E.—l

78

twelve candidates who stood highest in the list of marks in the junior scholarship examination, and to whom scholarships have since been awarded, were Archibald Currie, Henry Shanks, William Gillanders, Catherine Finlayson, Alexander Wansborough, George Mayne, Ada Clothier, Olive Meddins, Maria Wilkinson, Rachel Gillanders, Winifred Gillespie, and Thomas Lawrie; and in the senior examination the scholarships were won by Oliver Gillespie, Madeline Peebles, Mary Counsell, Samuel Steele, and Frederick Kissel. Of the 159 competitors for junior scholarships, 105 came from schools defined in the Board's regulations as town schools, and 54 from country schools. Seven junior scholarships were won by candidates from town schools, the country schools sending up the winners of five; while of the latter, three had entered under the regulations which give country children the advantage of a year in age, and would not have been admissible under the former regulations. It will therefore be seen that the regulations adopted in 1892 have continued to result in a more even distribution of scholarships among the pupils of town and country schools. The scholarships current at the end of 1895 were held as shown in the following table [not reprinted]. I have, &c, The Hon. the Minister of Education. Richard Westenra, Chairman.

General Statement op Receipts and Expenditure for the Tear ending 31st December, 1895. Receipts. £ s. d. Expenditure. £ s. d. To Balance at beginning of year— By Office staff—Salaries .. .. 955 13 4 On Building Account .. .. 3,731 17 3 Departmental contingencies.. .. 388 4 2 On General Account .. .. 2,723 3 8 Inspectors'salaries .. .. .. 1,325 0 0 Government grant for buildings .. 6,850 0 0 Inspectors' travelling-expenses, printContractors' deposits .. .. 238 16 0 ing, &c. .. .. .. 204 13 11 Government statutory capitation .. 54,792 18 3 Examination of pupil-teachers .. 119 11 1 Government scholarship grant .. 1,090 15 5 Teachers' salaries and allowances .. 55,109 0 0 Inspection subsidy .. .. .. 500 0 0 Incidental expenses of schools .. 7,039 14 7 Grant for training of teachers .. 300 0 0 Training of teachers .. .. 1,746 11 3 Payments by School Commissioners .. 12,175 10 0 Scholarships— Other receipts— Paid to scholars .. .. .. 986 7 8 Rent of Mandeville Plains site .. 6 0 0 Examination expenses .. .. 168 511 Rent of strip of land at South Town School buildings— Belt School .. .. .. 10 0 New buildings .. .. .. 3,070 16 10 Education Acts .. .. .. 011 0 Improvements of buildings .. 1,409 15 1 Hire of room in Normal School .. 10 0 Furniture and appliances .. .. 359 17 6 Sites .. .. .. .. 24 17 0 Plans, supervision, and fees .. 395 4 11 Other expenses— Contractors' deposits .. .. 215 8 0 Interest .. .. .. 6 12 Expenses in connection with Reserve 3059 .. .. .. 1 5 10 Expenses in connection with Reserve 777 .. .. .. 2 12 6 Exchange on cheques .. .. 30 19 8 Balance at end of year— On Building Account .. .. 5,344 13 11 On General Account .. .. 3,506 17 3 £82,411 11 7 £82,411 11 7 Richd. Westenra, Chairman. H. C. Lane, Secretary. Examined and found correct.—James Edward FitzGerald, Controller and Auditor-General.

REPORT ON NORMAL SCHOOL. Sir,— Normal School, Christehurch, 26th February, 1896. I have the honour to submit the following report on the Christehurch Normal School for the year 1895 : — The students' department opened with forty-four new students, of whom twenty-eight were females and sixteen males. One of these was a readmitted student who had withdrawn during the previous year through ill-health. Of the male students one withdrew after holding his scholarship a fortnight, and in the month of July it became necessary to appoint a second-year student in his place. Of the female students two withdrew during the year on account of ill-health, and it was necessary to engage one student of a previous year for a few weeks in the infants' school, and another for about three months in the girls' school. No other second-year students were appointed, as there was a sufficient number of new students to provide the requisite staff. Of the students who had matriculated before entering, all but three had to complete some subjects of study for their D certificate. The work of the year was considerably broken by the lamented death of Mr. J. Colborne-Veel, who had held the position of Principal for the last seven years, and who was this year taking a much larger share in the work of the students' department than formerly. His death, I need hardly say, was most deeply regretted by the whole of the school staff. The subjects of English and history, taken in the early part of the year by Mr. Veel, were after his death taken charge of by Mr. Adams (headmaster of the boys' department) and myself. Mr. Adams took the history and I took the English. In December the Board appointed Mr. W. A. Robinson, 8.A., as part-time tutor, his duties to commence on the Ist February, 1896. Satisfactory results have been obtained in the certificate examinations, in which we have had no failures. Thirty-eight students were sent up for examination in Classes D and E, and all have