E.—2.

Te Makarini Scholarship Examination for Boys. —This examination was held on the 17th and 18th of December Two candidates presented themselves at Te Aute, which was the only centre. There were no candidates for junior scholarships. The trustees awarded a senior scholarship to Euihi Wehipeihana, of Te Aute, a very deserving candidate, who had already done extremely well at the ordinary examination. Wehipeihana's competitor, S. A. Meha, deserves credit for his brave but unsuccessful struggle to win the scholarship. It is hoped that there will be no lack of junior candidates for the examination of 1895. The Convent Native School, Matata. —This school was inspected and examined on the 17th August, 1894. Twenty-three children were present at the examination. Of these, one passed Standard 111., five Standard 11., and eight Standard I. The singing, drawing, and drill were good, especially the last-named. The needlework was excellent. Some mutual help is given by the pupils , this is harmful, although well-intentioned. The teaching is painstaking, and, viewed altogether, satisfactory The work accomplished here is evidently of great value, and the affection of the pupils for their teachers is worth a great deal, but there are many other good points in this school. The Native College, Waerenga-a-Hika, Poverty Bay. —The inspection took place on the 26th April. Forty boys were present. As none of the pupils had been working with reference to our Nativeschool standards, it was unadvisable that they should be examined in quite the ordinary way An attempt was made, therefore, to test the school from the teacher's own point of view _ The result was, on the whole, not unsatisfactory , much of the work was commendable, and striking weakness was apparent only in English composition and in spelling. Even in these subjects the weakness was by no means universal. After this examination was over, an effort was made to show the teachers practically what the Native-school requirements are, and to give outline illustrations of methods which, as experience has shown, lead to the satisfaction of these requirements. The Mission School, Otaki. —This institution was visited, for the first time, on the Bth_ of June. Nineteen children were present at inspection, and the average attendance for the preceding six weeks had been 20-82—a poor average, seeing that there were forty names on the roll. The course pursued here was very similar to that described above in connection with Waerenga-a-Hika. The principal difficulties at Otaki are connected with the irregularity of attendance. Unless a remedy for this evil can be found, it will be impossible for the pupils to make much solid progress, or for the teacher, who could do excellent work, to obtain any satisfaction from the school. Statistics. A statement of the expenditure incurred in connection with Native schools may be found in Tables I. and 11. of the appendix, Table No. 11. being a classified summary of Table No. L, which gives full details. Table No. 111. gives the ages of the children whose names were on the Nativeschool registers at the end of the December quarter Table No. IV contains statistics of the attendance during the year 1894. In Table No. V there is as full information as can be obtained respecting the race of the children that attend Native schools. Table No. VI. specifies the results obtained at the standard examinations for the year In Table No. VII. the_ examination results are combined with those of an evaluation depending on estimates made at inspection , taken together, the two kinds of results form a basis for the computation of what is called " the gross percentage," and on this percentage the position of each individual school for 1894 is made to depend. Table No. VIII. gives the classification of pupils on the school rolls in December, 1894. Table No. IX. shows the average age of pupils when they passed a standard examination in 1894. Table No. X. gives the numbers of pupils attending Native boarding-schools, and of Native-school boys serving their apprenticeship at the close of the year. The total expenditure on Native schools for the year 1894 was £15,389 11s. sd. Deducting £88 ss. 9d., paid from Native reserves funds, £1,586 os. 9d., the cost of boarding-schools and apprentices, £61 6s. lOd., travelling-expenses of scholars sent to boarding-schools; and £1,899 6s. 9d., cost of buildings, fencing, furniture, &c, we have a net expenditure of £11,754 11s. 4d. on the maintenance of Native village schools, as against £10,416 13s. 4d. for the year 1893, and £12,363 Bs. lid. for the year 1892. The average attendance for 1894 was greater by 190-25 than the average for 1893. _ The difference would have been still greater had there not been a widespread influenza epidemic in the latter half of last year There is again a slight increase in the percentage of scholars that are either Maori or between Maori and half-caste, the numbers being 73-57 for 1894 as against 73-43 for 1893. There has been an increase in the number of pupils that have passed Standard 11., and of those that have passed a standard higher than the third. A slight decrease has taken place in the number that have passed Standard 111., and a considerable decrease (66) in the number of First Standard passes. „ Table No. VII. shows that twenty-nine schools obtained a " gross percentage of over 70. Last year the number was 27, and the previous year it was only 15. In Table No. X. there is one particularly interesting feature: it shows that the difficulty that Maori boys have found in obtaining employment after leaving school is beginning to disappear. Miscellaneous. The Teaching of English in Native Schools. In last year's report a considerable amount of space was devoted to this important subject, and a scheme was propounded with a view to its being brought before teachers for their consideration. This scheme was, confessedly, partly the result of Mr. Kirk's experience and my own with regard to this matter, and partly the outcome of a careful consideration of the principles laid down in Gouin's writings on the teaching of languages. These two elements may fairly be looked upon as 2—E. 2.

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