The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 1880.

Temuka Leader, Issue 255, 13 April 1880, Page 2

The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 1880.

Atsy one taking a Christchurch paper up and reading a report of tho meetings of the North Canterbury Board of Education, would, as is usual,.have his attention particularly drawn to tho remarks of the Chairman, and of course set him'down as the principle personage present. In the South Canterbury Board of Education things are quite reversed It is tho Secretary that is tho all important personage. At every turn nf the pro codings we find it is the Secretary that is the guiding star. Mr Ch-tinnah has to. play second fiddle, ■and'the other mem b- r* of the Board have to sit and listen to any mandate time issue from Mr Hamrnoml For some . considerable time it was left for us alo e to make an expo: c u? tiiia individual’s bungling and partisanship. We repeatedly pointed out j the public talk that die Board had to sus- j

tain, and llio unfavorable criticism's tint almostevery eom’idtiee under (ho Board indulged in, through the proceedings of We.drew id l out inn to the

its. Secretary,

neceVsily m a change in tint functionary, and that speedily, :f tin .T>«fiul in- j touted being of any ns<! ■ ■■■ <:>f-ins. ; A knowledge of. the Srcrci'irv Doing in j ■■■ possession oF.oe! fain ■■'■di-rmaae acteu a« n ' stopper ro the n-oulli f onr contern porn y j ; : Shnth Canterbury Times. At'any jirate, I t.waa: care ft A ■ never, to to say that the \

j Board had a fault natural y t ink! g tl-.o Secretary would have a kind word to say in its favor, ami might lot fall some of the crumbs for it to pick up. It seems, however, to have had its patience strung to an unhealthy teUsio —so ranch so that it has j snapped asunder the cord of union that hound t 6'ii .together, and itnowlaunc ms into a torrent •>£ abuse, showing plainly that the motive for its assume! friendship was of a very mercenary nature indeed. It is a sail sight to vno the Fourth Estate so timeserving, audit is a still sadder sight to see brotherly love turned to hate. Our contemporary was not blind to the proceedings of the Board’s Secretary, but it found it convenient to wink at them so long as it thought there was n chance of its being considered in the bestowal of bis gifts, but the action of the Secretary at the Board’s last meeting in quietly putting aside its application for a share of the adI . , , vertisements stirred np the bile of our , friend, and led to its using such names as » we would not feel safe to repeat. We cannot but feel that the way that our conteuii porary was served was a just reward for its t toadyism. If we had felt justified in flat- ■ tenng the Secretary or the Board, we have no doubt we would have got a share i of the ungodly gain, but if The Leader - is not to lie supported unless conditionally on its concealing the unfair proceed ings of public bodies. Then wo say—i Keep your trash ; wc will not be criminal ’ to such questionable patronage. We were 5 quite aware that Hr Hammond had the bestowal of gifts, am! w have got m me than one broad h nt that we were striving with our own bread and butter, but our motto is to speak the (ruth, the whole truth, and not!dug but (be truth, whether wc lose or ; gain by it. No public journal is nor.h its salt i ha t dues not make enemies, and donbiess in telling the truth we have offended ipore than (-nee the Secretary and the Jloard of Education. We have no wish to retract,however. Our only regret is that a number of gentlemen would sc act, and so be led by the nose, as to. cause the public to treat thorn with contempt. The Evening Telegraph, we are please;! to find.has, since it fell into better hands, adopted a rnorem.tuiy course. Only for it the public would never bar. c heard of the quie.f. little doings of the Board, which has just come t light ; In it | and to (captain But tor belongs the thanks | of a grateful public for the exposing of-- I what to say the least is, a very unset,- ..ly piece of business. If tiio Rev. -Mr Barclay did move, a resolution to bring ou {lie examinations sootier than the Boar! de- i

siv'ul, it will b<» hard foe him to got tho public to mOiovo that lie ha.-1 not an • ;I>ject in mew. 11 Ihe surroundings, wo are hounil to -say, are very suspicions. First, the fact that the Key. Mr .Barclay resisted a proposal to have the examinations put off. Sec md, that he himself was his ■ own son's cNaminer. Third, that the young lady, Mias McLean,in all former occasions, was by far the most superior scholar. Fourth, that Mr Bar. lay resists a n roods! ties. to have the examinations gone over again ; or Bunt the enquiry should be by on!Riders. Last, but not least, thata letter of a very suspicions character appears in Uio Darn-din Star, abusing, in a most significant manner, tin- journal that' made the expose. Two of the members of tho Board, we are .bound to say, acted their part, in this basinets vp.y fairly. First, tho Chairman showed by his ready expose of the Secretary's partiality to the Timaru Herald, that lie W..S r.ol dead to all sense of .justice,and again, his proposition to have enquiry gone into by outsiders, shows that he has still a little manliness left. Mr Barker also in this, as in other matters, proves by

his outspoken manner, a determination to have tho matter sifted, and that h,-,-, at leaslwillnotsitand.be. n ude a too! of. We hope he will firmly do what is right regardless <>£ party. IP he does so he

must conic to the conclusion that anv secretary that the Board may sleet, shall he entirely in-!e pen cleat of TVIr Hammond. If Mr Hammond is to be master tire muddle will be continued. Let him be put to his legitimate work outside, and the Board, with an efficient Secretary, ’ would be able-io do the work to the satisfaction of the public. The present Secretary seems to consider himself over the Board, the School Committees, and the pubre. Hr- must he taught that he is the servant of those who pay him.

Another member of the Board to whom we must refer is Mr Wakefield, Wo are

surprised:at our member’s movements. In the first place, ifc •is bad taste for hiip to sit on that Board. He knows that his connection wiih the Timorn Herald compels him to work for !ho interests of that paper As a consequence, ho will have to give way to the wishes of other members, if he is to cany out his purposes, and he knows that the Board is virtually a Timaru Herald staff. But what we must notice is the very suspicious part he played in tho late ovj amination. Although headstrong and i m . ( pnlsive. we thought he'was above, intrigue ' with the small fry, at least, and wo cannot but feel sorry at the. figure ho rut in this matter. Tt>© least that ho could hare done would have been to demand an enquiry by i: ’dependent genriemen ; but instead nf doing that ho fried to prevent an enquiry Well, well, things aro coming to a terrible pj-ss when the members of onr Board of Education gentlemen that are expected to act as . honorably us judges -are suspected or double dealing! What is the |

South Cuiterbucy Bm* I cf Eduauioti

c nuiiig to? How rnifh longer is it to bring the name of our c luc.vibual institutions into disrepute ? How long is this fair portion of New Zealand to endure the infliction, of having to submit all its educational afT.drs to such a bur gling, partyserving clique? It is time t'-o -whole lot wore swept away, and the mallei placed in the Government's hands. When we r» - member too o'ass of gentlemen we. had to deni with when Canterbury had but one Board, well may we exclaim — -i How lias the gold become oim, and the fine gold changed.”