J. MITCHELI,.]

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salary of £400 we should have to pay him, not at the rate of £300, but £400. We give him a salary of £300 and travelling-allowance. As 1 see it—l may be wrong—the operation is this :we send the relieving teacher to a country school where the salary is £200, and he draws at the rate of that salary. There is no provision for travelling-allowance. The Board pays, but in the case of the man that we have got his salary would be necessarily reduced. He is more often employed in schools with salaries of less than £300 than in schools with salaries of over £400. His position would be worse. 87. Mr. Hogben.] It says " not lower than " the salary, so it does not say that you have got to reduce it ? —No. We are in this position :we must pay for him. We are giving him now a definite salary of £300, and if he is sent to a school of £450 we must pay him on the basis of £450.

George Crawshaw examined. (No. 23.) 1. The Chairman.] What are you ?—I am Secretary of the Hawke's Bay Education Board. The Chairman of the Board died last week, and the Acting-Chairman was at the last moment unable to attend here, so I was asked to be present and place before the Committee the views of the Board. They are as follows : Section 6 (b) (iii) : As the result of the proposed reduction of the general grant to lis. per annum per child and the deduction of £250 per annum, as against payment by the Department of the Inspectors' salaries and allowances, this Board will reap no financial advantage, as the additional expenditure provided for School Committees, plus the capitation payable on account of school libraries, just about absorbs the difference. The Minister states that the Board will be expected in future to provide for new sanitary works, so that, as a matter of fact, the Board may be in a considerably worse position than heretofore. Section 8 : Assuming that the inspectorate is centralized as proposed in the Bill, the Board cannot see any necessity for a Council such as is proposed. Surely a Council composed of Inspectors (male and female) of primary, secondary, special, technical, and Native schools, together with the Medical Inspectors and the Inspectors of Physical Instruction, would be better capable of giving advice to the Minister on all matters in connection with education than a Council composed more or less of non-experts. Section 11 : Similar remarks apply to District Councils. The Board considers this proposed Council an unnecessary advisory body in a system already overladen with advice. Section 12: The Board notes that it is proposed that members of General and District Councils shall receive "such sum for attendance at such meetings as may be prescribed," and observes that no such provision is made in connection with attendance of Education Board members at Board meetings. The Board is of opinion that such allowances should be provided for. Section 1I : The Board recommends that provision should be made for the representation on every Education Board of the teachers employed by that Board. Such representative should not, however, be a teacher. Section 40 (o) : The Board suggests the insertion, after the word " Committee," of the words " Managers of Technical Schools." Sections 41 and 50: Section 41 (2) provides that the Committee at its annual meeting shall give a full account of its proceedings for the year ending the 31st January. Section 50 (2) provides that every Committee shall in April forward to the Board a report of its proceedings (including financial) during the year ending the 28th February. It is suggested that the report to be forwarded to the Board be the same as that submitted to the annual meeting of householders viz., for year ending the 31st January. Section 45 :It is not clear whether it is the members of the Board who were elected by the urban district concerned who are to be appointed Commissioners. Section 47 (4) : There is nothing in section 34 (b) to show how the money should be expended or on what lines the Board's regulations re expenditure of Committees' moneys should be framed. The Department's previous regulations and section 47 (2) of the Bill infer that repairs are to be carried out from School Committees' general incidental funds. In order to avoid misunderstanding and possible friction it is suggested that the words " repairs to schoolhouse and teacher's residence and other" should be omitted. Section 51 (2), (4), and (5) :It is not clear if, in the event of the Minister giving instructions for conveyance, the Department will find the funds therefor. If a new school is erected'the Department finds the whole of the cost. If conveyance is decided upon it appears that the Boardis to be responsible for the cost, certainly for a part of it. Such inconsistencies should not exist. Section 51 (3) :At the present time with every application for a new school a report from the Inspector is submitted. Frequently months elapse before the Department comes to a decision. What will happen when General or District Councils have to be consulted is problematical. Surely the Education Board and the Inspectors could he expected, with their local knowledge, to come to a fairer conclusion than a visiting body. Section 84 :It is provided that secondary, district high, and technical schools may be established without any consultation with the Education Board. The Board considers this wrong. The Education Board of the district should certainly be consulted on all matter pertaining to education in the district under its control. Section 84 (2) : It is provided that School Committees of urban districts may apply for the establishment of secondary, district high, and technical schools. Remarks in section 84 apply. Section 97 (3) :As Standard VI examinations are generally held in December it appears necessary to make provision that candidates may sit without the proficiency-certificate qualifications, but that the certificate must be produced before a scholarship can be awarded. These arrangements would cause additional work, but something of the kind seems essential. Section 97 (4) : Similar remarks apply to this section with regard to the intermediate certificate. Section 105 (2) :It is provided that urban School Committees may make direct application to the Minister for recognition of technical classes. The Board is of opinion that such application should be forwarded through the Education Board, which is the controlling authority. Divided

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