MR WILLIAM MILNE.

Evening Star, Issue 12882, 3 August 1906, Page 1

MR WILLIAM MILNE.

PRESENTATION FROM EX-PUPILS OF CAVERSHAM SCHOOL. A further honor was paid last night to Mx W. Milne, M.A., in connection, with his retirement frow the Cave'rsham School. The ex-pupils made liim a presentation of a purs© of sovereigns. About 150 attended the social that had been arranged, for the occasion. It took place in the school gymnasium, the stage- of which was decorated ■with national flags. R, H. Todd, chairman of-the School Committee,; presided. He said that if there was,.a man m Gayersham who held the esteem of the people generally,' it. was' Mr Milne,—(Applause.) When his retirement from the school was announced, a movement was set afoot to gather subscriptions and present to their old friend with a little memento. Tins scheme was taken up very heartily by the ex-pupils, but it could not be completed right off, for between 8,000 and 10,000 pupils had passed through the school, and it took some time to circularise so many. But it was satisfactory to be able to state that subscriptions had been received from almost every corner of NewZealand. Wherever one went in the colony lie woidd be sure to bump up against an ex-pupil of the Caversham School. A very pjcasmg feature about there subscriptions was that they were invariably accompanied master %£T 'f" ? PnUse ° f It * ? u £ 9cn P t,ons had come not only from New Zaland, but also from t2 mania and Australia, and if longer time had been taken no doubt thev would ha™ come from other parts of the world. It mlsfbe consohng to Mr Milne to know- that hit services were so widely and 6 oWMy predated. A number of his pupils now occupied responsible positions, * and thev with ul who had passed through thV«dS entertamod the highest respfrt f or t£ od teacher, who™ indeed, the G.O.M. >9 a B rsham -~ (A pp lause -) Mr R, Rutherford, in inakinn- the tiresen tatron said that M an old pupil SS 0011 * SaV< ? sure to make a presentation to Mr Milne J!ew--persons- appreciated the , power a master had on Lis pupils,for, 'r£ct to a father and mother, no' one had as much influence in. forming a, child's character as its schoolmaster. In 1877, when the Go-vcrnment-granted certificates for attendance* Mr Milne and the School Committee of that time thought an improvement could be iMft J" attendance certificate, and in 1880 they gave a framed certiiieate. with a photograph of tire school mounted on it Next year the photograph was one of the teachers. Trom that fmn till now the school had given a, framed certificate on whrch is mounted a photograph of the child receiving the certificate, along with his or her classmates. Mr Milne fully appreciated the great amount of good these certificates did in ensuring good attendance at the school, but there was'still one weak point in the system. A child away more than five half-days through illness could not get a certificate, and was inclined to become irregular for tire rest of the year. He therefore asked the Committee to give prizes to those who had only been away through illness, which was done, thereby raising the attendance of the school above, ho thought, any other school in the colony.' He bad much pleasure in presenting Mr Milne wit} a purse of sovereigns, and hoped he would be long spared to enjov his wellearned rest.- Such, he was sure, was the unanimous wish of all the ex-pupils who had been under his watchful eye for the last forty-one years. Accompanying the gift brass tablet to be placed on the wall of the school as a perpetual memorial. It beare the inscription-.—« Mr W. Milne, M.A. Erected by ex-pupils, as a mark of esteem. Appointed head-master 1865; retired ,1906." .k cw ? ( *. and continued applause from all"present, followed the--presentation, and an /enthusiastic body of ex-pupils in the rear -started the chorus .5 For he's a jolly-good fellow, 1 this being heartily taken-up bv all present. '.-•'''■■' ■'•■ -■-•"-'■'■'■ • ■-;." .Mr Milne said : Mr Chairman, ladies, and gentlemen, the tables are 'turned.. YoiiUEed to be afraid "of "me; how I am afraid of you. I was nevt?i\ muck lit the, habit of public' speaking,, and I find that.. the "fow things I had intended to say are quite forgotten. I thahk' you for your presence; I thank you for your well-weighted, purse of sovereigns; and I thank you even more for what you have done in connecting my name with the school by means of .the .tablet r which is to be erected there. The chairman this evening (Mr Todd) and Mr Rutherford are both not only ex-pupils of the Oaversham School, but also member's of the School Committee, and what struck me when I entered the liall'to-night was the fact that;both aTethesonsof men who were chairmen of the Committee, Mr James Todd was on the Committee for, I think, eleven jears, and. chairman two years ; and

as for Mi- Rutherford, sen., he was on the Oommittee for, I should say,,about thirty years. {Mr Rutherford: My father was chairman twenty-seven years.) Mr Milne went on to say what a pleasure it was to him to meet his old pupils in. the street, and to'express the hope that they would on Such occasions make themselves known to him by namej since his memory for names was beginning to fail.' Mr Tf r K J .; T Sidey, M. H/R.,. being invited to speak,'said that, though not an ex-pupil himself, he had a good case, inasmuch as his wife was one of Mr. Milne's pupils, and for hiinself he had a connection with! Cayersham School by having served on ' the School Committee. As a committeeman he had good opportunities, of observing the tact and judgment with which Mr Milne was endowed, Mr Milne, was not only the head-teacher, but for thirty-five years he had acted as clerk to the Committee, and during the whole of that period, so wisely did Mr Milne carry out his duties, that never had there arisen the least friction between himself and the Committee. He (Mr Sidey) felt persuaded that aIT who had been connected with Mr Milne regarded him with respect and affection. Mr J. M'lndoe said that he might claim to be one of the oldest of the ex-pupils—-indeed, the oldest of all yet in Caverehaan, so far as he knew, with the exception of Mr Boyes. Mr Boyee was the only person now in the district who was a pupil at the Caversham School when Mr Milne took charge. The able manner in which Mr Milne had conducted tho school during the long term of forty-on© years was the subject of general praise, and Mr Young, the new head-master, had a high standard set for him. It was worthy of mention that for all those forty-one yeans Mr Milne had been absent from school only two days, and those absences were on account.of illness. That was surely a unique record. Mr C. Young briefly addressed the meeting. .

During the evening songs were sung bv Mrs Ford, Mis Macpberson, Mi- Hanaing, Mr and Mr E. Jones; the Misses Paget and Barron eang a, duet; Miss •L. Smith recited and was encored ; Miss Glasse played a pianoforte solo; and Miss Flossie Garter danced the Highland fling to the piping of Mr Popham. Mrs Cardale acted as accompanist. The Chairman promised, on behalf of the School Committee, that the tablet should be suitably placed in the. school. He also moved a vote of thanks to those who had contributed musical items during the evening, and claimed a heartv welcome for the new head-master, Mr Youn<r. > T T^., ineetm S clost,<l with three clicers for Mr Milne and Mr Young.