B.—l

The balances in the Post-Office Savings-Bank at the end of the year amounted to £9,631 3s. 5d., on account of wages of inmates belonging to Government schools, and £518 ]os. Id. on account of inmates in private schools. The amount withdrawn for inmates of Government schools during the year was £1,007 18s. 9d. The cost of the Government schools and the amount recovered (from Charitable Aid Boards, from parents, from sale of farm produce, &c.) are shown in Table W.

TABLE W.—Cost of Government Schools, 1896.

The corresponding table, X, does not include the sums paid by Charitable Aid Boards directly to the managers of the private schools.

TABLE X.—Government Expenditure on Private Schools, 1896.

School fob Deaf-mutes. The number of pupils at the end of 1896 was 48 —26 boys and 22 girls. The expenditure for the year was as follows: Professional staff and occasional tuition, £1,055 ss. 10d.; steward, matron, and servants, ,£476 9s. 6d.; housekeeping, £715 Bs. lid.; rent, £470; school and workshop material, £14 155.; medical attendance and medicines, £26 2s. 2d. ; drainage, and removal of refuse, £39 14s. Bd. ; repairs and other work on buildings and. premises, £69 Bs. 10d.; travelling, £73 13s. 4d.; sundries, £52 18s. 6d. The total expenditure was £2,993 16s. 9d., and the recoveries—fees for maintenance, &c.—£2Bl 6s. 6d. Institute for the Blind. The Education Department was responsible for the maintenance of 19 pupils during 1896, and paid £462 ss. 6d. to the Trustees of the Institute on this account. The Department also paid £25 for the annual railway-ticket of the travelling agent of the Institute. Eecoveries from parents amounted to £68 7s. Manual Training and Technical Instruction. Last year a report by Mr. J. Struthers, one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools in Scotland, on " Sloyd and Kindergarten Occupations in the Elementary School," was reprinted by the Department and distributed to Education Boards, School Committees, and teachers, and subsequently laid on the tables of both Houses of the General Assembly.* The writer, using the term "sloyd" to mean " educational manual training," points out that it may be applied not only to that system of working in wood which is distinctively known as sloyd, but to any system of exercises in any material (wood, iron, cardboard, or clay), provided that such system can be clearly shown to be educational in its objects and methods. With regard to kindergarten occupations, he says that they are, if

* E.-lc, Appendix to Journals of House of Representatives, 1896.

XIV

School Gross Cost of School. Cost of boarding out. (Included in preceding Column.) Recoveries. Net Cost. Luokland .. . • Jurnham Javersham £ S. d. 1,144 4 7 6,864 12 6 6,327 5 5 £ s. d. 512 8 0 2,535 19 10 3,155 16 9 £ s. d. 263 17 6 2,316 15 5 4,534 2 3 £ s. d. 880 7 1 4,547 17 1 1,793 3 2 Totals 14,336 2 6 6,204 4 7 7,114 15 2 7,221 7 4 lalary and expenses of Visiting Office: Jontingenoies 391 1 0 12 17 9 Tot ;al 7,625 6 I

School. Payments. Eecoveries. Net Expenditure by Government. St. Mary's, Ponsonby (Auckland) St. Joseph's, Wellington St. Mary's, Nelson Totals £ 8. d. 554 13 0 402 11 9 2,189 2 9 3,146 7 6 £ a. d. 41 10 0 39 1 7 357 8 11 513 3 0 363 10 2 1,831 13 10 438 0 6 2,708 7 . 0