THE EDUCATION BOARD AND THE SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10508, 30 July 1897, Page 4

THE EDUCATION BOARD AND THE SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

It seems inexplicable, how auy obscurity can hang about the relations of these two bodies to one another in any intelligent mind. A correspondent in yesterday's Herald quotes our words in a previous article: "If the Board withheld every name but one, and refused to approve of any but that one, it would be strictly acting in the letter as well as the spirit of the law," and he proceeds to say that this "is an exposition of the Education Act which makes one ask' Where do the committees, the constituents of the Education hoard, come in?'" In reply we would say they come in just where the constituents come in under any representative system whatever. Our correspondent seems to ignore the most rudimentary principles of a representative system, which is that the representatives are elected to act, not to throw the work back on those that elected them. The Board of Education is elected to exercise certain statutory powers. It is not the school committees that give them those powers. They are given them by Act of Parliament. Taking an analogous case. The House of Representatives is elected by the constituencies of the colony, to. exercise functions already faxed by Act of Parliament, to wit to make laws. They frame and pass a law; they certainly do not remit the making of that law to their constituents. They may "consult" them if they wish, but their representatives do the work themselves. Then " where do the constituents come in?" They come in at the end of three years, and they may call those member!, to account for making a bad law, or a good law, but not for having exercised the function of law-making, for that was their statutory duty. Or, take the case of appointments in the public service for closer analogy. The citizens of Auckland elect representatives to the Assembly, including'- one who is a Minister. 'All the Ministers, in fact, are virtually eleoted to their high position, by the members of Parliament, representing the constituencies.' Well, let us suppose that a Collector of Customs has to be appointed for Auckland. Does the Government call a meeting of "boohoos"at the City Hall to elect a Collector of Customs? The Government and the members of the Assembly derive their authority from the people but it is to do the work for the people not to ask the people to do it for them, ling, of course, is the very first principle of representative institutions even m a republic. The President of the United States is chosen by the people to statutory position. Does he ask the people that elected him to make appointments of Ambassadors ? It is specifically enacted in the Education Act, that the Board of Education appoint" every teacher in the district, except sewing teachers, which the committees appoint subject to the approval of the Board,} and the Board in referring to the committees the selection of a teacher from six or leveii approved by the Hoard, is distinctly violating the spirit of the Act. It was obviously intended by .the fraraers of the Act, that the teachers should not be subjected to local popular election, but that the Board, exercising the powers conferred by Act, should have the responsibility of appointing every teaoher. In Victoria and New bouth Wales every teacher is appointed by the Department of Education, which has to pay the salaries, and the local committees .are! called local " Boards of Advice," and are merely con- , perhaps, so : as to, avoid the possibility of friction in the appointment of % teacher who might be distasteful to the people. The same principle , wag intended, and wisely so, by the framers of our education system' only .that in deference to the provinoialut.sentiment of the colony Provincial Boards r- a most cumbrous system-were authorised to exercise. the delegated powers of the Treasury/ in appointing these paid officers of the State. And our Auckland Board of Education is abusing its' delegated.powers., in surrendering \ to thecoramitteesthe selection of a teacher '■ Such »the spirit and the letter, of our Education , Act. Turning to another point raised by. our correspondents He speaks; of the "inconsistency" of i the Sift SM*'. "'gm «re now Withheld by the Board from iti selected ist,_ which were ProvioMly submitted lor^^lle^y.streec,^,lS;! Daehungi, and Epsom vwineiet' SS

qui engUK tMttmi JSB that the Board was right at .lft WB nutting nan,« fa?'*£.!? I*ffig ar* these ..seven . to hSft^H of the province? and {o%&lB about, to .every -viSi? \Wfll any consideration fJSWISI other similar classiticationa ™ . all over the frggffj g|lij trary, would it not be' hinr. t • e W p.e teachers tlmtfeKp have but one chance till sS "111 had theirs? I„ a vp^f^^M rttonotoneoftliaiSfor Wellesley-strect SohoolS&Wi been submitted for sthfiflßfli Oneliuuga, or Epsom,M«l other sets' of 2?hlfe« cl-ance. and the Board has it«.lf" 8 . w K>nft*S tliis ill-will and departure from the sSfeMi letter of the law. IUUH| resolutely refuse to but one to a committee tt Boards down Sout!Srv! d 0 *J ?am o ActoftheWisWuS,W idiotic remark of another ™. th « dent about "disqualfe&g worthy of a word. Are tl 1 n Wfe, officer' of HokiSka,nl&S Wellington -'diqu»iy?Sfi^» r ti reappoints tfc rrffe^ at I^tteltontothe PS ti^ffl}»|;