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for the benefit of a very small section of the community. Again, the study of the extra subjects must either be voluntary or compulsory. In the former case the number of students would probably be very limited; and, in the latter, it is to be feared that the schools would suffer from the withdrawal of children as soon as they could obtain a certificate under clause 90, subsection 4, of " The Education Act, 1877." To show that my misgivings as to the success of the change under consideration are not without some foundation, I will quote from the report of the Otago Board of Education for December, 1875. In that large and wealthy district, the number on the school rolls being 16,097, the numbers returned as receiving instruction in the higher branches throughout the district were as follows: Mathematics, including Euclid, algebra, and trigonometry, 312 ; Latin, 287 ; French, 143 ; and Greek, 6. Now, as in all probability the number studying mathematics includes all the others, this gives 312 pupils out of over 16,000, and from this number should be deducted those attending the Grammar School and Dunedin City schools, in number 103, which reduces the number receiving instruction in higher branches to 209, out of upwards of 16,000 scholars; and, doubtless, the proportion of pupils entering upon such studies would be very much smaller in Westland than it is in Otago. A large majority of the children enter the schools at or before the age of five years, and, as they are supposed to pass one standard every year, and may pass two, the average age of children in the Seventh Standard will not much exceed thirteen years, when, if they have attended school with moderate regularity, they should be able to pass the Junior Civil Service Examination with ease. It must not be supposed that I consider the present programme incapable of improvement—such is far from being the case; but Ido maintain that it is sufficient for the present for all the purposes of primary education. It must be remembered that during the present year there will be only twelve boys in the whole of Westland in the 7th class, and, until they have passed that standard, there is no necessity for any addition to the present syllabus. I have always intended to gradually introduce such subjects as I consider to come within the province of primary education: for instance, the reading of one or more of the English classical authors, and such subjects as are prescribed by the Act, section 50, or are likely to be particularly useful in a mineral-bearing country such as this—viz., geology, mineralogy, and metallurgy, &c. The chief schools are already supplied with diagrams illustrative of natural philosophy, which will be brought into use as soon as practicable. There will be no difficulty in selecting text-books, from the numerous works now published, for the purpose of bringing these and similar subjects within the grasp of schoolchildren's intellectual capacity. In my opinion secondary education should be carried on independently of, though to a certain extent in connection with, the primary schools, by the establishment of a separate high or grammar school, to gain admission to which it should be only necessary for a scholar to have passed a given standard in one of the primary schools, and to pay the necessary fees, which should be made as low as possible. Higher fees might be charged to pupils from private schools, who should also be required to pass an entrance examination, to prevent the high school gradually becoming a mere select preparatory school. In July last I submitted to the Board a carefully-prepared estimate of the cost of establishing and maintaining a high school in Westland, which, for reasons given in the report, I suggested should be situated at Greymouth. The cost of purchasing a site, building, and furnishing would, on the most moderate calculation, amount to £3,200. The annual cost of maintenance, including salaries, expenses of boarding establishment, &c, would exceed £3,000 per annum, while the receipts from boarders and day-scholars' fees could not be expected to produce more than £2,200, leaving an annual deficit of £800. If the Kumara Reserve could be made a special reserve for this purpose, without any loss to the ordinary funds of the Board, the high school could be set on foot at once. If, however, this cannot be done, and the funds at the disposal of the Board will not allow of the establishment of such a high school, I beg to repeat the suggestion made in my report just quoted —namely, the immediate establishment of (to begin with) four scholarships of the annual value of, say, £60, tenable for three years at any high school or college in New Zealand, to be selected by the parents of the pupil and approved of by the Board. The following are some of the advantages that may be expected from the establishment of scholarships as proposed: A great and benefical impetus would be given to the whole system of primary education in the district in the emulation excited amongst the teachers, who would naturally be desirous of sending up scholars to take part in the competition, especially if a substantial bonus were allowed for each pupil gaining a scholarship. The direct benefit arising from the expenditure of public money in establishing scholarships would accrue to the most promising pupils, in whatever part of the district, or in whatever position in life, whilst the indirect benefit alluded to in the preceding paragraph would be impartially and generally distributed throughout the whole district, for I would suggest that such scholarships should be open to all children in the district, whether attending private or public schools. The statements made above are not purely conjectural, but are founded upon the actual experience of another district, where the establishment of scholarships, some five or six years ago, has had the effect of improving, in a marked degree, the general efficiency of the public schools; whilst the boys who have thus found their way into the High School have generally taken up at once a more than average position for their age, and, in several instances, have distinguished themselves in a remarkable degree. The only objection that I can think of that can be urged against the scholarship system is, that it might cause teachers to devote an undue portion of their time to the preparation of candidates, thus leading to the comparative neglect of the lower classes. This danger may be obviated, as I propose to guard against a similar danger now existing in connection with the bonus system, to which I shall presently refer. Since the Board has now power under clause 35, and subsection 7 of clause 43, of " The Education Act, 1877," I hope that something will be done in this direction without delay, as the best education 12— H. 1.