ANNUAL MEETING OF HOUSEHOLDERS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1573, 26 April 1887, Page 3

ANNUAL MEETING OF HOUSEHOLDERS.

The annual meeting of householders in the Temuka School District took place Inst night. There was a fair attendance, and the chair wnv occupied by Mr J. W. Miles, the Chairman of the ongoing Committee. MINUTES. The minutes of the last annual meeting were read and confirmed. ANNUAI REPORT. The annual report and t>alaooe*sheet were next read. The report was as follows j

Temuka District High School. Report for the year euding 25th April, 1837 As directed by the Education Act 1877. vonr Committee now submit their annual report end balance-sheet for year ending 25th April, 1887, as follows 1, Staff—ln accordance with the neW regulations for District High Schools, tbs staff was re-cons'itutsd on Ist January, 1887, and is now as follows Head Master, Mr Wm. Bryars, B.A.j Ist Assistant, Mr Henry Cross, M.A.; 2nd Assistant, Miss H. M. Ladbrooke; 3rd. assistant,' Miss Florence Brown; 4th assistant, Miss Gertrude Rows | 4th year pupil teacher, Mr Murdoch McLeod; 3rd year teacher, Miss Maggie Russell } Ist year pupil teacher, Miss Harriet Sweet.

2. Attendance—By the following comparative statement you will observe that during the past year the attendance has considerably inoreaied, which will doubtless be considered satisfactory ; April, 1886. Boys. Girls. Total. Average weekly r 011,,, 177.6 147.6 825.2 Average attendance... 129.7 101.2 230.9 Higbeet attendance ... 144.0 110.0 254.0 April, 1887. Boye. Girls, Total. Average weekly r 011... 192.0 162.0 364.0 Average attendance... 157.6 129.8 286.8 Highest attendance... 170.0 132.0 302.0 Pupils taking advantage of secondary education in April, 1886, were—Boys, 10; girls, 3; total, 13. At present data there are-Boys, 14; girls, 6 j total, 19) showing an increase of 6. 3. Buildings—The buildings continue to be in fair repair, but it. is to be regretted that the Board of Education declined to replace the briok-tile ventilators with iron ones. This, however, will need to be done very shortly. 4. Finances—At the commencement of the psst year your Oemnsittes had a credit balance of £l4s fid. The present balance is £l2 Os 6d, with no outstanding liabilities. This result is in a great measure owing to your Committee having netted £l4 6s 3d by concerts for incidental purposes during their term of office. Although this is setisfacto ry it is to be regretted that very many of the parents of the pupils do not subsoribt to tbs fuel end stationery fund as they ought. 5. Meetings—During the put year twelve ordinary meetings and two special meetings have been held, at all of whlph the attendance has been good. At the end pf January, Mr Job Brown having resigned, Mr Miles was appointed Chairman for the rest of the year, but being late in the year your Committee did not deem it neoessery to appoint a seventh member. 6. Cadet Corps—This corps wu organised during the paet year, and now numbers 39 members, 20 of whom have been supplied by Government with Cavalry Snider Rifles, end 12 months’ ammunition for full corps, but it is to be regretted that there i» still a liability of abopb £lO to the N,Z. Clothing Company for balance of uniforms. 7. Prize Fund—At last aupual moetiug the balance to credit of this fund was £# 2s 9d. Prizes were recently awarded costing £8 Os 6d, so with proceeds of concert held in December, £9 16s 7d, there now remains £lO 18s lOd to credit, The Chairman then ipytyed discussion on the report and balance-sheet. Mr J. Brown asked what amount of

the proceeds of the late concert went to pay thp debt do# to the N,Z. Clothing Factory. . The Secretary said M r Brpwn fas Chau, man of the Goramittes then. About £ 4. X2s 6d had been paid to the N.Z. Clothing Factory. Mr J. Brown denied he was Ghairman at that time. Mr Bolton asked why the unfavorable report given of the school at the last examination was not referred to. He meant the part of the Inspector'a report relating to the fifth and «?th standard#. The Secretary said ho hfd not the report with him. Mr Rryars had promised to let him h»” it, ..... Mr J, T. M, Hayhprst paid thift that was no reason why no nymtiop had been made of it. The aphooj made « bad pass. Did they hot think, it worth mentioning | The Secretary then read the notice taken of it by the Committee, and said no one could understand the report. Mr Bolton said doubtless the Committee were them thoroughly satisfied with it. The Chairman said he was absent from the meeting, but he had heard tholastexanimation was conducted on different principles to any forpep one. $e wa C •orry aomp more desnite notice bap not been taken of it. Mr Bolton'pointed out that larger per- , egntages had passed in othsy schools and

