DUNEDIN SCHOOL COMMITTEE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 6740, 21 September 1883, Page 3

DUNEDIN SCHOOL COMMITTEE.

Duseiliri, "August 20,1353. •'. ■ ' . Mr Eu>Eß: This statement is a transcript

. of that given by Mr Robin at the last meeting of the Dunedin School Committee, and published in .the Dunedin papers at hia request, " with the remarks of himself and other members of the Committee. As these papers have, basing their comments on Mr Robin's figures, criticised unfavourably the action of some members of the Board. mys"elf among the rest, it might be as well if the other side of the •» question were made public, so that the public might be able to judge of- the truth or otherwise of Mr Robin's statement, and, as a ' consequence, of the justness of tho criticism based on his figures. With the view of having this done I ha,ve looked carefully into the Committee's balance-sheet for the last four years ' and a-balf, as forwarded to the Board duly certified to by the chairmen and auditors for the several yejrs from 1879 to 1883 inclusive, and I have found that they differ very materially 'from the statement just read, which, to ' quote Mr. Stuart, has been forwarded "to enlighten tho heathen darkness' of tho Board. Beginning in 1579,1 find that tho Committee s revenue was—

. . •■'..:.'■■ £187 10 5 As there was a credit balance of £39 os 5d shown in the balance-sheet for 1882, and as the expenditure for the six months of this year included in the present statement in excess of revenue i 3 £45 2s, Icredit the Committee with the difference, £5 IGa 7d, which give a grand total of £493 7s collected by them for the four and a-half year's, and not £880 us Cd in .two years and a-half, as given in the truthful statement forward for our enlightenment. Of this sum £481 0s Sd was raised by concerts in the years 1831 and 1382, and £321 13s lOd expended in prizes, harmoniums, and picmeß, leaving a balance of £171 13s 2d presumably spent on school requisites in the four years and a half referred to, and not £263 6s fld in two years and a-half: as per same statement. Of this £17113s 3d I find that £162 was expended iv 1881 in additions to schools, play-shede, and play-grounds, "without consulting the Board, he first intimation vouchsafed lo ua being the

receipt of a letter bearing date 10th July 1882, enclosing the account, and requesting a cheque to cover cost., which was very properly rcfusod, a3 the Board had not authorised tho expenditure. 1 say that tho balanco nhown was presumably spent on school, requisites; and I lino the word advisodly, for on looking into tho items of tho accounts I Bee that in 1879 stationery and stamps ate lumped as costing .£4-il-lslOd. The expenditure on these items for the next throe and a-half years was :—

