Llangollen Advertiser Denbighshire Merionethshire and North Wales Journal

WREXHAM EDUCATION COMMITTEE. THE DISPUTE WITH THE I TOWN COUNCIL. PLAIN SPEAKING BY MR. R. I SAUVAGE. The dispute between the Wrexham Educa- tion Committee and the Town Council is still unsettled, and a heated debate took place at the monthly meeting of the Committee on Friday. Councillor Jarman presided, and there were also present Mr. Robt. Sauvage (who has resigned the chairmanship of the Committee), Mrs. Jarman, the Mayor (Coun- cillor L. B. Rowland), Dr. Drinkwater, Alder- men Edw. Hughes and T. Jones, Councillors T. B. Taylor, J. Stanford and W. J. Williams, Major Clieve, Messrs. John Francis, Fred Davies, W. V. Byrnes and Job Mason, with Messrs. Lawson Taylor, clerk, E. C. Dowell, assistant clerk, Dr. T. W. Jones, school medi- cal officer, J. W. Rogers, borough treasurer, and Hughes and Owen, attendance officers. THE CHAIRMAN'S LETTER. I The Clerk said he forwarded to Mr. Robt. Sauvage a copy of the resolution passed by the Education Committee asking him to re- consider his decision to resign the chairman- ship of the Committee. He had received the following reply from Mr. Sauvage I thank you for your letter conveying the resolution passed at the meeting of the Education Authority asking me to reconsider my ten- dered resignation of the chairmanship. The kindly sentiments of all the members are much appreciated by me, and are in harmony with past experience. I have also received from educationists and the public many sympathetic expressions. Happily, no disagreement exists with either the Committee, the public or school staffs, but only with a section of the Town Council, who-persist in making the management of the schools impossible by frus- trating in the Council Chamber, weeks after, work which might reasonably be subject to criticism at once in committee. Unless the Town Council are prepared to limit their action to these reasonable limits, I have no alternative but to persist in my resignation I though with much regret." Alderman Jones said he regretted to hear that letter from Mr. Sauvage. He had hoped I that, taking all the circumstances into con- I sideration, he would have consented to remain in office. But for the fact that it was war time probably the feeling of some of the mem- bers of the Town Council in regard to appoint- ments would have been different. In view of the unanimous vote add of the excellent rela- tionships of the past, he still hoped that Mr. Sauvage would take the chair. Councillor Stanford said everything hinged on the condition laid down by Mr. Sauvage as to the future action of the Town Council, and < unless a resolution proposed and carried again unanimously would induce Mr. Sauvage to serve, he did not think they could take any I action. He was anxious they should not be drawn into a long discussion which would not I end in anything. The Vice-Chairman (Mr. Jarman) said he would appeal again to Mr. Sauvage to recon- J sider his decision and wipe everything off the slate. He felt sure that if Mr. Sauvage I would resume the chairmanship it would be for the benefit of the town and of the child- ren. I. A POINT OF ORDER. I Mr. Sauvage said he was afraid there was some little misconception as to the ground upon which he took his stand. His stand was not taken upon any individual case at the Town Council. That was past remedying. His protest was against the action of the Town Council, every member of which was a member of the Education Authority, refusing to attend the meetings of the Education Authority, and allowing them to pass resolutions which weeks afterwards were made of no value by the action of the Town Council. Alderman Hughes rose to a point of order, and said that if, in response to a courteous appeal made to him, Mr. Sauvage was going to make certain statements they coula not allow them to pass unchallenged, although it would be very painful for them to reply to them. Mr. Sauvage—If that is the, attitude taken up I resign definitely. It is no use if I am not allowed to explain the grounds upon which I take my stand. (Applause.) Alderman Hughes-I don't wish to deprive Mr. Sauvage of the opportunity of making any statement he likes, but if he makes any state- ment such as he has made now with reference to members of the Town Council refusing to attend the Education Committee and upsetting the thing afterwards, then I think, in common fairness to the members of the Town Council, we ought to have the opportunity of replying. My point is this: it will be very painful for us to reply under the circumstances in which