EDUCATION BOARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 2317, 28 July 1898, Page 21

EDUCATION BOARD.

- The monthly meeting of the Education Board,, held on Weduesday, 20th, was attended by Dr Brown (chairman), Messrs P. B. Fraser, J. J. Ranisay, H. Harraway, W. Snow, J. Sim, J. M. Gallaway, and the Hod. J. BlacGregor. ELECTION OF A MEMBER. The voting papers for the election of a member iv Ike place of Ml 1 J. F. M. Fraser wero opened, the result of the voting being as follows :— James Mitchell, 121 votes; William Nicholson, 6t. — The Chairman thereupon declared Mr Mitchell duly elected. TIIK WAKABI SCHOOL. A deputatiou from the Wakan School Com-mittee—-consisting of Ble&sra J. L. Passinore, W. Ailken, and William Wright—waited on the board and asktd for a subsidy of 25s or 304 for every pound coll-cted for the erection of a wing to the preecnt shelter ehed in connection with the school. Mr Passmore stated thai he had pers' nally guaranteed to collect; £30 for the work. — The matter was referred to tie architect to report. THE BOARD'S FINANCES. The Chairman said before the board considered the question of subsidies he v/juld like them to seriously tskc into consideration what he was about to bring before them. He had aslted Mr Pryde to make out a statement of the buildiag account, which, rougbly speaking, showed the revenue from January 1, 1893, to March 31, 1893, to bs £37,818 Is Bd, and the expenditure for the came period £44,895 19i Id, the ovc-rdraft at tbe bank being £7077 17s sd. Hi did not know whether members were held perßoually liable, for the overdraft, but be thought it would be a good thing if thay were, as it v/tuld meke them more careful in the mafrer of expenditure. The board were over £7000 in debt, and they had rcquetts coming befoie them at every meeting for buildings in all directions. He wally thought thty ought to look at the situation, and make up their minds that except io cases of ex^c-nic urgency they would not undextake any new works for fche next nine or ten months that wcu'd coat more that £20. He had also asked Mr Pryde to make up a statement of the amount that had been expended upon gymnasium?. TLey were very good thing* in their way, but to spend money upon tLem was a luxurious spending of money. Tbe amount spent on gymnasiums had been £1322, and the authorised expenditure for the same purpose was £652. Mr Ramsay : Hwe w? not another account iv the bank ? Mr Pryde : The bauk overdraft is £7077. Mr Ramsay : I want to know if thht ia our exact position. I am so accustomed to get statt ments which ara only half the truth. The Chairman said he had the statement; of the bank account before him. It showed an approximate debit balance at the end of July of £6870 Is 2d. Mr Gallaway Baid if tbe buildings had been properly erected, then the vote w&8 insufficient. The question wa?, Had they bsen extravagant or not ? The Chairman said be was very sorry that members were so tfcin-skinned. Ha laid the position before thtm as a plain business man, and if tluy were £7000 to the bad he was not blaming them. He pimply put the statement before them so that thuy should not uuelertake any works, except of tx'reme urgency, for the next 12 mouths If they did not see the matter in the same light as he did, he was very much surprised. Mr Gallaway eaid if the chairman thought he took what he said as a reproach he was mistaken. He only wanted to know wbat the object of the statement was. Was it not a fact tbat (he building grant was too small ? He quite agreed Tfti'vh the cbftismaan that the Uoard should not lend itself at any time to ixtravagauce. Mr Bamsay said they cculd cot stop building operations. Necessary building operations mu>t bo gone on with. Mr Feasek wa3 extremely grateful that the ftateu-enfc had been put before the board. They oiten eat there iv a lordly sort of way and voted away money without knowing how tho finances of the board ttood. The board had entered into the speculation of building their tffices, and he understood that when they were to Le built th*-y were not to exceed something like £2000. Bub if he was not very much mistaken the building had very much exceeded that fcum. He intended to move that the estimated cost of the buiidiDg be placed on the table; and also the detailed