This shows that during the last three and a-half years advertising had cost, £50 6s; printing, £12 13s; stationery, £43 lv's; and contingencies, £60 12s 3d.' As all the advertising required by school committees is done by tho Board (as well as any printed forms which may be required), it follows that tho two first items havo been unnecessarily expended; and aa the Committee could not possibly expend £43 IGa in stationery for office work, I take exception to a largo portion of tins amount alsp.^ Tho Government supj'ly freo education, but_ not stationery fur tho uso of the children attending tho schools. Contingencies tot up to the very respectable sum of £(ili 12.* Bd, and I must confess that I do not know what this word may mean ; but I proBume it partakes of tho eaino unmieessary character as tho advertising account. I'y tho way, I wonder whether any mcuiUur for tho Board ever saw a school coimnittuo advei tixcineut; I am sure I never did. In addition to tho regular income of the Committee, tho Board iiavo executed all necessary outside work abouttho various schools, such as painting, fencing, asphalting, fee, having expended ;.i!017 'As id ou the aanio during tho liibt IS months. These arc works usually duuo for cpuijiiiUci's by the Hoard in addition to the fixed allowance. The figures in the t-kuemcut just read, together with Mr Robin's remarks'on the sauie, both as regards revenue and expenditure, may therefore be tersely slated as luioleadiiiß and untruthful. Air Robin's stateineut with regard to the expenditure of the Boar.-! partakes of the 3ame character. Ms is reported-to..hive said that from iuquhiea made he found that we paid £275"per annum for office rent. He has been nnfortunateJn hij search after truth, and must have gone to the wrong party to inquire, as the Boaid sit rent freo in offices provided by tho. government. . IJis remarks about the addi;ions to Mr Stewart's house, and reference to Mr Park, are uncalled for arid unjust, as Mr Stewart, now that his family are growing up, s only having the additions to his lioubb thut Messrs Park and Hailiwell had some years ago. Mr Robin challenges' the Liwrence people to ;qual tho liberality of tho merchan; princo3 of Dunedin. So that his heathen darkness may )e enlightened, I have looked up one or two jalanco-sheets, and I find that in IS7? the, board's allowance to Ihe Lawrence Cymnittee was £05. The Committee raised, by ■oluntary douations, £72 lls; and in ISB2 131 los, against LG'J 15s, the Board's allownco for the latter y.car. Out of this sum f £104 4s only £13 12s Od was spent in prize?, saving (say) £00 at the credit of general school und. AH this money was from voluntary onations, and not the proceeds of concerts, ■here, I presume, the merchant princes were upposed t» receive value for their money in ntertaimnent. Mr Robin's peroration, being s truthful as his figures, needs no comment, 'he Dunedin School Committee fare out of ihe inds at the disposal of the Board in the same roportion that the other schools in the proinco do, and certainly better than Ihose in >me other provinces. For example, the allow--ice to various schools in Auckland. with ;erago attendances of 919, 582, D2l, and 438 £120, £72105,' £80, and £99 lls respectively; id I havo little, doubt that if some cf the Ltravagant and altogether useless items of :penditure I have referred tp were donejaway ith, the Dunedin Committee would get /along aite well with the allowance they at present :ceive. As the remarks of the other members ' Committee were based on Mr Rf bin's jures, they require no refutation. Vine inior member of the Committee (Mr' Smart) iemed, however, to be quite led away bv> Mr ,obin, and is reported to have said that -, the hairman of the Board was generally sup3sed to be a man of considerable fairness, but 3 (Professor Shand) made a statement which id no credit, at any rate, to his mathematical :curacy—that tho Committee spent tivolirds of its income in salaries. That was a isstatement—it was a vicious misstatement,— it it might be corrected-by putting him in )ssession of ihe facts." Sew, sir, as you did )t raako that statement on your own responbility, but were simply c;iiut!ng from a letter ceived from the secrotury of tho Dunedin ;hool Committee, dated ild.y 31, which conins these words:."The income of the Comittee in the shape of school fund is about ioO per annum, out of which the Committee iys in the shapo_ of salaries to secretary, .rpenter, and janitors the sum of £420." _ I il to see where the viciousness of the misateraent, so faras j'ou are concerned, comes . I would agree with Mr Stuart that you ay perhaps havo mado a mistake, it not a mathematical one; your miske being, in my opinion, that you cepted a statement made officially by c Dunedin School Committee as correct. r Stuart is yet young, and will probably, iinove as he gets older; but I cannot help inking that if the result of the higher educamal training .given at our High School and niversity is .exemplified by tho want of verence and respect for his lato teacher exbited in tlisspeech delivered by that goutlean at the moeting of the Committeo referred , then the sooner Mr. !Fish and those who pport his views on secondary education are lowed to obtain possession of the endowments t apart for tho support of these institutions c better for all concorned. Sir, I move that e_ letter just read from the Dunedin School Numitte'e be received. ' . '•

