T. R. FLEMING.]

1.—13 a.

Inspectors it should be remembered that by being placed under the Department, Inspectors would incur the following among other disabilities: (a) Financial loss owing to withdrawal of the privilege now enjoyed of receiving fees for departmental examination-work, supervision at examination centres, and fees for special examinations. This means, roughly, an individual loss of about £40 a year. We are unable to say exactly what it is. We do not take any special fees in our district, but at the same time there are certain fees and perquisites which are allowed to go by the regulations to the Inspectors. As far as we can make out, taking the average amongst the Inspectors, we think we are not under the mark when we say £40 a year. Then (b) curtailment to three weeks of the annual leave of Inspectors, which at present varies from a month to six weeks in different districts. Some of us do not even get the three weeks, but we are in the position that we have to get the work done for our Boards, but we are supposed to be allowed to take six weeks, but under the Public Service Regulations we only get three weeks. At present we can arrange with our own Boards, but speaking for myself I hardly ever get more than that, and I know there are other Inspectors who hardly ever . get any at all. The seventh suggestion is that the Minister may grant leave of absence to any Inspector to enable him to visit schools or other educational institutions in New Zealand or elsewhere. Such leave of absence shall be on full pay and on the following conditions : three .months for five complete years of education service, six months for ten years, nine months for fifteen years, and twelve months for twenty years and upwards. There is a provision in the Bill for such leave for teachers, but none for Inspectors. 4. Mr. Hogben.] It does not require it —it is in the Public Service Act. All service would count? —That is a matter we did not know about, and we wish it to be cleared up. Then, No. 8 is that a clause should be inserted in the Bill making it clear that the previous education service of an Inspector in the Dominion should be counted as full service for all the benefits conferred by the Public Service Act. That refers to what Mr. Hogben was saying, and we are very pleased to know that it is so. It has not been clear to us hitherto. Our ninth suggestion is that, in accordance with the principle that no Inspector should receive lower remuneration than that of the highest grade of head teacher, + he position of Assistant Inspector as set out in the Twelfth Schedule should not be retained Reference has been made to that by Mr. Hogben and Mr. Sidey. I should like to impress upon the Committee this point: that the salaries allotted to Inspectors should range from £500 with annual increments to £650, exclusive of travelling-expenses. This is a consolidating Act, and 1 think members will agree with me that Parliament is not ready to touch an Education Act again in a hurry. When you have a consolidating Act it should be consolidated on the proper principles. It means that an Assistant Inspector may come in at a small salary and then possibly have means of rising up to another, and that also prevents many young men in the service from taking a small salary to begin with. As this is a consolidating Act we think it should contain principles that should be laid down for Inspectors, and if there IS any reason because of the transition from the present stage to the stage proposed in this Bill, that could be put in as a saving-clause. Neither the Minister nor the Director of Education will be in office at the time to explain the reason for this in the Act, and this stands as putting the Inspectors in this grade at present, and may stand for a long time. We have no objection whatever to any reason for the thing coming in as a temporary arrangement, but we think anything that may be a temporary arrangement should be put in as "a saving clause so that those who have to deal with I be Act afterwards will know what the true position of the Inspectors is. 5. Mr. Hogben (for the Minister).] I suppose the suggestions you have made represent the opinions of the Inspectors?—We set up a committee at the Conference in 1913 and again in 1914, and with the exception of the Auckland men the suggestions I have made represent the opinions of the Inspectors. 6. Would the Inspectors think that an Inspector who is now receiving £325 should be raised to £500? —We are rather laying down general principles, and we are not here to recommend anything necessarily with regard to adjustment. I take it that a man who is considered to be an Inspector at £325 is probably fitted to receive a higher salary. As a matter of fact, what has happened just lately in. one district is that one Inspector has accepted an appointment with the idea of getting a highe.r salary. He is losing money in his present position. 7. Is it not possible that if a position had been open at £500, instead of £325 or £300, that other men of high qualifications would have applied?— That is the very reason for asking for the Assistant Inspector to be deleted. 8. Are you not doing an injustice when you give him £500 and do not give those other people a few months later the chance of getting the higher position?— The question of injustice in one individual case is very small compared with the general principle we are laying down. Individual cases like that should not in any way interfere with the general principle. 9. You must remember that some clauses of the Bill are framed with the view of transition? —We recognise that. 10. One of the chief uses of the Assistant Inspector might be to effect a transition ? Yes. 11. Supposing you appointed an Inspectress in needlework, would you give her £500 a year? —We are not considering special cases. That is a special case like an Inspector of woodwork or anything else. 12. There is no such thing as an Inspector of woodwork, but there are in almost all parts of the world Inspectors of needlework. You would not include them in this general scale?—No, not Inspectors of needlework. 13. You would regard this as applicable to some Inspectors, if necessary—for instance to the Chief Medical Inspector ?—Yes, I think the Chief Medical Inspector of Schools should'get

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