JL— No. 6.

14

FURTHER PAPERS RELATIVE

ever he may be will not be in a position either to help himself in the matter, as there is no suitabletimber about the place for the purpose. It would not have added very much to the cost, if some little addition h»d been made to the interior comforts of the house while the contractors were on the spot. It seems a pity when building the house, that the fact of it being in an out-of'-tho-way locality like Ruapuke has been lost sight of, and that a few conveniences had not been added as an inducement for a person to take more kindly to the place. I understood that Mr. Watt proposed writing for instructions respecting the necessary school furniture, but lam not aware whether he took action in the matter or no. At present the whole affair is at a standstill and as far as I can ascertain, the contractors have no instructions to put the work in hand. If it is found necessary that a carpenter should go over to the island to fit up the necessary school furniture, I would beg to recommend that he should be authorized to make the few improvements suggested by me in the master's house while there. I had hoped to have been able to report, ere this, that the Native children in the neighbourhood of Riverton were receiving school education, but, unfortunately, Mr. Cameron, master of the local school there, with whom I had made arrangements for teaching the children, subject to the approval of the Government, has been dismissed for misconduct by the local committee, affairs are therefore in statu quo there. There seems to be some fatality attending the establishment of schools for the Natives throughout the Southern Provinces, what with the indifference displayed by themselves and the opposition of the local committees to admit Native children to the district schools, the whole of my efforts in that direction have been entirely fruitless ; and from the present aspect of affairs, it would seem almost hopeless to expect that a more satisfactory result can be anticipated for some time to come. I called on Mr. Hislop, the Inspector of Schools at Dunedin, to ascertain if he could recommend a master for the Ruapuke school. He informed me that he knew of two competent persons wanting employment in that line, and recommended one of them, a Mr. Henri, for the office. Mr. Henri is a married man, and from all I can learn appears to be a very suitable person for the situation; he has since called on Mr. Watt at Mr. Hislop's recommendation, to leave his own and his wife's testimonials. Mrs. Henri is also a competent person, and has been accustomed to teaching. The only uncertainty at present appears to be respecting the master's salary ; if the Government will guarantee the full amount of fees agreed on, viz., £1 per annum for each, scholar, for say at least two years from the commencement of the school, such amount to be calculated in accordance with clause 15 of the Act, I have little doubt but that the Ruapuke school can be opened immediately. Trusting that the foregoing proposition may receive the i'avourable concurrence of the Government. I have, &c, Alexander Mackat. The Under Secretary, Native Department, "Wellington. Native Commissioner.

No. 8. Copy of a Letter from Mr. A. Mackat to the Undee Secretary, Native Department. Sib,— Wellington, 4th July, 1868. In compliance with the instructions contained in your telegram of the 23rd June, requesting me to visit the Native school at Kaiapoi on my return to Canterbury, I have the honor to inform you that, on arriving there, I called on Mr. Rolleston as suggested, but ho was too busily engaged in attending to Council matters to accompany me, I therefore proceeded to Kaiapoi alone. On visiting the school on the Ist instant, I found there were fifteen children in regular attendance, twelve girls and three hoys; two of these, however, happened to be absent, on the occasion of my visit, from sickness. The whole of the scholars have been suffering more or less of late from measles and whooping cough, which has somewhat retarded their progress. The children are taught to read and write English ; the whole of the number present, with the exception of the two younger ones, read very freely; their writing is also of a very fair character, and the copy books clean and free from blots; in arithmetic they are not quite so proficient as in the other two branches. They appear to be very orderly and obedient, and presented a very cleanly appearance,, as did also the whole of the school premises; great attention is paid to the personal and domestic' cleanliness of the scholars by their teacher, Miss Taylor; the whole of the domestic work on the premises is done by the children ; they are also required to wash and make their own clothes. In the internal arrangements everything is very satisfactory; the school buildings comprise a schoolroom, dining-room, two dormitories, teacher's apartments, kitchen, and scullery; the apartment used as a schoolroom is a very well lighted and ventilated room, sufficiently commodious to accommodate double the number of scholars now in attendance. I have much pleasure in reporting that, on the whole, this school may be considered to be in a very satisfactory condition, and that a very fair amount of progress has been attained by the pupils, considering the short time the school has been established, and the difficulties that have to be overcome in the first place in teaching children an entirely new language, and in making them subservient to rules of order and obedience —qualities they are totally unacquainted with on first entering the school. It would be very satisfactory if there were more schools in other portions of the Middle Island in the same state of advancement, and tinder the management of equally painstaking teachers as Miss Taylor. Unfortunately for the success of the scheme the Natives evince very little interest in the matter; they seem to be entirely imbued with the idea that the Government ought to provide schools for them free of cost in fulfilment of promises made to them in former years. The Rev. Mr. Stack complains very much of the want of co-operation on the part of the Natives, and of the difficulty he has to induce them to contribute their proportion of the school fees. lam afraid this will be found to be the chief difficulty to contend with everywhere, and even if success is met with in the first place in establishing the schools, the guardians and teachers, however diligent and pains-