The Evening Star MONDAY, MARCH 19, 1906.

Evening Star, Issue 12765, 19 March 1906, Page 4

The Evening Star MONDAY, MARCH 19, 1906.

At the sneoi&l meeting of the Dunedin and j Suburban Schools' Cen»nh> TheCompnlsdry tees' Association to bo held | BMiremMf rf to-btottoW evening, and ak> lesckerg. a t the,, ordinary monthly! meeting of the Oingo Education. Board on the following day, the (s&£& tioa of ihb compulsory retirement of all, fttald tttebenUii iheasß.oi^a^S^-.^is^

■will come up for discussion. Some time ago we drew attention to the fact that the Wellington Education Board had issued a circular intimating that, in conformity with the spirit of the Teachers' Superannuation Act,, they intended in future to regard the age of compulsory retirement mentioned in that Act as the age of retirement for all teachers, whether contributors to the Superannuation Fund or hot. Wo also remarked that probably other Boards would be found following the lead set by Wellington. At the last meeting of the Otago Education Board Mr Jafrfes Mitchell gave notice that at the next monthly meeting he woidd move that notice similar to that issued, in Wellington" be sent out to the teachers of this district. In order that -our readers may be better able to form an intelligent opinion upon this somewhat important issue, we propose entering briefly into the history -of the compulsory age question. As a matter of fact, a joint committee, consisting of mem-. bers of the Otago Educational Institute aiid representatives from the Dunedin and Suburban Schools Committees' Association, drew up the basis upon which the Superannuation Bill was afterwards drafted. This question of a compulsory retiring age was, as we know, very fully discussed by Ike beforc- ! mentioned joint committee, and it was not I until after long deliberation that it was finally agreed to make tie age oE sixty-five absolutely compulsory for all male contributors to the fund,, leaving no discfetionarv power whatever in the hands of the Superannuation Board. This principle was embodied in the Bill, and is now the law of the land. It should, however, be noted that contribution to the Teachers' Superannuation Fund is not cfimpulsory so far as those persons in the Education Service prior to the Ist January, 1906, are concerned. In order to make quite clear • what we mean, we shall quote the clauses of the Act referring to this point:—" Every person "who, at the commencement of thhi Act, "is permanently employed in any capacity " for not less than twenty hours in a week I' in the Education Service may at any time ''within six months after the commence- " ment of this Act elect, to become a contri- " butor to the fund. If he so elects, he "shall be entitled to all the benefits of the "fund, subject to the provisions of this I' Act. If he dees not so elect, he shall not '"at any future time become a contributor "to the fund, or participate in its benefit, " except on the payment of such wim and " on such conditions as the Board deter- '• mine. With respect to teachers who are "first permanently employed in any public "school after the commencement of this "Act, it shall be a condition of their employment that they shall contribute to "the fund and bo entitled to its benefits "as hereinafter provided." Sections 4 and 6 of the Teachers' Superannuation Act quoted above make it quite clear that teachers employed at the commencement of the Act >iat elect to contribute to the fund ? whereas teachers employed after tho commencement of the Act arcs! contribute. It is, of coiirse, open to argument whether or not vail teachers should be compelled to contribute to a superannuation fund. We have always held, and still hold, the opinion that the State should have paid half ihe contributions and the teacliera the other half, and that contribution should be compulsory on all teachers. Parliament, however, has made contribution optional' so far as those teachers employed in the education service before the commencement of the Act are concerned. When, therefore, Education Beards seek to compel teachers to contribute to the Superannuation Fund, it seems to us that they are not acting in conformity with, but contrary to, the spirit of the Act. There is, of course, another aspect- of this question, and that is the point of view of our children and their best interests-. Is it right, it may be asked, that teachers who have long passed their period of usefulness should be kept in their positions? Certainly not. But is there now any reason why the. services of such .teachers should be retained? The annuity provided by the State for all male teachers sixty-five years of age or over (who elect to contribute to the Superannuation Fund and who must retire within three months) ranges from £52 to, say, £9O. If any male teacher sixty-five years of age and thoroughly competent to perform his duties to the satisfaction of the Board's inspectors elects not to contribute to the Superannuation Fund, the Board shall allow such a teacher to retain his position so long as he is thoroughly capable of doing his duty, 'if, on the other had, a teacher over sixty-five