, J. CuthUert, T. 11. Sissons, and J. Partridge; ' and there were others who had forwarded their names earl ,- in the war. The sum of :Cr>7 8s had been rai.-cd by members to help the patriotic funds, and since then teachers had been giving liberally to similar funds in their own localities.

The report referred to the annual conference, and sympathetic reference was made to the death of Mr. Arthur Thomas, one of the most promising teachers.

The year was begun with a credit bal-l ance of £S :is lOd, and closed with one; of £l2 4s fid. Only six subscriptions] were unpaid at the end of the year.| Owing to the increased salaries the fin- - ances should soon be in a still better, position. All those whose salaries had I been raised to £2OO would now pay 10s a year, while those below £2OO would j all pay 7s, the os subscription having disappeared through the raising of the' minimum salary. The report was adopted. | XEW MEMBERS. The following new members were elected:—Misses A. Brown, E. Arthur, M. Fleming, if. I [odder, A. Cocker, A.J H. Anthony, T. Anthony, E. Cameron, 1 Andrews, Kirton, Mr. J. Johnston. The e bring the membership to llil. ADDRESS OX EDI'O'ATIoX. An address, entitled "Ideals of National Education," was given by the Rev. A. P>. Chappell. The speaker dealt with his subject in a most interesting manner, and at the conclusion iv was accorded a hearty vote of thaiiKs. OFFICERS. The following officers were elected: ( President, Mrs. Dowling; vice-presidents, Messrs 11. A. Stratford and O. 11. Pope; secretary, Mr. Mellroy.; executive committee, Miss McCarthy and Messrs Mey.enbci'g, Mail, Wagstaffe, and Sims: auditor, .Mr. E. Bary. GENERAL.

The chairman congratulated Mr. Me-i llrov on his election to the executive of tile New Zealand Educational liwti-j tute, and his remarks wen' received withi "tz- Mellroy and l'opo presented a j report of tlw annual conference of tiiel Mew Zealand Educational Institute, to j which they were delegates. A vote of j thanks was accorded the delegates. |

It was decided to ask the Education Board to hold a refresher camp in physical instruction after the summer vacation. An honorarium of i'."> ."is was voted to .Mr. Mellroy for his service- as «htctarv.