E.—l

12

Wanganui, and Southland there is a saving of about 7 per cent. No reductions whatever Avere made by the Boards of Wellington, Hawke's Bay, and Marlborough in the salaries of the office staff. The reductions made by the Boards of North Canterbury, Westland, Nelson, and South Canterbury were respectively at the rates of about 9-6, 10, 14-6, and 16-1 per cent. The rate of 22*4 per cent, was secured by the Otago Board by the deduction of about 7-J- per cent, on salaries over £200, and 5 per cent, on those below that sum, and by the abolition of the following offices: Two assistant drawing-teachers, £300; visiting Erench tutor, Normal School, £30; school-buildings draughtsman, £225; and clerk of works, £240. The two last-named officers were no longer needed, OAving to the contraction of school-building operations. The folloAving is a summary of the amount of teachers' annual salaries and allowances in the different education districts, at the rates paid them during the last quarters of 1880 and 1879 respectively :—

TABLE L. —Teachers' Salaries and Allowances.

The number of teachers employed by Boards at the close of 1880 was 1,971, as compared Avith 1,773 twelve months previously. If the amount paid to teachers had increased during the past year in proportion to their number, their salaries for the last quarter would have been at the rate of about £213,904. The payments, as shown above, were at the rate of £201,647, or £12,257 less. The average attendance at all the schools increased from 58,738 in the fourth quarter of 1879 to 64,407 in the corresponding quarter of 1880. At the same rate of increase, the rate of salaries paid to the teachers at the close of last year would have been about £210,987, or £9,340 in excess of the actual rate of payment. Making alloAvance, therefore, for the additional teachers and the increased attendance, the total reductions effected by Boards in the salaries of the public-school teachers during the year may be estimated at the rate of between £9,000 and £12,000 a year. The aggregate loss to Boards by the withdrawal of the 10s. per head grant on the average attendance (64,407) at the close.of 1880 was at the rate of about £32,000 a year. The difference between this sum and the estimated reduction (from £11,000 to £14,000) on the salaries of teachers and other officers is from £18,000 to £21,000, which represents approximately the annual rate of the reductions on Committees' allowances and a few minor items of expenditure. School Committees' Accounts. Table No. 11 (page 52 of the Appendix) contains a summary of the Boards' abstracts of the School Committees' audited statements of accounts. Copies of the Committees' statements were forwarded by the Boards to the department, and these show an improvement on the part of the Committees generally in the keeping of their accounts. As a rule, the accounts are most satisfactorily kept in those

Annual Salaries and Allowances at the Bates paid during the last Quarters of Education Districts. 1880. 1879. Auckland Taranaki Wanganui Wellington ... Hawke's Bay ... Marlborough ... Nelson North Canterbury South Canterbury ... ... Westland ... ... ... ... ... ... Otago Southland £ s. d. 39,736 0 0 3,330 16 0 9,775 5 0 14,663 0 0 7,693 10 0 3,149 3 4 9,043 0 0 36,351 10 6 8,666 6 9 7,898 0 0 51,759 0 0 9,581 10 0 £ s. d. 34,598 14 0 3,303 13 0 9,786 12 0 13,302 10 0 6,531 17 6 2,875 0 0 9,673 11 9 36,346 19 0 8,084 9 10 7,527 15 0 49,198 18 4 11,186 17 0 Total £201,647 1 7 £192,416 12 5