THE STAGPOOLE CASE.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 78, 28 March 1912, Page 2

THE STAGPOOLE CASE.

ECHOES AT THE EDUCATION BOARD. SOME STRAIGHT SPEAKING. The appeal of Thomas Stagpoolo against his dismissal by the Wanganui Education Board, the hearing of which was concluded at Palmerston North last week, occupied a prominent place in the discussion at Monday night’s meeting of the Board, indeed, echoes of the case kept intruding themselves during the greater portion of the evening. The subject was brought up by Mr G. Bennett moving : “That the attention of tho New Zealand Education Institute be drawn to the action of their secretary, Mr H. A. Parkinson, who, when inquiring in Wanganui, Feilding, and Palmerston North as to the strength of the Board’s case against Mr Stagpoole, informed Messrs Braik (Chief Inspector), Strong, Milne, Stewart (Inspectors), and Messrs Pirani and Bennett (members of tho Board of Education) that tho information given would bo treated as confidential. This pledge was broken, and the statements made to Mr Parkinson wore repeated by him in ’ Court. Furthermore, the chairman of the Board offered and sent correspondence under the seal of confidence, and these letters were copied by Mr Parkinson and produced in Court. That this Board expresses its surprise and indignation that a high officer of the Institute should descend to such dishonourable tactics, and looks to the Institute to mark its disapprobation of the conduct of its secretary and to take such action as / shall efffectively prevent a repetition of such conduct.”

In spanning uj Ills motion, Mr Ponnett strongly condemned Mr Parkinson’s action, which he characterised as a breach of everything honourable. It was, ho considered, a deliberate attempt to ruin Mr Pirani and no better proof of this intentior could bo desired, than Mr Parkinson’s

remark at Palmerston: “When this ease is over the Education Board will need to get a new chairman.” The matter was one that attacked the honour of the Board’s chairman, and on this account should not be allowed to drop. If the Teachers’ Institute would mot disavow the action of its secretary, the Board would have to take the extreme step of forwarding particulars, of the case to every Education Board in the Dominion. Mr Fraser, who seconded, and Mr Guthrie, M.P., also spoke on similar lines. 1 . | Mr Spurdlc did not take quite so strong a view -as the previous speakers, seeing that the chairman had been vindicated by the finding of the Appeal Court. However, he would support the motion. Mr Pirani, the chairman, said, the personal aspect of the question did ' not worry him at all; he had been too long in public life for that. But , he was concerned with two points: ! first, that the Board might have been called upon to pay £IOO or £SOO ex- , ponses; and, secondly, that infamous attacks had been made on the girls by people not fit to wipe their boots. However, he was thankful to say the Board’s hands were clean. He moved: “That it is desirable the procedure in connection with the dismissal or suspension of teachers be codified for the purpose of saving the heavy expense of appeal cases, and that when the Board has reason to feel dissatisfied with a teacher lo an extent sufli- _ ciont to entertain the belief that his dismissal is advisable a committee | of the Board should be set up, who shall have power to hold an inquiry [ at which' the teacher may be present, and only after such committee has reported to the Board will further action bo taken.” This was seconded and carried unanimously, as also was Mr Bennett’s motion. The Other Side. Mr Parkinson States His Case In view of the above, the following letter from, Mr Parkinson, which appeared in the “Dominion” of Saturj day, the 23rd instant, should be of interest:— “Sir, —Mr Pirani’s estimate of the “ costs of the N.Z. Educational Institute in the recent appeal case is a gross exaggeration. In his proposed scheme for avoiding the necessity of , such cases in the future, ho is on much surer ground, and . I sincerely hope his scheme will be given a fair trial. Not the least of the benefits to be gained from such- a system is that under it there will be less opportunity for the activities of the surreptitious correspondent, who under the present regime, and in defiance of the Board’s regulations, appears to have unrestricted liberty to write damaging statements about unsuspecting teachers. It is easy to imagine the inevitable consequence. Another gain to be hoped for from the introduction of the scheme proposed would be that under it the inspector’s' written report would be the effective report on which the Board’s actions would bo based. Mr Pirani said during the recent trial that he would rather believe the inspectors than their reports, which cannot mean other than that some ins [lectors may write one thing and say another. This, indeed, was made abundantly clear during the late proceedings. 'llhc evils of any confidential report system are ton evident to need j enlarging upon. May Ibo permitted I a word of explanation in relation to aj matter that has brought me under j criticism PWhen the letters of Miss I Molloy, which I think should never have been written by her or" received j

by tlio chairman, were read by the executive of the N.Z.E.I. is became so apparent to the minds of the members of the executive that they had had a great deal to do with the dismissal of Mr Stagpdole that it would have boon improper to have allowed their effects to pass • unquestioned. The talk about violation of confidence is all moonshine, since in one .of the let- - ters Miss Molloy gives permission lor their being used, and Mr Pirani himself bad broken whatever seal of confidence there could be for such letters by sending them, unasked,, to the executive. If the Board had given frankly and fully the real grounds for Mr Stagpoole’s dismissal, arid the details on which the decision was based, it is probable that the appeal would not have been brought. As a consequence of what has happened the Institute has suffered some financial loss, which it is perfectly able and perfectly willing to meet. And the loss will not by any moans bo all loss if as an outcome of this case the educational atmosphere in the Wanganui district can he cleared of the clouds of suspicion and espionage that now overshadows the lot of teachers in that district. —I am, etc., , H. A. PARKINSON. Various factious. Other motions hearing on the case were:— “That Mr Broad, the Board’s appointee on the Teachers’ Appeal Court in the Stagpoole case, he thanked by the Board for the careful, conscientious, and efficient manner in which he carried out the duties of, the position.” Moved by Mr Pirani, seconded by Mr Guthrie, M.P., and carried. “That the thanks of the Board he accorded to the inspectors, secretary and .staff for the valuable help they gave the chairman in the conduci of the Stagpoole case.” Moved by Mr Pirani, seconded by Mr .Dixon, anc carried . “That this Board thanks the chair man for the able manner in which ho conducted the case against the Institute.” Moved by Mr O’Dea, sec ended by Mr Purnell, and carried. “That the Linton committee be not iked that the chairman of their com mittee was informed before the com raittee meeting on March 18th tha the Board has decided to transfer th assistant teacher from .Linton at he own request, and that the Board view: with extreme regret the attitude tak en up by the committee towards a; efficient lady teacher who has carriet out her duties faithfully and well un der most discouraging circumstances setting an example worthy of bein' followed by anyone who believed i; a high standard of conduct in thos.teaching in our schools.” Moved lr .Mr Pirani, by Mr Purnell land, carried i It was decided to hold an impair in committee at Fielding on Monchr next into the charges against M: Stewart.