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he was a member, he was promptly called upon to refund lirst class ordinary return fare. This happened,* however, very seldom indeed. The, general consensus of opinion was that the classes met a felt want, and were a great benefit to every one who attended. It is worthy of note that in one case a teacher, in-order to get needed help in his studies, regularly left his home between 4 and 5 o'clock in the morning, rode on his bicycle several miles, then travelled sixty miles in the train to Invercargill, and arrived home at 1" o'clock at night. For the current year it is proposed to establish classes at Gore, and possibly at Riverton. This will obviate the necessity of teachers travelling such long distances in order to benefit from the instruction given. Evening Classes. —Last year it was noted that the attendance at the evening classes at Invercargill was smaller than had been the case for a year or two previous. This year, however, the number of students in the various classes has been quite up to the average of the best of former years. As is the case nearly every year, several changes took place on the teaching staff. The most notable was the appointment of Mr. Dickson to the charge of the art classes. Mr. Dickson has had considerable experience both at Home and abroad, having studied in England, Scotland, France, and Belgium. He holds the Art Teacher's Diploma from the Glasgow School of Art. Since his appointment the art classes have taken a new lease of life, the rooms have been fully equipped with the necessary casts, models, and other apparatus, and excellent results are being looked for in the near future. A class in sanitary plumbing, under the direction of Mr. Joseph Anchor, R.P.C., was also successfully established, and some very good work was accomplished by the students. The thanks of the Board are due to Messrs. McSkimming and Sons, of Benhar, for the gift of a complete set of their sanitaryware manufactures. This class wall prove of inestimable value to the plumbers of the town, especially as in the near future a complete system of sewerage is likely to be introduced to meet the requirements of Greater Invercargill. In conjunction with the Borough Council, an examination is to be. held at the end of each session, and those who are successful in passing the examination will be licensed by the Council as efficient tradesmen. The Council has also promised to bear part of the cost of the annual examination. An effort was made to establish a class in wool-sorting, but failure resulted owing to the fact that a qualified local instructor could not be induced to take charge, and the Department objected to pay full fare of an instructor fromJDunedin. On the work of the other technical classes there is little need for comment. All the teachers were enthusiastic in the performance of their duties, and the students received much valuable information and knowledge which will be of lifelong value to them. Of the continuation classes more may be said. When classes are conducted for only seven months of the year, during the autumn, winter, and early spring it is impossible to arrange systematic courses of study extending over a period of, say, two or three years, and to obtain full benefit of the instruction imparted; such a course is desirable —even necessary. A large number of the students in the commercial classes are free-place students —that is, they hold Standard VI proficiency certificates, and, provided they attend certain classes, are not required to pay fees, a special capitation grant from the. Department being received on their account. In order to qualify for capitation, free-place students must attend the English and arithmetic classes and at least one other class, and make a certain percentage of attendances. It has been found that under the present system there is no real desire on the part of the, students in general to attend the English and arithmetic classes, but they do so under mild compulsion in order that they may obtain free tuition in the classes in which they are specially anxious to receive instruction. Then there is constant change going on amongst the young people. In consequence, of those who attend the first year of their free course little more than half attend the second year, and not a single student has yet sat for the examination for an extension of his free place for a further period of three years. The conditions are not favourable. A break of five months during the summer destroys every possible chance of students being properly equipped for passing such an examination. The question is, how can this matter be remedied ? And the only answer is, by the establishment of day classes. Should the Board on its own initiative adopt such a course, or should the work of the Technical School apart from the school classes be handed over to the management of an associated body ? The, solution of this question must shortly be, carefully considered. The establishment of day classes under either of the conditions named would mean, first, a considerable expenditure of money on the part of the controlling authority, and. second, direct competition with the existing high schools. In regard to the cost of day classes, the capitation earned by the students in attendance would not for some time meet the expenditure that would be required for efficient administration. Outside financial assistance would be necessary, and in order to obtain this assistance the classes would require to be controlled by an association of members elected by the various contributing bodies. Such contributions are subsidized pound for pound by the, Department, and these amounts added to the capitation earned by the students would provide the necessary funds. The great advantage of this method of control lies in the fact that an interest is taken in the work of the school by the local bodies amongst whom and for whose benefit the classes are being conducted. Unless this interest is secured, the school cannot hope to attain the position it ought to occupy in the community, and to diffuse fully the knowledge it is fitted to impart. For tliis purpose it was created. In regard to the possible overlapping of some of the work with that of the, high schools, this contingency cannot well be avoided. Experience in other centres, however, has proved that the attendance at high schools in the towns in which there are technical day schools has not only not been prejudicially affected, but has actually increased, since the establishment of the latter schools. It would therefore appear that in the larger centres —in which category Invercargill may now be reckoned—there is for each of the institutions a province that it may profitably occupy. This question was very fully discussed in my report of 1901. and again last year in the united report of Inspector Hendry and myself on our visit to the technical schools of the North Island, and I again submit it to the careful consideration of the Board. This year, for the first time in their history, the

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