the appeal has been made to Mr. Sauvage. The Vice-Chairman—I quite agree with I that. Continuing, Mr. Jarman reminded the I Committee of the great amount of work that had been thrust upon the Town Council, and said he thought the members might reason- ably be allowed to fail to attend those meet- f ings. If the members of the Council attended the various meetings in connection with the I Council and were satisfied to allow the Educa- tion Committee to carry on the work of educa- tion .then he thought everybody ought to be satisfied. Mr. Sauvage-That's all we ask for. Alderman Jones said he hoped that, having made his protest, Mr. Sauvage would resume his position as chairman. Councillor Taylor said he took it that Mr. Sauvage's remarks did not apply to all the members of the Town Council. Mr. Sauvage-Only to those who don't attend the Education Committee. A PERSONAL APPEAL. I Councillor Taylor said no one held Mr. Sauvage in greater esteem than he did. They were old friends of wany years' standing. Now, he was the only one at the Education Committee who voted against the appoint nit.Tit of the kindergarten teacher, about which th.; dispute had arisen. He voted against it at the Committee and openly de- clared that he intended tq oppose it. He jttd Rot done anything behind Mr. Sauvage's back. Al that he had done was to ask that the appointment should not be made during the war. It must be remembered that the Town Council controlled the finances of the borough. They were the elected of the j people, and they were sent there for the pur- pose. They had handed over full control to the education authority outside finance. He appealed to Mr. Sauvage to let by-gones be by-gones and Ito occurrthe chair again as he had so well done since the resignation of Mr. j LI. Hugh Jones. If Mr. Sauvage resumed the chair he felt sure that the little differences I tha thad arisen would be remedied. Mr. Sauvage-I am not allowed to explain j the grounds upon which I act, and, without I explaining that ground and without altering I that ground, I definitely decided that I will ,I not occupy that chair on those conditions. That's straight enough. I don't do it from any personal pique. I am perfectly friendly with every member of the Town Council, and I every member of the Education Authority; but I say it is absolutely absurd to ask me to give my time as a business man to come here t and carry on the work, and then for certain members of this Committee to go to another ( place and decide that what I have done is < wrong. Why don't they come here and de- cide. That is the only argument I use. Members say they cannot come. One parti- cular member, who took a prominent part in this discussion, never was able to come be- fore, but he has been here four times since. I want to know why? If he can come here and frustrate our work now, why could not he come and help our work before. A man who! seeks to have education carried on in Wrex- J ham with a maximum of inefficiency and the minimum of cost is not the man who is to rule I in the educational workjof Wrexham while I I am in the chair. While I am in the chair I am going to stand for fairplay for all the school and for the teachers. I don't care any I more for any member of the Town Council I than I do for the members of the teaching staff, and I am fighting for them, and I only want members to fight me in the Committee, where I can meet them, and not at the Town Council, where I cannot. (Applause.) Alderman Hughes said Mr. Sauvage had referred to him without naming him. Mr. Sauvage—Certainly. Alderman Hughes said he was not going into an argument about it. All he could say was that Mr. Sauvage's reply to a courteous request conveyed to him by the Vice-Chair- man was not a dignified one. It meant in fact this: "If I can't have my own way, then I am not going to play." Members of the Town Council warned the Education Commit- tee that they had fixed the time of their meet- ings at such an inconvenient hour that they could not attend. The time was fixed more to I suit Mr. Sauvage's convenience than anybody else's because he lived in the country. He had absolute confidence in the co-opted mem- bers of the Education Committee and they all took a deep interest in education. He agreed with everything Councillor Taylor had said. i All that the Town Council asked for was a I suspension of the matter in dispute during I' the war. The Vice-Chairman suggested that the letter II from Mr. Sauvage be referred to the Town Council. Alderman Hughes was understood to say that he did not thinl,- i, that he did not think they should