a.— s.

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devoted to practical instruction you may have a very good course; you have sufficient, with some direction, to be able to erect, we will say, ordinary two- and four-roomed cottages. We know that can be done, because boys turned out from some of the village schools that have technical schools attached to them have been able to do as much with the same amount of instruction. But to make the instruction most useful to the Maori I would take it a little further in the third year, and I would make them do what has been done in technical schools in different parts of the colony: if there is not work to be done on the estate to give them practice, I would make each of them draw up plans and specifications, under instruction, for a model cottage, work the whole thing out, and construct the whole thing in miniature. It would require the same kind of work as, but would be a little more difficult, than the complete work. They should draw up plans and specifications for their own guidance, and work from them. It need not always be a cottage, but might be any other model structure large enough to show the different kinds of work. That is to say, the joints and every detail should be of the same description and large enough to enable the pupils to see how they are to work from their plans and drawings. That would give them the same kind of practical work in carpentry as they would get in farming in the course I have suggested for the third year. I think it desirable I should state this in order to make it quite clear what 1 meant by technical instruction. In the ordinary secondary school we give manual instruction to train their hands only as part of their general education. These boys at Te Aute, if they do not get technical instruction at the school, have very little chance of getting it when they go away. They live mostly in scattered districts where there are no technical classes, so we must go further in their case than in the case of ordinary secondary schools, and give them distinct technical instruction. There is one other point I might allude to, and that is the question as to whether we should have Maoris only at Te Aute, or whether it is advisable in the interests of Europeans and Maoris to extend the operations of the trust to what seemed to be contemplated by two of the grants—that is to say, to Europeans. The trust is similar to a good many other trusts in New Zealand; it is partly for the benefit of Maoris and party for Europeans, and it is not expedient, in my opinion, that all these trusts should be worked in exactly the same way. There would be too many on the one line if they were all worked in the same way. I think it is highly desirable, as a matter of practice, whatever the Commission may hold as to law, that the great bulk of the pupils at Te Aute should always be Maoris. I think that if there were a certain number of places reserved for Maoris there would be no harm, but rather good, if the remainder of the places were open to Europeans who wanted to do the same kind of work. I hold that inteicourse between Maoris and Europeans is good both for Maori and European so long as it is of a kind that they would get in such a wellconducted school as Te Aute has been, quite apart from the programme of work. The influence would be good, and they would help one another in the speaking of English. Ido not think it is desirable that it should be thrown so open to Europeans that it would alter, as you must alter, the character of the teaching. The character of the teaching should be framed for the Maoris that need that kind of education. If Europeans need the same kind of education, and there are spare places, I suggest to the Commission that it might be all right to admit them. But if you admit a great number of Europeans you must alter your programme to suit your pupils. It does not matter what theoretical ideas you lay down, you cannot neglect the interests of the pupils you actually have in the school. Therefore, if you admitted a very large number you would alter the character of the school. That is just the opinion I would wish respectfully to suggest as the opinion I have formed, that it would be a mistake to alter the school in such a way that it ceased to be a Maori school in actual fact. 2. Do you think it would be better to have it entirely a Maori school, making it the secondary Maori school for the colony?—I do not see any harm in that whatever; but if it is thought expedient to admit a certain number of Europeans, I would say name the number of Maoris who must be there before you admit any Europeans. 3. What percentage of Europeans would you admit?—l would not put it in that way. I would rather say that if we find we need secondary education of this kind 4or one hundred Maoris in the colony—that is to say, if you can supply thirty to forty a year from the village schools who have passed the Fifth and Sixth Standards —I would not go any lower just at present, so as to have one hundred boys at Te Aute —I should say if this is the number we want to make provision for, we should not admit any Europeans until there are one hundred Maoris at the school. Of course, you will name the qualifications at which Europeans will be admitted to begin the course at Te Aute. 4. Supposing there are fifty Maoris at Te Aute, and the full complement is one hundred, would you admit fifty Europeans to fill the vacancies?—No; I would not. If you admit fifty Europeans you are bound to keep them, for two or three years. . If there are one hundred Maoris generally, and only fifty in attendance at any one time, I would admit about one-third of the fifty, say, sixteen Europeans. However, it would be easy to frame a rule to meet such a case. 5. Then the school would not be running its full complement?— But if you took in fifty Europeans you would fill it for the next two or three years. 6. That is the difficulty?— Then only admit the number I suggest, presuming that in the next two or three years the full number of Maoris will apply. Then you will have room for them when the time comes. That is to say, if you assume the Europeans will stay three years only, admit a third of the number of Europeans who will fill it up. If there are fifty Maoris in the school, and we assume they stay three years —I recommend a three years' course —and you find fifty places to spare, you admit a third of the number of Europeans, making sixty-six in attendance. The next year there will be some more Maoris ready to come in. Well, a third of the fifty Maoris will go out, and that will leave you again with fifty in the next year, so you will not be shutting any Maoris out. 7. However, I understand from you, you would not absolutely object to that school being purely and simply a secondary school for the Maoris of New Zealand? —No; I would not at all. I see no objection in practice.