Election of Sohool Committee.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2824, 4 March 1878, Page 2

Election of Sohool Committee.

WAIOTAHI SCHOOL DISTRICT.

A meeting of the householders of the Waiotahi School District, for the purpose of electing of committee, etc., was held •t the Thames School this afternoon. There were about 50 present, and on the motion of Mr Daries, Mr H. C. Lawlor was roted to the chair.

The Chairman read aome extracts from the Education Act re those qualified to rotw, manner of voting, etc. Mr Davies, Chairman of the outgoing committee, r«ad the annual report as follows :—

Your Committee regret in making their report that the Waiotahi School District —which, until lately, was the largest on the Thames—has received from the Board of Education rery little encouragement during the last year. The Thames School building, which is acknowledged to be the most miserable in New Zealand, still continues in the swamp, and has to do duty for the accommodation of over 250 children, irrespective of its dangerous state and unhealthy site.

Your Committee cannot blame themselves for this state of things, as both written and personal applications without number hare been made to the Board for a new school. During the early part of the jear an endeavor was made to purchase the Grahamstown Wesleyan Chapel for a school, but it took the Board nearly nine months to ascertain whether the title was good or not, and when eventually it was decided not to purchase it, we found the money which had been set apart for that purpose had in the meantime been spent somewhere else. The Board (being now in funds a^ain) has lately been urgently requested by the Committee to purchase the most central and available piece of ground in Graliamstown for a school site, and if the report we saw a few days ago in the newspapers is correct, it seems something is being done in that direction, and we trust the incoming Committee will not rest until this object is obtained and school buildings erected thereon adequate to the requirements of the district.

The Waiotahi Creek School has had the promise of the Board for the last three years that it should be enlarged, so as to accommodate the children who attend it, bat this, like the Thames School site, remains as yet a dead letter, although the Committee hare used erery endearor to hare the promise fulfilled. ", Haring now stated -our complaints agaiust the Board, we wish to give them full credit for baring carried out the recommendations of this Committee of building a large, commodious and splendid school for the Shellback and Tararu districts, in spite of the opposition made against it. We congratulate the inhabitants on baring obtained a.building of which they may be justly proud, and trust that local

jealousy may never interfere to hinder its usefulness.

We hare to report that a petition was forwarded last session to tue General Assembly praying for the establishment of a High School for the Thames, which petition was recommended by the Board of Education, and favourably received and reported upon in the House of Bepresentaiives. We would strongly impress on : the new Committee the urgent necessity I that exists tor this school, and trust they , will use every endeavour to obtain it. j We have much pleasure in reporting j the satisfactory working of the schools in : our district, and wish to bear testimony ! to the untiring zeal, as well as the skill of, the teachers, and to this we ascribe the . fact of the schools maintaining the same number of pupils on the rolls, notwithstanding the two new schools built < in the adjoining districts; the Thames School having last quarter — 268 on the roll, 207 daily average attendance; Waiotrhi Creek School ditta— 170 on the roll, 128 daily average attendance ; Funga Flat ditto—2l on the roll, J5 daily average attendance; Eureka ditto—33 on the roll, 21 daily average attendance.

The new Act passed last year ii of such a nature tbat few persons, we think, will care to work under it, as it deprives completely the Committee of all powers or authorities, merely making them the workers of the Board. One of the best features in it, according to our opinion, is the compulsory clauses—nothwithstanding the sickly sentimentality we hare heard urged to Iho contrary. We believe that when tho State provides education free, parents and guardians should not be allowed to let the children under their control grow up in worse than ignorance and become loafers in the atreela, and pests to society. The Act provides sufficient of exemptions . to guard against oppression. 'The election clausea contained in the new Act can only be looked upon as a sop to centres of population, the out • districts having no chance of being represented on the Board, Had it been intended to give them a fare share in the representation, districts should hare been formed, and each of such allowed to elect one or more representatives according to copula*'on, wbetrer residents or non-residents. We also think such elections should be by the householders of districts and not by Committees, who in some instance? are apt to consider friendship of more importance than worth.

Finally, we trust that the new Board although it undoubtedly will be composed of old members, will see fit to do full justice to this part of the Thames, and that the new CommiUee will persevere, not heeding rebuff, or even failure for a time, until they obtain for the Waiotahi District that justice which it is in fairness entitled to.

W. Daviks, Chairman, , = Waiotahi School District. Mr Rowe moved the adoption of the report. He said he concurred with almost erery word of the report. Not only the out-going committee, but other committees, had contended for a good school for the WaioUhi district, and now It appeared that the first step—the voting of £500 for the purchase of a site—had been taken. He was glad to hear that the schools had been carried on successfully, and''that the teachers had so well co-operated with the Committee. Under the present Act the: out-districts did not hare a'good chance of being represented on the Board. He was an enemy to centralism. He thought that the objection to the roting for District School Committees under the present system was without foundation. The Act in that respect was good. He had much pleasure in moring the adoption of the report, and moreover, a rote of thanks to the out* going committee. This was seconded by Mr McCullough and carried unanimously. The election of the committee was pro. ceeded with. Mr MeGowan moved, and Mr Robinson seconded, that the poll be kept open till 6 o'clock. '. Mr McCullough was then elected secretary, and Messrs MeGowan and It. N. Smith scrutineers.

The following gentlemen were then pro posed:—Messrs W. Daries, T. L. Comes, James Patterson, Hugh Mellhone, H. C. Lawlqr, W. McCullough, J. McGowan, James M. Mennie, W. Ferguson, G. Drnby, T. W. Gudgeon, G. Small, Thos. Bawdon, W. Fricker, A. N. Smith, G. Symington, and S. Stephenson. The election was then proceeded with.