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10. If there are any " district high schools" in your district under the latter clause of section 55, your Board is requested to be good enough, after ascertaining the views of the several School Committees in charge of them, to forward to the Hon. the Minister a recommendation as to the scale or scales of school fees to be fixed by regulations for the higher course of instruction in such schools, as provided by section 56. I have, &c, The Chairman of the Education Board, . John Hislop. (Circular No. 3.) Education Department, Wellington, Sir,— 21st February, 1878. I have the honor, by direction of the Minister of Education, to forward a copy of "The Public Libraries Subsidies Act, 1877," and to request the attention of your Board to the 2nd section thereof. The sum voted for the purpose specified in the Act is £5,000. The proportion, according to population, which would fall to your provincial district: is £* ; aud Government are prepared to intrust this sum to your Board for distribution within the Provincial District of , on the following conditions: — 1. That tho requirements of the 2nd section of the Act shall be strictly compiled with ; and, 2. That, if the limits of your education district are altered by The Education Act, 1877," an equitable distribution of the money will nevertheless be made by your Board amongst all the public libraries within the said provincial district, tho managers of which shall comply with the provisions of the Libraries Subsidies Act. You will therefore be good enough to cause a voucher to be forwarded for the amount above mentioned, shall your Board undertake its distribution in accordance with the conditions herein specified. In connection with this subject, I may suggest the advisability of your Board including in its annual report information relative to public or school libraries within your district. I have, <fee, The Chairman of the Education Board, . John Hislop. (Circular No. 5.) Education Department, Wellington, The Secretary to the Education Board, . 15th April, 1878. With regard to the preparation of regulations by the Governor in Council for the examination and classification of teachers, and for the issue of certificates, in accordance with the provisions of the Education Act, I am directed to state that it is the desire of tho Government in so doing to interfere as little as possible with the existing regulations of the several Boards, and only in so far as is necessary to bring them into harmony. This being the case, the framing of the regulations cannot proceed until the information which the Board's annual reports will furnish on tho subject is received, nor until time has been allowed for a careful examination and comparison of the various schemes. I am therefore to ask your Board to follow for the present its usual mode of ascertaining the qualifications of candidates for appointment, and to say that any provisional classification of such teachers your Board may find it advisable to make will be temporarily recognized. It is, however, not desirable in present circumstances that the Board should hold examinations for promotion of teachers in its employment who are already certificated. John Hislop. (Circular No. G.) Education Department, Wellington, The Secretary to the Education Board, . 16th April, 1878. With regard to the approval of school books by the Governor in Council in accordance with section 84, subsection 4, of the Education Act, I am directed to inform the Board that as soon as possible after receiving its report, and the recommendations asked for by paragraph 10 of Circular No. 4, an authorized list will be issued. It is probable that all books at present in use in the public schools, and which are recommended by Boards, will be included in the list, with the exception of particular books against the use of which some grave objection may be justly urged. There will, perhaps, be added some books of recognized excellence not yet introduced by any Board. Meanwhile, it is not desirable that any important change should be made with regard to the books at present in use in any school. If your Board has not already done so, I shall be glad if it will forward its recommendations in this matter as soon as possible. John Hislop. (Circular No. 7.) Education Department, Wellington, The Secretary to the Education Board, . 6th June, 1878. I have the honor, by direction of the Minister of Education, to forward herewith copy of Order in Council defining the principle upon which average daily attendance is to be calculated, and prescribing the form in which the returns of attendance are to be made. I send, also, a supply of return forms for the use of the schools under the charge of your Board. Eeturns made in this form will serve a double purpose. They will supply your Board with * The vote was distributed as follows: Auckland, £1,025 75.; Taranaki, £104 155.; Wellington, £556 75.; Hawke's Bay, £179; Marlborough, £97 65.; Nelson, £312 18s.; Westland, £211 45.; Canterbury, £1,068 17s; Otago, £1,444 6b.