E.—2.

Tuhoe or Uretuera District. Te Houhi (examined Bth July, 1902). —The children seem anxious to do well, and the school tone has improved; there is, however, still some copying. Teachers should never be satisfied till this detestable practice is got rid of. There was a notable change in the appearance of the children ; all were clean and most of them were well dressed. Drill here is very poor. With all its shortcomings, many of them depending on the remoteness of the settlement, this school has been an important civilising agency. I note great improvement in several respects ;if copying could be done away with and English could be improved the school would be far from bad. Te Whaiti (examined 7th July, 1902). —The children here are not unruly; but they simply have no conception of the necessity for silence in school. This was about the only fault observed. The school tone is admirable. Improvement in the matter of cleanliness has taken place, although there is room for more. The children here are young and somewhat difficult to teach ; but they have been made something of by their present and former teachers. Unless one is very much mistaken, these out-of-the-way schools form a fine training-ground for new teachers that have teaching capacity and little experience. Te Teko (examined 11th July, 1902). —A korero with the Committee showed that the Maoris are delighted with the work of their new teacher, and that they themselves are prepared to work hard in order to keep him with them. The recent disorganization of the school being taken account of, its condition must be considered exceedingly good. First-class preparation has been made for next year's work, and very fine results have been achieved. Also, much altogether new ground has been admirably opened. The school drill is admirable. Buatoki (examined 14th July, 1902). —The Tuhoe Maoris are taking great interest in the education of their children, and are very proud of having the largest Native school. The order is good ; while the pupils are full of life and spirit, they are not uproarious or turbulent. The examination work has proved almost as satisfactory as that done at inspection ; but of course it has not been quite possible to dispose of all the consequences of the disorganization that had previously prevailed, through causes not likely to recur. The school is evidently very prosperous now, and its general outlook is highly satisfactory. The singing here is particularly good, as is also the tonic sol-fa work. One would gladly have heard more of it. Both of the head-teachers are very competent. Waimana (examined 15th July, 1902). —The whole establishment is in a creditable condition. The drawing here is taking a distinctly technical form, and it is good. The drill also gave considerable satisfaction. Here is to be seen in practice the rule that nothing is good enough in teaching except the best. It would be wrong to say that the best is always secured, but at least it is constantly striven for. One lesson was striking : A short drama was acted by two boys ; this was repeated by others ; finally the two parts were taken by divisions : thus English, elocution, meanings of words and phrases were taught at one time. Also, the subject of the lesson was " brisk bodily exercise." This was exemplified practically : hence health-work was included in the lesson. The mistress's fourfold English lesson was also almost perfect. Considering that the school is only three years old, it may be said to be perfectly satisfactory. Western Bay of Plenty. Kotukutuku (examined 25th July, 1902). —This lonely school is quite presentable so far as externals are concerned. The master had the children well in hand, although the silence during work was not perfect. The elder Maoris are somewhat remiss in attending to and cherishing their school, but the children are on excellent terms with their teacher. The work in the extra subjects was rather poor. Mr. Leech is a thoughtful and industrious teacher ; he goes his own way in many respects, but he had done capital work since the Inspector's previous visit. I am sorry to have to record the death of Mrs. Leech, who also had done much good work for the Department and for the Maoris—as much, indeed, as her very delicate health allowed her to do. Paeroa, near Tauranga (examined 24th July, 1902). —The order here is very good indeed ; there is no " trifling." This school is now greatly increased both in size and in importance, and the teachers and their parents are showing their zeal by living in a Maori house in the very heart of the settlement. A change almost always causes serious temporary disturbance in a school; the present case is no exception. The new teacher is, however, doing excellent work, and has made considerable advance along the Maori school path on which she has recently entered. It takes even an experienced teacher some time to learn thoroughly all the devices by which young Maoris are helped to overcome the great language difficulty which meets them at the beginning of their course. Papamoa (examined 23rd July, 1902). —The teacher's work had improved very considerably ; in some respects it was quite strong and good in the higher classes. In the lower work there was still much room for improvement. Unfortunately, it is just in this work that strenuous toil is indispensable. P should not be sounded when bis printed ; " tok " should not take the place of " dog." In reading, every phrase should be properly pronounced ; the meaning of every word should be mastered. These are hard terms, but they are the conditions of success. The motto must be " The very best." Could it not be truly objected that this kind of task would take much time? It could, but it would be time well spent. Evidence was not wanting, however, to show that the teacher has the ability to do high-class work. Te Matai (examined 22nd July, 1902). —The attendance at this school is exceedingly irregular. It is the flax industry that causes the inconvenience. It may be hoped that this difficulty will soon be overcome now that the regulations required by the School Attendance Act have been sanctioned by the Minister. It is, of course, right that parents should receive reasonable assistance from their children; but it is right also that children should be protected from the effects of the greed or the carelessness of their parents. There is reason to hope that the new regulations will be found to give the required protection. The results of the examination were as good as could be expected in the circumstances. Pupils at Te Matai have made good progress in English.

2—E. 2.

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