FREE RAILWAY PARSES FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 11689, 24 February 1902, Page 3

FREE RAILWAY PARSES FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN.

At Thursday's meeting of the Otago Education Board, a question discusSed at the last meeting of the South Canterbury Board was brought up. The chairman said he had a very important matter to bring before the Board. It was "a subject that had engaged the Board's attention on previous occasions, and was -still in a most unsatisfactory position. He referred to the granting of free railway passes to pupils attending the District High Schools and secondary schools. As far back as May of last year the Board had communicated with the Minister of Railways upon this matter, and that Minister had Teplied that the Board's application had been referred to the Minister of Education. The latter Minister some time afterwards informed the Board that the matter would be considered. In August 'a reply was received that the request of the Board had been favourably considered, and would be given effect to when the new railway arrangements were

the Government until September, and he (the chairman) .then sent a telegram to Wellington asking for information. On the I6tli of September the reply came that free passes would be available. The Board then made inquiries at the railway station, and found that no instructions regarding the concessions had been received, and considerable inconvenience resulted. On February 10th of the present year, in response to a further telegram, the Board were informed that .the new regulations re childrens' passes would be published shortly, and that was how the matter stood at preHe thought the circumlocution that had resulted over .this small matter brought out very prominently the evils of centralisation. The" Board had been bandied about from pillar to post in a way that was irritating and annoying, and he could not help wondering what would happen when the colony had millions of population to deal with instead of thousands: What- he complained of was that children attending private schools should be provided with facilities for railway travelling and the children of State District High Schools and secondary schools have these privileges withheld from them. He moved—" That a strong appeal be made .to the. Ministers of Education and Railways to give immediate effect to the promise made on September 16th of .free railway passes to children attending Hitrh and District High Schools, and that a refund of all railway fares incurred by children attending these schools sinctf the promise was made be applied for." The motion was carried unanimously.