cost oflhm*etiuls »nd supervision. If it had cost £2500, and gymnasiums had taken £1500, it was not sui'priMtig that they were very much behind with their tinancee, and when they had appeal* such as they had that day for absolute necessaries for carrjing on schools, he quits agreed with the chairman that they must cut their garment according to their cloth. He also thought thafe iii tvas very probable that they would have to pinch until they got round the corner again. As regards the board'd cfiice*, his own opinion was that it was the most unfortunate speculation that the board had ever entered into. STONEJJUiIN. The Chairman of the Stonebum School Ctinmitcee wrote stating that in consideration of the board* carrying on tho school the committee would be agreeable to accept one half of their present quarterly grant, and suggesting that a teacher, whom he mentioned, should ba employed at a salary or" £50 per annum. — The proposals were agreed t). RAVENSBOURNB. The Secretary of the Eavensbourne School Committee wrote acknowledging tho receipt of a memo, trom the board re work ordered to bs done at Uie school, and requesting the board to defer building operations uatil the board had considered the following resolution passed by the committee — " That this committee regret that the report of Mr P. B. Frasei; and Mr Sim should have superseded the report of the board'fl architect, and beg to forward for the board's coneideration the subjoined reports and evidence on the state of the school buildings, and trusb that the board will see its way clear to reconsider the Ravensbourne Sshcol Committee's petition for a new school." Mr P. B. Fraser said ho might aay a word regarding the rery strong language the committee had seen fit to use regarding air Sim and himself because they had reported adversely to their rpquest for & new school. He had described the walls of the school as the dirtiest he had ever seen. He did nob mean to Bay more than simply quote from the board's correspondence in proof ot his statement regarding the cleanliness of tho school. The secretary of the RaTenebourne School Committee wrote in 1897 as follows :—: — " The school is in rather an uncleanly utatc." Then later the chairman of the School Committee, iv a long letter addressed to tho board, had tho following sentences :— " (1) The school buildings are ail badly ventilated and dirty inside. ... (3) The walls inside are exceedingly dirty, %nd have not been painted for very many years." He (Mr Fraser) said it waa not surprising that wh§n he and Mr Sim went te fche school r year after that letter was written that they should have found it to warrant the language thej b»d used. The* had repotted

recommending more to be done to the echool in the way of improvements than the committee had been able to get from the board by persistent applications 'durii>g the pasb year or two. Mr Sim agreed with Mr Fraaer'a remarks, and said that there fvere 36 sahools older than the Ravensbourne School throughout Qtigo, which would cost £10,010 to replace. Further consideration of the matter was subsequently adjourned until the following day. KENSINGTON SCHOOL. The Konoington School Committee asked that two pupil teachers bs appointed to tho school. — The request was acceded to. MACANDRKW ROAD. The Head Master ot the BJacanclcew toad School wrole asking for repsjment of £13 10j expended by him in adding a bedroom to the school residence, and stating that if the money was refunded he wuiild spend it upon repairs to the interior of the residence.— The application was granted. TENDEKS. The following tenders were accepted — E ectiou of school buildings at; Moraona — Joseph Manning, £5'J7 ; additions to leaidence at Kokonga— T. P D ..vies, £44. GESISBAC. An application by th 2 Auakino School Committee for the rent ot a building used as a school was referred to the architect! to report. Claims for the half-cost ot improvements were granted as fellows: Asphalting, Bilduth!