c.—i

8

(1.) Eor grants to Boards, at the rate of Is. 6d. for each child in average daily attendance, for the support of scholarships established by them under the provisions of the Act. These are the only payments from the consolidated revenue which Boards can make applicable to scholarships. (2.) Eor the distribution amongst Boards of the sum of £4,000, by way of subsidy, with a view to aid and encourage them to make sufficient provision for the efficient inspection of the public schools. (3.) Eor grants to Boards for the training of teachers. The amount voted for this purpose was £7,500. (4.) Eor special grants to Boards for school-buildings. Provision was formerly made for the payment of grants to Boards at the rate of 10s. per annum for every child in average daily attendance, for distribution among the School Committees for local educational purposes; but owing to the discontinuance of the vote no special payments have been made to Boards for this purpose since 31st July, 1880. The amount received by Boards out of this special vote for the first eight months of the past year was £18,276 17s. 6d. The ordinary grants are paid to the Boards monthly, in strict accordance with the ascertained average daily attendance of the preceding three months, as shown by the summary statements of the quarterly attendance furnished by the Boards in terms of the Order in Council of 28th May, 1878. In the Appendix, a general statement of the income and expenditure of each Board for the year 1880 follows its report. Summaries of the accounts of the different Boards are contained in Tables Nos. 1 and 2 of the Appendix. The following is a summary of the chief sources of income of Boards for the past year and the three preceding years : —

TABLE G.—Summary of Boards' Income.

It has been found necessary, for the purposes of account and audit, to include in the Boards' balance-sheets the moneys granted in aid of public libraries, but these sums should not be regarded as belonging to the Public School Eund, as they have merely been intrusted to Boards for distribution under " The Public Libraries Subsidies Act, 1877." The net income of Boards on account of the public schools is shown in. line No. Bof the foregoing summary. The other particulars are given to show agreement with the totals of the Boards' general statements which accompany their annual reports. No vote for public libraries was passed by the General Assembly last year. The moneys appearing in the Boards' accounts for this purpose for the school year 1880 are the proceeds of the vote passed near the close of 1879 for the financial period 1879-80, and not paid over till the beginning of 1880. The moneys granted to Boards out of the special vote for school-buildings are handed over to them in progress-payments as actually needed for contracts in hand, and consequently it is usually long after the passing of a vote before the whole of the amount voted has been expended. The sum of £175,000 was voted for schoolbuildings in 1879, but for the reason now stated a very large proportion of the money was not paid to Boards till long after the beginning of the school year 1880. When the financial period 1879-80 expired on 31st March, 1880, a balance of £54,031 17s. lOd. promised to Boards remained unpaid, and had to be revoted, so that, while the sum of £104,031 17s. lOd. was apparently voted last year for

Principal Heads. Year 1880. Year 1879. Year 1878. Year 1877. 1. Balance on 1st January, 1877 ... 2. Parliamentary grants —Maintenance 3. „ „ Buildings 4. Education reserves ... ... ... ... 5. Local Receipts—School fees, contributions, &c, 6. Interest on current accounts 7. Overdrafts on 31st December ... £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d 43,569 4 li 241,555 14 0 104,436 16 8 19,749 0 4 5,783 10 2 1,739 5 0 2,693 15 3 217,873 2 0 150,584 4 7 21,330 7 1 5,739 7 4 3,048 17 2 838 5 1 216,666 4 0 101,257 2 11 8,862 3, 9 10,650 16 1 j 204,205 3 4 16,604 4 i 45,944 9 4 3,432" 5 4 3,419 12 4 8. Total income for year for public schools 9. Add—Public libraries for 1880, 1879 .0. Auckland and Otago High Schools, 1877 .1. Balances on 1st January 375,958 1 5 4,945 8 0 399,414 3 3 5,750 4 3 340,868 12 1 313,742 13 h 9,025 7 43,677"l5 2 62,034" 7 1 27,417' 3 11 .2. Totals, agreeing with Boards' general state- "^ ments for the four years respectively ) 424,581 4 7 467,198 14 7 368,285 16 0 322,768 1