THE HARRISON CHARGES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 119, 20 May 1892, Page 4

THE HARRISON CHARGES.

*1 MR HARRISON'S DEFENCE. W

The Board of Education meb in Committee ab 11 a.m. to-day to further investigate bhe charges againsb Mr E. M. C. Harrison, head master of bhe Beresford-atreeb School. The following member., were presenb : — Mosßrs Luke (Chairman), Mobion, Muir, Udy, Moab, Cooper and Grant. Mr R. Blades, Chairman of bho City Schools Committee, was presenb by invitation. Mr Harrison, who had written to the Board asking for a further hearing, appeared in company with his solicibor, Mr Edwin Hesketh, and there were also about a dozen witnesses in attendance.

Mr Harrison made a lengthy stabemenb with respect bo bho accusations made againsb him. He stated thab ho had ovor sinco he had charge of tho Beresfordstreob School taken certain precautions with a view to the detection of objectionable practices on the part of boys, that whenever lie suspected boys of such practices he book cerbain scops bo satisfy himself on the subject, and frequently advised or warned lads of bhe risks bhey ran. This being a pracbice which ho had observed for so many years, and which ho claimed to havo carried oub as a duty, he did . nob when the charges wero firsb mado realise what he was really accused of, being of opinion that ib was something very much moro serious, and to this fact he attributed somo inconsistency between his present explanation and the defonce first set up. Dr. Haines was nexb called upon to givO evidence. Ho stated thab he was of opinion bhab ib was tho duty of a schoolma.ter occupying tho position Mr Harrison did, to act as Mr Harrison now said ho had acted; that boys in public schools wero liubloto adopt injurious habits which it was the duty of tho teacher to detect and check. There were, he said, various methods of checking this practice, and the mothod adopted by Mr Harrison was ono' method. Dr. Haines also spoke of tho mental condition in which Mr Harrison was at tho previous inquiry, stating in fact that he was in a state of collapse caused by the seriousness of the charges which ho then supposed had been made against him. The nexb witness was a lady who camo forward voluntarily, and asked bo be permitted to testify bo the manrior in which Mr Harrison conducted hi? duty as headmaster of the Beresford-screeb School. She had no knowledge of anything bearing upon the allegations made, bub stated thab she had been in bho school for many years, as had also several other membo ? of tho same family, all of whom bora the highest testimony to Mr Harrison's character. .

This aftornoon other witnesses for the defenco were being oxamined, principally old beys from tho Bereslord street School, who stated that thoy knew of Mr Harrison's practice, knew thab the practice exercised by hira bad been beneficial * in certain cases, and expressed confidence that Mr Harrison hud no wrongful intent in doing whab was now charged againsb him. Such was the substance of the evidence given up to the time at which we went to press. The inquiry will probably be concluded to-morrow.