89

E.—l

General Statement of Beceipts and Expenditure for the Year ending 31st December, 1907. Receipts. & 6. A. Expenditure. £ 8. d. Balance at beginning of year .. .. 2,961 13 1 Staff salaries and clerical assistance .. 1,160 15 0 Grants from Government for — Office contingencies .. .. .. 1,042 10 8 Teachers' and pupil-teachers' salaries, and Teachers' and pupil-teachers' salaries, and , allowances to pupil-teachers.. .. 20,329 12 7 allowances to pupil-teachers .. .. 21,006 3 10 Reserves revenue for primary education 635 4 0 Relieving-teachers' salaries .. .. 147 2 3 Capitation at 6d. for relieving-teachers .. 118 12 9 ; Conveyance and board of school-children .. 85 17 7 Capitation at 11s. 3d. and grant of £250 2,918 18 6 : Special capitation to Sohool Committees .. 181 8 6 Special capitation at 9d. for School Com- Incidental expenses of schools .. .. 1,108 2 3 mittees .. .. .. .. 181 8 6 Allowance to scholarship-holders and exTraining of teachers other than at train penses of examination— ing colleges .. .. .. 150 0 0 Board scholarships .. .. .. 357 8 0 Conveyance and board of school-children 104 15 1 National Scholarships .. .. 90 0 0 Receipts from other sources— Salaries of teachers and additions to salaries Rents, refunds, interest .. .. 34 0 0 of head teachers on staffs of district high School material .. .. .. 109 18 5 schools .. .. .. .. 827 10 0 Grants from Government for — ; Manual and technical— Scholarships— School classes .. .. .. 1,176 11 3 Education Board .. .. .. 371 57 } Special classes .. .. .. 879 8 8 National .. .. .. .. 90 0 0 Maintenance of school buildings — District high schools—Salaries of teachers 791 5 0 Alterations, small additions, repairs, reGrants from Government for manual and painting, &c. .. .. .. 845 10 3 technical instruction— Rebuilding .. .. .. .. 3,521 19 9 Capitation— Rent .. .. .. .. 19 0 0 On all classes .. .. .. 1,103 15 10 j House allowances .. .. .. 674 16 11 On account of free places .. .. 57 8 3 New school buildings, additional olassMaterial for class-work .. .. 3 17 0 rooms, furniture, sites, &c. .. .. 1,684 8 3 Subsidies on voluntary contributions Buildings, class-rooms, furniture, &c, for and bequests .. .. .. 40 0 0 manual and technical purposes — Receipts from other sources— School classes .. .. .. 142 3 5 Fees .. .. .. .. 214 1 3 Special classes .. .. .. 11l 16 8 Contributions by public bodies and three Other expenses—Purchase of sites (Land Education Boards towards salary of Sales Account) .. .. .. 410 2 instructor in agriculture under com- Balance at end of year.. .. .. 985 3 5 bined Boards .. .. .. 169 15 3 Grants from Government for— Maintenance of school buildings, rebuilding schools, &c. .. .. .. 2,299 18 6 House allowances .. .. .. 699 12 6 New school buildings, additions, furniture, sites, &o. .. .. .. 2,647 13 0 Other receipts— Sale of sites .. .. .. .. 5 0 0 Refunds, Buildings Maintenance Account 14 11 9 £36,052 6 Iβ £36,052 6 10 A. T. Maginnity, Chairman. 20th March, 1908. J. H. Williams, Acting-Secretary.

GREY. Sir, — Education Office, Greymouth, Ist July, 1908. 1 have the honour to present the report of the Education Board of the District of Grey for the year ending 31st December, 1907. Board.—Throughout the year the Board was constituted as follows: Messrs. James Kerr (Chairman), W. R. Kettle (Treasurer), Hon. James Marshall, John Byrne, Frank White, Jeremiah McCarthy, H. J. Bignell, Joseph Noble, and John Ryall. In July, Messrs. Kerr, Kettle, and McCarthy retired, but at the election held in the same month all three were again returned, Mr. McCarthy without opposition. At the first meeting following the election Messrs. Kerr and Kettle were unanimously reappointed Chairman and Treasurer respectively. Administration. —Since the period covered by last report, the education district has been visited by the Right Hon. the Prime Minister and the Hon. the Ministers of Lands and Education. All three take special interest in educational work, and their presence on the Coast proved of direct advantage to the schools visited and the cause of education generally. In this connection my Board strongly urges that members of the Ministry make more frequent visits to this isolated portion of the Dominion. The conditions are exceptional, and so materially differ from those of any other part of New Zealand that special local knowledge is necessary for the proper conduct of administrative affairs. I'd none of the Government Departments is this special knowledge more necessary than in administration of matters educational. It is scarcely necessary to remind honourable Ministers that the annual rainfall is nearly fourfold that of the eastern slopes of the dividing range; that practically the whole of our back country is roadless, our rivers unbridged, our settlements isolated and difficult of access; and that intervening broken, precipitous, and heavily bushed country makes it impossible for children to travel to school over what in other parts would be deemed a moderate distance. For the proper conduct of the Government's administration, general rules and regulations are, of course, necessary; but Parliament should endow the Hon. the Minister of Education with wide discretionary powers to vary or abrogate them where conditions render