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TARANAKI. Sib,— New Plymouth, 22nd April, 1908. In accordance with the provisions of section IC6 of " The Education Act, 1904," the Education Board of the District of Taranaki has the honour to submit the following report of its proceedings for the year 1907: — At the beginning of the year the Board was comprised of the following members: Mr. James Wade (Chairman), Messrs. G. A. Adlam, Henry Faull, W. L. Kennedy, J. D. Morrison, Arthur Morton, William Monkhouse, Harold Trimble, and Gustave Tisch. In the terms of " The Education Act, 1905," the following members retired, and offered themselves for re-election at the election held on the fourth Monday in July, and were re-elected unopposed: North Ward, Harold Trimble; East Ward, W. L. Kennedy; West Ward, G. A. Adlam. At the meeting held on the 27th August, Mr. James Wade was re-elected Chairman. The Board held twenty-four meetings, the Finance Committee twelve, and the Teachers' Selection Committee eleven. The Reserves Committee visited a number of the school-sites, and furnished reports for most meetings. New schools have been opened at Mahakau, Newall, and Opua, and the Pohokura School was closed. The Auckland Board took over the Kaeaea, Matiere, Mangaroa, and Mangapapa Schools : of these, the Kaeaea and Mangapapa Schools were opened during the year. At the end of the year, there were eighty-one schools open, including six half-time schools, and the number of teachers employed was 147, who were graded as follows: Sole teachers, 38 female and 12 male; head teachers, 5 female and 23 male; assistants, 37 female and 8 male; pupil-teachers, 20 female and 3 male. At the annual pupil-teachers' examination three pupil-teachers entered for the first examination : two passed, and one failed. Four pupil-teachers entered and passed the D Certificate Examination, and two entered for the C Examination, gaining a partial pass. Of the senior candidates for the Board's scholarships sixteen qualified, and of the junior fifteen; Senior scholarships were awarded to five candidates from the New Plymouth High School; and Junior Scholarships to—Central, 1; Norfolk, 1; and Upper Kent, 1. The Queen's Scholarship was gained by a girl attending the Stratford District High School. The National Scholarship allotted for the district was gained by a boy attending the Stratford District High School. There have been twenty-nine appointments made during the year, besides those of a temporary nature, and appointments of pupil-teachers. Six teachers from other districts received appointments, and thirteen teachers in the service of the Board received promotion. New schools have been erected at Kaeaea and Mangapapa, and the West End, Midhirst, and Oaonui Schools have been enlarged. The old residences at Egmont Village and Opunake have been replaced by new ones, and the Toko, Salisbury, and Waiongona residences have been enlarged. The receipts of the Board from all sources, including a balance of .£2,072 17s. 4d. brought forward from 1906, amounted to £31,279 2s. 3d.; while the expenditure was as follows : Administration, £1,735 19s. 4d.; teachers' salaries and allowances, £18,642 13s. 5d.; incidental expenses of schools, £1,343 14s. 2d. ; secondary education, £1,369 155.; manual and technical, £5,777 9s. 4d. ; buildings, £2,535 Bs. Bd. : leaving a deficit of £125 17s. Bd. In the majority of our schools physical exercises are taken daily, with a more extended period for instruction once a week. In the larger schools cadet corps have been established, and this year these have been formed into two battalions, No. 1 comprising the schools in the northern part of the district, and No. 2 those in the southern. A technical building was erected on St. Michael's Square at a cost of £3,500. The building is one of the finest of its kind in the Dominion, being well equipped for present needs, and in most respects up to date. A plumbing-room has now been added to the building, and affords every convenience for the teaching of this subject. The woodwork-room at Stratford was fitted up for a cookery-room, and it was found necessary to approach the Department for a new woodworkroom. On the application being granted, a large room for the teaching of this subject was erected at the back of the main building. Elementary handwork was taken at thirty-eight schools, and sewing under the Manual Regulations at ten. In addition to the above, manual work, as defined by clauses 22—27 of the Regulations of Manual and Technical Instruction, was recognised in sixtytwo cases, the subjects embracing woodwork, cookery, botany, dairying, advanced needlework, elementary agriculture, swimming and life-saving, elementary measurements, chemistry, and elementary physiology. Considerable progress has been made in technical education, especially agriculture. It is very gratifying to be able to state that, so far as this district is concerned, the maintenance grant has proved ample to meet all requirements, as, in the opinion of the Board, the Auditor-General will approve. Teachers' residences and rent-allowances: These regulations are considered very unsatisfactory. It certainly does not seem fair or reasonable that a teacher should be deprived of rentallowance because there happens to be a mere hovel or even a whare provided in the past, while a teacher in charge of, perhaps, a same-grade school, but in a more favoured locality, enjoys a comfortable residence, or in lieu thereof full rent-allowance. The number of schools, teachers, and pupils attending the schools in the district for 1907 was as follows : Schools, 81 ; head teachers, 78; assistants, 45; pupil-teachers, 23: total number of teachers, 147. Number of pupils on the roll, 5,096. Average attendance, 4,246. Conclusion.—The relations of the Board with the Education Department, its official and teaching staff, and with the School Committees have been most cordial and pleasant throughout the year. I have, &c, The Hon. the Minister of Education. Jambs Wade, Chairman.