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ance of speech in junior class reading, are striking features. Clyde Quay is distinguished by excellent discipline and all-round management, by the uniformly sound character of the w r ork, by its musical marching, and by the almost total absence of failure in spelling tests. The leading points in the Masterton work are the highly commendable quality of the work of Standard IV., the thorough teaching of physics, and its cadet corps. Te Aro presents an excellent arrangement of object-lesson work on a scientific basis, good singing and recitation. Thorndon has an established lead in singing, drawing, and science. The special science-room is fitted with a heliostat and every apparatus to meet all requirements in chemistry and physics. The Terrace School show strong arithmetic in classes S 6 and S 7, good singing, map-making, drill, and excellent all-round work in Standard IV. The salient features of Mount Cook Boys' School are the excellent handwriting of classes S5, S 6, S 7, the quality of the work in Standard V., and the physical drill of the cadet corps. The best subjects taught in the Mount Cook Girls' School are singing, needlework, and botany; and in the Phone School, Standard 11. arithmetic and object-lesson work. All the subjects of the syllabus are taught in each and all of these schools. Also, interesting readings are given regularly once or twice a week by all the class teachers. The seventeen schools in Class B range from 101 to 286 in attendance, and contain 2,784 children, or about one-fourth of the total of the district schools. With the exception of some depression in the condition of the Taita and Featherston Schools, the results are good and the quality of the work improved. The improvement is most marked at Fernridge, Greytown, Hutt, Mangatainoko, and Vogeltown. Fernridge presents as salient features excellent drawing, science, recitation, and drill. Greytown is distinguished by neatness and accuracy, and by excellent S 6 and S 7 arithmetic and study of Scott. In the Hutt, good Standard VI. arithmetic and excellent reading in Standards lE, 111., IV., are met with. The singing and recitation at Mangatainoko and Vogeltown are much commended. The class-rooms in the main Wairarapa schools are still the best-furnished in the district, and kept with the greatest care. With the exception of the singing at Otaki, Fernridge, Taita, and Hutt, all the subjects of the syllabus are taught in all the schools of Class B ; and readings by the teachers, as recommended in last year's report, are now given in all of them. We hope to see arrangements made next year to give instruction in singing in the schools just named. In some cases, perhaps, the work can be done by special local visiting teachers ; or else, when a vacancy occurs, a teacher may be selected for the staff who is competent to undertake it. In Class C are fourteen schools with from fifty-one to eighty-four children in attendance. Owing to the rearrangement of the Inspectors' work this year, in consequence of the appointment of an Assistant Inspector, these schools were examined about a month earlier than usual, and this of course was a disadvantage to them. We made all possible allowance for this, but still the results at Waihakeke and Waihenga were below expectations. The others, including Kaiwaiwai and Pahautanui, with moderate averages, were in a more or less satisfactory condition. We were much pleased with the general management of the Park Vale, Porirua, Makara, and Manakau Schools. No "readings" were given at Dalefield, Mauriceville East, and Kaiwaiwai; and no singing was taught at Park Vale, Pahautanui, Mauriceville West, and Kaiwaiwai. In other respects the subjects of the syllabus were fairly met. The remaining schools under one teacher were nearly all examined within eleven months of the previous examination, and consequently at a disadvantage. Apart from these considerations, there was ground for complaint in a few of them. The condition of each has been specially reported on, and it is hoped that in the weakest much improvement will be apparent next year, and especially in those whose present record is over 15 per cent, of failures. Singing is not taught at Wallace, Tauherenikau, Paikakariki, Kaitawa, Dreyerton, Opaki, Gladstone, Ballance, Judgeford, Shannon, Paraparaurnu, and Cross Creek; and "readings" are not given at Tauherenikau, Paraparaurnu, Ohariu, Paikakariki, Judgeford, and Matarawa. The two large infant schools in Wellington and the one in Masterton are working satisfactorily. The Mount Cook Infant School continues to serve as a good training-ground for many of our pupilteachers. Instruction in needlework is given in all schools with more than one teacher, except, of course, Mount Cook Boys' School; and in the small schools, excepting only one or two in charge of masters, to which a sewing-mistress is not appointed. In one school (Kilbirnie) all the boys of the upper classes learn to knit, and many of them knit very well. The lady examiner of the work of the city schools reports that, with the exception of that at Newtown and Clyde Quay, there was much greater uniformity in the variety and quality of the work shown. By the adoption of the " miniature " system recommended in last year's report, there was a greater variety of work done by individual pupils. Besides plain sewing, knitting, darning, patching, frock-making, herring-bone and feather-stitch (for flannel work) were taught. Clyde Quay was deficient in variety, Newtown in quality. Improved needlework was also shown in many of the larger country schools—Greytown, Vogeltown, Taueru, Featherston, Hutt, Kaiwara, for instance, —and the knitting of children's undergarments was a good feature of the year. The needlework is far from being up to standard requirements in many small schools; but on the whole an honest effort is made to meet requirements ; and in many, including nearly all the largest, really good work is done. The instruction in drill throughout the district has been for some years under the direction of an expert, M. de Mey, who is a very capable officer. He visits the city schools once a week when in town, and makes a tour of the district two or three times a year. The exercises taught include Swedish drill, pole drill, military or squad drill, Indian clubs, and gymnastics. All these exercises are taught, some to boys and some to girls, in the largest schools, and generally two of them in all other schools. Eegular cadet corps are formed at Mount Cook Boys' and Masterton, and it is recommended that others, which for some time have been in abeyance, be revived. The instructor is also a careful teacher of deportment, and is mindful of the physique of his pupils, being ever careful not to overtax their strength. The Swedish, pole, and Indian-club drills are practised with success