E.—4

1895. NEW ZEALAND

EDUCATION: SCHOOL FOR DEAF-MUTES. [In Continuation of E.-4, 1894.]

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency

No. 1 BxTBACT FEOM EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL EbPOET OF THE MINISTEE OF EDUCATION The attendance at the Sumner School rose from 39 to 45 during the year The net cost, £3,147 7s. 10d., exceeded that of 1893 by about £135. Contributions received from parents amounted to £105 4s. 7d. The gross expenditure was £3,252 12s. sd. Salaries of professional staff, £1,076 os. 4d., and of domestic staff, £475 13s. 10d. , rent, £470, housekeeping, £879 10s. sd. , travelling, £119 15s. Id., school material (including means of technical instruction), £18 10s. Id. , repairs, £98 Bs. 10d., sundries, £114 13s. 10d.

No. 2. Bepoet op the Dieectok. Sir, — School for Deaf-mutes, Sumner, 25th May, 1895. I have the honour to submit herewith for your consideration my report of the School for Deaf-mutes for the year 1894. During the first six months of the year the number of pupils in the school was forty-five, and in August this number was increased by one, through the admittance of an adult young lady who lost her hearing a few years since, and who is with us, therefore, for the special purpose of practising lip-reading only. Twenty of this total of forty-six pupils are girls, and twenty-six boys. Compared with the number in attendance during the previous year, this shows an increase of five pupils. As between the two Islands, the numerical balance of inmates is still in favour of the South Island, for official records show that of the various provincial districts Otago contributed ten pupils, Canterbury fourteen, Westland three, Wellington twelve, Hawke's Bay one, and Auckland six. A glance at these names and figures reveals the fact that some of the provinces of the colony are but barely represented on the school's register, and that others are conspicuous by their absence. Lest readers wonder why this is so, or why some parts of New Zealand have so far been apparently exempt from the affliction of deafness, or appear free from disorders bringing deafness in their train, it is right to remember that, owing to the population of New Zealand being still a sparse and scattered one, it is evident that there must be numerous settlers in back countries and outlying districts who are as yet unaware of the institution's existence, and, again, that there must also be a large class of colonists in and around the centres of population who are either ignorant of the school's work, or whose conception of its humane objects, and the State's liberal