TEMUKA SCHOOL COMMITTEE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 9420, 22 June 1882, Page 2

TEMUKA SCHOOL COMMITTEE.

The usual monthly meeting of the above Committee was held last Tuesday night in the sehooiroom. PRESENT. Messrs Mackay (Chairman), Mendelson, Brown, Davis, Bolton, and Russell. MINUTES. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. MR JOB BROWN'S POSITION. Mr Davis objected to Mr Brown taking any part in the proceedings. He was not recognised as a member ''by any legalised i authority" and he protested against him sitting as a member. ; The Chairman-: I have no resolution i before me,and therefore you cannot speak , unless.you move a resolution, Mr Davis : I move—" That Mr: Brown has no legal standing on this Committee, and cannot take any part in it." ; The Chairman : You must get it 1 seconded) 1 Mr Bolton : I'll second it. The Chairman : I decline to put it. Mr Bolton protested against the arbitrary way in which the Chairman conducted the business of the Committee. He was doing things as he liked himself. , He put many things in the minutes which should not be put in them,and kept things out which ought to be putin. The minutes should be a fair record of the proceedings of the meeting, but they were not,, The Chairman : You must speak to tbe resolution, Mr Bolton. , , Mr Bolton : I want to know the reason why you will not put the resolution. The Chairman : I decline to give you my reason, • Mr Davis (excitedly) : I beg to protest against your conduct. I will not allow you to be throttling me as you "are. I will not allow you to put your foot en my neck. The Chairman : You have spoken before, Mr Davis. I cannot allow you to speak more than once. Mr Bolton: He has as good a right to speak as anyone else. Mr Davis : I want to know why you won't put any resolution that "me and Mr Bolton" proposes. The Chairman : 1 have already declined to give my reasons.. Mr Bolton : Are we to take it that you will do whatever you like 1 The Chairman : Yoa can take whatever you like, ATTENDANCE. The head teacher's report was read. It stated that the number on the roll was 177 boys and 165 girls ; total 342; the working average was 112.2 boys, 88.8 girls; total 201. Strict average, 102 boys, 76.5 girls; total 179.25 ; highest attendance, 121 boys, 96 girls, total 217. ACCOUNTS. On the motion of Mr Mendelson the accounts of Mr Batterby and Mr P.W. Hutton were passed for payment, subject to the latter account being corrected. CORRESPONDENCE. The Chairman then read a mass of correspondence, including one in which* Mr Wood, the present head master, was recommended as one of the best teachers in Otago, and would have been promoted shortly if he had remained in that district. Another letter was

read in which the Secretary to the Board of Education said he had not received a single application for the position of third master at £7O, and asked the Committee whether they had any suggestion to tnako before the position was again advertised. Mr Mendelson moved"—" That in the interest of the school, and in consequence of inability to obtain a third teacher, the Committee, after mature consideration, respectfully suggest to the Board the desirability of advertising for a second teacher (male) for the school. 1 ' It was plain that another male teacher was ..wanted in the school, as in the event of anything happening to the head teacher, , the management of the school fell on the shoulders of a female teacher. Mr Davis quite agreed with Mr Men- " delson that a second male teacher was required, and saconded the resolution. Mr Bolton : What will you do with Mrs Eowe? - Mr Mendelson : Her appointment was V only temporary. The resolution was then put, and • unanimously. A letter was read from Mr Wood pointing out that maps were wanted, and suggesting that not more than one week's midwinter holidays should be given. ~ On the motion of Mr Brown, seconded by Mr Russell, the Chairman was authorised to write to the Board of Education requesting it to furnish the maps asked for by the master. THE STORM IN THE TEAPOT. Mj Bolton wanted to know whether 'they were in the habit of holding caucus meetings at which neither he nor Mr Davis wera present. It appeared to him they were, as they seemed to have everything cut and dry. They had', the resolutions written beforehand and appeared to have movers and seconders ready for them. The Chairman would not hear Mr Bolton, unless he had a resolution to pi opose. Mr Bolton would take his stand as a member of the Committee, and had a 3 1 good a right as any other member, The Chairman : You must move a resolution, Mr Bolton, if you want to speak. Mr Bolton : Then I willMr Davis (addressing the Chairman) : appears to sting yc.u pretty smart when .you ara afraid or it. I say there was > private meetings held, and there was no right to hold them I say ; tis a shame. ; -The Chairman : We must proceed with the business. There is no resolution before the Committee. HOLIDAYS. Mr Kussell moved —*' That a week's midwinter holiday be granted, commencing at the close of the school on the 24th inst. Mr Brown seconded the motion, and it was agreed to. COMPULSORY EDUCATION. The Chairman said they ought to pass a resolution bringing the compulsoiy clauses of the Education Act into force. THE STORM IN THE TEAPOT BOILING OVER, ;■; Mr Bolton said he had now a resolution to propose. He would move — •* That no business be Iransacted except at a meeting to which all the members of the Committee had been invited." It was wrong and illsgal for five members of the Committee to meet, and give no intimation to either himself or Mr Davis. The Chairman : You must find a seconder, Mr Bolton. Mr Davis : I second it. The Chairman : Then I will not put

