TRAINING COLLEGE INQUIRY

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 298, 10 September 1921, Page 7

TRAINING COLLEGE INQUIRY

SEQUEL TO WEITZEL CASE LOYALTY OF STUDENTS IMPUGNED CHARGES FOUND TO BE BASELESS When the case was heard in which Miss Hedwig Weitzel, a Training College student, was convicted by a Magistrate of having circulated literature encouraging Violence and lawlessness, suspicion was aroused that the loyalty of a number of other students in the college was open to question. An official inquiry was therefore held at the college on Wednesday, Mr. T.‘ Forsyth (chairman of the Wellington Education Board) presld- \ Ing. The president and officers of the Students' Association and the seventeen women students who attended the court when, Miss ' Weitzel was convicted were examined, and afterwards Mr. Forsyth drew up for the Minister of Education (Hon. C. J. Parr) the report which Is reproduced below. The findings embodied in the report indicate that Mr. Forsyth ‘ considers the imputations against the students’ loyalty to be un-

founded. Ho finds that none of the students contributed towards the payment of the fine Inflicted upon Miss Weitzel, and expresses regret at what he terms "the circulation of mischievous rumours." FULL TEXT OF THE REPORT. The full text of Mr. Forsyth's report is as follows:— "Sir,—l have the honour to report that hi accordance with your request an inquiry was held on Thursday afternoon at the Training College, when there were present the Director of Education (Mr. J. Caughley),' Messrs. T. Forsyth (chairman of the Education Board), A. J. White (member of the board), G. L. Stewart (secretary), W. H. Gould (VicePrincipal of the Training College),. Miss Hetherington (assistant lecturer), and Mr. Kennedy (president of the Students' Association). Owing to illness, Professor Tennant, Principal of the Training College. was unable to attend. "In view of the' fact that full publicity had been given to the charges made against them, the students and staff had expressed a desire for a public inquiry. Prior to the opening: of the inquiry, I read to the officers of the college and the president of the Students* Association your telegram of September 8, in which you asked that a 'merely departmental Investigation’ be made. The president of the Students’ Association had the position fully explained to him, and was asked to ascertain from the seventeen students concerned whether they desired the inquiry to be held in public or,other--wise. After consultation they decided that, in deference to your request end provided a full report of the investigation was supplied to the Press, the inquiry should not be public. I agreed to give full publicity to my report, and •the'inquiry was then proceeded with. DIRECTOR’S THREE POINTS. "It was detided by mutual consent to eonfino the investigation to the three points contained in the letter of the Director of Education of August 29. which read ns follows:— (1) A statement from the girl students referred to indicating whether their attendance at the Court and tho fact that they contributed towards the payment of the fine were evidence of their approval and support of Miss Weitzel, in the offence with which she was charged. (2) Whether the students in • general are aware of the circulation of any of the, literature referred to among students of the college. (3) Whether there is reason to believe that either at the Training College or during their attendance at Victoria College as Training Coylego students influences of the type exerted by Miss Weitzel are operating in relation to students. "The vice-principal of the Training College handed in his full report on the whole matter raised by you, and a copy is attached hereto. MR. FORSYTH’S FINDINGS. "Tho president and officers of the Students' Association and th? seventeen women students, who attended tho Court when Miss Weitzel was convicted, were examined and cross-qirShtioned on the points, and after full inquiry I have to report my finding of the whole of the charges as follows:--(1) The students attended the Courtmerely out of curiosity or personal sympathy with the individual charged. but specifically and individually deny their- approval and 'support of Miss Weitzel in the offence of which she was convicted. (2) None of the students is aware of tho circulation of any unlawful literature at the Training College or Victoria College (3) All the seventeen students concerned, who are also students at Victoria College, stated that so lar as they knew Miss Weitzel had never tried to influence any student at . either college to-accept the pojitic.nl and social principles she has adopted, and further, absolutely no teference had over been made to them in the manner suggested. Some of the students had never spoken to Miss Weitzel, and until the reoi.it proceedings a number of them were unaware of the views she holds.' (4) None of the students had everbeen asked, and certainly none had contributed anything towards the payment of the fine. “TOO MUCH PROMINENCE.” "I desire to add tho following statement:—ln my opinion, far too much prominence hae been given to the charges made- against the students, which, after all, were based solely on the ex parte statement of a police officer, in which fact and illicit inference are strangely mingled, and from tho evidence which was put forward freely and frankly by tho students, and subsequently confirmed by the officers of tho Training College, who were also present during the Court proceedings, it was clearly established that tho charges were absolutely baseless and devoid of truth. The unnecessary circulation through the Press of such mischievous rumours before the slightest investigation had been made is to lie exceedingly regretted, and Irreparable injury has thus ’been done to the Training College, Tho high moral tone and the undoubted loyalty of students of the Training College has always been evident to those who have visited tho college, and its war record is second to none in the Dominion.

