THE EDUCATION BOARDS' CONFERENCE.

Evening Post, Volume L, Issue 36, 10 August 1895, Page 4

THE EDUCATION BOARDS' CONFERENCE.

DEPUTATION TO THE MINISTER. At 5 o'clook yesterday evening a deputation from the Education Boards' Conference waited upon the Minister for Education at the Parliamentary Buildings, and presented the resolutions passed by the Conference. Mr. J. E. Blair (Chairman of tho Confer" once), the Hon. J. D. Ormond, Eev. 6Barclay, and Messrs. B. TJily, G. Carsom A. Maginnity, and Dr. Newman, briefly ex pressed the views of the Conference on the various resolutions The Minister, in replying: to the dooutation, acknowledged tho imporlanoe of the Conference, and expressed his pleasure at meeting so many representatives of Education Boards. He thought it was a pity that when it w&s decided to have a Conference oflioial intimation of it was not given either to himeelf or the permanent houd of his Department. The first intimation he and Mr. Habens had of the Conference was through the newspapers, and the first communication they had on the subject was from a gentleman on one of the Boards, who applied for a free pass to attend the Conference. They rightly replied that they had had no official intimation that it was intended to have a Conference. He thought it was to be regretted that neither he nor the permanent head of the Department had been invited. In bis opinion co-operation was in the public interest a good thing. He was most anxious to co-operate with the Boards, and if they would condesoend to co-operate with the Department he believed it would be a good thing for all concerned. If the Conference had thought it wsa not desirable that the Minister should be present, the permanent head of the Department might have been aaked to attend in order to ascertain what its real opinions on the various subjects were. The newspapers could not be expected to give full reports of the proceedings, and he and the head of the Department were left to get an idea of what had occurred at the Conference from the reports in the local press, and from the few remarks made by the deputation. With regard to the request that he should reintroduce his Manual and Technical Elementary Instruction Bill of 1892, and endeavour to get it passed this session, ho would like to say that he was ftlad to find that publio opinion regarding the measure had changed bo much. The reason why it wns not pressed in 1892 was beoause it appeared as though some of the Boordß did not ooußider it desirable that it should pass. Ho was glad to find that since then there had been a complete ohange of opinion, and that if he introduced it again it would have tho support of all the Boards. He would promise to lat the request before the Cabinet, and try to obtain permission to bring the Bill up again this session with a view of having it papsod before tho House rose He did uot think there was any necessity to amend the regulations in order to make provision for kindergarten teaching. 1 here was nothing to prevent the system heing applied to all the preparatory classes, anc also to the first and second Standards. If the deputation could show him that there was anything to hamper the Boards doing bo, he would see that the regulations were amended. He would not, however, alter the results demanded from tho system. Boards could rely on his assistance in applying the system to their schools. He would say frankly that Boards would get no assistance from him towards the establishment of evening or continuation schools He admitted that muoh had been done to foster those sohools at Home, and that some good results had been obtained, but it must be reoolleoted that the oircumstanoes there were very different from those in this oonntry. For one thing, there was no money here for the purpose. All the money he oould find was required for the present system of education, and for technical instruction. He was opposed entirely to the system if it took away from the ordinary day Bchools ohildren after they had passed the Fourth Standard. It would be a different matter if it was proposed to have the schools for children who had passed the Sixth Standard, but at present there waa no money to establish them with. He apE roved the resolution in reference to the nilding grant, with the exception^ the wprds '• distributed on a more satisfactory basis," beoause it simply strengthened his hands in doing what he had been doing for the last three years, viz.; taking these very things into careful consideration and distributing the grant on that basis. He had thought that if there was anybody who had reason to growl it was the older and more settled dißtriots, whioh for Borne years past bad not received that consideration at his hands whioh they used to receive. New districts had got so muoh greater a Bhare of the grant that he thought if anyone was being unjustly trea.ed it was the older settled districts. He was glad to hear that the deputation considered he had done his best in the matter of distributing the grant. If he did not have* sufficient information regarding the manner in whioh the vote was spent in each diatriot it -as tho fault of tho Boards themselves. He wa» glad to hoar f rpm them on the subject from Umo. to time, but he could not aocept the suggestion that ho should eend an officer round the colony to see what they were doing. 1 ' He agreed that it was undesirable that persons under 21 hould be allowed to vote at elections of school oommittees, and if he remained in power he would undertake to get the laaltered bo as to make it impossible for tha holder of a miner's right under that age to vote. If he were not in office the permanent

head of the Deportment couM movo in that direction. He was not opposisd to a national system of decimal notation. The Couferoiico was under a misapprehension in supposing that an amendment of the regulations was necessary in order to enable Gourds to ostablish ccntial suhools tor children «lio had paßßed the Fifth Standard He could quite understand that in a largo town such n Bchool would be found of groat value. In the present state of the finances ho could not hold out any hope of the building grant beius- increased. It hod been inoreased to je40,000, and ho would do his best to keep it at that. Mr. J. R. Blair (Chairman of the Conference) thanked the Minister for listening to what the deputation had had to Bay, and for meeting it in a very fair spirit. Mr. A. Maginnity (of Nelson) assured Mr. Reeves that the Conference, in not inviting him or the permanent head of the Department to be present, had meant no discourtesy. It had simply refrained from inviting them because it was aware that jußt at present both were kept very busy indeed. The Minister having expressed his gratification at the explanation, the interview terminated.