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and the opening there of the very line new buildings, has led to an increase in the number of children, many of whom, however, are in the Preparatory classes. This school would, in our opinion, have a far greater influence as a secondary school at which Maori youths who had passed a certain standard at one or other of the public or Native schools in the district should have facilities afforded them for receiving instruction in practical agriculture. As a matter of fact, the district had no need for another primary school. HOARDIXO-SCHOOLS. There are now nine schools providing secondary education for Maori boys and girls. These are : Te Aute College, Hawke's Bay ; St. Stephen's Boys' School, Parnell, Auckland ; Queen Victoria Girls' School. Auckland; Ilukarere Protestant Girls' School. Napier; St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Girls' School, Napier ; Turakina .Maori Girls' School, Wanganui ; Te Waipounamu College, near Christchurch ; Waerenga-a-hika College, Gisborne; and Hikurangi College, Clareville, Wairarapa. Provision is also made for the. admission of a limited number of Maori boys to St. Patrick's College, Wellington. The number of pupils in attendance at the nine first-mentioned institutions at the end of the year 1909 was : Boys, 169; girls. 191: total, 360. The total yearly average attendance was 316. of whom fifty-one hoys and seventy-three girls were holding free places. These schools continue to make steady progress, and year by year we note increased efficiency. In the case of the boys, each school is gradually adopting a uniform dress, a step which has so far proved very successful, and which has undoubtedly been instrumental in increasing the esprit de corps. Industrial training, probably the most important feature of the school curriculum, is receiving due attention. The boys at St. Stephen's rendered material assistance in rebuilding part of the school during the year. Hoys who have passed through this school, and who have found employment at various trades, are doing well, and it is due to the headmaster to recognise here his personal efforts in finding positions for them. The instruction in woodwork given at Te Aute College is proving also to be a great success, and is, indeed, quite the feature of the school-work. The Waerenga-a-hika and Hikurangi Colleges have made a good beginning. In the curriculum of each industrial training bulks very largely, comprising instruction in woodwork, practical agriculture, bee-keeping, dairying, and ambulance-work, in addition to the ordinary English subjects and arithmetic. Each school affords capital opportunities for giving the boys such training, and. though the work yet requires some organization, we consider that the syllabus is based on sound principles. The secondary schools for girls continue to do capital work. In all of them every branch of domestic instruction receives much attention, and from our own observations we are able to state that the training afforded forms a considerable factor in the efforts being made to uplift the race. In all the girls' schools instruction is given in health and hygiene. In some cases the senior pupils attend classes in ambulance-work and nursing, and several girls from the Ilukarere School gained certificates in the examination held under the auspices of the St. John's Ambulance Association in Napier last year. More than this, girls who have attended these classes have, on their return home, been able to demonstrate in practical ways their acquaintance with the principles of first aid and nursing, and have been complimented by medical men whom they have assisted in cases of accident. It is to be regretted that there are not more frequent opportunities for employment for these girls, until such time as they settle down in homes of their own. Beyond the rare opportunities that occur for employment as teachers, or, rarer still, as nurses, the Maori girl has few prospects before her. Scholarships, etc. The number of scholarships or free places open to Maori children was 144, of which I 19 were held during the year by scholars from Native schools, and five by Maori scholars from various public schools. Six industrial scholarships or apprenticeships were held by Maori youths, who are making good progress at various trades, and the new arrangements are working exceedingly well. In addition to these apprenticeships, agricultural scholarships have been provided for. These are available for suitably qualified Maori boys who desire to learn some branch of farming approved of by the Department. They are tenable for two or for three years, either in the service of it farmer or at a farm under the control of the Agricultural Department, as may he arranged. Nursing Scholarships. —Under this scheme seven Maori girls were attached to various hospitals during the year, four being day-pupils, and three probationers, all of whom appear to he making very satisfactory progress. The difficulty of finding for those who have completed the day-pupil course positions as probationers on the staff of suitable hospitals has not yet been altogether overcome, and in spite of the valued co-operation of the Hospitals Department the day-pupils have frequently to wait some time in consequence. Of those nurses who have qualified under the scheme we hear excellent reports. The Maoris in the districts where they have been from time to time placed speak of them in the highest terms of praise, and have stated their opinion that the arrangement is one of the greatest boons the Government has yet granted to the Maori race. (At the present time —May, 1910 —bothnurses are stationed at Hiruharama, Wanganui River, where a severe epidemic of typhoid fever has broken out, and we have learnt that they are rendering valuable service to the people there.) Te Makarini Scholarships. —The examination for the Te Makarini Scholarships was held on the 6th and 7th December. There were eight candidates from various Native village schools for the junior scholarship, and twelve candidates from St. Stephen's School, Auckland, and Te Aute College for the senior. The work of the junior candidates was, on the whole, very fair. Of the English subjects, the composition was not of high merit ; the reading appears to have been good, though the comprehension was weak. The dictation and writing, the former of which was somewhat difficult, cannot be regarded as very satisfactory. The arithmetic was much better than that of former years,