DISTRICT HIGH SCHOOLS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1915, 11 July 1889, Page 2

DISTRICT HIGH SCHOOLS.

TO THE EDITOR. Sie, — You have made me the subject of a bitter, and I fancy somewhat unjustifiable, attack in your leading article to-day dealing with my action in connection with the above question. Unjustifiable, I think, in that you have gone outside this matter, and made the charge you have against me over another and totally different question, viz., the borough movement at Temuka some years since, and the tone of your article on the high school question is much more acrimonious than a difference in opinion on a public question seems to me to warrant. I am at a loss to understand why this is so, as I am aware of nothing I have lately done or said to forfeit the fair treatment you have hitherto accorded me in connection with public matters. Re the proposed borough you say: “ Mr Talbot got a few of his henchmen to go round secretly, get up a counter petition, and forward it to the Government.” Now this is, to put it mildly, a misrepresentation. I never had any henchmen to send round secretly or otherwise. Two or three of the Arowhenua residents came to me and stated that the ratepayers of the village settlement viewed with alarm the prospect of being joined with Temuka in the borough scheme, and asked me if any steps could be taken to avert it. My sin, if any, consisted in advising them of the action necessary to be taken, and, I think, drafting the petition. I held no opinion as to the wisdom of the action they were taking, and I have no opinion still whether its success has proved beneficial or otherwise. I had no private interests to serve, and much as 1 may seem to like dabbling in public matters 1 hardly think it would tempt me to dishonorable practices. Of course, my conscience may be a blind guide, but, however, I have had either or both of private or public transactions with most of the promoters of the borough movement, and have not detected any loss of good feeling over it. As to the high schools question the gist of your censure is that I did my best to get the Temuka School disrated, and that I had no right to carry my opposition to Geraldine getting theirs to the extent of protesting against the resolution passed by the Board of Education. As to the first, I hope I do my best for whatever I take in hand, and had I succeeded in getting it disrated at an early stage in its history the general public who use the school might have been quite as well served as they have now. If your remarks apply to the meeting held at a later stage, I had nothing whatever to do with that beyond attending it. As to the protest re Geraldine, the Board of Education is not the executive authority; it is the Minister for Education who is, and to argue that the majority only is to have his ear, seems to me unreasonable. What have the majority to fear, if they are in tbe right, from any statement of the case presented by the minority, even if it includes I, the King, and him only? There is, I know, a great deal to be said, in theory anyhow, in favor of district: high schools, but it is not for their merits or demerits I am contending. I may, however, remark that the benefit of them, accrue to whom it may, it will not be to the less wealthy part of the community. To wade up to and through the sixth standard successfully takes all the time and energy available, except ; in cases of unexceptional talent, and, so far as my experience goes, the whole of this that is floating about is otherwise provided for, I have now exhausted about all the irritation your article caused me, and I am afraid also, more perhaps than my allowance of space in your columns, and, after all, the reflection comes to me that instead of being irritated I should feel flattered. You have attached more importance to my actions than I had any idea of doing myself. If I thought you reflected the public valuation I should have to affect a new bell-topper at least.I am, &c., J. Talbot. Temuka, July 9,1889, [With regard to the Borough question, we shall not rake the matter up again. Very strong opinions were held on the subject then, and we had a tussle with Talbot over it, but as reference to' it appears to irritate him now we shall allow his side of (he story to be tbe last told. That he must regard as fair. Indeed, ia . referring to it we had ao object in view except to strengthen our argument, but now, on reading tbe above letter, we think our argument was strong enough without it. Mr Talbot has wound up his letter good-humoredly; wo have no desire to awaken fresh cause for irritation, so Ist it be. We never said Mr Talbot had any private ends to serve in any action ho has taken in public affairs. If anyone else said so we should be the first to resent it. We have more than once extolled Mr Talbot’s many virtues, and we shall do bo again if the occasion for it arises. This fact ought to enable him to realise that the article of which he complains was rot prompted by personal motives, no more than his action was the result of a desire to serve some private end. Mr Talbot was quite justified in opposing the proposed raising of the status of the school if he did not believe in it, hut when he found that he was almost singular in this respect he ought to haye submitted to the will of the majority and allowed the matter to end tiers. Ho did not do so, however. He added what may be called a “ rider,’* |in the shape of a protest, to the resolution of the Boafd, and it appeared to us that poey

eibly this may cause vexatious delay, and do some mischief. We thought that Mr Talbot would have done his duty well enough witboul going to such an extent, and believed we were quits justified in telling him so. Mr Talbot has not done recently, or at any other time, anything which would induce us to go beyond what we consider is required of us in the interests of the public. We thought that in throwing impediments in the way of the will of the majority Mr Talbot went too far, and that be well deserved being pulled back a bit. If Mr Tslbot sought a public position to-morrow we should be the first to support him, believing that trough wrong in this matter he is more frequently right, and, on the whole, generally deserving of confidence.— Ed.]