THE CENTRAL BOARD OF EDUCATION.

Westport Times, Volume IV, Issue 742, 26 November 1870, Page 2

THE CENTRAL BOARD OF EDUCATION.

( To the Editor of the West-port Times and Charleston Argus.)

Sir, —In a recent issue of the " Nelson Examiner" a correspondent, under the?w?ra deguerreoi" Anglo-Saxon," evidently smarting under the suspicion that he is the unfortunate victim of some personal injustice by gross misrepresentation at the hands of the " West Coast Politicians," has ventured a long disquisition on the political characteristics of the inhabitants of that peculiar part of the Province of Nelson ; in which enquiry he seeks to prove, witb very bad taste and worse argument, that they perpetrate the " gravest inaccuracies as to matters of fact;" having no conception of the " neutral tints of truth." Under most circumstances I shonld not have taken any notice of such anonymous slander, did I not, without the slightest moral doubt, recognize the author—more from the semi-official tone and literary profusion of his style than from the high-sounding signature attached—and especially because he has chosen to entertain his readers with a commentary upon the following published statement, made by me at a publie meeting, held at Westport, on the 3rd inst, on the occasion of the visit of his Honor the Superintendent:—" That of the £6OOO or £7OOO voted by the Province £550 was the very handsome sum disbursed on the West Coast.*' The report is substantially correct, and the statement w:>s made in order to show the Superintendent, who had claimed large credits in his statement of accounts as expenditure for educational purposes, that very little comparatively had beon expended on the West Coast. How such money had been expended; whether judiciously or not; or by whom, formed no part of the argument, so that, therefore, " the tribute of admiration ' : which " AngloSaxon " paid to my intelligence might just as well have been delayed until we should have understood each other better ; and, more important still, the ingenius and erudite problem proposed by himself:— " Who filled the butcher's shop with large blue flies ?" may continue to receive his serious consideration, and, no doubt, he may yet understand that the above query is as inapplicable as it is " impertinent and unreasonable."

I am afraid I have followed this " Anglo-Saxon " through too many of bis metaphors for yonr space or the patience of your readers, and will, therefore, address myself at once to the accuracies or " inaccuracies as to matters of fact " between us, stripped of all his pedantic tints and hues. "Anglo-Saxon" simply asserts that the sum of £9OO, (instead ef £550 as I stated), out of an annual grant of £6OOO, was expended for educational purposes by the Central Board, on the West Coast this year. The difference between the two sums, even if the larger sum were correct, does not make any great allowance for the operation of " ozone " —does it ? Even from the particulars with which the readers of the " Examiner " are furnished, of expenditure by the Central Board of Education, the following figures only are dedncible:—

Salaries paid teachers at Westport, £200; Cobden, £150; Charleston, Brighton and Addison's Flat, £175 —making, in all, £525 ; exclusive of "extras," for which the Nelson Executive ("both Provincial and Educational) seem to possess a remarkable liking. Those figures appear, at first sight, the sum total of the expenditure on the Coast, but it clearly requires the experience and penetration of "Anglo-Saxon "toknowhowthe balance of the debit £9OO is to be accounted for. The first extra hinted at is that " all the books, maps, &c, are supplied to all the schools gratuitously." Maps, I presume, are necessary school-room furniture, and not an annual item of charge, and I have to inform " AngloSaxon" that the children on tho West Const, at least at Westport, as a rule, pay for thoir own sehool books.

Again, he refers to the cost of repair to the school at Charleston, but witl the usual official particulars only—" i considerable sum"—which may meai either more or less, according to th< fancy of the reader. The chief item o: expense, however, he haa calculatec upon, is one exhibiting very great mis management on the part of the Cen tral Board, and that is the fact of pay ing Mr Fraser, their own salariec schoolmaster, the sum of £75 poi annum for an old building which ii used as school-room at Westport, al though objected to by the local com mittee, and declared by the Inspecto; to be unsuitable. At the same time,b< it remembered, all the most availabh education reserves iu the township an leased at nominal rents and for lonj terms. This is very much to be re gretted, but how much more to b< deplored, is the position of a loca Education Committee which is subjec to the tenancy above referred to, " leave your readers to judge, or to us* a convenient "Anglo-Saxon" argu inont, it " needs no further comment.' Now, in the name of economy anc justice, this £75 for rent should 1101 form a permanent charge against th( West Coast, as the interest on th< capital necessary to erect a school anc residence at Westport would not b< more than £25 per annum. Tlu continuance of this liberal allowance for rent appears the more remarkable in contrast to the policy adopted bi the Central Board about the perioc when the school house and master's residence were destroyed by the sea encroachments.

