47

H.—l

That the trustees of institutions maintained in whole or in part by the p. 45. proceeds of State endowments for the education of children of both races in religion, industry, and the English language, be required to present annual statements of their accounts to the Minister of Education, and that the Minister be empowered to take all necessary steps to ascertain whether the estates are well administered, and what is the actual condition of the institutions. That the trustees of educational institutions of which the endowments ibid, originated in contracts between colonizing companies and the settlers, be required to submit to the Minister of Education annual statements of accounts, and that the Minister be invested with the right of insisting upon a legitimate application of the income. The remaining recommendations relate to matters which, though not beyond the cognizance of the Government, lie within the discretion of the governing bodies of the several institutions, or of other authorities. We have given a general indication of the course of instruction which we pp. 11-16. think should be pursued in secondary schools, with suggestions as to the division of the classical and the modern sides, and as to the course of study to be adopted in the case of boys who do not study Latin. We have also offered advice as to the standard of admission to such schools, the minimum fee to be charged, and the limitation of the class-work to be undertaken by the headmaster, so that he may have time for supervision. We have stated our views as to the most prudent course to be adopted in pp. 25-31. providing medical education within the colony. We have recommended that candidates for admission as solicitors and barristers be required to pass certain University examinations. We have given our opinion in favour of the establishment of chairs of engineering in the University of Otago and in Canterbury College. We have also recommended that the operations of the Canterbury School of Agriculture be extended so as to include instruction in forestry, and that the travelling expenses of the pupils be paid from the funds of the school. We have suggested that Boards of Education should grant an allowance for p. 36. maintenance to male students in normal schools, and that they should take steps p. 33. to organize evening classes, and to establish or promote schools of art and design v- bi. in the larger towns. All which we humbly submit to your Excellency's gracious consideration. Witness our hands and seals, this twenty-fourth day of April, 1880. (1.5.) G. Maubice O'Robke, (1.5.) G. S. Sale. Chairman. (1.5.) James Wallis. (1.5.) John Shand. (1.5.) James Hector. (1.5.) George H. E. Ulrich. (1.5.) Wm. Jas. Habens. (1.5.) W. Macdonald. (1.5.) J. M. Brown. (1.5.) W. Edw. Mtjlgan (1.5.) C. H. H. Cook. (1.5.) Chas. C. Bowen.

We dissent from the recommendation that all secondary schools should be " regularly inspected and examined under the authority of the Minister of Education." Inspection, in the ordinary sense of the word, would be intolerable to masters not trained technically in a special system, such as obtains in schools of primary instruction; and it would be almost impossible to find an Inspector able to judge, by a few hours' observation, of the qualifications of highly-educated masters accustomed to very different systems of teaching. Even the peculiarities of able masters in the higher forms are not without their value. The examination suggested appears to be independent of the school work, and would unnecessarily harass the boys, who in this generation are already over-examined. The examina-