MASTERTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 1888, 14 January 1885, Page 2

MASTERTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE.

SPECIAL MEETING.

A sfECjAii meeting of the abovo Com'.niittee wqs : held last evemng-.to consider a communication from the Education Bofird.. .Present. —Messrs Bod dington (chairman), Low.es/Galloway, Johnston, ..Woodroofe jand.Piiytbn." ' ' •"

l-Thechairniain read the -letter from the Board, which referred to the'-. Committee: for' their report,. a letter from G.V.W.. W.oo'droofe covering tlie following petition:—' ■-'■■■• •

■To the ClimnmqndMmkrs of the-Wel-;'lington;Education Board.

, GENTiE-ME'if;r-;We;.. i . the. ...Undersigned householders of Masterton, finding .that. .your B Qaul.has bee n.. asked, to make tions to the present public school, would respectfully,submit for your consideration -the necessity'. for. establishing a second--scliool in a central of the B orough'for .the. following /reasons.: .1.. The presentschool, at .Kuripu'ni'is veriient to a greaf-ma'ny families residing' in .the more" densely populated .parts of the town and borough- 2-, - Owing-to tho great distance' •of- th'e school' from the "northern part of the town, arid- the traffic - 011.-thevillain : .-streets.' between .the town and school;-' yp.u'ng-children of school age are unable toattend without imperilling-their lives or occasioning mucli .anxiety to parentsi•3; A/second school- woultt,-' relieve'- the; classes in the .present, sclipoli and. bfpro.viding for the education of the children in. ■the,junior standards,'render ■ the conteinplated 'addition;U'nne'cessary. 4;lt would als'6' tend: - to-' remove'.- the ■ complaints of parents whose children are unable to reach their homes during-the play hour or midday : interval-, ; and : who 'are ■ so : 'di&satisfiM ..witolic lax Supervision- and' tlie vicious language- and-' habifa' their 'children are learning, th£it they threaten ,to remove them the-school altogether and tp" brave' the; penalties .of the compiilsory clauses of the Act. . 5. The growth of the 'population in the Borough has rendered' the establishment of a second school absolutely imperative, if an efficient system of education is to be maintained.; We would point out to your Board that there are • Trust lands in Masterton which-havebeen bequeathed for educational purposes, and that a suitable and convenient-site can be obtained without inc.urring expense." We trust therefore that your Board will see-fit-to comply with our petition by takingsteps to establish a second school in'Masterton.—Robert Wyeth, G. W. Woodroofe (member of Masterton - Bchool committee), A. W. Hogg (journalist), E,'; Braggins, T. Braggins, R. Jacques, A. P. , Fielding, J. Williams, Chas. Dixon, George Duncan, junior, George .Grtfschowj'Paul Haflka, George 'Green, J, W, Leahy, W. Bell, D.-Smyth Papworth, Maria Stelin,' H. Bentley, F. W. Parker; C, McKillop, James Day, Amy Elgie, S, Maguire, Arthur E, Spooner, George Beer, William Dixon, William' Cullen, M, A, Clayson,. W. S. Langley, Walter Morisoii/H.■Peterson, R. ; CockbuHyS. Kingdon, George Haskell, John Smith, G. M.i Park, W. Duncan, G, Russell, J. Fawcett (printer), E. Kibblewhite, F. Holloway, G. Watson, John F. Ward, James Check, Henry Pearson, Percy C, Frasi, 0. Broadbent, James Ewington, Alexander Yule, John Anderson, George Smith, James Harris, A. Komstedt, M.' • Hoar, W, Gillespie, Alex, Reese (contractor); William Betty, John Greaves, W. Rapp, Joseph J. Smith, MrsS. Hounslow. 'Mr Pay ton'said ho had drafted a-report which might meet the views cf the Committee. Ho would be happy to modify it if it did not. He censured Mr Woodroofe for working secretly against a Committee of which he was a member. If a second School were obtainable, there might have been some ground: for this action but to injure the existing School without the remotest chance of securing a side school was a most mischievous prooeedure, He moved that the Mowing reply be adopted as the report of the Committee.

