THE LITTLE SCHOOL GAME.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2020, 19 June 1885, Page 2

THE LITTLE SCHOOL GAME.

(To the Editor,) Sir,—lt will be seon from my two previous letters that the Education Board departed from its usual oustom so far as the appointment of Miss Keeling and Miss Jupp were concerned, and .(Jid not refer the list of applications to our School Committee for its recommendation; ' The reason for the Board adopting this extraordinary cnurse has been made sufficiently obvious, There can be 110 doubt that the Board by its action has frustrated the machiavelism of certain members of our local Committee, and protected the interests of householders in Masterton. Indeed, it is just an instance of the advantage of having an independent body sufficiently powerful to protect householders when the controlling members qf a local committee prove themselves unworthy of the confidence" Svhich the householders have reposed in them. It is now my painful task to explain the motives which have induced our School Committee to force a quarrel with the Education Board, and in doing so, I must remind your readers that Mr Hogg is really the Committee at present.' We certainly, returned Messrs Reese, Girdwood, and Woodroofe to work with him; :hut jt was thoroughly, understood that these gentlemen were mere mechanical voting machines to record Mr Hogg's wishes, and I must give them credit for having loyally accepted that position and acted up to it. I. will thorefore dispose of what I may term Mr Hogg's tail, by merely saying that we did not at that time know that Mr Reese had an axe to grind. Now, Sir, Mr Hogg hails from Otago, and, in his journalistic it suited him to tpke the side of looa| committees against the Education Board,, He is thoroughly- cut fait with, arguments in fayo* of the, abolition of central Boards, and it is a somewhat coptracted but popular) cry, that local committers should control the Education Board, instead of the latter controlling the committees. There cannot be any doillit, therefore, that Mr Hogg will gain, considerable kudos, from his O.tago, friends if he suqoeeds in establishing a dead-lock between the Masterton School Committee and the central Board. That this is what he is aiming at there oannot be a shadow of a.doubt, because the Education Board, acting with that dignity that so well becomes a superior body, has, up to the present, granted every reasonable request and ignored tlxo somewhat churlish tone adopted by our Committee towards it, and it is to bo hoped that the recent resolution passed by our Committee rescinding the confirmation of Jupp's appointment, will be treated by, the Board with the'silent contempt which it so, deservedly merits. As the Board pays all teachers' salaries it can do so without inconvenienco. It must be remembered that hitherto Masterton has received more than a fair share of the funds at the disposal of the Board,, The Committee, the teaching staff, arid the Board have acted as ono mnn tQ advance our Jschqol and mako it what it is, viz., tl\q premier, school in the, Wellinpton. district. Even now, tlie Board it doing its- best to comply with the wishes of the Masterton householders and the request of the local Committee, and is endeavoring to got, ft side-school opened without delay, but as the local Committee (Mr Hogg) has declined to give that assistance which the Board has a right to expect, the completion of neoeaaary details Is somewhat retarded, The question for householders to consider now is this: Is it worth while demoralizing our school by quarrelling with the Education Board, juat to pleaae Mr Hogg? All our Committees have hitherto worked amicably with the Board, and the Board has strained many points to meet our, wishes; that we have been "(he. ourlyheaded boy" there can be no doubt. The examination results prove that the appointments of the public school and teaching staff is second to none in the Provincial District, and. so far as the present system of free state education is a success, our local school is one of the most brilliant successes of the colqny; Why then should we reverse all this, and quarrel with our best friend, who has done no much for. us in the past, disorganize the school, and injure our children simply to please Mr Hogg, who, I am convinced, cares at much for the school, as the members of the Education Board care about him ? That we have made a mistake in our selection of the present School Committee there can be no doubt, because we could have put men in who would have had our side school opened long ago, and still have worked amicably with the teaching staff and the Education Board, However, experience teaches, lam, &c., Parent, j