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that the cost of maintenance of schools, of allowance to School Committees, together with money paid to the Building Fund, was £19,740 Bs. lid. The expenditure on buildings was £2,163 4s. 4d., making a total of £21,903 13s. 3d. This leaves a credit balance of £3,741 17s. 3d.; but, as the sum of £750 received from the School Commissioners is included in this, the actual credit balance is £2,991 17s. 3d. I have, &c, The Hon. the Minister of Education. J. D. Oemond, Chairman.

General Statement of Eeceipts and Expenditure for the Year ending 31st December, 1892. Receipts. £ s. d. Expenditure. £ s d. To Balance at beginning of year— By Office staff—Salaries .. .. 325 0 0 On Building Account .. .. 1,465 18 11 Departmental contingencies .. 251 5 1 On General Account .. .. 1,497 19 7 Inspector's salary .. .. 500 0 0 Government grant for buildings .. 2,030 0 0 Inspector's travelling expenses .. 150 0 0 Subscriptions and donations for build- Examination of pupil-teachers .. 62 17 9 ings from School Fund .. .. 49 011 Teachers' salaries and allowances (iiiDeposit forfeited .. .. .. 8 0 0 eluding rent, bonus, &c.) .. 16,184 16 4 Government statutory capitation .. 16,576 15 4 Incidental expenses of schools .. 1,861 1 0 Scholarship grant ,\ .. .. 322 14 0 ScholarshipsInspection subsidy .. .. .. 300 0 0 Paid to scholars .. .. 276 3 0 Payments by School Commissioners .. 2,964 16 9 Examination expenses .. .. 60 6 6 District High School fees .. .. 403 19 0 School-buildings— Donations to School Fund towards pay- New buildings .. .. .. 1,224 3 5 ment of teacher's salary .. 20 6 0 Improvements of buildings .'. 552 010 Furniture and appliances .. 275 3 7 Plans, supervision, and fees .. 11l 16 6 Building Fund, contra account .. 49 0 11 Legal expenses .. .. .. 19 18 4 Balance at end of year— On Building Account .. .. 1,340 14 7 On General Account .. .. 2,401 2 8 £25,645 10 6 £25,645 10 6 Geo. T. Fannin, Secretary. Examined and found correct. —James Edward FitzGerald, Controller and Auditor-General.

MABLBOBOUGH. Sir,— Blenheim, 15th March, 1893. In accordance with the provisions of " The Education Act, 1877," I beg to submit the report of the Education Board of the District of Marlborough for the year ending 31st December, 1892. At the commencement of the year the Board consisted of the following persons : Mr. A. P. Seymour (Chairman), the Hon. Colonel Baillie, Messrs. Thomas Carter, J. M. Hutcheson, C. H. Mills, W. B. Parker, E. Paul, H. C. Seymour, and J. Ward. The three members retiring by rotation in March were Messrs. A. P. Seymour, C. H. Mills, and the Hon. Colonel Baillie, who were re-elected without opposition. Meetings.—The Board held thirteen meetings during the year. The average attendance at these meetings was 5-5; and the individual attendance was as follows: Mr. E. Paul, 12; A. P. Seymour, 11; Thomas Carter, 8; J. .M. Hutcheson, 8; W. B. Parker, 8; C. H. Mills, 7; H. Seymour, 7 ; J. Ward, 6 ; and the Hon. Colonel Baillie, 5. The Board records with regret the loss it has sustained by the death of Mr. Joseph Ward, which sad event took place in November. He had been a member continuously from the time of the Board's first constitution, and had rendered most efficient service. Though not strictly coming within the limit of this report, I cannot help alluding to a further loss caused by the death of Mr. Edmund Paul, which occurred very suddenly in January, 1893. He also was a member of the Board continuously from its commencement, and gave long and faithful services, which, together with those of Mr. Ward, the Board desires herein* most heartily to acknowledge and record. The vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Ward was filled by the election of Mr. John Duncan. School Districts.—There are now twenty-five school districts within the Marlborough Education District. A new school district, called Grove, was formed out of a portion of the Queen Charlotte Sound District, another portion of which was declared a separate school district, and called the Cullensville District. The boundaries of these were duly described and notified as required by the Act. Schools. —At the end of the year there were forty-four schools in operation. Four schools have been closed and five opened during the year, all of these being small aided schools. Attendance. —The average weekly roll-number for the district has increased from 2,052 at the end of 1891 to 2,089 at the end of 1892, and the average attendance from 1,660 for the December quarter of 1891 to 1,691 for the corresponding quarter of 1892. For some years past there has been a small but steady annual increase in the number of children in the district, and a corresponding increase in the number of schools, but on account of the scattered condition of the population these have nearly all been small aided schools; and several applications for aid to such schools may be safely expected during the current year. Buildings.—The small balance on hand on Building Account at the beginning of the year, the uncertainty as to the amount likely to be received from the grant for buildings, and the late period of the year when this amount was notified and received, necessarily limited the Board's expenditure under this head to the most urgently needed repairs to existing buildings. A small grant in aid of a building for school purposes, erected in Fabian's Valley, was the only expenditure on new buildings during the year, and several much-needed works were unavoidably and indefinitely postponed. The rapid increase of population at Springlands, however, has compelled the Board to take steps for providing additional accommodation in that district, and a new wing to this school will be one of the first works undertaken. The Blenheim Infant School is also much overcrowded, and, being a very old building, enlarged to its present size by repeated additions, it is impossible to provide sufficient and satisfactory accommodation for this important school by any scheme of further