CORRESPONDENCE.

Colonist, Volume VIII, Issue 793, 2 June 1865, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

THB GOVERNdRS OF NELSON COLLEGE

AND THEIR DOINGS.

To iht Editor of Th» Colonitt.

Sib,—ln jour remarks on Nelson College, in Tuesday's issue, I observe the following passage—" Whether Dr. Greenwood v the sole responsible person, and if not, how far the responsibility extends to the members of the governing body, are questions to which it is the duty of the Governors themselves to give their constituents, the public, full information." Now, though I hardly expected to have been thus publicly called upon to give an account of a stewardship which has lasted barely five months, I feel that to decline all reply might lead to a false impression on the part of those who elected me. And perhaps I can enter on my defence with the more grace because I did not herald my election with a flourish of trumpets— because I gave no rash pledges-—and, above all, be* cause I did not begin my career by insulting the body of gentlemen with whom I had to co-operate by sneering about " accepting the disgrace" of becoming one of their number. If I have not performed more than some of my colleagues, at any rate I promised less.

By way of clearing the ground for this or for any future discussion, on the same subject, I wish two things to be distinctly understood at the outset—

1. I fully recognise the right of a public journalist to criticise freely the management of a public institution like Nelson College. I have scant sympathy with the complaints that have been made of late as to the permanent injury sustained by the College from the attacks mad* upon it by the press. I believe that, as no man was ever written down but by himself, so no institution that was not intrinsically weak could hare been seriously affected by any newspaper criticism, however unsparing. The vital spark must indeed be feeble that can be "snuffed out by an article." If the charges were unfounded, surely the Governors might easily have shown this, without seriously derogating from their dignity.

2. I have no wish to be considered an apologist for the alleged, shortcomings of my predecessors, for which I am in no seme responsible.

A portion, however, of your strictures can only apply to the present management of the Governors, and here I hare no hesitation in taking up the gauntlet that you have flung down. I refer to the passage in which you charge " a section of the Governors " with "proposing to sell a portion of the College pro* perty, to live, in fact, on the capital." What possible course, may I ask, is open to men who find themselves, like the lately elected* Governors (to whom alone I now refer), called upon to administer an estate encumbered by their predecessors, but nt once to clear off all outstanding liabilities, even at a sacrifice, and to do their utmost to keep out of d«bt for the future ? And this, as I shall endeavor to show, is precisely what hat been done. Since December last the following not unimportant reforms have been carried out:—•

1. The number of masters has been reduced, as piomptly as outstanding engagements would permit, from tliree to two.

2. By an arrangement which I cannot but consider highly advantageous to the Institution, the constant supervision of the Second Master has been secured to the boardert, by his residing in the College, and this at a comparatively slight additional cost to the establishment.

3. The former costly and cumbrous boarding system, according to which no efficient check on expenditure was possible, has just been remodelled, and a contract has been entered into with the house steward, by which responsibility is secured, while the cost of boarding is materially lessened. Without entering too minutely into details, it will, perhaps, be sufficient to state that with even the present ludicrously small number of boarders, the cost of boarding will be diminished by at least a fourth.

It was necessary that many meetings of the Governors should be held, and that a large mass of evidence should be collected and digested before these reforms, simple as they may appear to an outsider, could be fairly carried out. In fact, §o large a portion of the time and attention of the Governors has necessarily been directed to the purely financial part of their affairs, that the very grave question, What kind of education does Nelson College at present afford ? has hitherto received far less attention than it merits. But, even in this direction (I can answer for myself, at least) something haa been done ; tho&gh I feel that until th« decision of the Governors upon the resolutions submitted to them by Mr. Saunders has been formally given, I owe it to my colleagues to abstain from all comment on this part of the question.

I cannot conclude without an expression of regret (in which, I hope you will, on reflection, join me,) that you have not been equally reticent with regard to these resolutions. As a general rule it is not advisable to discuss a question while " sub Judice lit est." Yours, &c, W. C. HODGSON. Nelson, Ist June, 1865.