Mr Begg : I beg to second Mr Elder's motion. After the exposure of the falseness of the statement submitted by the Dunedin School Committee, Mr Robin will see that figures require careful handling', and that it does not do for inoxperienced persons to deal with them for the purpose of attack. They are like bombs, which, incautiously handled, are apt to blow out the brains of those attempting to use them. Mr Robin seems to have evolved his figures from his inner consciousness instead of gsttiag them from accounts. If Mr Robin's figures represent the accounts of the Dunedin School Committee as shown in their books, it shows the necessity for a different system of auditing school ■committee accounts; because if his figures represerit.the accounts of the Committee as shown in their books, it is quite evident that the balance sheets purporting to be audited and submitted to this Board are incorrect, and have been cooked. There is no other alternative. It will be well for members of school committees, teachers, and otheis to note what the demands of the Dunedin School Committee really are. They are that the extra funds demanded must come oithßr from, teachers' salaries or from the moneys granted by the Board to country and suburban school' committees. It was the duty of the Dunedin School Committee, if they wanted moro money, to point out what source the money was to come from. The while secret seems to be that Mr Robin wants to become a member of the Education Board: For the laßt two or three years, as sure as spring comes round, and the time for the election of members arrives, we have an outbreak from Mr Robin. Three times Mr Robin has offered himself as a candidate, and each time has been badly beaten. Onetime he poseß as the defender of the'oppressed teachers; at another time as the champion of the overworked children ;at another time as champion of school committees; and now he declares that1 members of the Board are entirely and utterly imbecile, and need Mr Robin to set them right, and he seeks to climb into the Board on the back of the Dunedin School Committee. It is rather amusing to note the claim that is so loudly made, that the Dunedin. School Committee represent the public of the city. I have looked into the matter, and find that the true state of the case ia as follows i— At last nieeting, according to the newspapers,. 1400 people were present. There should have been 5000 or 6000 to represent those entitled to vote. The highest numberof votes polled by any one candidate was 23b", the others being 101,190, 150, and so on. So that, instead of representing a majority of the inhabitants of the city, the Committee only represent a few cliques. The fact is that the Committee represent three or four cliques of about 150 each, and give in no sense the opinion of the parents or the general public. I recommend Mr Robin to study the fable of the ass and lion's skin, with a view to personal application of the moral, which I take to be that, however an ass may try to come out in the character of a lion, his bray inevitably betrays the species to which he belongs. As regards Mr Stuart and his remarks, we can all respect the ardent impetuosity and utasuspiciousness of youth which he exhibits, but I hope he may learn to ba more wary and cautious as he grotos older, and not to swallow every get of figures which may bo placed before him. lam sorry to see: that ho displays a capacity for using dictionary Billingsgate, which does not Bpeak woll.for the trauiing ha has received in the appropriate uso of language On the whole, the character of the.demands of the Dunedin School Committee has been so well exposed by the figures stated by Mr Elder that it is not necessary to say any more on the subject. Mr Ramsay.: There can bo po objection to passing Mr Elder's motion, "but it scorns to mo that there is a .great deal too much made of this matter. . I think the Board aro to a great extent tv blame for all this very unpleasant dis6ussion, and the very strong observations made both by- mombers of the School Committee and by members of the Board who have spoken to-day. Members of the Board at last meeting used very much stronger language towards the Dunedin School Committee than they had any rig,ht to use. A bad example having been set, perhaps Mr Robin and other members of the Dunedin School Committee also used stronger language than they ought to have used. I have a copy of the balance-sheet sent tome by Mr Robin. I do not know if other members have got copies. Mr Eldeb : I do not know that anyone has got it except Mr Ramsay. Mr Ramsay : I understood other members had got copies of the balance-sheet. In discussing this subject we are at a considerable disadvantage. AYe have listened to. a very elaborate speech from Mr Elder—a speech that seemed to bo printed, and was road, by him somewhat smartly, so that it was almost impossible for members of the Board to follow him. Ido not know that it is a usual thing in public bodies of this sort that members should write oat their speeches beforehand, have them printed, and then read them to the Board. It is scarcely fair to other members- to do that,unless they e.io individually uupplied before-

hand with copies of tho speech, so that they can follow the speaker, and make their comments upon his statements. lam not prepared at this moment to say whether the statements made by Mr Elder are .correct or incorrect, and Ido not think any other member is. To my miud tho matter is not of sufficient importance to require an adjournment of the discussion. So far as 1 can mako out from the figures supplied to me, tho amount received by the Dunedin School Committee during 1881, 1882,, and thu first half of 1883 was £1019 ss, and

