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Statement of Assets and Liabilities on 31st December, 1884. A. Exclusive of Building Fund. Assets. £ s. d. Liabilities. £ s. d. Cash in bank on this account, 31st Deceni- Due to teachers .. .. .. .. 147 7 0 ber, 1884 .. .. .. .. 1,939 16 0 Due to Committees .. .. 323 0 0 Due to legal expenses .. .. .. 313 0 Duo to stationery .. .. .. 8 0 0 Due to Recs bequest, accumulated funds .. 65 4 0 Not balanca .. .. .. .. 1,392 12 0 £1,939 16 0 £1,939 16 0 B. Building Fund only. £ s. d. £ s. d. Balanco .. .. .. .. 1,629 10 1 Balance of account, 31st December, 1884 .. 1,617 7 7 Due on account of Otaki school site .. 12 2 6 £1,629 10 1 £1,629 10 1 A. A. Beowne, Secretary.

WELLINGTON. Sm,— Wellington, 31st March, 1885. In accordance with the provisions of "The Education Act, 1877," I have the honour to transmit the report of the Education Board of the District of Wellington for the year ending the 31st December, 1884. The Boabd.—At the annual election of three members in March, Messrs. H. Bunnyj W. C. Buchanan, and W. Hutchison, the retiring members, were re-elected. In the month of August Mr. W. Hutchison, one of the oldest members of the Education Board created under " The Education Act, 1877," and for a number of years a member of the Education Board created under the Provincial Education Act, on account of his removal to Dunedin, was compelled to vacate his seat. The Board, when dealing with Mr. Hutchison's resignation, unanimously passed the following resolution : " That this Board regrets that Mr. Hutchison's business arrangements necessitate his departure from Wellington, and that the Board is deeply sensible of the services Mr. Hutchison has rendered the cause of education in this provincial district." The extraordinary vacancy was filled by the election of Mr. G. V. Shannon. The Board then consisted of Messrs. J. E. Blair (Chairman), George Beetham, M.H.E., W. C. Buchanan, M.H.E., H. Bunny, the Hon. G. Eandall Johnson, M.L.C., Thomas Mason, Dr. Newman, M.H.E., the Eev. James Paterson, and G. V. Shannon. During the year the Board held twelve ordinary and four special meetings, with an average attendance of 6-19. Number op Schools.—At the close 0f.1883 there were fifty-three schools open in this district, and one built and ready for opening. During the year new schoolrooms have been erected at Te Nui and Belvedere; and considerable improvements effected in the schools at Greytown, Kaitara, Kilbirnie, Thorndon, Terrace, Te Aro, Taranaki Street, Tory Street, and Buckle Street. The building erected for a Normal School has been converted into a school for younger children of the Thorndon District. A house suitable for a residence, together with five acres of land, has been secured at Gladstone ; and contracts have been let for a new training college and practising school, on the site of the Terrace School, and for new schools at Dalefield and Pahiatua. Plans for new schools at Eketahuna, Dryerton, and Te Whiti, and additions to the Masterton School, have been prepared, and the works will be in hand almost immediately. The want of residence accommodation in connection with these country schools very often necessitates the appointment of such a teacher as can be accommodated by one of the settlers, as houses cannot be obtained. The number of schools open at the end of the year was fifty-seven, the schools opened during the year being Kilbirnie, Belvedere, Wangaehu, and Kaiwhata. The latter is an aided school. Attendance. —The attendance at the end of the year shows 7,395 on the roll, as against 6,840 for last year; and 5,678 in average attendance, as against 5,344. Increase in average attendance, 334. Of the 7,395 children in this district twenty-three are Maoris and two are half-castes. New Districts.—During the year new districts have been formed at Pahiatua, Belvedere, Dryerton, and Dalefield ; and the Terrace District has been merged partly into Thorndon and partly into Te Aro. Teaching Staff.—The Board has now in its service 183 teachers, of whom seventy-five are males and 108 females. Of the fifty-seven schools, thirteen have attendances under twenty-five; but, as these schools have been in existence for a considerable period, and in some instances the money for the erection of the buildings was raised voluntarily by the settlers, the Board is not at present prepared to reduce them to aided schools, as to do so would inflict greater hardships on the outlying settlers than on those living in more populous centres, when probably the outlying settlers are in a worse position to bear a strain. Finance.—From the balance-sheet, which has been duly audited and passed by the Provincial District Auditor, it will be seen that the year's working shows a credit to the Building Account of £2,433 19s. 9d., against which must be placed the sum of £2,969 18s. required for works in hand. The overdraft on the Maintenance Account, shown to be £478 4s. 3d., is reducible by the sum of £301 4s. 6d. due at the end of the year but not actually received until a few days later. From the

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