ANNUAL MEETINGS OF HOUSEHOLDERS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 23 April 1907, Page 4

ANNUAL MEETINGS OF HOUSEHOLDERS.

NELSON TOWN SCHOOLS.

THE GIRLS' SCHOOL QUESTION.

The annual meeting of householder- for < the election of the Town Schools Com- . mittee was held in the Provincial Hall I last evening. There was a good attendance, the hall being nearly filled. I Mr Henry Baigent was voted to the i chair, and the outgoing School Commit- , tee occupied seats on the dais. '. The Chairman said the unusually j large attendance of householders indicated a keener interest in the cause of : education, and it should be an en- ; couragement to the Committee. i i Mr Selby, Secretary to the Committee, read the report and balance-sheet, i which stated tlie Oommittee had hoped that ere this a BeW Girle' Scbool (probably of brick) would have been erected to take the place of the Toi Toi Valley School, but' that hope had not been realised. The Board had selected plans, and had called for tendeis for the erection of the new building, and the Committee trust that a building which will be both a credit and ornament to Nelson will soon be erected. The report noted the addition to the Hampden-street School alterations ; at the Haven-road School the placing of fuel-saving stoves in the school buildings; the appointment of a caretaker ; referred to the lamentable deaths of Mr R .J. Seddon and Mr A. Pitt stated that the attendance of the scholars for the past year had been 88.54 per cent ; noticed the falling-off of the attendance during the hop-picking ventured the opinion that the appointment o£ a Truant Offi- < cer would improve the attendance at both the Town. Schools and the private ones ; and stated that there were now 604 boys and 535 girls, making a grand total of 1139 pupils iii the Town Schools. The balance-sheet showed tho receipts at £364 16s 3d, and the expenditure £335 6s 3d, leaving a credit balance of £29 10s. On the motion of Mr Easdale, the report and balance-sheet were unanimously adopted. Un the motion of Mr Vercoe, seconded by Mr C. Stewart, a heaity vote of thanks to the outging Committee was caried by acclamation. The election of the new Committee (9) was theii held. Thefe ware 12 nominations, as follows : — Before the meeting (s)— Rev. J. V. Kempthorne, Rev. J. H. MacKenzie, Messrs W. S. Snodgrass, T. P. Vercoe, and John WcOley. At the meeting (7)— Messrs Ernest Savage, A. H. Bisley, J. J. Franklyn, Wm Bray, E. Boyes, Thomas Bradshaw, Mr Geo. Page. A ballot being necessary, Messrs W. Rogers, Knapp, and Easdale were appointed scrutineers. After an hour the scrutineers gave in the results as ' follows:— Rev. J. H. MacKenzie 101, > Mr Boyes 100, Mi' Webley 98, Mr Savage 95, Rev. J. P. Kempthorne 90, Mr Franklyn 85, Mr Snodgrass 82, Mh Vercoe 68, Mr Bisley 61. The Rev. J. H. MacKenzie, who was received with applause, moved : "That this annual meeting of the householders of Nelson expresses its pleasure at the progress which the Education Board has made in the direction of erecting a new scbool building on the Shelbournestreet site, and earnestly appeals to the Board to accept at the earliest possible date a tender for the building of the school, so that there may be no further delay in providing a central and healthy 1 school for the girls in the higher standards." (Applause.) Mr MacKenzie 1 said the subject had been well threshed : out ,i»n dit only required a few words from any one to recommend the resolution to the hearty approval of all. He • called attention to the fact that the Committee had to appeal to the Educa- ■ lion Board. The last election of the : Board was under a nuw Act, and the ' result was that though there were 1000 school children in Nelson the Committee , had only 18 votes — as by a legal fiction t there were only two schools in Nelson I city. In Wakapimka there were 100 children ahd three Schools, atid yet the I Suburban North Committee had 21 > votes to Nelson's 18. .There were other t anomalies elsewhere, and if the cry of 1 Town v. Country were raised the city ! householders might just as well stay at I home for thu good they could achieve. Happily, only one member of the Education Board had advertised himself" again and again as representing antagonism of the country against the town. His antagonism had been successful so far, for he had hung up the Nelson ' girls' school question for eight years. Even now he might succeed in blocking the erection of the school on the Shelbourtie>strecpt site, aiid hence it was well to strengthen tho hands of the Board in the matter. Mr MacKenzie reviewed the history of the Shelbourne-street site agitation and the delays. As to the Toi Toi Valley site, it had been the unanimous opinion of the doctors of the town that the locality was unsuitable for a school from a health point of view, yet the country member of the Education Board pronounced it healthy, and the buildings "handsome and commodious." If that gentleman saw the sun go off the school in the winter at 1 2 p.m..; and it' he had children attend--1 ing the school, he might change his '■. views. But there was no member of the Board who had a child attending in Toi Toi Valley. If there were, he would leave no stone unturned to have the school removed to a beter site. ThBoard had gone so far as to call tenders for the building oil the Shelbournestreet site. But the opponent of the scheme, who first said the building fund could not be used for the purpose, nowsaid it would exhaust the fund if the Nelson school were buiit. If the Education Board would abandon its trip to the West Coast, with its attendant expense, probably the public would know more of what was done at those remote places. The Board, at its last meeting at Westport, had accepted a tender for over £1000 for an infant school there — yet ho (Mr MacKenzie) was not aware that Westport had been agitating for such a school for eight years. As to finance, the Board could get the money if it liked by overdraft. (Laughter.) The cost of the girls school would be £2200. When the late Mr Seddon was in Nelson, he had been amazed to hear that the Nelson Education Board was not in debt. The late Premier, when he learnt that £2800 hacl been allocated for various purposes, had said the school should be built, the first consideration being the health of the children. He had obviously intimated that the Board should bear the cost from the Building Fund, and the balance by overdraft, or debt, letting posterity pay it off. The Board and other bodies had been too shy of getting into debt with the property behind them as a credit. The Board could not borrow, perhaps, but it could easily get money from the bank, and pay it off by instalments out of the annual grant. (Applause.) By that means simple justice could be done to he city. As to the earmarking of the Building Fund only for repairs, etc., and not for new buildings, it was a merely departmental regulation, which could be ignored. The late Premier had clearly intimated that if the Board utilised its £2800 for building a new girls' school nothing would be said against it, as the health of the children was the primary consideration. (Applause.) The resolution would strengthen the hands of those members of the Education Board who" were doing what was fair and right and just for the children of this town. (Continued applause.) Mr W. Bray seconded the resolution. Mr J. J. Franklyn supported the resolution, and endorsed the statements by Mr MacKenzie, emphasising the need of a change of site from Toi Toi Valley on the ground of health. (Applause.) The .resolution was ca.rri.ed unanimously, with loud applause. The meeting terminated with a voto of thanks to the Chairman. At the first meeting of the new Committee the Rev. J. H. MacKenzie was elected Chairman, and Mr Selby secretary and treasurer. It was resolved that the treasurer and two Committeemen sign cheques, and that the Committee meet monthly on the third Monday.