BLUE SPUR. ANNUAL SCHOOL MEETING.

Tuapeka Times, Volume II, Issue 101, 15 January 1870, Page 5

BLUE SPUR. ANNUAL SCHOOL MEETING.

(From a Cor respondent. ) The annual public meeting of this educational district was held in the Schoolhouse, on Tuesday last. Mr. M. E. Manual occupied the chair. The meeting was rather scantily attended, only about 15 being present at the opening. The teacher read his annual report, shewing that about 50 children were on the list, and also giving an account of the progress of the school during the last 12 months. Mr. Lange moved the adoption of the report, and dwelt for some time on the duties of parents, who, when they choose a man to instruct their young ones, and consider him capable and worthy of the duties of preparing them for good citizens of the world, ought to consider him as occupying their place while they are in his charge, and so strengthen his hands in such a manner as to make his task both easy and successful. The annual report and financial statement of the outgoing committee was then read by the secretary, Mr. A. B. Matthews, shewing a balance of the magnificient sum of £9 on the right side of the ledger, after which, the old committee resigned their function, and a vote of thanks was passed to them for their conduct during the past year. The chairman (out of order, of course) moved that for the future a fixed salary of say £5 be attached to the secretary's office. To this Mr. Lange strongly objected. It reflected great discredit on the district to pay away money for such a purpose, when there were so many parents well able to perform such trivial duties. While he should not object to see the retiring secretary, who had, for the last three years, so faithfully and ably performed those duties, receive a substantial recognition for past services, he would himself volunteer to perform the duties of secretary for the next twelve months to come gratis. Mr. Matthews hereupon not only declined any remuneration, but, in his usual gentlemanly spirit, claimed the privilege of still remaining secretary. The election of a new committee was then announced. Mr, T. F. Morris : I beg to move an

adjournment of this meeting, owing to the miserable lot of men that are here. A Voice : I trust you don't include me, Morris.— (Laughter. ) Mr. Morris : I don't mean to say that the men that are here are miserable, but it is such a miserable lot. — (Great laughter — Mr. Morris evidently alluded to the small number.) Before proceeding to the election of a new committee, the secretary intimated that it had been customary with them to elect paterfamilias only for this important body, but this was ultimately overruled, owing to the fact that some of the old committee had evidently not sufficiently appreciated their honourable position, as they had only attended one meeting during the past year. Mr. Matthews then proposed Mr. E. Varcoe, as there were strong reasons to believe that that gentleman was a candidate for the matrimonial state. Mr. Lange, for the same reasons, begged to propose Mr. Robert Grieve, but that gentleman declined on the ground that he had not met with sufficient encouragement to share the honours with his last named friend — a remark which I consider ought to draw forth the sympathy of the unmarried ladies. The following gentlemen were then duly elected a committee : — Messrs. Lange, Cormack, King, Manuel, Matthews, Clarke, Varcoe, Morris, and Roughan. The Chairman was evidently ill pleased at seeing such a scanty attendance, when he made the remark that had it been a threepenny nobbier meeting the house would have been crammed. Mr. Carey observed that such would be no inducement to him, as he was a teetotaller ; in other words, I may say that about 12 months ago that gentleman left off worshipping at the shrine of Bacchus. With the usual vote of thanks to the chair, the meeting closed.