8.—2

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very neat indeed. The number of classes at present is rather too large for the most effective work; but even if they were reduced it would be desirable to have another addition to the staff, say, in the form of a pupil-teacher. I must congratulate the authorities upon the staff whose services they have secured, and, in conclusion, trust that the school that has begun its career under such happy auspices may have a brilliant future before it." Te Ante College, Hawke's Bay (examined 14th and 15th December). —The examination was conducted by the Inspector and Assistant Inspector of Native Schools, with very satisfactory results. Great interest in their work was shown by all the boys, and there were absolutely no indications of attempts to see what other boys were doing. Mr. Pope remarks, "It has been a pleasing task for one who visited and examined this school nearly a quarter of a century ago to compare, at his final visit, what is with what used to be. The difference is of the same character as that between the acorn and the oak." The highest class was examined in sub-matriculation work. Arithmetic was by far the weakest subject in the class. There is need of constant revision and periodical examinations, and some attention to better methods is also desirable. Euclid was, on the other hand, very good, English very satisfactory indeed, and in all the other subjects the boys were well up to the mark. In Classes IV., A and B, the work in Euclid, algebra, and Latin was really excellent, many of the boys making from 90 to 100 per cent. This class showed good work throughout. Class 111. did well in Latin, and excellently in algebra. English and physiology were alike very good; geography very fair; and arithmetic not so strong. In Class 11., with one or two exceptions in arithmetic, the work was very satisfactory, geography being especially good. The work of Class I. in arithmetic was very pleasing; viva voce work was very fair. The rest of the work was good, some of it very good. A glance at the results as a whole show that arithmetic is not as strong in the school as other subjects. On the other hand, the purely secondary subjects —Latin, Euclid, and algebra —were little short of excellent; indeed, several candidates were so good as to be able to clear the whole paper. The eagerness of the boys to do well is guarantee of their pride in their school, and throughout two long days' work, extending in cases until after dark, the examiners had no fault to find with the behaviour or tone exhibited. The work of the school now covers such a wide ground that in the future it will be necessary to take three or even more days for the examination. It is no light task for the boys, and is certainly a very arduous undertaking for the examiner to perform in two days. This may be taken as an indication of the development of the work in Te Aute. The Native Boys' Boarding-school, St. Stephen's, Parnell, Auckland (inspected 17th March, 1903 : Mr. Pope). —There were present at inspection sixty-two boys; the average attendance for the four preceding quarters was sixty-four. The question of complete drainage has now been settled, and there is now no recommendation on this subject to be made. The school was well in hand, and there were no signs of restiveness. The tone of the school was very satisfactory. The boys, were clean and healthy-looking, and sufficiently well dressed. Complaints were made that some of the boys who had passed Standard IV. in our Native schools were very weak indeed. The pupils from one school especially were mentioned. This points to need of revision of the conditions under which scholarships are granted. It is quite probable that the developments in the Nativeschool work generally require a higher standard of proficiency for scholarships, and this matter should receive careful attention in the revision of the code. The technical work here has been exceedingly well done. The only difficulty that has been met with so far is a field for the output of the workshop. It would be, indeed, quite possible for the boys of St. Stephen's to construct the school furniture necessary for any of our schools. The organization of the classes is good. There are three days in the week on which the work is done under Mr. Beatty's instruction. The boys work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, and each boy gets about thirty days' work per annum. The number of boys thus learning work is forty. The school was examined by Mr. Pope, Inspector of Native Schools, on the 21st July, 1903. Three boys passed the examination of the second year; eleven passed the first year. There were three failures. There was a large class of lately admitted boys (nineteen), who could not be expected to pass. In the lower division, eight boys passed Standard IV., seven passed Standard 111., six passed Standard 11. (one failing), and four passed Standard I. It was remarked that the boys throughout worked with great zeal, and showed that an excellent tone exists at St. Stephen's. The work of the junior class was good on the whole; much of it deserves to be called very good. In the senior classes, the English did not quite reach the mark, spelling and sentence-construction being weak, except up towards the top of the school, where it was much better. The other subjects, especially geography, were very good indeed. The weakness in English and spelling was probably the result of two main causes—(l) the absence of the master on a well-earned holiday at the end of 1901 which led to some temporary disturbance of the usual course of instruction, and (2) the need referred to above of a considerable hardening-up of the conditions on which scholarships are granted. This, of course, involves either a stiffening of the Standard IV. pass in our village schools, or else the granting of scholarships only to those who attain certain percentage of marks. The making-good of the defects due to the two causes above referred to required more time and labour than could be expected from teachers doing what is really secondary work. The Maori Mission School, Otaki (examined 26th October, 1903: Mr. Pope). —The teaching was painstaking and clear; reading is taught to the juniors properly. It is necessary that the teacher should take care to make sure that difficulties in oral arithmetic are thoroughly mastered. The bad attendance still leaves its mark on the work of the school. The year has been altogether discouraging; what with the great fire and the irregular attendance, the teacher had had much uphill work to do. Still, the results were decidedly good. There need be no hesitation in saying that in spite of peculiar and pronounced difficulty improvement is taking place here steadily — that is, in the school and its work. The Mission School, Putiki, Whanganui (examined 2nd November, 1903: Mr. Pope). —The attendance here had been considerably interfered with by sickness. Out of a roll number of