THE SCHOOL COMMISSIONEBS AND THEIR CLERK.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXII, Issue 189, 1 August 1900, Page 2

THE SCHOOL COMMISSIONEBS AND THEIR CLERK.

J A letter, which is referred to in our notices to correspondents, has reached us signed " Vindex." The letter is so ill-natured in tone that " Vindictive " would have been a more appropriate signature. The letter is baaed upon the application made by the Clerk of the School Commissioners for a rise of salary, the refusal of which is the only thing, apparently, that gives our corres- . pondent We very much * JjSgflSfr that we are ihtfijfeigto publish the letter, because a rathermrgortaot point is raised, viz., the duty of a public, body to those in its employ. We hold strongly to the opinion that public r bodies should pay in proportion to the work done and the responsibility of the position. Our correspondent, on the other hand, holds that the Clerk of the Commissioners did wrong to resign his seat on thß Board to take the position of Clerk, but having done so the Board j have nothing to do with the merits of his claim for an increase of salary, and should hold him to his bargain. The ' logic of this is that two wroDgs make a right—a wrong done in making an appointment is to be put right by refusing to entertain a fair claim. The public have, however, nothing to do with the opinion of" Vindex," but have something to do with the administrai tion of the public funds by the local i '\bodies entrusted therewith. The public 1 have a right to know, therefore, the grounds upon which the Cletk to the ! School Commissioners claimed an ini crease of salary, and upon which it was 1 refused. Unfortunately the applica-; tion was dealt with in committee, and the latter is not available. As regards the former, tho clerk alleges that the remuneration is inadequate for the services rendered and responsibility involved. The question of securing a fair day's pay for a fair day's work is im- ' portant to everyone, and the facts of '' tho case should be known. When the ; present dark was appointed soma : i twelve months ago, wo understand tho ' salary was fixed at .£IOO a year. Out j (of this the premium, on a fidelity bond ( required, had to he paid, and the cluk t was further required to find i»iliceac-| (wmuKxlarion, thus reducing tho cash'? value uf the fawiy very considerably. Si Cmp-irnd with other Bjards of r Commissioners, the cost of wtrking the ; lariuiiiki Board is very low indeed, the s actual cost; of administration b-jing as 1 follows : —Hawke's Bty, 3 per c:nt.; 6 Taranaki, 424; p«r cent,; Nelson, i-'dO $ percent,; Auckland, 6*lß per cmt. ;' u Marlborough, 774 per cent.; West- i b laud, 14 per cent.; Wellington, 15 per: is cent, Taranaki is the only district,," that employs a Ranger, and even add-} ing bis salary it only raises the cost of' administration jn Taranaki to 7'34 per y

cent, In all the other districts an office is found for the clerk, who here has to find one for the Board. As regards the income of the Boards, exclusive of the balance brought forward, it compares as follows : —Auckland, JJ3190 6s. Taranaki, £3737 15s 6d; Hawke's' Bay, £3680 7s lOd; Wellington, £3053 9s Id; Marlborough, £323 Is 9d; Nelson, £1349 17s 3d; and Westland, £290 15s 3d, Comparing the salary, etc., paid by the Taranaki Board with that paid by the other Boards, the comparison is all in favour of the Taranaki Board, The figures are: Taranaki, salary £IOO, administration £37 9a 3d; Auckland, salary £IOO, administration £97 10s 9d; Wellington, salary £283, administration £l7B 12s 2d; Hawke's Bay, salary £IOO, administration £9 6s 9d (in this case the Board only meets quarterly); Nelson, salary £SO, administration £8 6s 6d. Westland and Marlborough are both under £SO. These figures, while showing that the Taranaki Board is worked with commendable economy, also prove that the clerk has a good case for consideration. We have gone more fully into the matter than we at first intended, because the public should know these details and insist on public bodies entrusted with the administration of public funds paying a fair remuneration for services rendered,