> : asphalting and up tiring playsheds, Clinton ; feuciug and painting inside of school, P&tearoa ; distempering room', Forb Chalmers School ; asphalting, St. Clair. Thu following applications were granted :—: — Repairs to residence, Otiake ; fencicg glebe, Hjda; lepairs to jwldfiice and echool, Broad B iy ; repairs to eeliDol, ToKneraki. Applications from the Oamarn Middle and the Kampden Suhcol Committees fcr financial aFfiitilatica for fenciug were declined It win agreed to grant a subsidy to the Pomabaka Downs !?cuool Committee for the erection ot a shelter bh*d. The board subsequently went into committee. The adjourned meeting of the koard, heid on Thursday, w»w attended by Dr Brown (chairman;, Messrs J. Sim, J. M. Gillaway, W. Know, J. Mitchell, J. J. Ramsay, H. Harraway, P. B.Fr&Ber, and the Hon. J. MacGregor. ACCOUNTS. Accounts amounting to £6156 7a lOd were passed for payment. APPOINTMENTS. The following appointments were made :—: — j Samuel J. Harrison, head teacher, Chaslnnds, vice A. Ch- sney, promoted ; Geo. P. Graham, head teachnr, Girnmeiburn, vice H. McMillan, promoted; EhzabtthG Christis, head teacher, "Windaon, vine Robina M'Gill, left the service ; Marioa P. Eaily, head teacher, Waitahuna West, vice J F. M'Gr>-gor, promoted ; Ellen H Bell, first female assistant, Waiwera towniship, vice M. S. Shore, left the Bervics; Mary Loudon, first female assittant, KigLcliff, vice Barnett, left the service. RESIGNATIONS. The following resignations were accepted :— Thomas C. Fraser, head teacher, Wtst Taieri ; Samuel J. Harrison, lie&d teacher, Tahora ; George P. Grahum, head teacher, Lee Stream ; EIL-n H. Bel 1 , head teacher, Tuapska Fiat; Elizabeth G. Christie, head teacher, Lauder ; Mary E. Fiamank, head teachoc, Taiwtika ; Alexander Bell, first male assistant, Oamaru Middle. GREEN ISLAND The G.een Macd School Oomisittee wrote cxUinfi attention to the fact that the school grounds and fences were in an unfhvshed atate. It was resolved to instruct the architect to have the works cairied out. wAiPoar. The following letter was received from the head teacher ot tho Waipori School : — Waipori. July 17. 1898. The Secretary Education Board. Sir, — /fe the Waipori trouble, I have learned incidentally that the boaid expected me to reply to your letter sent after the May meeting conveying the report of the committee of inquiry held at Wain iriand ihe resolution of the board that T bo requested to advance three of the six pupiU failed by me in the Second Stanclaid last Dicember. I beg to apologise for my seeming want cf courtesy, and to say in explanation that J did neb think any reply was necessary, as I stated to the committee most distinctly, wbeii the chairman there and then asked me to advance the pupils 1 , that such a thing rould not be thought of. I showed that to receive a raw levy of Second Standard pupils into my room when the school year was half over would result in serious diforgaDisalion of my classes and would be productive of no benefit to the pupils to advanced. Mr Hirraway agreed with me, and remarked to Mr Snow th.it there was a practical diftic ilty in tho. way of my carrying nut his request. 1 consequently thought that this en3eil ihe matter. I certainly might have impusr.ed the finding of the committee that I had committed an eiror of judgment in failing those three pupils, but J thought, this was unnecessary also, a-i the whole tenor of my first letter to the board consisted of the pl«a tint it was the inspector who committed the error of judgment, and that I was in a better position than the inspector or anyone else to judge of the fitness of the pupils to proceed to the Third Standard. Ido not take my stand only on my legal rights, for I am quite willing to concede to the b aril a revisory or advisory power, which I shall at all times treat with the gruatesfc respect. But in the present case I must repeat that the children weic not fib to proceed to the Third Standard, and 1 was prepared to demonstrate this to the sitis r action of the n.oeting of inquiry had I been allowed to do so. It doss not lie upon me to sliow where the inspector's examination was at fault, for I did not see him test the chil tren. I therefore considered myself justified in exercising my own discretion iv the matter, and I was the moro encouraged to do so inasmuch as at the April meeting (I think) of the board Mr Ooyeu reported id these words: "The head teacher ha 3 the right, even in the face of an inspector's report, to fail children in the Second Standard I thai he deems ur(it to pa-= 3." At the meeting j of inquiry I proponed, as