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and of boxes of letters (over sixty in number) by each child for learning to build words, also afford excellent occupation. We have recommended many teachers in infant departments of small schools to seek an opportunity, with the permission of the school authorities, of visiting a city school when at work. This is more necessary in cases where the teacher has not previously taught in an infant school. In the city infant schools proper, as distinguished from infant departments, we should like to see some improvement in the First Standard class reading and spelling, for it is noticeable that those lately promoted are not quite up to the average standard of children in the best schools. In Longmans' " Ship " series there is now published an introductory Beader to Standard 1., which we recommend as a fourth book to be used before Standard I. Beader. Of late years many teachers show much taste in the wall-furnishing of the class-rooms, which is now a great feature in modern schools. Sometimes, instead of mounted pictures and tasteful illustrations, a huge quantity of small pictures—the details of which cannot be made out — tradesmen's advertisements, and other odds and ends are tacked on the walls. It is now well understood that the few maps required should be labelled and placed on racks and not hung on the walls to fade, and that the pictures, nicely mounted, should illustrate history, nature, or some incident pointing a moral or affording a good subject for composition. Nothing is sweeter in a room than fresh flowers supplied all the year round, but not profusely—say, a few on each teacher's table or mantelpiece. The mounting on walls of exercises in writing and drawing might be retained with advantage. We beg to call the attention of the Board to our last report, and also to our report on the late pupil-teacher examination, as touching upon the question of supply of teachers. We still think undue stress is put upon our young teachers assisting in large schools, and that the appointment of supernumerary pupil-teachers in these schools would afford much-needed relief from over-pres-sure, be a means of improving the education of the teachers themselves, and overcome the difficulty now existing of finding temporary relieving teachers. On a full supply, the best selection, and the facilities afforded for the self-improvement and instruction of pupil-teachers the whole good work of the elementary classes in the schools depends ; and it is in these matters that our system is much behind the order of things recently inaugurated in the Mother-country. * 'We have, &c, Bobeet Lee, ) t , The Chairman, Wellington Education Board. T. E. Fleming, f lnspectorS -

Summary of Results for the Whole District.

HA WEE'S BAY. Sic,— Inspector's Office, Napier, 10th February, 1899. I have the honour to submit a summary report on the work of the schools for the year ended the 31st December, 1898. At the beginning of the year sixty-seven schools were in operation, and at the close seventy were working under Board management. The three additional schools are situated—one at Whetukura, a bush settlement seven miles or so eastward from Ormondville; one at Elsthorpe, a Government settlement a few miles coastwards from Patangata; and one at Tokomaru Bay, seventy miles to the north of Gisborne. As yet the new schools are of small size, but they supply wants of settlers in outlying districts, where-, remote from towns, they carry on their arduous labours of bushfelling and the breaking-in of rough fern lands. The recent publication by the Board of amended school boundaries and the establishment of a number of new school districts is, it appears to me, a wise course to adopt. I have long held the view that the granting of a certain amount of educational authority to the people of every district where a school is established tends to foster self-reliance and emulation among the people, and though at times the " village Hampdens " air their educational views apparently to the detriment of the end they usually have in view, I do not think that, on the whole, the results have either been prejudicial to teachers or to education.

Standard Glasses. Presented. Examined in Standards. Passed. Average Age of those that passed. Yrs. mos. Jlass above Standard VI. Itandard VI. V. IV. „ III. II. I. 'reparatory 420 961 1,366 1,828 2,005 1,871 1,704 4,529 943 1,327 1,772 1,964 1,833 1,694 819 1,072 1,539 1,688 1,731 1,651 13 11 12 10 11 11 10 9 9 8 8 9 Totals ... 14,684 9,533 8,500 11 3* * Mean of average age.