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repair. This school is very centrally situated, and I have ascertained that before long there will be an attendance of perhaps upwards of 50. In the event of such an increase, the whole of the present building would be required as a schoolroom, and it -would then be necessary to build a house for the teacher.—Progress of pupils : Eeading, good ; pupils understand and are able to explain most of the words occurring in their reading lesson ; composition and letter-writing fair ; arithmetic in simple and compound rules very fair. The children show a fair knowledge of geography, which has been learned from the maps. The writing was very good; dictation is also practised; sewing is taught; singing has also been taught with great success. —Efficiency of teachers : The teachers, of whom there are two, a head-teacher and an assistant, show great aptitude for teaching, and are very zealous and eager in their work. The discipline of the school is good, and the pupils have altogether a clean, neat, and tidy appearance. The school has not of late had so large an attendance as formerly, through the obstructiveness of one of the Native School Committee, who was possessed of some influence in the settlement; but I succeeded so far in smoothing over the difficulty that the Native voluntarily promised to abstain from further interference ; and I anticipate that the future attendance at this school will not be far short of from 40 to 50. Pakia School. —lnspected 6th June, 1879. —On roll: Boys, 10; girls, 14: total, 24. Present: Boys, 3 ; girls, 6 : total, 9. Most of the scholars are suffering from severe colds, which accounts for the small attendance. —Maps, &c.: Two Hemispheres, one Europe, one Asia, one North America, one South America, one Australasia, one Australia, one Africa, one New Zealand (a map of England is required, and the map of Europe is too small to be of much service); eight desks and forms (desks of a bad pattern, the incline being much too great), one blackboard and easel, 1 ball-frame; naturalhistory picture-cards should be supplied ; also, reading cards for younger children ; a clock and bell much wanted.—Building: 45 feet by 22 feet, of which 15 feet have been taken off the length for dwellinghouse. This building has been badly put up, is very flimsy, and requires bracing, as the situation is exposed and high winds are frequent. The teacher's rooms are very uncomfortable and cold, being neither lined nor ceiled. The master complains of the want of a chimney ; but, in the face of a decreasing attendance, I do not feel warranted in recommending the expenditure.—Progress of pupils: Eeading, good, and the meaning of words fairly understood ; spelling, fair; composition (recommended teacher to practice the scholars more in composition and letter-writing) ; arithmetic, fair ; geography, fair ; writing, good. Sewing and singing are also taught in this school.—Efficiency of teacher: The teacher appears to be intelligent, and anxious to do his duty, but complains that a bad attendance interferes much with his exertions. Indeed, it appears there are few Maori children attending this school. Those who do attend are mostly children of European and half-caste parents. Had the school been built at AVaimamaku, instead of where it is, the attendance of the Maori children would have been good —from 30 to 40. The day the school was inspected by me there was but 1 Native scholar present. Mangakahia School. —Inspected 30th May, 1879. —On roll: Boys, 16; girls, 20: total, 36. Present: Boys, 8 ; girls, 14: total, 22. —Maps, &c.: Hemispheres, one New Zealand; one set of Phillips's Tablet Lessons, one ball-frame, 4 desks, 7 feet 9 inches, and 1, 15 feet 6 inches. These desks were originally three double ones 15 feet 6 inches in length, and the pupils sat facing each other. The teacher cut two of them across, thus making five desks. This was found more convenient ; but the double-desk system is very objectionable, as half of the scholars necessarily sit with their backs to the teachers. —Building: Schoolroom and feather's house are in one building, which is 40 feet by 19 feet. The schoolroom is 27 feet by 19 feet. A lean-to has been added at the end of building, as extra accommodation for the teacher; the chimneys, of which there are two, are of wood, which is very dangerous indeed: the school lately had a narrow escape from being burnt down, as one of these chimneys caught fire. The building is in good repair, but has been so badly put up by the contractor that the wind whistles through the rooms. This can only now be remedied by lining the building throughout. This would also have the ett'ect of strengthening and bracing the walls, which, being only upright boarding on a very scanty frame, are not calculated to carry the great weight of roof at present resting on them.' —Progress of pupils: Eeading, very good; spelling, good. Composition and letter-writing: I have recommended the teacher to pay more attention to these subjects. Arithmetic, generally very fair; dictation, fair; geography, with such maps as are at the disposal of the teacher, the scholars answered as well as could be expected; writing, good, though I was sorry to see that Vere Foster's copybooks had not been adopted at this school. —Efficiency of master: The teacher is particularly energetic and zealous in the discharge of his duties, but his work has been cramped for want of proper appliances. I consider that great praise is due to him for the manner in which he has conducted the school in the face of numerous difficulties —viz., an insufficiency of maps (no Europe, British Isles, chart of Pacific, no separate Hemispheres, map of New Zealand out of date and too small), no reading-cards (very necessary for the younger children), and, till made by the teacher himself, no blackboard. The children are also taught singing and sewing. Te Ngaere. —Inspected 14th May, 1879.—There is virtually no attendance at this school: occasionally from 3to 5 pupils attend, and often none at all. Originally, three years ago (1876), there were 29 pupils on the roll; but the Natives of this district seem to have lost all interest in the school. I am informed by the teacher that, out of the 29 pupils, 11 have either died or left the district, and of the remaining 18 only 6 are within easy reach of the school, namely, those living in the settlement of Te Ngaere; the other children live in settlements from two and a half miles (the nearest) to ten miles distance from Te Ngaere ; the roads are bad, and there are creeks to cross, which are liable to freshes. In fact, the school has been built at one end of a narrow district which is upwards of ten miles in length. lam given to understand that had the school been centrally situated there would have been about 40 children capable of attending the school. —Maps, &c.: Hemispheres, Europe, North and South Islands of New Zealand, in separate maps (too small) ; blackboard, ball-frame, wall cards, natural-history pictures, twelve desks, 6 feet in length (the desks are of a bad pattern). —Building : The schoolhouse is a comfortable building, 30 feet by 20 feet, with a porch. The teacher's house is a separate building, containing four rooms. The contractor does not appear to have performed his work in a satisfactory