that is confirmed by Blr Pryde. The total expenditure during that time was £2529 10* 6d, so that £880 os Cdliad been spent by the School Committee outside of the revenue received from tho Board. ■ Mr Elder : That is not the amount received by the Committee. They carried forward a largo balance from the previous year, and do not givo tho Board credit for it. Mr-Kamsay: lam not in a position to say anything about that. 1 contend that the figures supplied by Mr Robin are quito as reliable as Mr Elder's. They wero sent to me semi-ofli-cially by Mr Robin, and I do not think that he would forward' a statement deliberately falso, or that, as Mr Begg said, tho balance-sheets havo boon cooked. Mr Elder : Tho balance-sheets are not cooked as submitted to tho Board. Mr Ramsay : Then Mr Elder and Mr Begg are not at one. Mr Begg stated distinctly that, if Mr Eldor'B ligures were correct^ the balance-sheets sent by the School Committee were cooked. Mr Bkc;o : I said that if the statement sent by Mr Robin ia correct, then the balance-sheets sent by the School Committco are cooked. Mr Ramsay : I am n, litllo confused by these interruptions, and perhaps it would bo bettor in future for nil of us to jireparo and print our speeches, so that wo shall bo ablo to any all wo have gut, to say in a quiot, calm, and deliberate manner. 1. think it is very much to bn deprecated that such very strong, unpleasant, and angry languagq should bo used, not only by members of tho Dimedin School Committee, but by members of the Ocago Education Board, who certainly ought to havo shown a better example. Tho lotter from tho Committee, on which a somewhat angry discussion took place at last meeting of the Board, was a reasonable one, and most respectful. The circumstances of the Dnnedin Committee are peculiar, and quite diifeient to those of any other committee. The expenses they have to incur in the goueral-manageinent of the largo establishlishments uiidor their charge are very much in excess, comparatively speaking, of the expenses of schools throughout the country. It was possible that auf explanation of the different items of expenditure might bo furnished to tho Board which would be very satisfactory. 1 would move, as an addition to the motion, that a email committee of the Board be appointed to confer with a small committee of the Dunedin School Committee on the quostion of their finance?.

• MrFkBGUS: I second Mr Ramsay's amendment. ' /■ The Chairman: I do not understand the object of Mr Kamsay's motion. Mr Ramsay: It has been asserted by Mr Elder and others that there ia extravagance on

tho part of the Committee. We want to see ivhere this extravagance is, and we might point out means of saving money in the future. Mr Begg : I do not see any reason for accepting Mr Ramsay's motion. We have a scale of allowances for all school committees, and if wo give more to the Dunedin Committee we shall have to levise the whole scalo. As for any advice we might give th,o Committee, I do not think they would thank us for it. Mr Eldeu : If we give more to the Dunedin Committee we will have to take it from tbe country committees, who need funds quite as much as tho Dunedin Committee. The Dunedin Committee during tho last few years had only raised £G. by voluntary "contributions. They raised part .of the excess of £BSotby tho sale of the Board's property, part from the special grant for George Btreet, and a great deal of it from rent. The country committees had to raise extra funds by voluntary subscriptions. The Dunodin Committee had spent £56 in a few years on advertising. That was monstrous. I\ ro other committee spent Od for such a purpose; Jlo had said.nothing at all about the salary to a secretary, although they all held opinions about that. The Chaip.man : I fail to see the exact use of the Committee. If it is intended to revise our allowance to committees, it would be impossible to associate a committee of the Board with the Dunedin School Committee.

Mr Ramsay : I only intended that we should confer with the School Committee as to its financial position. . Mr Fraeb : I deny that there was any angry discussion by this Board. Whatever discussion took place occurred simply because the Duiiedin Committee asked us to treat them exceptionally. Anything said was out of consideration for other committees we have •to deal with. All I said was that the Committee displayed great extravagance in paying a secretary £80 a year. Mr Ramsay : I do not wish to press my amendment. .