How was it, as reported, that the local Education Committee at tbat time was practicably non-existent? Simply because disgusted at the treatment they received from the Educational Board at Nelson, one member after another tendered his resignation. The contract for removing the master's dwelling-house, which was entered into two months before the destruction of school property, was repudiated by the Board, and only after considerable delay, and then under threat of prosecution, was the paltry sum of £l2 remitted, accompanied with a note of advice on the matter of unauthorised expenditure, which produced its bitter results when the school property was finally lost. Necessary supplies, which only involved a trifling outlay, formed the subject of frequent correspondence; and when allowed, were bestowed more in the form of charity than given to the branch of a well endowed institution. In one instance, a cheque drawn by the local Committee for unavoidable expense was returned dishonored, which, I am glad to add, for the credit of all concerned, was ultimately paid ; but such an occurrence is significant enough, and this too in a district where the special tax for education was nearly equal to the amount locally expended by the committee. Indeed, to such a state had the credit and good faith of the Central Board been reduced here that, when the debris of the old buildings were thrown up on the beach, draymen refused to remove them without the additional guarantee of private individuals for the amount of their charges. I still fail to see how " AngloSaxon" is going to make up his £9OO. By the bye, I had almost omitted one other item, the annual visit of that really efficient officer, Mr Hodgson, and " let me here pay my passing tribute of admiration " of the watchful and judicious care ever shown by that truly energetic and generally useful Inspector, whose only failings, if they may be so called, are an extreme sensitiveness in all matters affecting the dignity of the Central Board of Education at Nelson, and, as reported by his friends, a too close application to the study of ozouetic chemistry, in its application to West Coast politics to the serious injury of his mental faculties, and the interests of the educational world. But surely " Anglo-Saxon " does not insinuate that the small item of Mr Hodgson's travelling expenses would ever make up the balance of £9OO. Oh! Mr Saxon, I understand what you mean ! such a vile insinuation; is convincing proof that my suspicions as to who you are is correct. Some soured and disappointed old Squeers from the valleys of the interior, trumping up all this silly controversy, for the purpose of anonymously giving vent to your spleen against the Central Board and its honorable representative. I can afford to follow you no further, and in a few words have done. I have been thus led to auimadvert upon the administration of affairs by the Central Board of Education in respect to the "West Coast, very much against my wish, as it is a subject altogether apart from the matters connected with the recent visit of his Honor the Superintendent, but solely in consequence of the unwarrantable attack and unsupported statements made by that old dominie, (I am sure he is some superannuated old birch.) "Anglo-Saxon," I have been induced to speak the truth and shame the Saxon. Before, however, concluding this rejoinder, I desire to state that thei'e can be no one who entertains a higher appreciation of, and respect for, the liberal provisions which the Government has made by their Educatioual Ordinance, for the education of the children belonging to the Province. I also desire to acknowledge, that nothing is more calculated to attract and permanently settle the intelligent and industrious colonist than a liberal Education Ordinance, judiciously administered. I only hope when " Anglo-Saxon" next troubles

the Nelson readers he will descend to particulars, and make good his assertion that "In money alon,e, and exclusive of books and snare of the general expenses, the expenditure on education at the West Ooaßt for the present year- amounts to at least £900;" and, if correct, he will afford me, and many others in. this district, very great pleasure indeed, to find that the Central Board are extending their circle of usefulness by timely and liberal grauts in support of education in this remote part of the Province—that instead of £900,. even £l2oo—no more than the district is -entitled to.;— has been wisely and liberally applied. In conclusion, I have to inform the 1 members of the Board of Education, as I have his Honor the Superintendent, that, as far as the people on the Southwest G-oldfields are concerned, they would rather see or experience" the good effects of all this lavish expenditure, than from time to time be reminded of how much they are indebted to the Nelson exchequer.—l am, Ac, Jno. Muirao. Westport, Nov. 22. ~