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nized by educationists us desirable. Great attention should be paid to the study of the mothertongue and its literature: but the boy should also have some acquaintance with at least one language other than his own. There should be also such a development el' the hand as would make him "handy"—v qualification of great value in most pursuits. He should also have a thorough grounding in the elements of mathematics, and a Bound training in scientific methods, such as was given by a Bohool study of Bcienoe. There had been established in our chief centres, in connection with the University colleges, a department of commerce, and he held very strongly iliat those who went through a secondary school with a view to taking up work in the commercial world should Ix) encouraged in every way to go on to the University, and this not merely in order to take a University degree, but to come under the influence of University life. He was aware thai University life in New Zealand was at present by no means what it should lit.' be, but still there was an esprit dt corps in our University colleges, and there were influences at work thai wore of great value to young men and women. In the case of girls, he regretted very much that in secondary schools, where the highest education available for girls was given, such subjects as shorthand and 1 \ |>ew ril ing should be I aken, and that such Subjects as music, anil art. and gymnast ics in its widest sense should be to a large extent, if not altogether, neglected. With regard to the vocational schools and the work they were doing, the first thing that had to be borne in mind was that they were primarily short-course sohools —that the boys and girls who went to those schools did not remain on an average more than two years. Too many left after the first year, and fe\v remained till the third year. It must also be borne in mind that when the pupils left school, foe the most part they did so in order to become wage-earners. In arranging a curriculum for these it was therefore necessary to take, into account the occupation they would follow. Those who took up the commercial course in these vocational schools went there to train for work in offices. He did not say that it was desirable that a boy or girl should go into an office at the age of fourteen, fifteen, or sixteen, but there was a demand lor boys and girls in offices, and it was a legitimate demand. Therefore he held that it was our business to do what we could to provide the best employees it was possible to do in the short time at the disposal of the school. He admitted that the course ol instruction mapped out by 'hi' Chairman was an admirable one. and if girls and boys who were preparing to enter commercial life would take up that course and remain in the school for three or four years, and then be willing to spend another year in special training, they would be well equipped as shorthand-typists or clerks. He himself would prefer a clerk who had matriculated or obtained a leaving-certificate from a secondary school, and who had afterwards gone in for such special training in shorthand and typewriting as was necessary to make an expert shorthandtypist. He felt, however, that under the circumstances the day technical schools were providing a commercial course whiofa was demanded not only by the pupils themselves, but also by the community; and that course was as sound as the circumstances would permit. With regard to the domestic-science course in the day technical schools and in the secondary schools, he thought there should be a distinct difference made. In the secondary sohools the course should extend over not less than three years—in his opinion it was desirable the course should he for not less than four pears —and should be far wider in its scope than was possible in the short courses provided by day technical schools. Mr. M. 11. Browne agreed with a good deal Mr. Howell had said. For a pupil who hail qualified for a junior free place and who did not immediately propose to lake up employment two doors were open —the door of the secondary school and the door of the technical day-school. He thought it would be better, instead of having these two doors, to have one wider door —a door which would give entrance to what might be described as a combined secondary school and technical day-school. A good deal had been said as to the age at which it was possible to decide what career a boy or a girl was best fitted for. Personally, he had his doubts whether that could be satisfactorily determined in all cases during the primary-school course. He thought that no. definite decision as to whether a pupil's course should be largely non-vocational or largely vocational should be attempted until after the pupil had entered on a course of secondary instruction. What was wanted, he thought, was for the secondary school to provide more opportunities for training of a vocational character than was at present the case. If the high schools and the technical dayschools were under the same control, something in this direction could no doubt be achieved. He recognized that there were practical difficulties in the way; but, given the combined school he had referred to, he thought it would be time enough when he entered on a senior free place for a pupil to make up his mind whether his training should be non-vocational or vocational. It hardly seemed at present that our secondary-school system could be regarded as universal in the sense i hat the primary system was universal —universal in that it taught all sorts of persons for all sorts of callings and in all sorts of subjects. He did not think it would be so until we had schools of the type he had outlined. He did not think that any one who knew anything of the technical day-schools would deny that they had done excellent work. If the secondary schools were prepared to take up work on similar lines, well and good. If they were not, then he thought the technical day-schools had a place in the scheme of education in New Zealand. Mr. Lα Trobe said that Mr. M. H. Browne had indicated the establishment of a sort of combined institution, taking both the ordinary secondary and also technical school work. They would have to consider the establishment of an institution which would be capable of giving courses as elastic as possible, including all sorts of combinations of subjects for all sorts of professions or callings of the future worker, and, in iuldition, to that, they would have to arrange the courses so that they would be capable of compression into various definite terms of years—one, two, three, or four years: and they had also to bear in mind those who might wish to take a longer course. That institution would be a very considerable one, he imagined, in any particular town. It must also be an institution easily got at by the students. Although, on the face of it. it appeared thai the scheme if carried out completely would meet all the nee.ds of educational life in this country, still, if they examined it a little more closely, he thought they would find the necessity for some-