the inspector was j pivsc-ut, along with the children of the coni- ' plainantS; and as the pSiice of meeting waa the school, with all the necessary appliances ready to I hand, that the children should be re-examined | there and then. The piopo»al was not enterj tamed. I theu asked the committee to go into certain tests and results of An examination of the pupils in question, held en the 9th of May, that I put in as evidence. This also was ruled by the chairman as inadmissible. I then essayed to put some questions to the mistress, in order to elicit some eyidence as to the attainments of the \ pupils in the .Second Standard, when I was ! promptly silenced by the chairman, who remarked that that was only "talking shop." After that Mr Snow might well say, as he did at the close of the meeting, that the boaid were in possession of no more evidence than they had already. Although the inquiry ivas, so to speak, eprung upon me without my being roadc aware of the definite scope of it, yet I bailed it with satisfaction, as affording me an opportunity of ibbutting tin chaige brought against me by Mr Cotton of failing the children of parents with whom I was at variance. But in this also 1 was disappointed, for not one of the comp'ainanta wa3 present. It is true Mr Blackmore was there, bat on my attempting to question him he replied that be merely appeared as the representative of his wife, who understood the mattei better than he did. It will thus be seen that throughout all this dispute I have never yet been brought face to face with my accusers. Far from there being any heat or friction generated in the district by my action, tho householders have all but unanimously up- , held my discretioa, The annual school committee

election took place at a time when the trouble had fully developed with the result that Mr Cotton, who was a candidate, was igtiomiaiously defeated, and Mj^Blickmoro failed evou to fiud i one to nominate him. Mr Cottoa is really the , only person in Waipori with whom I do not (lad favour as a teacher. Nor is thid the only time he h.is attempted to discredit me with the board. Two years a»o last Apt il he brought a false and sluideroua charge against me and asked for my removal, but on inquiry I was tmimp!i,ially exonerated. I very much regret Mr P. C. (''raser's attitude towards tins in this di.'puie. lie ha 3 manifested hi? hostility from the first, and by liis reiuiik* seems to have pn judged tho case before a viulirlc of evidauce on my pai t was forthcoming lie li;is refcuel ia open bom d to the pupil-; f.ii'lu 1 by mo as "tho3e unfoitmnto children," and in reply to a coireipondt'iu who ciiticispd his act'ous in the Daily Tun ? he state 1 that tb a re wurp fcatutts in the W,up<m ca eof the puldic were »n.t aw.ne Ills evident .ual'ce and pieiudi^p excluded bun from a seat on tho committee o' nsqniiy, but there was nothing to pi'evriit him a! t'Muung as a \\itntn> it he hid anything (o testify I now challenge him to show what these ollu'r fca'nrrs in the o«o are, and to p'ove that the pupil-, of tho Wniuoii School arc imiorluuate in beii'fj under my chaise. And 1 may hi'ic retaind (.lie: boud that Mr 1 J C. Kraser at the Maicii meeting passed some unjust and uncalkd for itii'-tmes on Uir- stale of my room at the Lit examination ; that J wiote ia disproof of his statements and demanded a retiaction in open board ; that lie promised at the meeting in Apnl to make a personal explanation after the inquiry ; and that up til! no»v no such explanation ha? been made public Such conduct, besides being rn>nnn!y, is fonicwhat uu<ixpect- d in o«e whose weakly lsrsiiou is t'i promote the KingI dom of Hoavm and it? justice In conclusion, I beg ta say that I do not wish to take up a position of antagonism to the board. I will eheei fully oLty any lawful command, and if it can be .sliown that it would be in the interedts cf education to advance those children even row 1 will gladly do so. Ch yules Kkhr

