E.—l

XIV

Expenditure. £ s. d. Cleaning, fuel, repairs, &c. ... ... ... ... 20,428 111 Books, maps, furniture, &c. ... ... ... ... 2,841 0 9 Contributions towards teachers'salaries ... ... 1,005 8 9 Committees'expenses ... ... ~. ... 1,604 17 5 Expenditure of special grants ... ... ... 6,260 2 6 Sundries, not classified ... ... ... ... 4,006 6 5 Credit balances on 31st December, 1884 ... ... 6,277 9 7 Total expenditure ... ~. ... £42,423 7 4 The local contributions for general purposes were in aid of the school fund; those for special purposes seem to have been chiefly for prizes, school fetes, and similar objects. The receipts from other sources were mainly derived from rents, and sales of school books and stationery. The " sundries, not classified " included expenditure on prizes, school fetes, school books, stationery, &c. The Boards, in their annual reports, bear testimony to the satisfactory manner in which the Committees generally have performed the duties intrusted to them by the Education Act. -The Auckland Board " gratefully acknowledges the assistance and co-operation afforded by School Committees during the past year. It has been the constant endeavour of the Board to allow the fullest freedom to Committees, and to give due consideration to their wishes and recommendations. The grants voted to Committees have, for the most part, been expended by them with care and discretion ; and due forbearance has been exercised by them in refraining from making claims upon the Board at a time when the funds of the Board were low." The Taranaki Board "is gratified to acknowledge increasing interest being taken by the Committees in performing the duties required of them by the Education Act. Several have shown this by the improvements about the school buildings, planting the sites with trees, fencing, and the erection of gymnastic apparatus." The Wanganui Board states that " great difficulty was experienced in getting in some of the summaries of the school fund account, and in some cases the returns were not forthcoming. Some of the .Committees have collected sums of money and judiciously expended it in improving grounds, erecting swings, and in school treats, and prizes." The Wellington Board reports that " in most instances the accounts have been accurately prepared and submitted for audit in a clear form, bank-book and vouchers being all in order, and the cash-book showing clearly every item of expenditure." The Board expresses the opinion that " it would greatly facilitate both the proper keeping and audit of school accounts if the Department were to furnish, for the use of School Committees, a suitable book-with printed headings for the purpose." The other Boards bear equally satisfactory testimony to the valuable services rendered by the School Committees. Inspection of Schools. The annual reports of the Inspectors of Schools, as presented to the Boards of the several districts, will be found in a separate paper (E.-1b). On the whole they are characterized by a judicious blending of generous commendation of all good work done and clear exposition of faults that need to be corrected. The suggestions they make as tp available means of improving the general quality of the instruction and culture afforded by the public schools are worthy of the most serious consideration on the part of a great number of the teachers, and constitute an evidence of the proper strictness of the Inspectors, and of their earnest desire to represent as accurately as possible the actual condition of the schools. At the same time, a comparison of these reports with those presented in former years leads to an assured conviction that beneficial changes are taking place throughout all the districts, and that substantial progress is being made, and so made as to justify the expectation of further improvement. Table K shows the number of children who passed a standard during the year, and the proportion of the number passed to the number presented, and also to the roll number ; —■