Mr J. Hayburst, aenr., naked why a public meeting had not been called to disrate the school ? ' . , . The Chairman .said a sub-committee bad been appointed to consider the question, but found they bad no power under the Act to disrate the school. Mr J. Hayburst, senr., said that was not an answer. The question was: Why was not a public meeting called 1 That had nothing to do with the Act. The minutes of the meeting held in connection with the matter were then read, showing that a special meeting had been held to consider the question. Mr Hayburst said that was not at all satisfactory. Why did not the Committee call a public meeting, and lot tbs people know there was no power to disrate the school I The Committee were put in a position, and they ought to have carried out their instructions. Mr Bolton.said lie held in his hand a Gazette showing that the Wanganui School had been disrated.

The Chairman thought it was useless to call a meeting when there was no power to do anything. Mr Hay hurst, sen., was not at all satisfied with the answer. The Committee had been elected to manage the school, and they ought to have carried out the instructions given to them. They could not have conducted it satisfactorily while the'people were desirous of alterations. The whole trouble arose out of the Committee.completely ignoring the resolution of the last annual meeting. Mr Gray thought they were wandering away from the point altogether. They came to elect a new Committee, Be would move the adoption of the report and balance-sheet.

Mr Bolton objected to the ratepayers’ voices being shut up. He would insist on the report of the Inspector being read. The Secretary then read the Inspector’s report, and pointed out some things in it which could not be understood. After some further discussion Mr Blyth seconded Mr Gray’s motion, and then Mr Gray urgad that it should be put to the meeting at once. Mi Hayhurst, sen., moved hb an tunendm«n —“That the reporf is not satisfactory.” The householders had only an opportunity of discussing these matters once a year, and bo strongly objected to their being shut up in this way. It was the practice in psst years to force matters through by passing the report, and then refnsiog to allow farther discussion, bat he hoped this would be discountenanced this year, and that they won'd no* pass the report until everything had been discussed, even if they had to send home for their breakfast. (Great cheering.) It waa absurd to pasa each a report. The people desired to disrate the school, and the' Committee had refused to do anything in the matter, shielding themsslves be* hind the excuse that there was no power in the Act for disrating. Many things were done for which the Act did not provide. The taxpayers were robbed to maintain High Schools throughout the colony. The poor unfortunate working men were taxed for it, and were told their children would gain benefit from it, but he would like to see where was the working man’s child deriving any benefit from them. He would tell working men they were robbed in this way, and he would urge on them to see that the money was spent to the best advantage. (Cheers). Mr Rutland asked how much was paid in salaries in the school ?

The Secretory said the salaries were paid by the Board of Education, and the Committee did not know the amount. Mr J. Brown said the Committee were in 'possession of documents which could supply the information, The Secretary denied this. Mr J. Brown said when he w»* Chairman a document came in reference to to the revision of the staff which showed the amount of salaries paid. Mr Gray 1 objected to this. It was wandering away from the question. He pressed the Chairman to put his motion to the meeting. It was not a time for discussing politics, and if people desired to air thsir eloquence they ought to cell s public meeting. Mr Cooper said the document referred ♦ocame when Mr Brown was Chairman. Mr Brown o °a night pulled it out of his pocket, read a part of it, and put it in his pocket again, and the Committee never saw it afterward*. (Cheers). Mr Brown denied this.