perpetuate I the undignified action of the Chairman of the Education Committee. Mr. Sauvage-Why not appoint another I chairman ? Alderman Jones moved that Mr. Sauvage be asked to continue in office. Mrs. Jarman seconded the motion, which was carried with one dissentient. "NO USE." I Mr. Sauvage-It is no use. We may ap- point a teacher next week and the same diffi- culty may apply again. They may throw it out. What security have we that our work is effective at all. All I ask is that all educa- tional work shall be left to the Education Committee. All the .members of the Town Council are members of the Education Com- mittee. They can trust us surely! If it had not been for the Education Committee your rates would have been a great deal more this year. Surely they can trust us! This kind I of thing is infra dig. to the Education Com- mittee, which is a larger body than the Town Council. If the members of the Town Coun- cil only say that the members of the Education Committee are to be trusted to appoint their own teachers for the schools that's all we re- quire and the difficulty is done away with. I Why can't Mr. Taylor at the Town Council trust Mr. Taylor at the Education Commit- tee? Councillor Taylor-I always do. Mr. Sauvage-But you don't. You say at the Council you can't trust yourself here to make an appointment. Councillor Taylor said he voted against the appointment openly, and declared that he in- tended to oppose it. Mr. Sauage said he was very sorry that the matter had been decided on a personal vote. Alderman Jones moved that the letter from the Chairman be referred to the Town Coun- cil. Alderman Hughes said the Town Council had /nothing to do with the chairmanship of the Committee. The Council only controlled the financial side. 'The Mayor said he was afraid the only thing they could do was to accept the Chairman's resignation with great regret. Councillor Williams said he should be sorry if that resolution was put, because the resig- nation arose entirely through the action of the Town Council in taking exception to the action of the Education Committee. The circumstances were exceptional. If after the Education Committee had spent several hours I .and sometimes several days, over its work, the j Town Council was .to upset its decisions, the whole work of the Education Committee was in jeopardy. Why could not members of the Council attend the Committee and record their votes there as Councillor Taylor had done. Decisons affecting education ought to be left to the Committee. Members of the Council said they could not attend the Committee. He claimed to be as busy as any man in Wrex- ham, but he regarded the work of the Com- mittee of the utmost importance, and he made a sacrifice to attend the meetings. If mem- bers, who did not care to make the same sacri- fice, were by their ignorant obstinacy going to render nugatory the work of the Education Committee, then the same difficulties would arise whoever occupied the chair. He hoped that Mr. Sauvage would remain, and he could assure him that some members of the Council would support him through thick and thin. Alderman Hughes said he thought the matters in dispute might be adjusted at a con- ference between the Town Council and the Education Committee. Mr. Fred Davies moved that the letter from the Chairman be deferred for a month. In the meantime, perhaps some way out of the difficulty might be found. Probably, the Town Council would agree that in the matter of the selection of teachers, the Education Committee would not be interfered with, pro- viding the teachers were selected in accord- ance with the rules of the Committee. I Alderman Jones seconded the motion, and I it was carried. ALDERMAN HUGHES AND THE II I- TEACHERS. I Alderman Hughes called the attention of the Committee to the fact that they were giving an extra holiday to the school children at Whitsuntide. The mover of the resolution in favour of this extra holiday put the case from the teachers' point of view only. The teachers cost the ratepayers in Wrexham over £ 170 per week, and in giving them an extra week's holiday they were making the teach- ing staff a present of 9170 during that period. He mentioned that in the hope that it would cultivate a spirit of reciprocity between the teachers and the Education Committee. Alderman Jones-This extra holiday is not for the benefit of the teachers; it is for the benefit of 3,500 children. