TIMARU.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 18 October 1880, Page 2

TIMARU.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) HIE \\"EST END.. The southern part of Tiraaru is manifestly aping the West End of. London, and, to meet the requirements of this peculiarly aristocratic part, an auxiliary school has been erected at an enormous cost, and will very shortly be ready for occupation. A large sum of money having already been expended on the central building, first in erecting the main edifice, and then in providing a good-sized wing, 1 hear some comment on the absurdity and unfairness of lavishing the hard-earned cash of taxpayers on our aristocratic "West End," where a school is no more required than in other more thiQkly-populated localities. The argument advanced against this display of favoritism is, "If the central school is too far from pupils resident at the southern extremity, "why should the children of poorer parents, coming quite as long a distance from other localities, be compelled to trudge so far." The answer is plain, and according to the very transparent mind of the South Canterbury Board of Education it should, without explanation, be quite sufficient for common people. It is just because those inhabiting other parts of the town, though more numerous, are o.njy men and women " of low degree } '* who are easily led by the nosag, and whose children, " dirty little pigs," can walk miles without any hardship. It is somewhat amazing that laboring people, and others of moderate means are content to take affronts at the will of the Board, and thai they allow their hardly-earned money to be so inequitably squandered. The town of Timaru is not newly laid out. It was known years ago to what limits it would be likely to extend, and if the spot on which the main school stands was considered too far from the suburbs the school should have been built on a smaller soale, in anticipation of the neoe3sity of side schools, and certainly the addition, comparatively new, should not have been made. As, however, the Board, through lack of foresight, have spent so much on the big building, it should be allowed to suffice for some time to come, until oppressed oitinens recover from the crushing demands that have already been made upon them. Ultimately suburban schools will be indispensably necessary for the accommodation of the rapidly increasing outside population. But their existence now would be premature, for as the large building has room enough and to spare, it would be the height of madness to cause its partial desertion by the creation of a host of auxiliaries. It will be deserted, though, in the end, for numbers of families who now avail themselves of it, and who resided within the town aforetime, have gone ov.er the Belt and settled on their lands outside. These will, of course, utilise the branches immediately on their springing into existence* and then where will pupils be found for the parent school? As matters at present stand the central sciho,ol should be deemed sufficient. !gdvicat\on, if considered an acquisition worth having, will be sought after, and the families of &11 in the suburbs, rich and poor together, might easily findi their way in. If my judgment does next prove exceedingly erroneous, this west end" temple of learning will be set apart for a particular class of pupils, just as. the Queen's Hotel, by command of the Licensing Bench, is to exist solely for the accommodation of a oertain class of topers. PETTICOAT GOVERNMENT.

; The Committee of the Timaru Public School is at present flourishing linger the able leadership of Miss Forbes, like-wise-fills the ohriir of the itfijftiijetis"; and the tb,e Committee, the

Education Board, and educational 'aff 't generally are, in this quarter, U n?) petticoat government. This lady took it upon Aorsclf to diamisa Kebecca Ball, a young maiden of S BB attainments, from the position of fn,, f °, r mistress, to which she had been anoniM j She then ordered tho head master out t his room, and now she sets the Conmiu and Board of Education at defiance Th latter body virtually supports her claim f superiority, so that she can snanh fingers at the Committee and say, " \v| 6r made you rulers and judges over Ji! For the credit of Miss Ball I must that the lady-in-chief dismissed her being incompetent before entering utl a3 her duties, so that the chargo of i no potency cannot bo sustained. It j s more likely that the head mistros 3 f, ing lest the younger lady's attaining* should eclipse her own, sought this arh trary way of saving her reputation. The*! must be a radical defect in the'edu tional machinery that precludes the w" bility of regular motion.

BUSINESS CHANGES. The well-known firm of Jonas g a and Wildie, has been dissolved.' jf Wildie, the favorite auctioneer, has allM himself with Messrs. Allan and Stumbl the reputable contractors, in whoso Co eS ' pany he will have the advantago of m " inexhaustible supply of the "°readv which, coupled with his own capital the goodwill of those who know'bta in the district, should ensure his success' He figured on the new rostrum to-dav" Mr. Hart having turned his attention L journalism, the lauguishing Evening Telegraph will have ye't another chanca of resuscitation. This little paper has' seen many ups and down since its fW appearance, but unlike most of us, it has steered clear of the Bankruptcy' Court Considering the struggles of the %» newsletter it is to be hoped that Jfc Hart will so apply his capital as to, the paper to the position of onaof tho loading journals of South Canterbury a district, by-the-bye, that allows no second-rate papers : they ar®, all leaders —even the Temuka "Lea<W," if it at j]j exists, is a very superior journal. Tlin senior partner of the auctioneering fi rm Mr. Moss Jonas, a shrewd man of b Uß j[ ness, retains on his own account tha concern of which lie ] las for some time been at the head Mr. Jonas advertises that he trusts to continue to give" the same satisfaction, in the future as he has done in the past.'" Let us. hope that he will not give less but, even more, if that is possible to' his; i clients, and that he will-continue to hold! his own with the auctioneering fraternity iTime will show.