"In accordance with the promise made Io th? students and officers of the Training College I am handing a copy of this report to the Press throughout the Sominiou, with a request that they give the same publicity to the actual

facts of the cose as was given to the report published and commented on last week.—(Signed), T. Forsyth, Chairman."

VICE-PRINCIPAL’S REPORT "NO MODE LOYAL INSTITUTION.” Tho report of tho vice-principal (referred to above) was couched in the following terms: — "In accordance with your request, I have investigated the matters referred to in the Director’s letter,. and desire to submit tho following regarding tho three points specifically referred to therein :— (1) Upon inquiry, I find that in all 17 women students attended the court. I have interrogated each of these, and find: (a) That no student contributed towards the payment of the fine, (b) That the attendance of each student was prompted either by her sympathy with Miss Weitzel in her predicament, or by mere curiosity and a desire to know something of the conduct of a court—largely the latter, (c) That in no case does any one of these students approve or support the offence with which Miss Weitzel was charged, viz., "circulating literature encouraging violence and lawlessness.” The sympathy in every case is personal —tho result of an association with, a ' fellow student whose conduct within tho college has been exemplary. I may add that Miss Weitzel's youth (she is but 20 years of age) and her somewhat retiring, and by no means assertive, disposition could scarcely fail to attract the sympathy of her fellows, who, so far as I am able to ascertain, were quite ignorant of, or indifferent to, her political or social beliefs. (2) None of the students is aware of tho circulation among the students of tho college of any of the literature referred to. I cannot find that Mies Weitzel, or, indeed, any student of the college, has ever en- , deavoured to disseminate among the students revolutionary ideas encouraging violence. Political, or politicosocial, matters are foreign to the purpose for which the college exists, and their discussion would be neither encouraged nor permitted by the staff. . (3) So far as the Training College is concerned, I cannot find, as pointed out above, that there is the slightest reason to believe that undesirable influence? are operating in relation. to students. I have no means of personally ascertaining what influences are operating at Victoria University College; but all students whom I have questioned deny any knowledge whatever of un- . desirable influences of the kind indicated. Owing to the publicity this unfortunate case has received, it would appear that the loyalty of this institution and of its students has been called in question throughout the length and breadth of the Dominion. This, however unavoidable, is. most unfortunate, for it reflects adversely alike upon the Joyal and disloyal, if such there be. When the matter, has been thoroughly sifted I trust that in common justice to the fair name of tho college the same publicity that has been given to these charges will be given to their refutation. "There is no more loyal institution in the Dominion than this; there is no more loyal body of young men and women than the students of this college. Their record of war service will stand a monument to their loyalty, for, so far as we are able to ascertain, every eligible student and ex-student during the period of the war volunteered bis service to his country. An unusually high percentage of these lie buried on the battlefields of Gallipoli rnd Flanders. There are in the college at tho present time several returned soldiers, while the president of the Students’ Association is a returned soldier who bears most palpable evidence of the service rendered to his country.” THE DEBATING CIRCLE An interesting supplement to the reports given above is a list of subjects chosen this year by the students themselves for debate in the,. Training College debating circles. Tho list is as follows 1. "That all civil' and political positions in New Zealand should be open to women.” 2. "That tho modern school syllabus contains too many subjects." 3. "That this Training College justifies its existence." 4. "Should temperance be taught in schools?" 5 "Should Asiatics be allowed free access to New Zealand?" G. "Should capital punishment be abolished ?" 7. "Should corporal punishment be allowed in schools?" 8. "Should proportional representation bo introduced in New Zealand?” 9. "Is unionism beneficial to a community ns a whole?" 10. "Should performers be allowed to give entertainments (with only a possible educational value) to school children and charge admission?"