E.—3a

1901. NEW ZEALAND.

EDUCATION: THE COSTLEY TRAINING INSTITUTION. ("THE COSTLEY TRAINING INSTITUTION ACT, 1885.") [In continuation of E.-3a, 1900.]

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

At the annual meeting of friends of the Costley Training Institution held at the Institute, Richmond Road, Auckland, on the Bth March, 1901, the following annual report was read :— The trustees, in presenting to the people of Auckland their report of the work and progress of the institute during the year 1900, must commence by expressing their great regret at the loss of two of their number, who have found it necessary to retire from their duties, after long periods of honorary service. Captain W. C. Daldy has since the year 1869 been a steadfast worker for this and other societies which have been formed for the rescue and benefit of the neglected and destitute children of this district, and his long experience, sound judgment, and untiring energy have been of the greatest assistance, while his benevolent care for the poor and needy has never failed. The institute owes a debt of gratitude also to Mr. W. Thorne, who, besides serving on the managing councils and other philanthropic societies, has for many years acted as honorary secretary to this institute, and, by his legal acumen, business capacity, and unwearied zeal, has rendered it material and most valuable assistance. Messrs. George Powlds and C. J. Tunks have been appointed trustees by the Government in the place of the above-named gentlemen, and their well-known capacity and benevolence are a guarantee that the interests of the institute will not be neglected, and that the main object of the Costley bequest, viz., to give advantages to the orphan and destitute which could not reasonably be provided from public funds, shall be faithfully carried out. There are at present twenty-six lads in the institute in Richmond Road, eleven of whom are attending the nearest public school, being too young or too backward to be apprenticed ; the other fifteen are working at various trades in town, and there are two more employed in the country. Two boys have died during the year ; one was killed accidentally by the kick of a horse he was looking after, and the other, a very promising lad, was attacked with a malignant haemorrhage, and was sent to the hospital, where he lingered for a short time, but his case was hopeless from the first. There was one case of measles, but precautions were taken, and the disease happily did not spread. The warmest thanks of the trustees are due to Dr. A. O. Knight for his readiness to render gratuitous medical assistance whenever called upon. The funds of the institute are intended for the benefit of girls as well as boys, but there has been a difficulty in obtaining anything like an equal number of the former, for those who have charge of the industrial home to which the children are in the first instance committed believe that domestic service is a better occupation for girls than work in factories and suchlike places, and are not anxious to hand ordinary cases over to the institute ; and there are but three now who are under our charge, two of whom are boarded out, and the third is in domestic service. Only fourteen girls have been on the rolls, as against eighty boys. As several persons have applied for the admission of their children, and there are many of our citizens who are hardly aware of the existence of the institute, it is as well to repeat what has appeared in former reports—that children cannot be taken charge of unless they have been committed by a Magistrate as neglected and destitute. From these only the trustees may select such as appear likely to profit by their care. After a medical examination they are admitted on a month's probation, but none are taken who have been criminally convicted; and it has been a primary object, both with the trustees and the inmates, to maintain a good moral tone and reputation for the institute.