8.—3.

Nelson. Sir,— Nelson, April, 1903. I took charge of the boys' school at Stoke on the Ist July, 1902, since which date I have inspected the school nine times, the visits being made during the first week of each month. There has been no sickness of any importance, no typhoid, scarlet fever, or measles, and no serious accident up to the 31st March, 1903. I cannot remember any death. I have dropped in on the boys at their meals on two or three occasions, and have been quite satisfied with the food provided. The boys are for the most part healthy and strong, and have sufficient clothing. The dormitories and hospital are airy and clean. The water-supply is abundant and of good quality. Punishments have on no occasion been excessive. Latrines are kept clean. Lavatories and baths are very good. I think the Institution is well conducted, and I have no suggestions of improvements to make. Girls' Industrial School, St. Mary's Convent, Nelson : During the year ending the 31st March, 1903, there has been no undue amount of sickness, no measles, one case of typhoid (recovered), and four cases of scarlet fever (all recovered without segeuld). During the year two babies, one aged two months and one aged three and a half months died from inanition, and one of the nuns, aged fifty-six, died from bronchitis. The children are well fed and clothed, and look healthy. The water-supply is unlimited and good. Dormitories are clean and airy. There is no special room set apart for a hospital, but the rooms at the ends of the dormitories are used for the more severe cases. For the scarlet fever, a cottage some distance from the main building was used, and the disease was limited to the four first attacked. The water-closets are clean, and fitted with cisterns which, whenever 1 have examined them, are in good working-order. A new bathroom is contemplated, and is needed, as the present one, although perhaps adequate, is out of date. Punishments have been few, and never excessive. The institution is well conducted, and the only suggestions I have to make are a new lavatory and baths, .and a special room for hospital cases. I have, &c, The Secretary for Education, Wellington. Jas. Hudson, M.B. (Lond.).

Canterbury. Sir,— Christchurch, 29th June, 1903. I have the honour to report that the health of the boys at Burnham has been remarkably good during the past year. I have inspected the school every month, and found the order and discipline excellent. The number of boys complaining of different ailments has varied from twelve in the summer months to over thirty in the winter months, but the complaints have been generally unimportant or else of a chronic nature. lam strongly of opinion that a properly trained nurse should fill the position of sub-matron, as the distance of Burnham from Christchurch makes me dependent on such assistance in the care of the boys' health. Also, I feel greatly the need of a room to be used exclusively as a surgery and dispensary. At present there is no convenient place to keep either medicines or surgical dressings and appliances, and neither accidents nor illness can be promptly attended to. Some progress has been made during the year in the classification of inmates. Those convicted of bad habits have been separated in a group, called Class M, and subjected to special rules and supervision. This has already produced good results, but it requires more building accommodation. Since Burnham has been constituted the boys' reformatory for the whole colony, the necessity of classification has become more urgent, and yet the main building has not been added to for, I understand, about three years. There are, in addition to the main buiiding, two cottages for married attendants, each cottage lodging six boys. At least one more cottage or dormitory is badly required for Class M. Another great want is a proper hospital building for the prompt isolation of all cases of illness. Infectious diseases are often difficult or impossible to recognise with certainty in their early stages, and the whole school may become infected before the disease is diagnosed, especially as there is no resident medical officer. The design I have already submitted for a hospital at the Deaf-mute Institution would suit very well for Burnham. Telephone : I recommend that Burnham be connected by telephone with Christchurch. Altered condition of Burnham: There is a great contrast between the present inmates of Burnham and those of four years ago, when they consisted of boys and girls of much younger average age, and with a very much smaller proportion of the criminal type. During the five years from 1898 to 1902 we have admitted 265 boys, of whom twenty-one have been convicted in the Courts and sent to Burnham instead of to gaol. This gives a proportion of nearly 8 per cent., whereas in 1892 there was not a single inmate on the roll who had been transferred from gaol. There are also now on the roll thirty-six boys who have committed crimes and are quite as bad as those transferred from gaol. In some cases they are worse. Adding the previous twenty-one to these thirty-six gives fifty-seven as the number of boys of marked criminal type, equal to about half the number of the resident inmates, which varies from 100 to 120. From one-third to onefourth of the total number are practically young men of great strength and daring. It is only the exceptional energy and discipline of the manager, Mr. Arehey, which maintains order; but, unless further classification and subdivision are provided, an outbreak of violence may occur at any time. This remark applies more particularly to class M, which includes the boys—or men—addicted to bad habits, which deprive them of self-control and render them peculiarly liable to acts of impulsive insanity. This class should be kept quite separate from other boys both day and night, under the charge of two attendants specially interested in their reformation. Such boys are usually of a degenerate type, and supply a considerable proportion of the criminals and lunatics of

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