The Masterton School Committee beg to. report upon the petition as follows The letter in which it is' enclosed and which purports to" be signed' by G. W. Woodroofe, is written by Sir A, W. Hogg, who has signed Mr Woodroofe's name thereto, The petition is signed by parents and non-parents, also by. residents in the immediate neighbourhood of the existing school, who cannot, possibly desire a second school at a greater distance from their houses. The signatures are the result of a private canvass, and probably ten times a? many could be obtained in favor of proceeding wjth the additions to the present building. The promoters! qf tho petition laid the question before the householders at the annual meeting last year, and were largely outvoted. The Ooraufitteo are confident that on this question they represent (ilje wishes of the public, Oneoftheirnumboronly,MrWoodroofe, is in favor of the petition, and this member was elected by a Bmallor numbor of. householders than any- other candidates, and has distinguished himself during the past year, by bringing forward', a number of ridiculous 'resolutions; of. wHich-. the following, is 'a-sample • ! ' 'That in-the'opinion of this Committee it' is" inexpedient, to continue the practice of-military drill in the publio school, ' inagmjjch as military drill exercise is calculated tp divert the ' attention of the young' from pursuits ; of knowledge into dangerous and pernicious channels: inculcating an undesirable fondness for murderous and deadly weapons'; developing a combative if not a ferocious disposition ; and promoting savage if not cannibal habits, instead of cultivating the arts of pflape,', The dangep attendaht'on young children passing to and fro to school described in the petition are purely imaginary. In the main street there is a safe footpath to the School and there is an alternative route in tho shape of a back street, a chain wide with good footpaths running parallel with the main street, along which there is very littlo traffic, The numerous complaints referred to have not reached the cars of the Committee who would remind the Board tjjat'jt Ifr who promoted the petition against building the present School In 1881, . .Mr R. M. Galloway regretted that they had to meet over such an affair, He did not know beforo that such a petition had been hawked about. He observed that many persons signed it who had no child*ran.attending the school, Be seconded the motion of Mr Payton, Mr Johnston agreed with the resolution in the main, though not with every word of it, He did not look upon the names to the petition as being a represent tative body. Some of them were not interested in the school. If he thought public opinion was in favor of a sideschool lie (jljould consider it his duty to support it whatever lug private opinion might be, but lie did not believe that the publio were in favor of a side school. The time for one had not yet arrived, When lie saw on the petition the names of men. living close against the present-school who only sent their children to be educated under legal compulsion, he could n6t attach much weight to their signatures, He failed to see that there Vas any danger in children passing to and fro to ■sGhool. In .-his opinion there .was less risk in the main street than in narrower thoroughfares that led to it. • .'Mr Woodroofe hoped that the discussion would be carried -, out in a' spirit of good will, and-with.forethought and discretion. Last year when he' was ' reaping his'wheat Mr Johnson spoke to hijn.in ;fa.vor ofa second school- " 'Mr Johnston: I never did so in mj life. .. Mr Woodroofe cpuld take his solemn-

oath that Mr Johnston said so, Formerly the Kuripuni people petitioned the Board for a school at their end of the town and now the people in the north of Mastorton were in thp same position. He complained that Mr Pay ton's ideas on the .question _of He'Jjeliey&J that. the. teachers of the present school; •{raw doing their best SuftfcMfetoanylittle children ■' would not. be able to attend school in V winter months., through. : bad '■weather; and/would grow-up consequently. &. a'state, of''appalling -ignorance.' He' believed-'that -from 200 to 300 names, .mighthave been got to the.petition. Mr I Pajtonidiinoti.repreafint- the feeling .of tlie people.' With a Bide sclMlpidemic3would be lessened by one half,'.' He' «lajmedjhat the people were-in, favor of a' "side School by" tyfelve t<y : 6ne". ~ Complaints were, made' of. bad language used on'the load-toschaoK .- He.-iid,not..gare "if- hia knewthevwereinthe'WTOng. HeHapedthey would pause before passing such'an" ;a93ilmp{iou3 resolution. (V lt would be "better for another' Committee-to instead of one going out'of oMee.'" Evejy "Signature on the petition, bame from .householder, • Mr Johnston: Ideay'Str. . .•-.^,-Wot^rpofe': - ojS®-](iiie one that is not a householder.

