E.—s

54

year, and, as an indication as to how this is to be done, it may here be stated that one of the first schemes to be dealt with "as soon as the preliminary arrangements are completed will be the establishment of classes in wool-sorting. There is also every reason to believe that classes in other subjects will be formed in accordance withjlemand and as opportunities permit. A glance at the accompanying statement of receipts and expenditure for the year ended 31st December, 1908, shows the receipts to have amounted to £4,193 7s. 5d., whilst the the same period was £4,171 145., thus leaving a credit balance of £21 13s. sd. at the end of the year. These figures are, however, abnormal, as after allowing for the moneys specially acquired for building purposes the receipts from all sources are seen to amount to £788 12s. 5d., a sum sufficient, however, to have enabled the Managers to carry on the work of the year. In conclusion, the Managers desire to take this opportunity of heartily thanking the Education Department, the Masterton Trust Lands Trust, the Masterton Borough Council, and the subscribers to the Seddon Memorial Technical School Fund for the liberal assistance given to the cause of technical education in Masterton. As a rseult of the magnificent help thus rendered and the energy of the promoters, Masterton can now claim to possess one of the most complete technical schools in any country district in the Dominion, and one which, it is the -■arnest hope of the Managers may for many years prove of distinct benefit to the town and district. Edwin Feist, Chairman. N. D. Bunting, Secretary. Statement of Receipts and Expenditure lor the Year ending 31st December, 1908, in respect of Associated Classes conducted by the Managers of the Masterton Technical School. Receipts. ' £ s. d. Expenditure. £ s. d. Capitation on associated olasses .. .. 183 0 9 Balance at beginning of year .. .. 91 12 i Capitation on account of free places .. 92 19 0 Salaries of instructors .. .. .. 489 17 9 Buildings .. .. .. .. 1,000 0 0 Office expenses (including salaries, staSubsidies on voluntary contributions ..1,352 7 6 tionery, &c.) .. .. .. .. 47 0 3 Fees .. .. .. .. ■ ■ 164 3 0 Advertising and printing .. .. .. 19 15 6 Voluntary contributions to general funds .. 150 00 | Lighting and heating .. .. .. 27 18 7 Voluntary contributions to Seddon Memorial Insurance and repairs .. .. .. 417 2 Fund .. .. .. .. 1,202 7 6 Rent .. .. .. .. •• 26 0 0 Interest on Seddon Memorial Fund .. 38 9 8 Examinations, &o. .. .. .. 9 18 Refund, gas used at South Kensington Material for class use .. .. .. 10 9 3 Examinations .. .. .. 10 0 Caretaker, postages, petties .. .. 22 6 2 Rent of rooms for examination purposes .. 90 0 Bank charges .. .. .. .. 215 0 Cartage, labour, and sundries .. .. 14 010 Refund of fees .. .. .. .. 1 10 0 Contraots (new buildings, additions, &c.) .. 3,039 18 8 Architect and legal expenses .. .. 151 19 0 Furniture, fittings, and apparatus .. 211 9 8 Balance at end of year .. .. .. 21 13 5 £4,193 7 5 £4,193 7 5 Edwin Feist, Chairman >. ofMa . N. D. Buntng, Secretary i HAWKE'S BAY. Extract from the Report of the Education Board. The course of instruction arranged for teachers on Saturdays embraced the following subjects : Drawing and handwork, cookery and woodwork. Classes were held at Dannevirke, Waipawa, Napier, and Gisborne. Special training classes were held at Gisborne during the winter vacation, and a fortnight's valuable work was accomplished. Day classes were held in handwork, agriculture, voiceculture, and nature-study. In the evenings lectures on kindred subjects were attended. The Wanganui Education Board very kindly lent the services of its instructors, Messrs Grant and Clarke, to whose valuable and untiring efforts the success of the classes was to a large extent due. Some sixty-five teachers attended the classes. Extract from the Report of the Inspectors of Schools. All the larger schools now lake up some form of handwork under the Regulations for Manual and Technical Instruction. Application for the recognition of classes is not always made by teachers, but there are few schools where at least one subject is not taken. Instruction in cookery, dressmaking, woodwork, swimming and life-saving, and physical measurements is given to 1,200 or more of the senior children, and nearly 6,000 more receive iustruction either in elementary agriculture, brushwork, cartonwork, or other forms of manual training suitable for younger pupils. Complaint is sometimes made that manual instruction absorbs too much of the time of the senior children ; but the question is one of good grounding in the lower classes, for where this has been sound and fairly wide manual instruction becomes little more than a form of relaxation to senior pupils from their more serious studies. The winter school for teachers that was held in Gisborne during August proved a great attraction to the teachers in the northern portion of-the district. Between sixty and seventy teachers attended, and the classes held by Messrs. Grant and Clarke, instructors under the Wanganui Education Board, were of special benefit to the teachers who take elementary agriculture and carton-work in their schools. So, too, were the scientific lectures given by Dr. Kennedy, of Meeanee; Dr. de Lisle, of the Health Department; Mr. Gilruth and Mr. Bayliss, of the Agricultural Department; Mr. A. Hamilton, of the