The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-06-14 00:00:00

tke (stearkribge Olperfier.

SATURDAY, JUNE 14, MS.

THE SCHOOL BOARD QUESTION.

ONE of the largest meetings ever held in
the Corn Exchange assembled last night to
consider the ab,ive question. Several pri-
vate meetings had been held daring the
week by the Church party and the Noncon-
formists, and a placard was issued during
the day by the Church and Nonconformist
party, which was as follows :

"School Board Election Stourbridge.
At the meetings of Churchmen and Noncon-
formists at Stourbridge, held with a view to pre-
vent party contests, and the heavy expenses of a
contested Election, the following gentlemen were
mutually agreed upon and have been nominated
meandidates,
James Walker, Catherwell House, Stourbridge.
Charles Cochrane, it'., The Grange, Stourbridge.
Edwin Stringer, Commercial Buildings, Stour-
bridge.
James McEwen, Belle Vue, Oldswinford, Stour-
bridge.
Alfred Jones, Parkfield House, Stourbridge.
Henry Billingham, Wollaston, Stourbridge.

These Gentlemen have accepted the following
Agreement, which has been mutually arranged,
between Churchmen and Nonconformists :
That attendance at Schoolbe made compulsory.
_ . . . . .

That Fees be Remitted, but not Paid.

That Religious Instruction be limited to Bible
Reading, with such explanations or comments as
shall neither teach nor impugn the Distinctive
Doctrines of any Sect.
That in order to secure efficiency as well as eco-
nomy, it is important that some Members of the
Board should, in addition to more general qualifi-
cations, possess practical experience in the manage-
ment of schools.

_
That each party select Three Candidates, and
undertake to make all legitimate efforts to secure
the election of all the Six.

That a Joint Committee, consisting of Twelve
Members nominated by each party, be appointed
and authorized on behalf of their respective
parties, to enter into formal engagements to carry
out the foregoing programme.
That, in the event of a vacancy occtuTing in the
School Board during the first term of office of
Three Years, such vacancy be filled up in accord-
ance with the terms of this Agreement, so as to
preserve the balance between the Church party
and the Nonconformist party.

The Joint Committee.appOinted to carry out the
Election of the above Candidates,earnestly appeal
to the Electors, in the interests of both peace and
economy, to give their hearty support to these
Gentlemen."

Mr. Scott, in his speech. said he thought
a board of laymen would work much better
together than a board consisting of clergy.
men and ministers. Without any unneces-
sary display of egotism on our part, we may
be allowed to call attention to the fact that
we were the first to publicly advocate their
exclusion from the Board, for reasons which
we gave at the tithe. We also, at the same
time, suggested to the Commissioners the
propriety of calling a public meeting on the
subject; and those who were present atthe
meeting last evening, and heard howa small
section of the community had tried, by
calling private meetings, to take upon them-
selves the whole responsibility of choosing
the members of the Board, would see how
necessary it was that a public meeting
should have been convened to upset such
hole and corner proceedings. These gentle-
men, who called themselves the Nonconfor-
mist Committee and the Church Committee
—and several of whom were not ratepayers
in the township —at first intended to put
forward two clergymen amongst the nomi-
nees whom they graciously meant to confer
upon the ratepayers of Stourbridge, to act
as their School Board. Such, however, was
the pressure of public opinion that they were
compelled reluctantly to withdraw the cleri-
cal element, and to content themselves with
laymen. We should certainly have thought
it required a considerrble amount of impu-
dence for any small body of self-elected
men to constitute themselves " the wisdom
of the township," and our feelings of sur-
prise and disgust are not in any degree les-
sened by the knowledge that several of the
prime movers in the affair not only are not
ratepayers in the township, but actually re-
side out of it, and consequently had no legal
excuse to meddle at all in the matter. We
sincerely coincide, therefore, with Mr. Scott
in hoping that our-townsmen will not allow
themselves to be dictated to in this matter
by any Committee, no matter what plausible
pretext is used to throw dirt in their eyes.
and blind them as to their real intentions.
We do not want our School Board to be the
representatives of any clique or party, but
the representatives of the majority of the.
ratepayers of the township and we trust
to their good sense that they will, by deter-
mined and united action, ensure this being
the case.