The CkairnsAn and Stcretuiy of the School Committee wrote with reference to the same matter. They stated that Mr Kerr had the almoal unanimous Hupport of the people of the district, and the unanimous support of tho committee in the dispute between himself and Messrs B'ackmore, Cotton, and Searle As there were members of ihe board who had besn elected lately it was r.s well to draw attention to the statements of Mr Kerr's opponents — " Tbat tho head beachtr'a motive in failii.g tbxse mx children was to spite Mr Cotton, as there was an old grievance between them over the commonage question." This statement was a despicable one at its best, as one of the parties who complained had received the greatest beLcfij from Ihe comroonage grant, and it was not likely that a. teachor would do himself and bis friends au injury owing to his having a d'fteience of opinion with Mr Cotton. It might be nieivlicned that Mr Kert's own daughter was one of the pupils failed, two others being children oi patents who wore perfectly gatinued with his action. The board in this case had ignored tha committee, and had acted in direct; opposition to them. The inquiry ordered by the board was of a fdrcicil nature. The writers u-g-d the board to reconsider the matter, ?nd stated thst their action in ordering Mr Kerr to s-d-vance the three children of the parents who had complained and not to advance the other three girls, who were just an fit to bs advanced, teemed ridiculous in the extreme.

Messrs M B'ackmore aud R. Cotton wivte once more calling attention to the matter of Mr Kerr not advancing certain children into Standard 111, and asking the board to earnestly consider the matter and bring it to en early bettlomenl, as the children had i,ow lost the be&t par!; of the year. The writers farther ported out that two of the children had gained 100 per cent, under the board's inspector, while the otheis gainel 75 per cent. Mr Kerc'3 refusal to advance the children w&« doin* both the parents and children a g.-eat and Perious ii)ju,lioe. The Secretary of the Educational Institute wrote forwarding the following isolation passed at the annual meeting: — "That this imtitute having received the opinion of the legal advisers of tha New Zealand Educational Imtitute that Mr Kerr has acted within his rights conferred upon him by the d'spaitinental regulations, would respectfully request the Education Board to reconsider the decision arrived at afc it* last meeting." Mr Sxqw said it was evident that Mr Kerr was within his rights. He understood that the ' board had power to enforce its resolution to ask the teacher to advance the pupil", but it l now appeared that they had nob, and that the I teacher could snap his fingers at th.3 board and do as he liked. It was a pity that it was go. It was very evident that the cbildren were fit to be advanced. i Mr P. B. Fbaser said from the first he took I the responsibility, without waiting to know | what other members of the boird might think, of saying that these children should be advanced, and that the teacher should be requested to advance thsm. Ha asked the board not to be tnialed by what he might caII the sophistry that had beeu brought into this matter. Tha board : and the public were asked to b.lieve that the bjard was interfering wish the statutory authority of the teacher. Ifc v?»b true that he had a statutory authority, but the board were there (o say hoy? he had exercised his authority. Ou inquiry they found that he had exercised hi« authority in a most unwarrantable way, and they attempted in the mildest possible way to apply a correcttcg factor to the misuse that the teacher had made of his statutory authority. In face of the advice of every member of the board, iv face of the committee of inquiry, and in the face of two or three repeated requests fco advance the pupils, Mr Kerr said " I am within my legal rights." The Hou, J. MacGkjCoii rose to make an explanation. Mr Frager had said that he ainoDgsL other members had admitted that Mr Kerr had acted unwisely. What he said was that he did not profeas to criticise a teacher's action ia holding back certain children, bub he did not think the teacher was doing right in lighting ou!; the matter in dtfiance of the expressed whh of the board. Mr Fbaser proceeded to cay that hs repeated that all the members of tho board expressed the opinion in open board at last meeting that the teacher acted without discretion, oc unwisely, in not promoting these children. — (Mr Ramsay and Mr RJacGhegojr : " No, no.") He would ask the board specially to notice that the board's motion never asked the teacher