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Statistics.—The number of schools is 51; and the number of children on the books, 3,890. The average attendance at all the schools during the year was 2,577. The number present on the day of examination was 1,757 boys and 1,639 girls :in all, 3,396. Of this number there were 1,961 qualified, by attendance or otherwise, to be presented for individual examination iv the . standards; the remainder of the number (1,435) consisting of scholars who had been presented from one or other of the standard classes, but, from faulty classification, were found to be not qualified, and of the children too young to be presented even in Staudavd I. Passed in Standard 1., 971; in Standard 11., 495; in Standard 111., 304 ;iu Staudard IV., 116 ;in Standard V, 4*2 ; and in Standard VI., 11: in all, 1,939. Passed in reading, 1950 ;iu spelling and dictation, 1,892 ;in writing, 1,944; in arithmetic, 1,594; in grammar, 390 ; in geography, 752 ;in history, 377 ;in sewing, 576: in all, 9,475 passes. Percentage of passes iv reading, 99*4 ; in spelling aud dictation, 90*4 ; in writing, 991 '; in arithmetic, 81-2 ; in grammar, 79*2 ;in geography, 73 ; and in history, 77. The average age of children presented in Standard I. was nine and a half years; in Standard 11., eleven and a half years ; in Standard 111., twelve years and five months; in Standard IV., twelve years and seven months; iv Standard V., thirteen years and two manths ; and in Standard VI., fifteen years and eight months. It will be observed that the average age of the children in Standard I. is somewhat high. This high average is caused by not a few of them being above the age of fifteen years. Teaching Staff.— The teaching staff employed in the schools was — (a) Certificated teachers, 38; (b) uncertificated teachers, 28 ; (c) pupil-teachers, 21: in all, 87. Passing to the ordinary standard work, the reading comes first. Reading.—l am happy to be able to report favourably on the progress made during the year in the direction of good reading. However, the reading of the children in the upper standards lacks the intelligent and modulated expression which constitutes good reading. I have observed that in a new lesson the reading is generally taken, first, instead of being taken last, when the scope of the lesson has been thoroughly mastered. But, if it be true, that a child cannot read intelligently what he does not understand, the proper method to follow would be to take the word-meaning and the scope of the lesson first. And then the teacher should read the passage, to set, in his own voice, the example of distinct and expressive utterance. Reading is an imitative art; and, as the power of imitation is strong in children, the clear, distinct, and expressive utterance of the teacher will quickly take effect on his pupils. Recitation. —I have to report unfavourably regarding this branch of the curriculum. Speaking generally, the passage learned was rendered in a mechanical and monotonous way. The children, too, seemed to be ill at ease, and betrayed ignorance of the allusions and the meanings of words occurring in the passage repeated, not recited. But in several of our best schools the recitation was very creditable, and betrayed careful preparation. Spelling.—Whenever, iv any school, the reading-books in the lower standards had been ransacked by any teacher, and the harder passages exhaustively noted, and a list of the difficult and more uncommon words made for the repeated observation of the scholar, I always found the children worthy of a pass. On the whole, I have to report favourably upon the spelling and dictation. A simple dictation exercise, suited to the stage at which the boys being examined are, will do more to test the spelling than an abstract, a paraphrase, or even a letter will do. In any of these methods a knowing scholar can easily scheme to conquer a difficulty in spelling by the obvious expedient of shirking it; but in dictation he cannot palm off his spelling capacity for more than it is worth. Weiting.'—Writing, like reading, is an imitative art, and the teacher has to show the pupil how to write as well as how to read. The slate-writing of the First, Second, and Third Standards is generally and gradually improving. Iv most of the schools it is good, clean, and distinct; in others very good; and in some even beautiful. Exceptionally good writing on paper was shown to me iv the majority of schools, but notably at the Saudon and Waverley Schools. I am glad that I can speak regarding this important subject in terms of praise; it is one of the best taught. Aetthsietic. —1 regret to have to report that, in my district, arithmetic is the ugly hurdle that brings many a promising colt to grief, as will be seen from the above summary. Faulty notation or numeration, and carelessness in taking down tho questions, were fruitful sources of failure. The children appeared, in very many cases, not to have been taught the value of numbers. In dictating sums to those in the lower standards, I did so according to the principle or power of numeration. It is important to read out, not occasionally, but always, the numbers denoted by the figures, and not the individual figures themselves. For example : 5,045 should be dictated five thousand and forty-five ; not five thousand no hundreds and forty-five. Sums should not be dictated by single digits: thus, 137 should be dictated one hundred and thirty-seven, not one, three, seven. The value of recapitulation in numeration, or in the back work of arithmetic, appears not to be understood or appreciated in the great majority of the schools. But, as lam of opinion that large numbers, which seldom or never occur in the range of daily experience, suggest no idea to children —such numbers as millions, billions, and trillions —I confined myself to six figures in a line, when dictating to children in the Third Standard. The method adopted for examining this standard was to give a simple question requiring mere common sense, in addition to two plain-sailing ones, but I am sorry to say that the sense sum was too much for all who tried it, excepting a very small number belonging to our best schools. Any two of the three sums dictated, w*hen correctly worked, or the correct working of the sense sum, constituted a pass. Invariably, such a question as—Find the value of 111 boxes of oranges if 1 cost 375. 6d. —would puzzle most children in tho Third Standard. The questions set for those in the upper standards, being based on the power of numeration, were, in the majority of cases, printed in words. Four sums were submitted to the Fourth Standard children, two requiring mere accuracy of work and two involving thought. Correct working of the two easy-going sums, or the correct solution of the more difficult of the sense sums, wras reckoned the minimum pass. Generally, I have to report unfavourably on the result. Five sums, the correct working of three of which secured a pass, were submitted to the children in the Fifth Standard. The sense sums were invariably passed over. But, on the whole, the result was satisfactory. Six sums, the correct working of four of which gained a pass, were submitted