C—2.

The following is an extract from Mr. Montgomery's report on the progress made by the school last year, and the experiments he conducted with the testing-plant, which is exceedingly interesting :— " The school has made better progress during the last year than in any former year, the classes being more regularly attended and the work done of a higher character than previously. The school has firmly .established itself in the public estimation, and is proving a great boon to the district. " During 1888 classes were conducted in chemistry, practical chemistry, assaying, mathematics, mining, and drawing, and this year a strong class has also been formed to study mineralogy and geology. Lectures are also delivered every Saturday morning to such pupils of the public schools as like to attend, the subject being elementary chemistry, illustrated by numerous experiments. " The work of the chemistry class comprises the study of the properties of the elements anil their compounds, their mutual relations and modes of formation, the principal chemical industries, and, more particularly, metallurgical processes. The chemistry and metallurgy of gold and silver receive special attention. The standard of work in this class is only a little lower than in this university colleges. " In the class in practical chemistry the students have to learn and practise the methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis, particularly of ores of the metals. The laboratory, though still very deficient in many essential requisites, is complete enough to give a very fair course of instruction in analysis of the most important metallic ores. "The assaying class is occupied with the practical study of both wet and dry methods of assaying gold and silver bullion, gold- and silver-ores of all sorts, lead, zinc, copper, mercury, antimony, iron, tin, and other ores. Two banks have been furnished with assayers from the students of this class. Other students have been employed in the reduction-works at "Waiorongomai and Waihi, and at the Newbery-Vautin works at the Thames, and have given satisfaction to their employers, although none of them had been long enough at the class to go through anything like the whole course of study. This class is very popular, and is joined by numerous miners, who find it of immediate practical benefit to them. " The class in mathematics is for the study of algebra, geometry, and trigonometry to the extent to which these subjects are usually pursued in the high schools and junior classes in the university colleges. " The mining class w Tas formed to study the subjects prescribed in the regulations attached to the Mining Act for the examination for certificate of underground manager. I have found it necessary up till now to confine it to higher arithmetic, mensuration of surfaces and of solids, use of logarithms, solution of triangles, calculation of areas and of co-ordinates of traverses, and plotting to scale of plans and sections. This year one afternoon a week is devoted to practical field and underground surveying, and levelling work. Permission has been obtained from several of the managers of the largest mines here for the class to go underground and practise surveying. A great deal of time has been devoted to plotting, actual surveyors' field- and level-books having been borrowed for the purpose. " In mineralogy the course includes the determination by blowpipe-tests and physical characters of all the most important minerals, detailed descriptions of these, and the elements of crystallography. Specimens of minerals are handed round the class in illustration of the teaching. Bractical determination of minerals by means of the blowpipe is made a prominent part of the work of the class. "The geology class studies the general subject of geology, and more particularly mining geology, modes of occurrence of mineral deposits, phenomena of lodes, faults, heaves, &c. " The Council of the Geological Society of Australasia have, at the instance of Professor Hutton, of Canterbury College, who takes much interest in our school, presented a silver medal to be competed for by our students in mineralogy and geology at the end of this year. " I am sorry to have to report that this year there has been no class in drawing, the gentleman who so kindly gave his services gratuitously as drawing-master for the last three years having gone to live at too great a distance to permit of his continuing to attend. The Committee are trying to arrange for the continuance of this class, but have not yet been able to find any one to take Mr. Smith's place. " The following table shows the numbers of students attending the classes during 1888 and the first quarter of 1889 : —

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Class. First Quarter, 1888. Second Quarter, 1888. Third Quarter, 1888. Fourth Quarter, 1888. First Quarter, 1889. Total Number of Individuals attending during these Five Quarters. Laboratory and practical chemistry Architectural drawing Mining Assaying Chemistry Mathematics... Mineralogy and geology Public schools' pupils' class %. 13 5 15 33 15 5 14 37 4 5 15 5 16 44 8 8 18 5 12 39 6 6 17 32 7 28 74 13 13 10 152 13 31 5 6 10 40 125 75 74 52 Total (exclusive of school-pupils) 66 70 96 86 82 81