to do an illegal thing or to act out of his legal rights. They said he could stick to his legal rights, but the board had to consider the rights of the parents and the children as well as those of the teacher ; and the rights of the children and parents and the tights of the board had beon trampled under foot by Glr Kerr. Tho board had been appealed to bj the parents, and they had given a judgment en the case, and whether they were infallible or not they would lose their self-respect if they wobbled in the leaat after having given their decision. The real reason why the teachers had taken the part of Mr Korr was that they were ignorant of the facts of this examination which he (Mr Kerr) had conducted. There was not a teacher in the colony who would not appeal against an inspector who examined hia pupils in the same way as Mr Kerr had examined the pupils in fcfce mistx-cs&'fi room, Id

had been proved in the evideuce, and Mr Kerr had not, denied it, that children who had passed in spelling he had failed in thafc subject beciuao of their weakness in another subject) altogether. The teacher was entirely out of court, aud if the board failsd in its duly to see that these children were advanced according to law, surely the parents could ge 1 ; a maadmnus from these great high courts of justice in this land to compel the Educ&iioii Bjard to do their duty, if the teacher could not do his. The evidence ohowed that Mr Kerr was utterly incompetent to in'erpreS the'^ivgulatiuns. lie believed he na? pafe in aaying that every unbiassed teacher iv Ot\go would say that it was perfectly monstrous for a teacher to judge a niieti'ecs'j 1 Vfoik ia the v-ay Mr K-.rr had jadged the work of the luLlross of his suhool. In O;ago there we;c px»miiicd in tho Second Standard last year 2054 pupili. Of tha'o number 2567 passed »>ul 87 f.nled. The failures ouly amounted to 3 pi-r ceur. That was the judgment of the teacher.* of Ot3go ou the mistresses' work. Mr K e rc fxaniiuedr 10 pupil', passed 4, and failed j 6 That was to s.=.y that GQ per cent, of (he pupils in fcjbaudard II a1;a 1 ; Waipori had been failed. Surely there was something rotten in the state of Bsnmaik if that waa to be relied or>. But what did the inspector say who examined the children. He said that these pupils in question did excellently. Two of | them made IGO per cent, ia piss sub- | jnefs, one mado 75 per cent., whilo 60 j percent, would pass (hem. H-o would move— "That the board having been appealed to by certain parents aS Waipori regarding Mr Kerr's not advancing certain pvpils fi-om Otaudii'd II to 111, aud having found on inquiry that Mr Kerr has nob acted with such reasonable discretion as i» expected from a hfad master in the circumstances, and Mr Kerr haviug persistently refused to comply with the l'tqnfst of the boar.3 to advance tho said pupils, the board comes to the conclusion that; Mr X rr c-inn'jfc, in the interests of education, be longer entrusted with the statutory powers conferred on him, and terminates his engagemtnb on three mouths' notice ; a copy of thia resolution to be sent to the Waipori School Committee in terms of tho Education Act, section 47." Mr Snow seconded the motion pro forma, in order that the matter might ba discussed. As no other member of the board showed any depire to speak on the 6ubjecfc, tho Chairman put the motion, which was lost on the voic:s. Mr Snow then moved that all correspondence in connection with the matter be forwarded to the Minister for Education. Mr Sim seconded the motioa, which was also lost on the voices. The Chairman then asked if any member wished to Bay anything further in regard to the matter, but as there was no response the next business on the order p»per was proceeded with, ALBANY STREET SCHOOL. The commUtea eppoinfred to report soiioernii g Mr Morgan's charges against Mr Spence, second assistant of the Albany street School — that Mr Spence hsd unduly punhhed Mr Morgan's two children, — reported that after having fully considered all the evidence tendered, they found that Mr Morgan's first cbargo against Mr Spence was not pi-oven, and that the secord and third charges were trivial. The Hon. J. MacGuegob, in moving the adoption of tho report, said it was satisfactory • to find, after very full and careful