E.—l.

officer of the department, to whom reference is made m a subsequent paragraph. Up to the present time the reports both of the local visitors and the visiting officer have been, on the whole, of a very satisfactory and encouraging nature, and already seem to prove beyond a doubt that it is much better to bring up the children as members of respectable families than to crowd them together in large institutions, however well-conducted these may be * There is reason to believe that m not a few instances a strong bond of mutual attachment is being formed between foster-parent and foster-child to an extent that may render their separation at any future time somewhat difficult of accomplishment. It is due to the Official Correspondents and the Lady Visitors to acknowledge the great value of their services, which m the case of the latter are gratuitously At the outset only children under seven years of age were boarded with tester-parents, but older children are now similarly disposed of when it can be done with advantage. The rates of payment to foster-parents for board, lodging clothing, &c, are as follows :— ° °' Under seven years of age Bs . week _ Seven and under eight years . 7s . £ er week Eight and under nine years 6s . £ er Nine and under ten years ss . £ er week Uver ten years, as may be agreed upon. i i T \ A P robabl y owin g to their Proving somewhat more useful at home that the eider children of eight, nine, and ten years or upwards are in a number of instances taken for a less rate of payment than younger ones. The following is a summary of information respecting the children boarded out on the 31st March 1884 •—

TABLE V.—Information concerning Foster-children.

■ . i "2A_ This return, compared with line No. 22 of Table Q, shows that during the three months following December 31, 1883, there has been an increase of 41 m the number placed with foster-parents. The aggregate present cost per week for the board of these 250 children is £98 155., the average weekly cost per head being 7s. 10-615 d. The three public industrial schools at Auckland, Burnham, and Caversham are wholly maintained by the Government out of a vote administered by the Minister of Education. The other institutions are inspected by, and make returns to, the Education Department, but they are under local management of various kinds, and the money contributed by the Government towards their maintenance is paid out of the charitable-aid vote, which is in charge of the Colonial Secretary The cost of all the public and some of the private institutions is reduced by the contributions paid m a number of instances by the parents and guardians of inmates. The following is a summary of the cost of the two classes of institutions for the financial years 1883-84 and 1882-83 :— 1883-84. 1882-83. Increase. Three Government schools 13,848 16 11 10,443 8 2 3 405 8 9 Other schools .. 6,870 8 8 6,424 18 5 445 10 3 Total £20,719 5 7 £16,868 6 7 is~Bso 19 0 Fuller information concerning the industrial schools and orphanages is contained in a separate parliamentary paper (E.-3, 1884) It is due to the Commissioner and the members of the police force both at head-quarters and throughout the colony to acknowledge the assistance rendered by them m various ways m connection with the administration of the Industrial Schools Act. With the sanction of the Hon. the Defence Minister

, __ — ' * Extracts from the visitors' reports are contained in a separate parliamentary paper, E.-3~1884~~

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XXV

Number of Children. Schools. Official Correspondents. Local Visitors. In the City and Suburbs. In Country Localities. Total. Auckland Burnham Caversham 1 1 1 10 14 17 87 40 95 9 ■10 3!) 46 80 124 Total. » 41 172 78 250