years of age and unable (owing to age and infirmity) to perform his duties satisfactorily seeks to retain his position in order that he may enjoy for a few* more years a fairly large salary, then the Education Board should not hesitate to dispense with his services. In other words, it is the duty of the Board, School Committees, and -inspectors to «n> sider on its merits- every individual case of a male teacher over sixty-five electing not to contribute to the Superannuation Fund (there will hot be many) and wishing to retain his position. Any Board would be within their legal rights in issuing a circular advising all teachers to carefully study the provisions of the Superannuation Act and to note well the benefits provided under the scheme. Further, it might "be pointed out that in the past men and women beyond the age of compulsory retirement mentioned in the Act and physically incapable of performing their duties satisfactorily had been retained in their positions simply because the State had mad© no provision for retiring allowances, bat that, in future, no such lenient treatment need be expected. This, we contend, would be the right and proper course to adopt; but to mthnate that all teachers in the service of the Boards whether contributors to the Superannuation Fund or not, must retire at the compulsory age mentioned in the Act seems to us a timid way of tackling a somewhat difficult and dr&cate task. We trust that, in dealing with this matter, the Otaga Education Board will not follow the lead of Wellington, but that they trill deeidte to consider on its merits each of the few cases that ate likely to arise. It is tA.be hoped, too, that members will have the courage to face the position fairly and issue a circular on the_lift£B>t4if»±sA

An impersonation case at Birmingham Assizer (as reported in 'The Times') does : not seem quite satisfactory. A man goes into a polling booth, and, without asking for a ballot, paper, mentions the name of A.B. to the clerk. . "Oh," says the latter, . || lie has voted." The. prisoner now says: " That is exactly what I wanted to find out, and that is the .only. way. I could do it," which is true". The Judge had grave doubts whether any legal offence tact been" committed ; the jury, however, found that tlm was an attempt (by conduct) to personate, there being other circumstances against the prisoner, though they thought he was the tool of someone else. Pour months' hard labor Avas the sentence. 1 The suggestion having "been made by two correspondents last week that the local authority controlling the Ocean Beach ought to put up a warning board indicating the whereabouts of quicksands, we have made it our business to ask Mr J. H. Hancock (chairman of the Domain Board) about the matter, and that gentleman replies thus • '• We should deem it our duty to act on the suggestion if it wore feasible, bub in point of fact one might as well try to hx a beacon on tne clouds, for all the good such a-warning" would be. Stonily weather froin the south-west generally brines in a lot of loose water-borne sand over the outer bank, and this often' forms a quicksand that lasts as such until the new deposit becomes consolidated by the drying up of the lagoon. But nobody can foretell where the next quicksand will form. It may be anywhere from the St. Kilda entrance to Lawyer Head. If we put tip a caution board at any spot where a quicksand appeared the public would natiirally conclude that it was the only dangerous place, whereas another quicksand might be forming at the same time a chain or two away. It is better that the public should be cautioned generally to be careful after a southwest storm." The Musical Committee of the International Exhibition at Christchurch have definitely fixed on Easter Siiturdav and Monday uu fi 907 for two concert s bv" the Dunedin Philharmonic Society iil the Exhibition Hall. Under the. heading of 'The Thin Edge,' Daily Tunes' has the following:—"The College street School Committee have taken upon themselves (without consulting the Education Board) to introduce a diversion in the cuiiiculum providing that on two days of the week a quarter of an hour's teaching of the Bible skill be given by the teachers. . . . 'J. ho coterie who have engineered the new order of tilings explain that it is held tkit, as the Act only requires two hours' secular instruction in the morning, there will bo no infringement thereof in this new arrangement. As a matter of fact, this innovation of Bible-teaching (not reacting, apparently) in schools muiifc cut into the curriculum somewhere. This is a. case in which a clerical coterie is interfering with existing arrangements, and is endeavoring to establish a principle which Parliament itself, in the best interests of education, refuses to sanction. They are assisted in the matter by an acquiescent demonrinatkffial headmaster, and the staff will naturally fall into line. Tlio one compensating advantage that wo see in the new order of things is that it will enable on© rev. gentleman 'to hand over the class lie has had for several years after school.'" It would be interesting to know by what