G.—4a,

1873. NEW ZEALAND.

NATIVE SCHOOLS.

(FURTHER PAPERS RELATING TO.) (In continuation of Papers presented 8th August, 1873.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by command of His Excellency.

No. 1. The Inspector of Schools to the Hon. the Native Minister. Sir,— Napier, 4th July, 1873. In continuation of my report upon the Native schools in the Province of Auckland, I have now the honor to report upon those of Hawke's Bay. St. Joseph's Providence, Napier. —That, on the Ist instant, I inspected the Native girls' school of St. Joseph's Providence, Napier. I found 20 pupils present in school, of whom 10 were Maori and 10 half-caste ; their ages varying between 9 and 18 years. It is a boarding school, and the hours of attendance in school are four, viz., from 9.30 a.m. to 12, and from 2 p.m. to 3.30. There are, however, other hours for study, needlework, ike., making up the whole number of hours per day employed in sedentary occupation to seven or eight. The appearance of the pupils was clean, neat, and healthy—their behaviour cheerful, orderly, and respectful, and the whole establishment continues to present the same air of admirable cleanliness and good order which I noticed last year when reporting upon this and the similar institution of St. Joseph's Providence, Wellington. The progress of the pupils in reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, and geography, was good, and their understanding and speaking, as well as their pronounciation of English, better than in most of the village schools—a remark which occurred to me also in inspecting the boarding school of St. Stephen's, Auckland, and which circumstance is no doubt to be attributed to their seldom hearing or speaking any other language. The health of the pupils had been good ; there had indeed been no sickness—but three pupils had been sent to their homes during the year, from consumption, and had died there. As this is a very large per centage out of a general average of 21 pupils, and as the only other case of death from consumption reported to me was from St. Stephen's, Auckland (also a boarding school), it seems worthy of consideration, as bearing upon the question, " From what causes does the rapid diminution of the Native race arise, when brought into close contact with the European?" I have already had occasion to remark that the children attending the village schools (where the only departure from their ordinary habits of life consists in their attending school for a very limited time per day), are singularly healthy, not more than one or two deaths having been reported amongst all those pupils who have attended during the past year. This may not be even a slight indication of the extreme carefulness with which it is necessary to proceed in our endeavors to transform a barbarous or savage race into a civilised people ; but as the work which we are now carrying on in New Zealand is manifestly but the commencement of that which will extend to all the other islands of the Pacific, it would appear unwise to disregard any fact which seems to bear upon so important a subject. I think it right to call your attention to the number of half-caste children who are being educated at this school. A capitation allowance of j£2o a year per pupil is given by Government, and they are fed and clothed, as well as educated. But I understand the fathers of these half-caste children to be Europeans, who have no special claim upon the Colony, and are probably quite as well able to maintain them as the parents of European children. A school in connexion with this institution has been erected at Meanee for boys, and is intended for the accommodation of 30 pupils, for whom, I was informed last year, the same amount of capitation money (£2O per pupil) is expected. As I understand the school is not yet in operation, I did not visit it. There is also, I gather from the public papers, a school now established upon the school estate at Te Aute. It has been established by means of contributions of money by Government, and I believe from other sources, and by endowments from Government and from the Natives of this Province. As I understand it does not now receive assistance from Government, I have not visited it. But I think it right to call your attention to complaints that have already been made to me by the masters of village schools, of the effect which these schools will have upon them. One master complained that three of his best pupils had been already taken away; that he had been training them to assist him in conducting his school (a very large one) ; and that no intimation was given him that they were about to be taken from him. Another complained that he was about to lose one or more of his best pupils, who preferred going where they could be housed, and clothed, and fed, as well as educated, for nothing; and a third had been able to avoid losing pupils only by strong remonstrance.