School Committees.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7187, 11 June 1891, Page 4

School Committees.

■ ■»■ THE METHOD OF ELECTION. At the meeting of the Board of Education, yesterday, the Committee appointed to consider . what alterations the Board should advise the Minister for Education to propose in "The School Committees Election Act, 1890," submitted its report. The report, which was considered in Committee, was a long one. The first clause pointed out that tho new interpretation of householder was not completely successful, and that it established a principle of plural voting, which, in all other elections, was steadily discountenanced. The simplest method would be to include in the term " householder " all adult persons who had. resided in the district for thiee months, such residence to be in a permanent building, and not in a tent or other temporary structure. With regard to the manner of election, the abolition of tho cumulative vote wqb an almost unmixed benefit. But the new arrangements for the nomination of candidates and "for the recording of votes were open to serious objection. They afforded facilities for double voting ; encouraged to a very mischievous extent the practice of canvassing and soliciting votes; and in large constituencies involved intolerable delay in the proceedings at the meeting of householders. It was not easy to devise a method of election suitable for constituencies varying so much in size as school districts. In moat cases nothing seemed better than the old plan of a public meeting with open nominations and votes taken at the meeting by ballot. But in the large districts the public meeting was insufficient, and some more systematic means of taking the votes was required, and this would be best provided by the adoption of a process similar to that employed for the election of Eoad Boards, with similar power given to the Eeturning Officer of putting questions to voters bb to their qualifications. If, hewever, it waß decided to retain the written nominations and voting papers, the elector ehould bo required to sign his paper in the presence of the attesting witness, and no teacher should be allowed to nominate a candidate or attest a voter's signature. A further defect in the Act was the want of any means of certifying that a person nominating a candidate, or even the person nominated, was a householder. What was really needed, especially in the towns, was a householders' roll, containing the names of all persons entitled to vote at the election. It deserved consideration whether a Committee need invariably consist of seven members. In Bparsely settled districts there was sometimes a difficulty in finding seven men competent and willing to act, and in such cases the householders might have the option of electing a Committee of six or five members. Lastly, it was BUggested that only a part of a Committee, cay four and three members alternately, ! should retire in each year. In all public bodies, some amount of continuity was desirable ; and it was believed that the retirement of not more than four of the Committee annually would be safer and more convenient than the present system, which made it possible for the whole Committee to be changed at once. On the Board resuming, it was reported that the first clause, that referring to the qualification to vote, had been struck out, and that in place thereof it had been decided to recommend an amendment of Section 2 of the School Committees Amendment Act, with a view to restricting tfye right of parents and guardians to vote to the district within which they reaided. The recommendation in regard to the pro* vision of householders' rolls was struck out, the Board considering the proposal be impracticable. The final clause was amended in the direction that Committees should not consist of less than five or more than nine members, a majority to retire at the end of each year. The report as amended was adopted.