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means not only of re-establishing the mothers in the community, but also of obtaining payments from the men responsible for their condition. The work in connection with the social readjustment of these cases is of considerable importance so far as the taxpayers are concerned. In many cases the timely intervention of the Child Welfare Officers obviates the necessity for the committal of these infants to the care of the State, the parents being made to realize their responsibilities in regard to their offspring. Inspection of Orphanages. The inspection and registration of all private institutions for children are provided for in the Child Welfare Amendment Act, 1927. The definition of a " children's home " does not include any institution conducted wholly for educational purposes. Altogether there are approximately seventy private and denominational institutions for children throughout the Dominion, and so far sixty have been inspected by the Child Welfare Branch officers and granted registration. Care and Training of Deaf Children, Children with Defective Speech, and Blind Children. The pupils under instruction at the School for the Deaf, Sumner, during the year, numbered 117, and of these 11 were day pupils and 106 boarders. The special day classes in Auckland, Wellington, and Dunedin, for partially deaf children and for children with speech-defects, were continued with highly successful results. One hundred and seventy-two children attended the classes last year. Provision has also been made in these centres and in Christchurch for night classes for the instruction of the adult deaf, eighty-two persons afflicted in this manner attending the classes for the year ended 31st March, 1929. The education of blind children is provided for at the Jubilee Institute for the Blind, Auckland, which is a private institution recognized as a " separate institution " under the Hospitals and Charitable Aid Institutions Act. Provision is made in this Act for the appointment of nine Trustees —five by the contributors and four by the Governor-General. The Trustees are required by law to admit and maintain any blind children between the ages of six and twenty-one years that the Minister directs to be sent to the institution. For the maintenance and education of such children the Department pays at the rate of £25 a year each. At present there are 20 children so paid for (16 boys and 4 girls), but this does not represent the total number of children receiving instruction. The Trustees are at liberty to admit any suitable case when the parents are able to pay the full fee. In addition to special classes for backward children, special classes for hard-of-hearing children and speech-defectives have been established in the four large centres. These classes are staffed by teachers trained at the Sumner School for the Deaf, and it is now decided that the classes will in future be attached to public schools under the control of the Education Boards, and that sufficient teachers will be appointed to carry out the work efficiently. HIGHER (UNIVERSITY) EDUCATION. The number of students on the books of the four University colleges affiliated to the University of New Zealand in 1928 was 4,802, as against 4,878 in 1927, a decrease of 76. The figures for each of the four colleges were as under :— 1927. 1928. Auckland .. .. .. .. .. 1,455 1,427 Victoria .. .. .. .. .. .. 975 1,004Canterbury .. .. .. .. .. 1,248 1,092 Otago .. .. .. .. .. .. .1,200 1,279 4,878 4,802