The discussion now became animated, several speakers being on their legs at once—soma insisting on the motions being put, and others insisting on the rattier being further discussed. In the midst of the confusion the Chairman essayed to put the amendment proposed by Mr J, Hayburst, which in the meantime had been seconded by Mr Q. H. Lynch, and at last jie declared that § hands had been held up for it. Mr Gray’s motjen was than put, and 10 hands were held up in its favor, many abstaining from voting either way. The Chairman deplored the

motion oarrjedj but objection! wep raised on the ground' that he bad not taken a ■how of bands against it. Mr Gray said it was not neceasary te taka aabow of bands against it. Mr Twomey said the usual way was to taks the Tots fgr ans againft. Jn parliament the speaker in putting % motion calls out "Aa many aa are of that opinion say 'Aye*; contrary opieion, ‘No,’” and public meetings ought to bo oondnoted on the aame principle. So far aa ha waa eon* eernad be thought better to adopt the 'report. ?f> p«*y % imendnwnt would amoMt to a T§t# a oen* aure on the Oomputtee, apd he did not

think they bad deaeryed it. They had pro* dnoed a very aaliafaetory balanoe-ahaet, and had eridently managed well, with the exception of neglecting to call a publie meeting to disrate the school. For this they gave a ▼ery rewnabja •*?!}■* . * h W ■Wjf, they found no power in the Act tp Mjablc the aohool to be disrated, and they thought to take any other ateps Would amount to waits of energy and wait# of money in advertising the meeting. (Hear, haar<) Bo far be had bean' oppoaadto disrating the aohool, not became he thought a great deal about it, but became it would be a backward step, and ho did not believe in going backwards. The last report of the Inspector, however, waa calculated to make one think over thia matter, report showed the children in the higher standards did not show d satisfactory result, , and they might very’ naturally inquire -Why f It' could not be that all the children who were incapable of learning I get into the fifth and ai*th standards

doubtless t**o examinations were con* ducted on the same principle. The Chairman did not think the comparison fair. Hi* impression was that the school compared favorably with other schools of the same size.

BO it muit be ■ ; hir that the head teacher was neglect irg his duty, or that hit attention was taken up too much with teaeMntr thr secondary »übjic:». When such refults wore produced it was quit* reaeonable for the parenti to nquire Into the came, but ho did , not think tney could do It that night. Their proper course was to pass the report and take advantage of some other occasion to discuss the advisability of disrating the school. As for Mr Bolton’s assertion that the school was a mere creation of the South Canterbury Board of Education, and had no legal status, that wai a mistake. The ■obool had been raised to the status of a District High School by virtue of powers given by the Education Act, and was therefore legally and poperly constituted. As regards the Gantte notice produced by Mr Bolton, the school which it proclaimed was a High School, and not a District High School, and this made a great difference. Mr Bolton said he had a list of all High Schools, and Temuka was not mentioned amongst them, which showed it had not been recognised by the Government. Mr Twomey said the Temuka School was not a High School. It was only a District Hfch School. The resolution adopting the report and bdanoe-sheet was then carried without further discussion. On the motion of Mr John Hayhnrit, seconded by Mr Twomey, a vote of thanks to the retiring Committee was carried unanimously. ILBOXIOH Of COM MITT* B, The election of a Committee was then proceeded with, but the members of the old Committee declined to allow themselves to be nominated. Their example was followed by almost everyone present, till nearly every man in the room had declined to stand, and it looked very mnoh as if a Committee oonld not be got. Several overtures were made to the old Committee to take office again, and Mr Gszs moved a resolution to the effcot that they should be re-eleoted, but they still declined. After aome discussion, the ' meeting commenced to nominate those who had already declined, and eventually IS were found willing to put down their names. Of these four retired, leaving eight in the field, and the result of the ballot taken was as

The Obairman declared the firit-named seven duly elected. DIBBITINQ THB SCHOOL. Mr Bolton next moved a resolution to the effect that a meeting be bald that night month in the school to ooniider the advisability or other wiic of diirating the school. Mr J. Brown aeoonded the motion, and after some diaoniiion it waa carried. TOTIB OV THAWXS. Votes of thanka to Mr Hoi well for acting as scrutineer, and to the Chairman, ter* ruinated the meeting, THB NEW COMMUTES. At h meeting of the Committee held otters wards Mr H. M. Miles was elected Chairman. '

followi s— ... 42 B. Brown A. Busiell... ... 40 H. M. MOe» ... 38 J.DanV ... ... 26 W. O. Rutland ... 24 0. H. Lynch ... 19 A. W. Suriidgc ... 18 W. Stony... ... 11