E.-—l-.

total salary being £264 Bs. Id. It must be understood in the case of the assistants and sewing-teachers that they are generally members of the teacher's family who give assistance for some part of the day's work. Of the 3,693 children attending Native schools, 81-32 were Maori or nearly Maori, 8-98 were half-castes, and 9-7 were European or nearly so. Of the 3,209 children of Maori or mixed race attending the public schools, 56-96 were Maori, 6-92 were of mixed race living as Maoris, and 36-12 were of mixed race living as Europeans. The standard classification of pupils of Native schools at the end of the year was—Preparatory classes, 1,016; Standard 1., 739; Standard 11., 706; Standard HI., 515; Standard IV., 407 ; Standard V.,.191; Standard VI., 67; passed Standard VI., 22. An event of the year was the retirement of Mr. James H. Pope, who for twenty-four years had held the position of Inspector of Native Schools. The opportunity is here taken of recording the Government's sense of the great value of Mr. Pope's services in a field which his enthusiastic and sympathetic nature, his great ability, and wide knowledge had made particularly his own. Industrial Schools. In December, 1903, the total number on the books .of all the industrial schools was 1,909, or 62 more than at the close of the year 1902. On the books of the Government Industrial Schools there were 1',366, an increase of 80 over the corresponding number for 1902; on the books of the private industrial schools there were 513, or 18 less than at the end of the previous vear. The number in residence at Government schools was 299, and at private industrial schools 302, so that 601 was the total number of " inmates " actually in residence. The number boarded out was 513, 5 being from private schools and the rest from Government schools. There were 11 girls maintained in various corrective institutions, 8 boys and girls in orphan homes, and 2 boys at the School for Deaf-mutes, Sumner. The total number of inmates dependent on the schools for maintenance was therefore 1,135, or 46 more than the number at the end of 1902. The remaining 774, although still subject to control and supervision, were not dependent on the schools for maintenance. They may be classified as follows: Licensed to reside with friends, 195 ; at service, 489; in hospital, 7; in lunatic asylum, 3; in the Costley Training Institution, Auckland, on probation, 7; in other institutions without payment, 12; in gaol, 5; absent without leave, 56—namely, 33 from service and 23 from the schools. There were six Government industrial schools in existence in 1903, and the numbers of inmates on their books at the end of the year were as follows: Auckland, 131; Eeceiving Home, Wellington, 166; Eeceiving Home, Christchurch, 239; Burnham, 252; Te Oranga Home, 56; Caversham, 522: total, 1,366. Those belonging to private industrial schools were distributed as follows : St. Mary's, Auckland, 131; St. Joseph's, Wellington, 80; St. Mary's, Nelson, 291; St. Vincent de Paul's, Dunedin, 41: total, 543.

TABLE J1.—Inmates, 1902 and 1903.

XX

ioarded oi it. Res: idencc At Service, &c. Totals. © & aj © S 2 a cs © S s § ■5 & I Ci o q r-i 6 a © cc a © rr © rH © CO © J- £ © 53 oj © co . ?> i £ S 3 : © © © i; i © © Q - : Q A cq o c5 6 © - Q § g *H a © © 5 A fl Government Sohools— Auckland Receiving Home, Wellington Receiving Home, Christchurch Burnham Te One i ga Home, Christchurch Caversham Private Schools— St. Mary's, Auckland St. Joseph's, Wellington.. St. Mary's, Nelson St. Vincent de Paul's, Dunedin 57 74 133 2 174 6 61 3 63 135 130 2 177 18 1 2 103 19 140 8 12 10 1 ii 3 28 10 92 31 137 31 25 93 166 31 217 9 6 6 k 6 9 40 31 99 158 25 208 . 106 100 228 271 50 531 25 GO 11 6 19 9 131 166 239 252 56 522 3 1 i 90 37 177 7 3 17 83 34 160 44 42 136 4 4 6 48 46 130 134 79 314 i 3 131 80 291 23 4 4 23 2 25 11 1 12 34 7 41 Totals 441 74 3 512 610 32 42 600 30 29 797 1,847 116 54 1,909 796