Trouble in the School.

Woodville Examiner, Volume XXI, Issue 3573, 3 July 1903, Page 2

Trouble in the School.

MR WALKER HAS A WARM TIME As was expect ml fcoru the rep’'! of the last meet in? of the Haw:. Hay Education Bon'd, M r WhM.-.-v. :is member of the local School Cmmittee, had a mher interesting.■; d exciting half bom - at the meetint; of Committee on Monday evening. When the question of the S>de School came up for discussion, Mr Nicholas began to refer to the depuaiion which waited upon the Ecucaticm Board at its last meeting. He was interrupted by Mr Walker, who in a peremptory and excis'd manner ejaculated “Ton sit dovvu !’’ Having been called to order by the Chairman, Mr Walkgr sat down, and Mr Nicholas proceeded. He pointed out to the Committee that be had asked quite a number of the Woodlands Road settlers who it was that appointed Mr W 7 alker a deputation to the Education Board, but none of them knew anything about the matter. He would be pleased if Mr Walker could inform him with reference to the following;Who called the meeting of settlers? When was it called? Where was it held ? What was the attendance at such meeting? Mr Nicholas commented upon the nature of the statements made to the Board by Mr Walker, among which was the following:— That the Woodville School Committee had treated the Woodlands School most unfairly. Ho (Mr Nicholas) considered this to bo a direct insult to the committee, because it was utterly untrue.

At this point Ur Walker stated that when the conof’rt was held in the Woodlands School Ur Nicholas had stated to one of the settlers, (Ur Carry) that had he known the proceeds of the concert were to he devoted to the prize fund of the Side School he would have gone down and put all the people out. Ur Nicholas replied .that such a statement was an unmitigated falsehood. He had never made such a statement, but he- had bought tickets for the concert and assisted it to the best of h : s ability, and, further, when the matter of the Main School concert funds came before the School Committee, be moved that part of the money be devoted to the prize fund of the Side School.

Mr Beattie expressed his surprise that Mr Walker as a member of the School Committee should second a motion dealing with the question of Standards in the Side School and a few days afterwards go down to Napier and malign the Committee. He considered it monstrous.

Mr Walker, in his reply, stated that some persons in Woodville had been in communication with members of the Board, and bad made statements calculated to prejudice the minds of the members against the Side School. He reiterated this statement again and again, but the members of Committee pointed out that this Committee was not responsible for the action of private persons. This appeared to consioerably embarrass Mr Walker, who could bring no charge whatever against the Committee. Being pressed to reply re his appointin'- t as deputy, Mr Walker stated that Messrs Beaumont and Fletcher b -d waited upon him on Saturday everting, and he had consented to go to the meeting of the Board.

Mr Walker then attempted to go back to ancient history to make out a case against the Committee, but the Chairman pointed out that that had nothing to do with charges , against the present committee. Messrs Burnett, Harris and Palmer expressed their surprise and resentment at such action as that of Mr Walkers’. Mr Palmer bad not heard of any meeting called to elect a deputy to the Board. All the members considered that the least Mr Walker could have done was to make certain of his facts before attempting to malign the Committee.

The Chairman placed the whole matter very plainly before the Committee, and stated that as Mr Walker had made statements regarding the committee to the Education Board, and now could not substantiate those statements, he considered Mr Walker owed an apology to the Committee,

As the apology was not furthcoming, members desired to place the real facts before the Board, and 1 after considerable discussion the following resolution was passed, Mr Walker alone dissenting:

It was resolved on the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Mr Horne, “That the secretary write to the Board protesting against the representations of Mr Walker making : reflections of this Committee's actions re Woodlands Road School, and that this Committee has m. all occasions done its very best to meetout fair and impartial treatment to the Woodlands School and the residents of Wopulands Road, and points out that Mr Walker was not a properly appointed delegate but was only the deputy of one or two householders appointed at, a private meeting; also, that the Committee’s only source of (u/Oirnaiion on the matter was the newspaper report, and that it had no official information as to the charges against tfio Committee hv Mr Walker ”