Wairarapa Standard Published Tri-weekly, Price 1d. FRIDAY, JULY 2, 1886. Local Bodies and School Buildings.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XIX, Issue 1852, 2 July 1886, Page 2

Wairarapa Standard Published Tri-weekly, Price Id. FRIDAY, JULY 2, 1886. Local Bodies and School Buildings.

Whin the Local Bodies Loans Bill was being dealt with in Committee on Tuesday, in the House of Representatives, there was a sharp on the danse which provides '* that local bodies may borrow money for the purpose of .erecting school buildings.’’ The real object of this clause was to shift as much as possible the responsibility and cost of erecting school buildings from .the Government to the local bodies. Now the general scope and tendency of the Education Act is that the cost of the existing eduoatienal system should be borne by the General Government. The Government, by this proposed clause in the Local Bodies Loans Act, just referred to, tried to getiid of a small part of that responsibility. The House clearly perceived this, and the clause was therefore strongly opposed. Major Atkinson said plainly that the clause ought to be struck out. This expression of opinion on the part of the Leader of the Opposition elicited a variety of explanations from the Minrster for Education,|who remarked “ that this Bill merely allowed local bodies to erect buildings if they thought proper. He could not understand hon members asking for local government, and then treating the matter in tills way. The position of the London market, he could tell them, was such that the General Government could not con-< finite to go on borrowing for buildings. They would have had much strreter economy in the past if the Education Boards had been able to say to local bodies that they would not build unless they were assisted He could see this coming —that in a few years they would have to cease borrowing on the London market. He denied that this was an attempt to interfere with the education system, and said he was as warm a supporter of the system as anyone. He admitted that a promise had been made to strike the clause oat, hut said it had been made under a misapprehension.” The foregoing remarks by the Minister for Education are of a highly interesting and informing character. They amount to an admission, that, in the way of borrowing, the Government realise they are getting very near the end of their tether, and that in a few years English capitalists will button up their breeobes pockets, and any further attempts to raise loans will prove impossible. This indicates the cheerful prospect to the local bodies of having all sorts of additional burdens cast npon (hem when the General Government finds U impossible to raise much further in the shape of loans. The House, however, refused to allow the General Government to divest itself of responsibility in the matter of carrying out the Education Act and providing for the erection of school buildings, so the clause was (struck out, and the Government will require to do the best they can in the matter of providing for educational requirements.