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East Coast. — District Superintendent, Mr. James Booth, B.M. Wai-o-matatini. —Very fair results were obtained, but the school had not yet quite recovered from nearly a year's enforced inactivity, caused partly by building operations and partly by the holding of a Land Court in the district. Akuaku. —Under its now master this school has been extremely successful. It is probable, however, that it will have to be removed to Hiruharama, some distance inland, where a new and large Native settlement is being made. Uaioa. —Negotiations for handing this school over to the Hawke's Bay Board have been sue-' cessful. It is hoped that the experiment of educating children of the two races together may be successful. Wairarapa. — District Superintendent, Mr. S. yon Stunner, B.M. Te Oreore. —It is to be regretted that, through the want of a title to the site, this school cannot be put on a satisfactory basis. There is scope for a great deal of good work among the Natives of the district. Papawai. —There is reason to be well satisfied with the work done here so far, and to anticipate even better work next year. The South Island Districts. D' Urville's Island. —lt is likely that useful work will be done here when once the school gets into full working order. Waikaiua. —The population in this district has very strikingly decreased during the last few years, partly through the excess of deaths over births, and partly through migrations to other parts of the colony! Wairau. —The Natives set a high value on their school, but they are hardly sufficiently careful about keeping their children in regular attendance. Mangamaunu. —There has been a considerable falling-off in the Native population through deaths and migrations. Kaiapoi. —Sickness has been very prevalent here; but the examination results were, as usual, very satisfactory. Bapaki. —The Natives deserve very great credit for the way in which they keep up the attendance under rather disadvantageous circumstances. Onuku. —Negotiations are being carried on for the transfer of this school (which has but few Maori scholars) to the North Canterbury Board. Wairewa. —The school, though small, does satisfactory work in a place where such work is much needed. Waikouaiti. —Excellent work had been done, but the material is not up to the standard of former years. Port Molyncux. —Due attention had been paid to the few small children attending. Biverton. —Most of the "Native" children are virtually Europeans, and there is a large Board school near at hand; the school has therefore been closed. Colac. —This is a very successful school: perhaps just now it is the strongest in the South Island. The Neck. —There was great reason to fear that the school would suffer severely through the loss of Mr. Traill's valuable services; but fortunately a very efficient successor has been found, and the school is in a flourishing condition. Native Boabding-schools. Although nominally there are five of these schools connected more or less closely with the Department, only four of them require notice in detail. St. Mary's, Ponsbnby, has sometimes one or two Government scholars ; but there are no special arrangements there for either teaching or boarding Maori scholars; practically, therefore, this school may be left out of account. Most of the pupils at the boarding-schools have been sent to them from the village schools after passing the Fourth Standard. These children now have to go through a definite course, intended to complete the training given at the village schools, and to extend it in certain directions. The boys, for instance, are expected to master the rudiments of carpentry or of smiths' work, and the girls to become practically acquainted with European domestic economy. At three of the schools arrangements for giving technical instruction are either fairly or perfectly complete ; but one of the schools is still without satisfactory provision for the teaching of this kind of work. At the end of 1886 there were seventy-five Government pupils at the boarding-schools —one girl at St. Mary's, Ponsonby ; twentyseven boys at St. Stephen's, Parnell; ten boys at Te Aute, Hawke's Bay ; twenty girls at Hukurere, Napier; and seventeen girls at St. Joseph's, Napier. Besides these there were eighty-seven foundation scholars (as they may be called), not paid for by the Government. Of these, twenty-three girls are at Hukarere, and seventeen and forty-seven boys at St. Stephen's and Te Aute respectively. Arrangements have been made for examining and certificating these pupils as well as the scholars sent to the schools by the Government. The boarding-schools, without exception, are doing very good work; but until the Government can send them as many Fourth Standard pupils as they can accommodate the schools must continue to exert in one direction a rather injurious influence on the spread of education among the Natives generally. Until the Natives within reach of boarding-schools find that the only way of getting their children into schools where they are thoroughly provided for gratuitously lies through the village-school course they will rely entirely on their chance of being able at some time or another to send their children to a boarding-school, and will care nothing for what is, from their point of view, the very inferior village school. As, of course, only a small proportion of these children can ever be taken charge of by the boarding-schools, the great majority of them will grow up perfectly illiterate. This difficulty is, no doubt, being got over to some extent through the increasing willing-