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Mason said before the Alexandra schools were built, the teachers had charge of very large classes of 70, 80 or 90 children and worked hard without grumbling for several years. When registration came up, did they find a more loyal body of men and women than the teachers of the town, who gave up their holidays to do that work? During the strawberry picking season last year, five or I six teachers gave up three weeks to take care of the children who went to pick strawberries. Alderman Hughes implied that they were not willing to do extra work, and he did not think his words were justified. Alderman Hughes said he only wanted the teachers to give and take. Dr. Drinkwater said there were fewer teachers in the schools, and there was much more reason for a rest to be given this year than formerly. I CHILDREN AND CINEMAS. I The Medical Inspection Committee, in con- sultation with the head teachers of the ele- mentary schools in the borough, reported that they had considered the school medical officer's annual report on the medical inspec- tion and treatment of school children, a sum- mary of which has already appeared in the Advertizer." The Committe resolved that the school medical officer be congratulated on the excellence of the report; that the Town Council, when granting licences for cinema- tograph exhibitions and stage plays, be re- commended to provide for the exclusion of children under seven years of age from all evening performances at picture houses and theatres, and also to provide for the exclusion of all children of school age from picture houses and theatres during epidemics; and that the Education Committee be recom- mended to invite representatives of the Sunday schools in the borough to meet representatives, of the Committee to consider the question of excluding children from Sunday schools dur- ine -eDid-emics.-The rebort was adonted. I L IN CASE OF FIRE. \L I The Chifrch of England school managers re- ported that they had fully considered the question of altering the exit doors so as to open outwards, and intimated that a similar recommendation of the Committee was carried I out some years ago in the girls' department, but was found impracticable, and the doors had to be re-hung in their present form. The managers having' inspected with the head teachers, the exit doors of the three depart- ments, and having observed the method of clearing the children from school, were of opinion that the present method of hanging the doors was entirely satisfactory.-Dr. Drink- water said he wished to express his disap- proval of the report, and to say that if a panic I occurred the doors of the school would be dan- gerous.—It was decided to refer the matter to the Finance Committee for a report. ————— —————

Wrexham Officers Wounded in I Action. News was received yesterday that Capt. CiNules i H% Jones and Lieut. T. Oathrall, R.W.F., had been wouncttu rather seriously in action. Capt. Jones is the son, of the late Mr. Edwin Jones, King Street, Wiexham, and a brother of Air. Trevor Jones, GatefieM, while Lieut. Oathrall is the son of Mrs. Ca'thrall, Hope Cottage, Wrex- ham. The death in action is announoed of Pte. Harold Jones, son of Mr. and Mrs. E. Jcnes. Brown's Cours Mount Street, Wrexham, and Pte. '1. H. Penrin, a native of Cerney, who leaves a widow and one child. The last-mentioned was a brother of -Mrs. Roberts, one of the riotirns of the shell explosion at Mos<;o. Sergt.-Major W. Archibald, ift a letter to his parents, ivriteis:- Harold was out with his company the night he goto killed working in a sap head in the front line, and was caught by several bullets from a machine eun, death being instantaneous. He was carried out of the trenches and buried m a cemetery a few miles behind the firing lme along- side one of his comrades who was killed the same wght."

i Rhos Man Killed at Shotton. l?hos Man- -Kil-led -,i t Shotton. 1 Mr. John Daniel Jones (27), son of Mr. Benjamin Jones, Rhos, a commercial travel- ler in the employ of a Manchester firm, was killed at Hawarden Bridge, which carries the Great Central Railway over the river Dee at Shotton, on Friday afternoon. Deceased was a married man, and resided at 54, Askers- street, Manchester. It appears that on Friday be proceeded to Shotton on business, and when returnin g was knocked down by a passenger, train and killed. The funeral took place on Tuesday at Peny- Ciae cemetery. The Rev. D. W. Lewis, Baptist I minister officiated.

RHOSLLANE RCHRUGOG. I SHEOVJjUBS.—'The annual j preaching services in connection wH,h the Welsh Baptist Church, High-street, were held on Sun- day arnd Monday. The .preachers were the Rev. R. S. Roigers, Swansea, and Hugh Jones, IJan- eliy. All the services were wel^aHended.