inquiry, thafc there was really no justification for the complaint made aga'n st Mr Spence. The evidence would slow that Mr Morgan took the law into hi 3 own hands and c:>*»mitred a very serious assault on Mr Spence, who certainly behaved in a very manly and becoming manner under grave provocation. Ho thought ib was due to Mr Spenco ihafc it should ba made known that, although Mr Morgan insislea in going into other charges agiinafc Mr Spence, there was no reason at all to dissent from the conclusion arrived at by tha school cammilbce, thafc the charges were without foundation. Mr Spenco had been subj«cfc*d to a sort of systematic petty persecution. Mr Fraser expressed his greafc pleasure that Mr Spenee had come so well out of the inquiry. The motion for the adoption of the report was then pub, and carried unanimously. hooper's inlet. A deputation from the Hooper's Inleb School Committee, consisting of Messrs D. Dick^on, J. T. Njhon, and Ross, waited on the board, and aeked them to erect a new school. It was resolved — "Thafc Messrs Harraway and Snow, and any other members of the board who wished to do so, should visit the locality in company with the architect and report to the board with regard to the matter." ItAVENSBOmtNE. The RavMisbourne School CommUtse wrote expressing regret that the report of Messrs iYaser and Sim had superseded thafc of the sreaitee!;, and asked the board to consider the prayer of their fetition fora new school instead of carrying out the suggested additions. Mr Gallau'av read the following report on the buildings, which he had requested Mr George Simpson (of Messrs Torr&nce &nd Sirni'son) to prepare :—: — At your request I examinetj the Ravensbonrne School, and have to report as follows .-—The building is an old one, and seems to have beeu built at various times. For a school the ceilings are too low ; the walls are lined witb T. .mil U. boarding, which has been put on off the machines, and is rough and what is known in the trade as woolly. The boards hwe not been diy when put on, an-i are now shmnk in some places veiy badly. The dust blows in at the joints aud hangs on to the rough suiface of the boards. This being wiped oft periodically gives it the app.-arauce of dust hanging: on, but to remove it is « serious job ; nothing short of scrubbing with strong soda will do it. Then the boards bciug open makes the whole place not fit for ,\nyone, children or otherwise, to sit in in cold weather. Tbs walla beitjg low, the windows are too near ths floor. If they aie opened at the top the wind simply blows on the heads of the children. I saw IS children and the teacher in a small hole of a I place under the boll. As the door opened the i close smell was very bait. If the Education Bjard anticipate making any additions or impiovements, then I say without any hesitation pull the whole thing down and build a new school, at least near, if not in line with, modem ideas of a 3ch031. Tha grounds and outside buildings I found very clean and tidy. One thing wants attending to ; there is no urinal for the boys. This is a great drawback, for the whole place is wet and untidy. He (Mr Gallaway) thought that the board should not commit themselves to an expenditure of £300 to patch up a school which experts had condemned. He moved — H Thafc tho improvements be not proceeded with in the meantime." Mr Harraway seconded the motion, which, fcfter further discussion, was carried by 6 votes to 2, Messrs Sim aud Eraser forming the minority. KAIKOItAI SCHOOL. Iraspectots Goyen and Fitzgerald, in reporting upon the application of the Kaikorai School Committee for " increased accommodation for Class X, recommended that iv the meantime the class might be provided for by hiring the neighbouring uaU.— Tue recoaitncadftiioQ was Mureed to* i