Mr Johnston-: . Walter'.Morlson is not a 'householder''. : - •. "Mr. oo e- ieplied'::thftt; Jiia ~ name was' "on'' the .ele'qto.ral'..'M''and .that' was §^cieni..' ; .3 e '.<Mi e 4" tl^> ® , ®^ n con " clusion'to discharge Jheitf. duties honestly to God and to tlieir coiin't'iy and cautioned them- thatras--they were dealing with , the public they were treading on dangerous gr0und.......... ' •'•Mi' -W;' Lowes-wliile-sympathising with the earnestness,Mr-Woodroofe displayed,-, regretted- - that thisl./member should,.while deprecating intemperate langyag? oil' the'--paii'i" : of mothers, address them hiTnself in objectionable terms. Mr Woodi-oofe.- pleaded for delay because the. Committee was moribund, but did lie think of this when he got up the petition ? Did he . ask them to let his petition go before the Board without anything from theni in' contravention of it; He,- (the speaker,) could not but regard the movement, on the whole, as an attack on ...the utility and . efficiency of- theirschb'cilf' a-ischooi wliich'liad risen to'and still Mci a proud position. The present ; rhpyemdntj' if carried out, would, lie felt certain, be detrimental to ; the interests of the School, and thorefore he must oppose 'it. If by'opening a side School the attendances at the existing school wore curtailed its teaching staff would also have to be reduced, and- this-'would-be injurious, Whatever might be requisite in the future there was no argument a4vance4 in favor of an immediate change, He expressed the surprise with which, on the previous day, he heard for the first time of the existence of the petition. It seemed to be something which' its promoters we're afraid to', bring openly uni}er the notice of the public, arid so it was carried round in an underhand manner. . He hoped they \yai)ld excuse hiiri for using , strong language bvit like Woodrqofe he felt strongly on the question. .He must say that there was no reason for the action taken awl the promoters of it had no reason to be'proud of what they had done. With reference to the complaint about bad language being used in the street, would the children'use better language in the north end of the town than in the -south?- (Mr Woodroofe. Yes!) He contended in conclusion, that one : half of the persons who signed the petition were not directly interested, in-the .School. Some were Catholics, some were nonparents, some had no children of school ages, and some lived' on the immediate

neighbourhood of- the School. He could .not therefore aooept t]»e list of names as a representative one, He agreed \yith the spirit of Mr Payton's resolution' thbijgh •had he drafted it he might have omitted some sentences.

Mr Woodroofe: Mr Lowes said something about 'a stab in the dark.' Mi'Lowes: I only quoted an expression which you made l)'se qf. in your speech, Mr Woodroofe maintained (in spite of a call to oi;der from the Chairman) that he. had been true to his colors'and that aside school had been one qf his two cardinal points at the lpjsehqlders meeting, 'But for Mr McCardle they would Have had two schools in Masterton long ago. Mr Woodroofe moved as an amendment that their reply be deferred till after, the election of the next committee.

Mr Lowes seconded the motion pro forma in order to express his opinion that tho whole success of •their establishment in Mastertqn woald' be indefinitely delayed if the Board attached weight to tho petition; Mr Woodroofe again rose to state that the School had..ueyoi; oyer-pr.owde(j, and as the additions would probably be built out of borrowed money they -should be disallowed, . The amendment, was thou pi|t r Aye? 1, noes's, and the resolution was carried .by! five'votes to ono,