legal authority this flagrant evasion of the law has been advised. Wo join, our contemporary in raising a vigorons protest against this deliberate attempt to insert the thin edge of the denominational wedge, and hope that tho Minister of Education, will take prompt steps to teach the College street Committee that they must act within the four corners of the law. A meeting of the Marine Fish Hatcheries Board, held this morning, was attended by the President (Mr G. M. Thomson), Captain Beaumont, and Mr D. Barron. The curator's report was adopted. It stated that a few thousand ova of another good fish (gurnard) had been secured, and that additional shelters were being made in the lobsters' pond, and everything was in readiness for the reception of _fho lobsters. In reference to these, Dr Allen (of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom) wrote that it had been arranged that the shipment of lobsters should be made by the steamer leaving early in March. Everything would be done to insure-tbe success of the experiment. The President informed members that the shipment was ort the Maori. The Chairman further stated that he had visited the hatchery on the 11th msL. and that Mr Ayson (Chief Inspector of Fisheries) recommended the importation of the striped bass into the waters of the Hauraki Gulf. This species could easily be secured from San Francisco, and it was one of the finest fish! known. It was reported that the balance at the bank was £lO9 8s lid, and thai contributions had been received from the Wanganui AcclimatisationSociety (£10), and Ashburton Society (£5 ss). The Dunedin, and Roslyn Tramway Company aro making good progress with the extension of their lino into the Kaikorai "Valley. One line of rails has been laid to within a short distance of the Valley road. The high price of potatoes was a subject discufi-od by the Wellington Trades Council the other night, and it wan decided to ask the Minister of Trades and Customs to move in, the direction of placing potatoes on the free list of imports. The Borough Council at Qneenstown have decided to approach the Railway Department in regard to having Week-end excursions all the year round, also to making the daily service to Dunedin a permanent one. A visitor from the United States who called at the Wellington Tourist Office the other day gave an unsolicited testimonial to the beauty of a piece of New Zealand wood. " Say," he exclaimed, gazing at the surface of some polished t-otara nut, " they put those bits of color in very neatly. How do they do it?" He would scarcely believe that-the pretty arrangement of ruddy color was due entirely to nature. Since Christmas forty-six prohibition orders have been issued at the Auckland Magistrate's Court, necessitating notifying the 120 hotels in the city and suburbs and the rilling in of 5,520 forms with the names of the prohibited persons. According to the 'Japan Times' of January 6, the destitution in the famine-stricken districts of that country is awful, and there is a great cry going up for relief. Shibata township, in Milyagi province, is one of the worst afflicted districts, the crop being 5 per cent, of an average crop. Even with the help of the provincial authorities and the Central Government, all the needy cannot be helped. "This year's rice, nuts, roots, and bark," writes the ' Japan Times,' "will not last three months. Then the snow comes, and there is no work, so that many will die of starvation or of diseases brought on by the poor food that no human being ought to eat." The official recount of the voting papers for the Caversham Licensing Committee election finished this morning. The result is that Mr W. J. Love, a temperance candidate, is elected in place of Mr" S. Elliott by a margin of three votes. The recount took place in the Town Hall, South Dunedon. Besides the returning ofiicef (Mr R. Mercer) and his staff, there were present Mr William-Wardrop, J.P., Mr P. Shacklock (scrutineer for the Temperance party), and Mr R. Hill (scrutineer ifor the Moderate party). In the first count Mr Elliott was credited with 1,411 votes and Mr Love with 1,406. The recount gave Mr Elliott one and Mr Love nine extra. Mr T. Ronayne, General Manager of Railways, has informed the town clerk of Port Chalmers that the matter of the lighting of the Port Chalmers wharves had been exhaustively inquired into, and it had been found that {here were no reasonable grounds for complaint in respect to the lighting at present illuminated by four arc lamps on each wharf, in addition to pier head lamps and lamps on breastwork. The Minister, he added, could not see his *way to increase the lighting, as suggested by the Council, being satisfied that the existing arrangements were amply sufficient for all requirements. Messrs Luttrell and Scott, the contmctors for the new dock, are making steady progress. The Manhiku has atJcomi»:*sfted good work dredging. She has now shifted outside the coffer dam, where she is bringing up stiff blue cloy, which is being dumped cei-ween the outer and inner walls of the sheet piling. The work of filling in is being.jajnkfl.y. proceeded with.

