E.—l2.

92

[P. H. BBOWN.

by the Inspectors, then, if she applies, that lady, in our opinion, should get the position; but if a male is highest on the graded list, and consequently more efficient, he should get it. There sh««ld be none of this dispute as to whether a man or woman should get the position. It should simply- be a question of the greatest efficiency. This, we maintain, will tend to the greatest efficiency of-the school, inasmuch as the highest-grade teacher and the most efficient will get the position in each. case. The present system as laid down in this Act is, to a certain extent, a system of preference, and that, we hold, is not equitable. We hold that there should be equal pay for equal work, and that we must have equal advantages and equal opportunities for every branch of the profession. 3. Mr. Kirk.] Do you agree with the evidence of Miss Simpson?—To a very great extent. Parts of it I do not agree with, particularly that in reference to the want of sympathy shown by male teachers to the girls. 4. I mean, do you agree with the evidence of Miss Simpson on the main points?—So far as throwing open all the best positions, I do. Miss Simpson was not very strong on that point, and I am. 5. Then, you disagree with her? —Yes, so far as closing the appointment to any particular person. 6. Mr. Davidson.] I understand you to say you object to the ear-marking of any position in the service for either a man or woman?—l do. 7. Miss Simpson really- wished that certain positions should be ear-marked for women? —I understood her so. 8. The Chairman.] Do you not think that women have a constitutional method of stating their alleged grievances and wrongs?— Yes. 9. And that they will use it? —Yes.

Auckland, Thursday, 6th June, 1912. Harold James del Monte Mahon examined on oath. (No. 8.) 1. The Chairman.] What are your position and qualifications?—l am a B.A. of the NewZealand University, and chief English master at the Auckland Grammar School, and I appear here as representative of the assistant masters of the Auckland Grammar School. 2. On what subjects do you wish to speak?— The first point I wish to make is that the grant for secondary education is not sufficient for rational and efficient education, and f wish to maintain my position by means of a few statistics. Dr. Garnett, who is director of education for the London County Council, in an appendix to the report of the consultative committee on higher elementary schools in England, says that the minimum amount for efficient secondary education is £15 a year per pupil. In estimating such grants we should take into consideration the difference in the cost of living between New Zealand and England. I think that on a very reasonable basis the cost of living is at least 30 per cent, more here than in England, so if we take Dr. Garnett's basis the amount that should be granted for efficient and rational education in New Zealand is from £19 to £20 per pupil. In Prussia, which is not one of the best paid of the German States, the cost of secondary education per head is £16. The cost of living is very much cheaper in Prussia than in New Zealand. That would make at least £20 per head necessary in New Zealand. If we look at the cost of secondary education in New Zealand we find from the last report issued that the amount available per head was £1306 in 1909 and £1304 in £1910, but the amount spent per head in 1909 was £1124 and in 1910 £1152. The average salary in 1910 for male assistants was £1.95 9s. 9d.; for female assistants, £159 2s. Id.; and for all teachers in secondary schools, £176 14s. 2d. From the present statistics I infer that we must have one or two conditions — either that the schools are understaffed and the teachers overworked, or that where the schools are of reasonable size the teachers are underpaid. I think that point might be brought out by a comparison between the conditions prevailing in the Auckland Grammar School and those in the Wellington College. In 1910 the number of pupils in the Auckland Grammar School was 456 and the number of assistants was thirteen, and the average per assistant works out at £260. In Wellington the number of pupils is 345; there are eighteen assistants; and the average is only £215 per assistant. The consequence of this is that teachers, especially married men, have to seek other means of remuneration. I understand that in Wellington a large number of teachers are engaged in evening work at the Technical College, and in our schools some teachers who are getting £200 were coaching till this year. The headmaster saw that that was not in the best interests of the school, and he prevailed on the Board to increase their salaries, and made it a condition that they should take no outside work. This condition of things has a number of unfortunate results. The prospects are so limited in secondary schools that a large number of teachers merely use secondary education as a stepping-stone to some other profession. A number who are attracted by the fairly good salaries at the outset enter for a couple of years merely to gain some money to pay the expenses of equipping themselves for another profession. I can instance several cases. In our own school in recent years one teacher after a few years' experience abandoned secondary education to go in for medicine, another to go in for electrical engineering, and another for surveying and civil engineering, and another took a position on the Geological Survey. This state of things is unfair to the pupils. When these teachers enter they are, as a rule, inexperienced in teaching, and it is not likely when they intend to relinquish the work in a few years that they will take any rational or scientific interest in their work. The pupils must suffer accordingly. Again, the prospects are limited, and we find men who have done good work in the service abandoning it after twenty years for another profession that offers better remunera-