BCRSAIUE3 FOR TRAINING COIXEOE STUDENTS. The Inspectors reported on the (suggestion made by the principal of the Training College, that a small bursary be granted to students who kepb a second year's terms at the uaivereify. They stated that ft sscond session would be beneficial to the students taking it, aucl ultimately to the schools in which they taught, and they recommended that a burtary be granted to pupil-teacher students, who, during their first year of training, kept terms at the university. Shoull the board gcant these bur-jariw, English and mental Fcienca should be araoDg the subjects taken by tucie holders.— The matter wa3 refencd to das'- X Committee to report. •RELIEVING TKACHEKS. Mr Fraser m>ved— " That relieving or tempoiary teachers, while tilling any vacancy, should be el : gible for no such vacancy." The motion was carried on the casting rote of the Cusirman. MONTHLY FINANCIAL fTATEMEN'TS. On the motion of Me Hahraway it was resolved — " That the secretary be instructed to lay on ih<3 table a*; each meeting statements of the conditions cf the different accounts." SCHOOL FILTEES. On the mMion of the Chairman it was resolved — "'lhat the construction of sand and gravel fi til's be proceeded with at ones in all tcacola dependent on the Dunedia water mains, and afterwards in the country sohools as cceasir.n demands *, in the meantime tankcleansing rings, similar to tho3e submitted to the board, be supplied to all sshools dependent on tanks." JUNIOR SCHOLARSHIP EXAMINATIONS. Tha Hon. J. Macgregou moved to the tfix-ct; that history bs l'omovcd from the Hat of subj-cts for tte jnn'or scholarehip examinations. He said he bad taken the precaution to wriie to a numbsr of country schoolmasters asking their opinion on this question, and only two of them were in favour of the retention of history as a subject for examination. M> Rjixsax seconded the motion. Me Fraser moved as an amendment — "That tin question bo remitted to the iuspectora to report as to the effect of excluding history from the list of subjects." Ho thought it was advantageous to keep history on tbe scholarship syllabus, because it gave pupils of different degrees of ability «. chance to get a scholarahip. All this cry about history being stiff was entirely refuted by the reaults. Pupils mada more marks in history than in any other subject. The results of the scholarship examinations for the pa*t 12 years showed that the totitl marks made in history was 70 per cent. ; tbe total made in geography was 64 per cen*. ; and the total made in arithmetic was 76 per cent. The total made in English for the pait five years was only 53 per cent. Mr Gallaway seconded the amendment. He had heard so much about bjth fides of the queetion that he was in this unhappy position: that he had not made up his mind on the 6Ubj>C&. A1;A 1 ; this Btage of the discussion it was decided to call in the inspectors and ask their opinion ou the subject. Mr Goyen eaid the inspectors had discussed the question among themselves, and they were of opinion that history wai a thorough cram Bubjccb. The answers that they had to read year after year were 6bviously crammed answers. The little text books rea.d by the children were simply crammed, and the answers for the most part were without intelligence. They (the inspectors) had great difficulty in awarding marks for history, anfd they would be rery glad to see it struck out of the list of subjects for examination. | Mr Fitzgerald aaid he was of the same | opinion as Mr Goyen. Tfcey had discussed the : matter previous^ with a deputation from the Educational Institute. j Mr Goyea said, iv reply to Mr Gallaway, that a good mauy subjects might be crammed. Geography, for instance, migiifc be crammed ; but neither English nor arithmetic could be. Geography wa3 not a cram subject to the same c-x'eutßS history. Physical geography was a question of science, and the examiners could so put the questions as to compel the children to show a knowledge of the facts. The syllabus would be quite 6ufflcienfc without; hietory. Mr Mitchell supported the motion. He thought it was a misuse of scholarships to award them to those who were capable of. memorising history or any other subject. The object of a scholarship, first of all, was to slimulsto actual work and studr, and iv the second place to bring out and develop those who had natural ability, bub were not merely endowed with memory. He did not place any value whatever upon history as taught in the schools. The motion waß then put to the meeting and carried by 8 votes to 1, Me Fiasar being the one dissentient. SENIOR SCHOLARSHIP EXAMINATIONS. The question of the alleration of the lists of subjects for the senior scholarship examinations was referred lo a committee to reporb to a future meeting.