Mr M'Kenzie : I do not think myself that the proposed committee, would be of any use; but at the same time I do not agree with all

tho hard things said by Mr Elder and Mr Begg about the Dunedin Committee. It will not tend to harmony between the Committee and the Board that those statements should be made in the manner they have. During the time I have been a member of the Board, I am riot aware that; tho Duiiedin Committee has had anything to complain of; but I think we should g*ive them a little credit for managing in the best way they can for the district over which they preside. Mr Ramsay's amendment was .withdrawn, and Mr Elder's motion agreed to. iUNNCCKBUKN. ; The secretary was instructed to visit Bannockburn with a view of selecting a school sito. . ACCOUNTS. ; Accounts amounting to £8179 IS;> 3d were passed for payment. The Board then went into Committee to consider other business. ... . ■ . :

■ . . ' Kecehis. 1 .£ 8. il. £ 8. d. Frotu Education Board— ■ 1SSI ... .. C67 15 0 ' ]8S2 .. .. 641 15 0 1S4I3 (balf-jear) • .. 339 15 0 - 1619 5 .0 Balance raised by Iiuncdin School C.iiminee. ".:.-; 203 0 9 Total payments by tho Com- : wivce during the yearn 1SS1, 1882, and ISS3, to date ... .. .. 2529 10 6 :. Tolat-receipts from . the - . . :,Board" ; - ; ..\- , .. 1849 5 6. •'■.•:'■•_•- ~ ■"•■'•■ £ 8S0 5 0 ; •' ; ,. ■ ; "."... I'.-.. : 1912 11 9 . ■. ■■■■.'•■ :" • '" ExrESDITCBE. " .. . ■ 1SS1. ' "—--^ £ s. d. . £ s. d. - Wood-addeoal;. ., - 5B 10 6.. ■IWpair i account—materiala ■ andwaBts .. ■■■■..' 366 17 1 • ' : : Cleaning account—Janitor's sages, Union street, £50; . ' do, Arthur street, £45; . ■"do, AlluDy. street, £45 ; ... rdo, George street, £45;. do, AVilliam street, £45 ; cleaning clcsets, - cbim- ■ nejs, and ma'.oiiah, £59 ■ . ;■.•■. 17s7d.-, ...... ■, ... 2S0 17 7 ■ , ■ Advertising account, .sta- , " > tioncry, &c.f'jr ',.■;" and office .. ' .. 29 10 0 Contingencies, &c. — disinfect inta,' audit, interest, postage,&h!.-... .. 23 10 1 . Secretary, including nse of ; -' his office, fire, gas, Jurni- . '. ■•" ture,&c; . -.. .. ICO 0 0 r. i ■■ •...;.-■-; 856 5 3 ■ -..•■•- 1E82.- ■ ■ . ■Wood and coal,:. - .. C814 5 : . Repairs ' .. .. ISO .6 7 . ■ Clinkg " ...... ... 2S1 9 3 . Adveitioiog, &c. .. 22 6 0 . Contingencies .. / ... 1814 3 , Secretary :. - :. 80 0 0 ■•: > . - - ' -—: 661 9 0 18S3 (half-year). Wocd and coal .. .. 4113 6 Kejalrs .. '■'■ ■■ 129 8 1 Cleaning . ' .. .. 138 14 9.. Advertising, &c. (part oW). 25 18 '6, . . , '■-'ContinKeociea :■•■■' .. 9 4 2 Secretary .. .. 40 0 6 . : . ... • . . ; ,.■ . . -' 384 17 0 ' v' .' ..'.■■.•' ' ..£1912 11 .9

• : 1B79 .. •• ■•« 'D° '7 3 ■■■•1880 .. - .. •• *95 li 3 , ifcSl .. .. •• 687 '4 0 - mi - ■ .. .. ..1,058 15 7 . 1BS3 (6ix uiou!hs) .. ■• S39 lo 0 Total ... ..£3731 U 1 The balanco-eheets show that of this sum tin Committee collected from the public by voluntary Bubscriptions^vnd concerts in : iS7», :: ... .. ..£639 - U80- --...S/-- .. .. SOU 7 1831." .*•.. . .. .. — ■- 1882 : v '.. : , ■•■-•■.. -■ .. 39116 1

1S30. ISil. 1832. 1SS3 £ 8. a. £ 8. d. £ s. tl. £ B. d. E'riatlng ■ 5 15 0 5 10 6 17 0 Stationery in Hi 0 1110 0- 13 4 0 \dvoiti-.irigl8 10 0 0 3 0 7 14 0 25 18 6 Jontinircii- • rioa . 16 i 2 23 10 1 13 14 3 9 4 2 £53 5 8 £53~0 1 £10 19 3 £35 2 S