The Star. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1900. TRUANCY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 69691, 6 December 1900, Page 2

The Star. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1900. TRUANCY.

The vexed question of school attendance was discussed by the- North Canterbury Board of Education yesterday. The members seemed, to he thoroughly satisfied tihat a strong effort ought to be made to check truancy, and there appeared to be a consensus of feeling among them that 'the law did not do quite as much as it might to discourage the practice. But they were not quite clear upon whom to lay i the responsibility for the present state of affairs. Some blamed the Act, and oth&rs the administration of it, and ultimately the Board decided to ask the Stipendiary Magistrate to hear all truancy cases. This is tantamount to asserting that the decisions of the Justices of the Peace, before whom these oases have hitherto been 'laid, have not given satisfaction, and, moreover, it is a' direct contradiction, of the criticisms I of those people who have written! to the newspaper in praise o>f the findings of tho Justices. The 'Board; is justified! to a certain extent in taking the course which it has followed. It is its duty, to see that the attendance at its schools is properly maintained, and it ca,nonly ensure regular attendance if it is adequately supported by the law. Hitherto the Justices have not given the Board's truant officer all the assistance that lie had ai right to expect. As often as not they have dismissed his informations altogether, and when they have convicted they have generally inflicted the. minimum punishment provided in the Act. This is not very encouraging either to the Board or to its official, and it is not surprising under the circumstances tha.t the former is applying to have future cases tried by Mr Beeth'am. At the same time the Justices are not alone to blame. We are by no means satisfied that the Act relating to truancy is not partly responsible. We are inclined to think that it does not give the Bench quite enough power, and this opinion is shared by more than one member of the Board. On the whole, therefore, it i 9 n/6t unreasonable to conclude that both the law and its administration are defective. No blame attaches to the truancy officer. Mr Blank ia a zealous official, who works conscientiously to oairy out a thankless task to the best of his ability. If ihe law i's -mlade effective and is' laidiministeTed properly, children will find it no easy matter to absent themselves from school.