• _. Mr Bolton: I don't care whether you will or not, I'll speak as long as I like. It is very wrong for five of you—l suppose I will count Mr Brown a member—to hold caucus meetings and settle everything without letting myself or Mr Davis . know anything about it. lb will tend to create illfeeling, end if it tends to the good of the school it is peculiar to me. Mr Mendelson told me you did hold caucus meetings, and that you would continue to hold them. He gave for a reason that Government held caucus meetings, and why not the School Committee. Mr Mendelson rose to a point of order. • ; ' Mr Davis wanted to know what right Mr Mendelson had to interrupt Mr Bolton , while he was speaking. He protested against Mr Mendelson, and it was the duty to keep him in order. ; Here great confusion arose, almost all the members trying to get in a word edgeways; but no one succeeding in obtaining anything like a hearing, till the noise of their mingled utterances con - pletely drowned the music of Mr Edmonds' Glee Club, which was practicing in an adjacent room of the building. Mr Mendelson was the first to convey to - the aural appendages of our reporter .articulate sounds distinguishable from the general din. ' The point of order on which he rose was to point out to Mr Bolton ■that no business had been transacted at any private meeting, and they were there \ that night to consider anything that came before the Committee.' He was able to run on, in a ' snatchy' sort of way, this far, and then sank into his chair, bursting his sides with laughter. Mr Bolton continued (after all the others had subsided) to animadvert on the wrongs to which Mr Davis and himself were subjected. Mr Brown had told him that on the occasion of appointing a L teacher they held a caucus meeting and

selected the teacher. Their subsequent appointment of him was a mere matter of form. Mr Brown told him that none of the applications were read. He would like to know how they arrived at the conclusion they did. He thought this would not occur again, but he now saw they had every tiling ' cut and dry' at this meeting. Mr Davis and himself were two small men Mr Mendelson : Oh ! but you're plucky. The Chairman said he would leave the chair. Mr Bolton said he would put Mr Davis in the chair. He felt very sore on the point of meetings having been held to which neither Mr Davis nor himself were invited.: In fact, he felt as sore as if struck by a stick. (Great laughter.) Mr Mendelson : It was a hard pillow, maybe. Mr Bolton continued to refer to the fact that members ca,me to that meeting with resolutions written, and there was a statement before the Chairman of what occurred at the caucus meeting. The Chairman said he would show that the resolutions on the paper referred to by Mr Boltou had been carried at the meet" ing they were then attending. Mr Bolton (seizing hold of the paper referred to) asked the Chairman how he had been able to write all the resolutions on that paper before he came to the meeting. Was he gifted <vith the gift of prophecy 1 was ho a spiritualist ? or what was it that he knew 1 (Great laughter.) To hold these meetings was calculated to create illfeeling. Mr Kussell denied there was any illfeeling. The Committee were never in a better temper in their lives. They were all enjoying themselves heartily. He would suggest that a straight jacket; be got for Mr Bolton.

Mr Bolton then turned to the Education Act and commenced to read it, clause after clause, maintaining that he was speaking to the resolution. The laughter and amusement thus created continued for about a quarter of an hour, till, find ing that Mr Bolton was inexhaustible and determined to speak on, Mr Mendelson moved the adjournment of the meeting, Mr Bolton moved that Mr D.ivis take the chair, but as there was no seconder the motion fell through. Mr Bolton turned aside to expatiate upon a clause of the Education Act which says that no business should be transacted except at a meeting to which all the members had been summoned, and while his face was turned away Mr Mackay seized the Education Act and packed it up with the minute book and other papers belonging to the Committee. Mr Bolton was thus thrown on his own resources, and he turned on Mr Brown, to whom he said that he ought to be ashamed of himself to be there at all. He was at the fag end of the election, and now he came up to do the dirty work of other people. Mr Brown supposed it was Mr Harrop's dirty work he came to do. Mr Bolton and others continued the discussion till the lights were put out, then while coming out the passage of the school, up the street by 'th« police station speaking all the time incoherently and loud, till the committee separated at Brown's corner. The last audible utterances heard was Mr Bolton expressing admiration for the prophetic capabilities of the Chairman.