KOKIRI AFFAIRS.

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 August 1928, Page 9

KOKIRI AFFAIRS.

(To the Editor.) Sir,—l shall have to request more space in your columns on a subject I thought was closed. My first letter was written to correct some inaccuracies of your first correspondent “Savage,” and also with a view of bringing this correspondence to a close as I hold that the columns of a newspaper is not the place to discuss the petty grievances of a country school. But in your columns of Wednesday’s issue appear two letters over the pennames of “Highly Amused,” and “Don Quixote.” In these epistles greater inaccuracies occur and of a much more important nature so that I feel bound to supply the true position so that your readers may be under no misapprehension. Your correspondent, the person who is so highly and easily amused, states the teacher was refused accommodation in Kokiri, also that because we wanted a. male teacher and did not get one, we condemned her before she arrived. Some three or four weeks after the departure of the late teacher, I received a. letter from the Secretary of the Education Board stating that a male teacher of good qualification had been appointed to the position at Kokiri. We, the Committee, accepted that I without question and prior to receipt ; of the above letter the subject of the I

sex of the new teacher was not discussed by the Committee. But about ten days after the receipt of tlje above letter, 1 received a further letter from the Board announcing the fact that the teacher who was to have come to Kokiri had obtained a position elsewhere and the name of the present lady teacher was sent glong. It was after the receipt of this letter that discussion turned on the subject of a male teacher. Understand Sir, no other name was sent along, only the one name in each case. I wrote the Secretary and told him the people much preferred a male teacher. I mentioned that accommodation suitable for a lady was hard to procure in Kokiri whereas a male teacher would be more able to rough it a bit, and put up with less comfortable arrangements than in the case of a lady teacher. In reply I was informed that the appointee was making her own arrangements with regard to accommodation and would probably live in Greymouth and travel to Kokiri by train. On receipt of this letter all arguments ceased as we considered the position was very well met, and troubled no more about the business. Shortly after this our term expired, and as I have explained, no new committee was elected. Confirmation of the above can easily be obtained on referring' to the Secretary of the Education Board. The present teacher was never refused accommodation so far as I aifl aware. Accommodation in such a small place as Kokiri is very limited indeed, and if one were to ask three fourths of the residents here for accommodation suitable for a young lady, they would be obliged to refuse for the very good reason that no such accommodation is at their disposal. 1 am indebted to your correspondents for this tribute to my mental condition. I regret I am unable to return the compliment. My reasons are:' Firstly, J am not aware of their identity and so can form no’ opinion in that respect. If I were asked to form an opinion from the tone of their letters and say whether or not they were sane I should be com-1 pelled to answer in the. negative. In

my opinion no sane person would make such damning statements without being able to prove them up to the hilt. Then 1 should be ’inclined to view with* suspicion, the mental faculties of one who can derive such a quantity of amusement from the correspondence that has appeared on this subject. Your correspondent “Don Quixote” has been singularly unfortunate in his choice of a nom de plume. The original Quixote was a bold and fearless personage, ever ready to defend the weak and the fair. He was known always to friends and foes by his one and only name and would, I am sure, have scorned the use of a. fictitious name. —I am, etc.,

JAMES LEITCH, Late Sec. Kokiri School Committee. August 9. The columns of a district newspaper form the best place tp venti; late public grievances, and often, good comes from such discussions. We think, however, that Kokiri school matters have been sufficiently debated, for the present, and will close the correspondence.—Ed. “Star.”