Mr Seddofl has wired ffoln Geraldine to say that he will confer with the Labor Department when he reaches Wellington )in reference to the suggestion contained ih Mr A. R. Barclay's telegram tSu&f&ses-lock-out. Of the six paintings that Mr W. Alien Bollard proposes 'to-'send to the Christchurch Art Gallery this year,' two are now on view in the Dresden windows. Mr Bollard has done himself justice in boA. "Evening Glow' is a peculiarly successful scene of a native camp on a backwater of the Waikato River, the contract between the fiery yellows and reds of the eky and the shadows in the water being" UMb effective; and "Night's, Fair Queen" is one of the best of this artist's moonlight stutfces. Mr Widdowson, S.M., held" a sitting,of the Magistrate's Court at Outran! on Friday. The. principal case that came before him was that of Richard M'Keg v. Ernest Wrignt, a claim ifor £25 damages. Susan Wright was joined as a co-defendant. Mr D. D. Macdofiald appeared for plaintiff; Mr Hanlori for Ernest Wright, and Mr W.Allen for Susan Wright. It was alleged by plaintiffs that a stallion in defendant's property broke into plaintiff's paddock arid chased the horses there,. damaging a mare ( which subsequently died. * After heJarliig some of the evidence, Mr Hahlon fffbved for a nonsuit, and the case was adjourned to Dunedin for further argument. To-morrow night, in Stuart Hall, the Dtirfedin and Suburban Presbyterian Officebearers' Association hold a social at eight o'clock, to. which all office-bearers and their lady friends aro invited. The Anglo-N.Z. Cycle Company's closirigup sale a great, success; still further cessions; customers who have been unable to receive attention owing to the rush are invited to call again. Shop to let.—[Advt.] If you have a chill or cold, go and procure a bottle of. Tussiciira. . [lo9]. New costs just opened, in stylish patterns of tweed and rich caracul; price, from 15s 6d to four guineas. At T. Ross's.—T_Adtt.] All acceptances for the autumn meeting of the Forbury Park Racing Club close on Tuesday, March 20. Giddiness, swimming of the head cured by taking Dr Elisor's Tamer Juice. [lo9] Mr Hendy, hair specialist, invites inspection new combs, hair nets, brushware, etc., just landed. Latest hair frames, all colors, Is.—[Advt,] W. J. Williamson, dentist., 63 Princes street (opposite Braithwaite's). Telephone 653.—[—Advt.] Have you a sore that won't heal? Witch's Ointment, a mighty healer. ■ [lo9] The annual mooting of the Southern Association Football Club will bo held in the Friendly Societies' Hall, South Dunedin, tomorrow evening. At Ilea's hairdressirig rooms will bo found capable artists for ladies' fashionable hairdressings, also shampooing, cutting, singeing, etc.—[Advt.] Cold in tho head, influenza cured by taking Tussicura; stimulating and effective. [lo9]