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and that improvement in the hearing may result in some cases, but this is likely to be more apparent than actual. When children possessing some auditory powers are admitted to the'school it is usual for their parents to ask whether theii hearing will improve, and the answer generally given by mc is " No ; but when they have been taughi for some time you will think that it has improved." One of the girls admitted early in the year was nine years of age and had been deaf for aboul four months. Her speech bad deteriorated very rapidly, and when she was admitted it was almost unintelligible. She now speaks quite distinctly, and is fast recovering her vocabulary. In September a somewhat similar cane was admitted, a boy of twelve, who had been deaf about fifteen months. As he was so much older, his speech had not deteriorated to the same extent as the little girl's, but owing to his inability to carry on conversation with others he was fast lapsing into silence. By the end of the year he had obtained some little proficiency in lip-reading and was beginning to evince some desire to enter into conversation with others. It is a matter of great regret, however, that he was not sent to the school immediately on losing his hearing. Had this course been taken, his education need not have been interrupted, his mental powers and his character might have been developed naturally, and certainly his spirits would not have been deadened by the melancholy resulting from his being practically cut off from human intercourse for so long a time. There can be little doubt that, were the correct designation of this school more widely known to and used by the general public, the friends of the boy would have more promptly realized that the School for the Deaf was the proper place for him. When he became deaf he was not dumb, and therefore his parents did not consider him a suitable case lor a school for deaf-mutes or for a deaf-and-dumb institution. It is much to be regretted that otherwise well-informed newspapers persist in making use of one or other of the above misleading terms when referring to this school, instead of calling it the School lor the Deal. An outbreak of scarlatina occurred at Easter, seven pupils taking it. These were quickly isolated and removed to Bottle Lake Hospital. Fortunately all the cases were of a very mild nature, but the work of the school was seriously disorganized by the epidemic. The children that had contracted the illness were necessarily absent from the school for periods of from eight to ten weeks, and even in the case of the other pupils much time was unavoidably lost owing to the regular routine of the classes being injuriously affected. The buildings, of course, had to be thoroughly disinfected, and while this was being done, and for a considerable time afterwards, classes were held out-of-doors whenever weather-conditions permitted. During the remainder of the. year the health of the pupils, though not of the staff, was extremely .satisfactory. There were two exceptions, however, both day boys, one of whom was absent on several occasions for short periods owing to sore throat or to bronchitis. The other, owing to heart -trouble, had to remain at home under medical treatment from May onwards, and it is very doubtful when he will be able to return to the school. In August one of the lady teachers, owing to an acute attack of bronchitis, was obliged to obtain leave of absence for one month, and shortly after her return the health of the first assistant broke down and the school lost his services for the remainder of the year. Fortunately both have made good recoveries. The school-work, however, suffered seriously owing to the enforced absence of these two experienced teachers, and much additional work was thrown on the other members of the staff, to whom thanks are due accordingly. Three other teachers suffered from minor ailments towards the. (■lose of the year, but were not incapacitated for more than a few days. It is my sad duty to record the death of the Matron of the School, the late Miss C. Craig, who passed away on Christmas Day after a painful illness. Her health had not been satisfactory for some time, and shortly after the school broke up for the summer Vacation she was taken seriously ill and died. Miss Craig, at the time of her death, had been Matron for a little over seven years, and during that time had carried out her duties with zeal and energy. She was very conscientious in their discharge, and had the interests of the school and of the children at heart. Her place was taken by Miss M. Leary. formerly Assistant Matron. Apart from the interruptions I have referred to. ; h <■ work of the school went on steadily durinp the year, and the progress made by the majority of the pupils was on the whole distinctly good. Even in tile case of those pupils whose powers were somewhat below the average satisfactory results wei. noted. In April a girl who had been admitted a. year before on account of her hearing being to ■ defective for her to be efficiently educated elsewhere, was found to have made sufficient progress in li] ■ reading to enable her to return to a public school. A report obtained from die headmaster some till) later showed that she was making good progress. At the close of the year eleven pupils left. One was the feeble-minded boy referred to in preceding paragraph. Another was an adult who had had two years' training in and had becoro proficient in lip-reading. When the latter commenced taking lessons she was dependent on the us of an ear-trumpet which she has now discarded. Her health and spirits have improved to ;i remarkabl extent, and her whole outlook on life is completely changed. One boy left owing to the stat of his health and before his education had reached the usual standard. The others were con sidered fit for the battle of life. The following extracts from letters recently received from two of then may perhaps convey some idea of their educational attainments. (1.) '" Dear Str. —1 received your letter on Saturday,and am answering it now. as it is important. The little deaf girl's name is — . and her parents live very nt a,r my home. She is between six and seven years of age, and I thought if time for her to attend your school. She attends the public school here. She is always accompanied by her sister to school. I myself have seen her signing in the streets. It is horrible to see her signing in the streets. She is stone deaf and cannot talk a. word. I hope you will see her before you go away. She is about the same height as Annie — was when I left school. (2.) "Dear Mr. Steven's. — lam afraid you will think that I did not thank you properly for you great kindness to mc while I was at school. I can hardly express my gratitude to you and your staff of teachers for educating mc. and I shall never forget my school. My brothers and sisters are all