G.—B

6

present was 8, mostly young men. They read well from " Nelson's Sequel," translated what they read into Maori, and answered questions on the lesson in English. Their writing, aud arithmetic up to reduction, were good. Iv the second class, a few read fairly from " Step by Step ; " the rest indifferently. The translating words into Maori and spelling of some of them were fair. Neither dictation nor geography have been taught. The teacher appears to have taken great pains with his pupils, especially to make them understand what they learn. He complains, however, that the children attend so irregularly that they make but little progress. He appears .to be much respected by the Native population. I learned from Te Hareti that there are not enough children living in the immediate vicinity to make up a large school. I tried, however, to impress upon him the necessity of those who did attend doing so regularly. Major Wood complains of the building having been so badly constructed as to need repairs already, and of his want (which is evident) of desks, forms, &c. I should recommend that some school furniture (desks, forms, and black-board) be made for him by the contractor for the erection of the Tarawera School. 7. Tarawera (Te Wairoa) School: Teacher, Mr. Cowan.—l visited this school on January 23rd for the purpose of inspecting it, but found it not in operation. I saw Mr. Cowan, who explained that Mr. H. T. Clarke, Native Under Secretary, had, on his late visit to the school, authorized the extension of the holidays to the end of January. I had seen the chief Te Kepa at Matata on my road, and understood from him that the school was open, so that I was ignorant until I actually arrived at the temporary school building that it was not so. lam unable to give the number of scholars attending the school, as the master has furnished no quarterly return, nor has he kept any register of attendance. I have, of course, instructed him to do so in future. I conversed with the Chairman and members of the School Committee, and, judging from their report, and from the number of children I saw at the settlement, I should suppose the school to be well situated, and likely to prove a success. Some timber was lying on the site for the new school building. 8. Ohinemutu School: Teacher, Mr. Tait.—l only learnt on passing through Maketu that a school had been opened at Ohinemutu by Mr. Tait, formerly teacher at the first named place. I visited it on January 24th, and found the school in operation in a very ruinous building. There were 22 scholars present. The first class, consisting of 6 boys, who had been taught at other schools, was examined in easy reading, translating into Maori, spelling, and tables, and showed considerable knowledge. The rest of the school were mere beginners. The school, I was informed, had only been opened seven days, so that much progress in learning could not be expected. The discipline and order shown, however, compare favourably with any school visited by me. 9. Whareroa School [Tauranga) : Teachers, Mr. and Mrs. Oldfield. —I inspected this school on January 26th, when the number of scholars present was 9. The first class consisted of 5 pupils. Their reading, from " Nelson's Junior Reader," was good, as also their writing and dictation. In arithmetic, three of them worked sums in compound multiplication, reduction, and rule of three. The other two were not §o proficient. The junior scholars read indifferently well from the " Irish National Sequel." The whole school were perfect in the multiplication table, and had been taught some geography from the maps. They had little or no knowledge of colloquial English. Mrs. Oldfield I did not see, but I believe she was absent on leave. I understand that the Government intend erecting a small building for the accommodation of children who may wish to attend the school from a distance, and the chief Hori Ngatai is confident that this will give fresh life to the school, the attendance at which, it appears, has been for some time steadily falling off. 10. Opotiki School: Teacher, Mr Wyatt.—This school was established in 1872 for a mixed school of Europeans and Maoris, and though chiefly used by Europeans now, is open to any Native children who will attend. During the last quarter, I regret to say that only one Native child attended —a boy of about eleven years old; he has learnt to speak English, and is as far advanced as most of the European children of his age. His case shows the rapidity with which Native children sent to a European school will learn the language. lam glad to be able to report that, besides him, one Native boy and five girls are now attending the school. The European scholars number 98. This concludes the list of schools under my inspection, ten in number, and at which nearly 300 children have been taught during the last quarter. The> masters, generally, I believe to be efficient and painstaking, and anxious to do their duty under great discouragements. Most of them complain of receiving little assistance from the School Committee or chiefs, and of the irregular attendance. They have also in some cases had a difficulty in obtaining books. This latter want will in future be attended to by me. I may add that I have not only inspected the several schools, but have endeavoured in each case to see as many of the Committee and chiefs as possible, and to urge on them the advisability of supporting to the best of their power the Government scheme of education. I append hereto a tabular statement, showing the number of scholars and the average attendance at each school. I have, &c, Herbert W. Brabant, Inspector of Native Schools. The Hon. the Native Minister.