Wrexham Soldier and his Discharge. An action was brought by the Denbighshire Territorial Force Association, before his Honour Judge lVIoss at Flint County Court, last week, against Thomas Henry Williams, collier, and Sarah Williams, his wife, of Nant, Moss, Wrexham, to recover 928 10s. 6d. in respect of the over payment of separation allowance. Mr. R. S. Kelly (for the Associa- tion) said the claim was in respect of the over- payment of separation allowance received by the female defendant since the male defendant had received his discharge from the army- from November 4th, 1914, to May 14th, 1915, 17 weeks at 17s. 6d.— £ 14 17s. 6d., and for 13 weeks at 21s. IC13 13s.— £ 28 10s. 6d. Defend- ants admitted receiving the amount, but said this was before the defendant received his dis- charge, it being on May 3, 1916, that he re, ceived his papers. Mr. Kelly said the male defendant enlisted in the 4th R.W.F. in March, 1914. The following October he was admitted to hospital suffering from ptomaine poisoning, and was discharged at Northamp- ton as medically unfit as from October 28th, 1914. He was paid -92 3s. 2d. due to him as arrears of pay. He handed in his kit, andf was informed that his discharge papers would follow in due course. It took some time to put the papers through; but on the date named he was formally discharged, and every- thing settled up. Defendant returned to his home, lived with his wife, and took up his employment as a collier. The matter came to the knowledge of the Territorial Associa- tion, and correspondence passed between them and the male defendant, who was called upon to refund the amount paid to his wife as separation allowance. Mr. Kelly said he was not calling anyone to prove the discharge. His Honour replied that unless defendant admitted it, Mr. Kelly would have to prove it.—Defendant handed in his discharge certificate to the Judge, remark- ing that it was dated as stated by Mr. Kelly; but he did not get it until May 3.—Mr. Kelly said he did not know how to prove the dis- charge unless one of the officers concerned could attend. If defendant contended that he was not properly discharged, he could only say what was the practice. He was dis- v charged according to the paper handed in.- Defendant said that if he were discharged at the time stated what authority had the mili- tary to fetch him and put him under test in June last in the barracks at Wrexham? De- fendant also said that he had been put to the expense of going to Mold three times.—His Honour told Mr. Kelly that he could have the case adjourned to bring someone to prove the case; and, addressing defendant, said he knew perfectly well that he had been dis- charged and was not entitled to the money. Defendant said he left the money at the Post Office and wrote to enquire about it.-The case was adjourned to the Mold Court, it being necessary for someone to speak to the discharge being made out for October 28th.

Denbigh Volunteer Regiment SERVICES OFFERED TO THE KING. A joint meeting of the Denbighshire Volun- teer Regiment, the National Motor Volun- teers (Denbighshire Corps), and the Denbigh- shire Territorial Association was held at Chester on Friday. The Lord-Lieutenant of Denbighshire (Colonel Cornwallis West) pre- sided, and among' those present were Lord Trevor, Colonel Sandbach, Messrs. D. MacNicoll (convener), J. Darlington, J. A. Harrop, G. H. Robertson, Lawson Taylor, and Major Allington Hughes. The Volunteer Force regulations were fully considered, and it was resolved to ask his Majesty's acceptance of the services of the regiment and motor corps. The following resolutions were passed" That the War Office be urged to make arrangements for the provision of arms, clothing and equipment." That in view of the large number of home service men who are being placed in reserve by the military authorities and are being sent home by them, it would be an advantage if such men were ordered to join the nearest volunteer regiment for training." "That it be a recommendation to the local tribunals that they should, in suitable cases, attach a condition to their certificates for exemption that men should joint a volunteer regiment." "That in view of the large number of men in reserved occupations in the county, it is desirable that steps should be taken with a view to inducing them to joint a volunteer regiment." "That the Volunteer Regiment and the Motor Volunteer Corps shall be kept separate as heretofore." That the titles be as follows: Eastern Battalion the Denbigh- shire Regiment, Western Battalion the Den- bighshire Volunteer Regiment,Eastern Squad- ron the Denbighshire Motor Volunteers, Western Squadron the Denbighshire Motor. Volunteers"; and That the Territorial Force Association be recognised as the county authority referred to in the War Office letter dated April 19, 1916."

A negro v40 had been convicted of the murder of an elderly woman was dragged 1rom the Court at Waco, Texas, by a mob and burnt at a stake before 5,000 people.