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Public Libeaeies.—The distribution of the Government subsidy, and of sums placed in deposit by library committees, is made in books supplied from Great Britain. They are strongly and uniformly bound, and are selected from catalogues by the various committees, or by purchase of those kept in stock by the Board. The details of income and expenditure are given in the appendix. District High School. —There is only one district high school under the Board —namely, Invercargill. The rate of fees payable is 10s. a quarter for one subject, and ss. a quarter for each additional subject. The fees are collected quarterly, and paid through the Committee to the Board. They are then handed back to the Committee, and distributed among the teachers of the higher branches according to a certain scale. At present the headmaster receives -_V, aud each of two assistants -_*_, of the whole fees collected. The number of pupils learning the special subjects for the quarter ending 31st December, 1880, was 85, and the total amount of fees collected for the same period was £76 3s. Scholarships.—Four scholarships of the value of £40 (if pupil resides at home £20), and tenable for two years, were competedfor in December last. The schools from which the successful competitors were sent up are the North and South Schools, Invercargill, North Invercargill, and Limestone Plains Schools. There are thus eight holders of scholarships at present, four of which lapse at the end of this year. Now that the Invercargill Boys' and Girls' High Schools are in operation, it is imperative that all holders of scholarships should pursue their studies either at one of the High Schools or at the District High School. The account for scholarships, the report of the Inspector, and copies of the examination-papers are appended hereto. Government Life Assurance. —On the application of the Commissioner for Government Life Insurance, the Board agreed to encourage teachers to insure their lives, by deducting the premiums by instalments from their monthly salaries. A circular was also issued to the teachers recommending the scheme, but as yet only two have taken advantage of it. School Furniture. —In all the new schools, and in the old buildings where the furniture hnsbeen renewed, the arrangement preferred by the Board is that in which the desks are placed longitudinally in parallel ro-jvs, divided into three or more groups, according to the size of the building. Each group contains three or four rows of desks, and in larger schools there is also a gallery for the infant department. Inspection.—Almost all the schools of the district have received two visits from the Inspector during the year : one a surprise visit, in which every assistance is given to the teachers in the work of organization and improvement in their methods of instruction, and another for result examination. An exhaustive and interesting report by the Inspector on the state of education in the district, and the results attained in each school, will be found in the appendix. General.—The Board desires to point out that the relative duties of the Board and School Committees, especially as regards the appointment of teachers, are not well defined in the Education Act; that the compulsory clauses are a dead-letter, owing to the difficulty and expense of bringing them into force; and that the cumulative system of voting in the election of School Committees is far from satisfactory; and that the Act might be advantageously amended in these respects. I have, &c, The Hon. the Minister of Education. John G. Smith, Secretary.

General Statement of Receipts and Expenditure for the Year ending 31st December, 1880. Receipts. £ s. d. Expenditure. £ s. d. To Balance, Ist January, 1880 —■ By Office and Board— Maintenance Account ... ... 281 15 6 Office staff salaries ... ... 293 0 0 Libraries ... ... ... 37 9 0 Clerical assistance ... ... 2 17 6 Special Buildings Grant ... ... 2,328 17 4 Departmental contingencies ... 387 14 0 Grants from Government —■ School Inspection—Salaries ... ... 498 3 4 Statutory capitation (£3 155.) ... 11,173 5 9 Teachers'salaries and allowances ... 12,060 711 Grants to Committees (10s.) ... 1,776 0 0 School Committees, for educational purScholarships (Is. 6d.) ... ... 77 6 0 poses ... ... ... 1)487 14 5 Inspection subsidy ... ... 300 0 0 Scholarships—Paid to holders ... 82 5 9 Training of teachers ... ... 11 6 11 Insurance of school-buildings ... 112 15 0 Specially for buildings ... ... 4,,200 0 0 School-Buildings— Payments by School Commissioners from New buildings ... ... ... 4,046 11 4 education reserves ... ... 1,390 0 11 Enlargement, improvement, and reFees for district high schools ... 76 3 0 pairs ... ... ... 618 10 6 From Public Libraries Vote ... 260 1 0 School furniture and appliances (not Sale of library books ... ... 4 17 0 included in preceding) ... 351 8 11 Deposits by Library Committees ... 70 10 6 Bents, temporary schools, &c. ... 250 5 0 Bent of reserve ... ... 7 0 0 Library Committees, out of Public LiSale of old building ... ... 17 10 0 braries vote ... ' ... ... 350 610 Drillmaster ... ... ... 9 15 0 Science lectures ... ... ... 11 6 11 Balance, 31st December, 1880 — Maintenance account ... ... 164 8 3 Libraries ... ... ... 22 10 8 Building grant ... ... ... 1,262 1 7 £22,012 2 11 £22,012 2 11 Tuos. M. Macdonald, Chairman. John G. Smith, Secretary. Auditoe's Certificate.—l have examined this account, and compared it with the Treasurer's books and vouchers, and with the bank pass-book, and I certify it to be correct.—H. Livingston, Auditor,