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mean only from the point of view of administration, the point of view that concerns the Department and the Boards more nearly. We can all see there are several different points of view. It would be a great benefit to the children to amalgamate the small schools into fewer large schools; but it is not always possible. The condition of the roads and the distances to be travelled have to be taken into account. It is a difficult question to know how to manage that without incurring the charge of extravagance in the expenditure of the public funds. Physical instruction is becoming more and more prominent, not that it need take up a large part of the school time. The care of the health of the children demands that we should see that physical instruction is given in the schools. You know, gentlemen, that a proposal lias been before the House of Representatives for some time that there should be a medical inspection of school children; 1 think it would be not out of the way if we were to discuss thai important matter from the points of view of the Inspector and schoolmaster as well as from the point of view of the Department of Public Health. I might mention just for a moment the School Journal, because it will give an opportunity of explaining the place it should occupy in the school system. In doing so, I do not intend to hinder you from discussing the advisability of anything I may say on that point, I for one think there is nothing to be feared from the full and free discussion of this or any other question by those who come to this Conference having in their minds the full responsibility of the positions which they occupy. Ihen discussion is perfectly safe. We come here willing to arrive at the best working conclusion we can arrive at. Well, gentlemen, what is in contemplation is this, that the School Journal shall contain matter from month to month suitable, according to its respective parts to Standards i and II in one part, to Standards 111 and IV in another part, and to Standards V and VI in another part. A child would not, therefore, have to buy a history reader or a geography reader There would be a sufficient choice of work for a teacher to find enough to occupy the child* in addition to what is contained in the ordinary literary reader, in the time devoted to reading In tact he would need nothing but his ordinary literary reader, which ought to be as good as possible a book of questions in arithmetic, and the School Journal. I think it might be advisable tor each child to have one book of geography before he left school—a good reference book of geography—and a good reference book of history, and we might possibly manage that he should have one book dealing with agricultural and rural matters, which would be a book of reference in those things too. _ I think you have become aware as well as myself that some change was inevitable A demand has arisen for universal school-books; there was some force in it, and a good deal to be said against it. We do not want a dead level of uniformity if we can avoid it. At the same time a good many arguments have been brought to bear outside—we are not responsible for them—as to the question of the cost of school-books, and it seemed that this was one of the ways in which the question could be solved. We shall, however, be very glad to receive any hints from you, gentlemen in regard to this matter. " J b The basis of admission to free places in secondary schools is an important thing At the present time there are between five and six hundred scholarships given in the colony. There are also other free p aces admitting to one form or another of secondary education which,"together with those five or six hundred, bring up the total number of free places "to something like 5 500 When yon consider that this shows that there are nearly twice as many getting secondary education as there were five or six years ago, you will see we have made a considerable advance as far as numbers are concerned. I think it is my duty, though, to warn you of one danger that is constantly present to the minds of one or two of us whose duty it has been to inspect the secondary schools, and to deal with the allotment of the free places as far as the Department takes a share therein The actual inspection of the schools shows us there are some of those pupils with regard to whom it is extremely doubtful whether the State will get any benefit by sending them to secondary schools, and more than doubtful whether the persons themselves will gain anything, probably the conditions tor admission to free places should be made stricter. That is a real danger ; it will always be unpopular to draw the reins a little tighter, but if the interests of the country demand it it will become our duty to do it. As to how we should do it, is, I think, a matter upon whicli we should invite suggestions from you. There was a small informal conference held last year, or the year before—a conference of Boards, and representatives of Boards, Inspectors, and others—and though no definite resolution was passed with regard to the final form of the admission, th° Department was requested to make the door really a little wider than it was before by admitting some who were over the age of fourteen to secondary education on a certificate of proficiency The way it was put was that 10 per cent, of those admitted to free places in the secondary schools'might come under that qualification. But the Department at the same time thought it might remove nLufd X £ I" ,° f wh ° paSSed a special examination for free places, or qualified under the National Scholarship Examination. The arrangement that exists now is not an ideal one, because some of the pupils go in for two examinations when one should be enough and yet at the same time, in my opinion, it admits some pupils too easily.—(Hear, hear )—I made a suggestion at that conference, with which I think the majority of the conference were in accord candiJ hZ cHd r°l e ™T mltion for th « wh ° le colony-a qualifying examination-on which "7 f!l ree + pl f e m , a secondary school, district high school, or technical school: that there should be no limit of age for free places, but that the examination should be sufficiently hard to reject those who were obviously unfit, and yet give all those who were fit for secondary education a chance to get it free. You will see, gentlemen, that the regulations which were made afterwards taking the age-limit away entirely from the Department's examination really carried out hat idea, though they still left the-other doors for admission to free places open. There is std atLL e f " eSS r + 8m SO T mX f , ay it ~ that We let in SOme who will not so ™>«h benefit from a S ttL 1I" T "^r 18 f !n f th6y WeDt to WOrk alld attellded the continuation schools th™^Sff T y hear.)-That is the proper place for a good many of them. I hope there will be time to discuss that. p say kto thS mim .- er ° f f holarshi P B g iven on competition, a great change, lam glad to say, is to be noted in proportion ; whereas nine-tenths of the free places were formerly given by com-