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some of the subjects included in the programme of work. The tone, discipline, and manners are excellent. St. Stephen's Native Boys' Boarding-school, Parnell, Auckland. —The lower part of the school—Standards I, 11, 111, and IV-—under Miss Lumsden, has passed a very good examination, while the upper part —Standards V and VI —did fairly well. The weakest class is Standard V, the work in English, arithmetic, and spelling being decidedly poor. In Form VI some of the spelling was poor, as was also some of the arithmetic. I understand that the school year was of shorter duration than hitherto, and this may account to some extent for the weakness above mentioned. The order, attention, and discipline appear good. The singing was rather lusty; a little more attention might with advantage be devoted to expression. Physical drill was.done, on the whole, well; some few lads did not put sufficient vigour into their work. The boys are instructed in gymnastics by Professor Potter. A little company drill is done. There is good material here for a cadet corps. Taking everything into consideration, the school is satisfactorily managed by Mr. Wilson. The Inspector-General adds, " Woodwork, on the whole, is being very well taught at the school. It is, however, desirable that as far as possible the boys should work from their own drawings—plans and elevations at least, but not necessarily isometrical projections, being used. I am glad to see that agriculture has been begun, and that there is a school garden. The work therein should be accompanied in an increasing degree by other individual practical work by the pupils, who should further be taught to state in clear English the results of their work and observations. As might, perhaps, be expected in the first year of such work, the pupils made only a very moderate show in their written answers to questions. There is promise of better work in future." Te Makarini Scholarships. The Makarini Scholarships—-two junior and one senior—are provided for from a fund established by Mr. B. D. Douglas McLean, Hawke's Bay, in accordance with the views and wishes of the late Sir Donald McLean, and in remembrance of him. The scholarships are tenable for two years at Te Aute College, and are of the annual value of £35. The examinations were held on the 11th and 12th December, 1905, at the following centres— viz., Auckland, Te Aute, Bakaumanga, Omaio, Whakarewarewa, and Waikouaiti. There were this year twelve entries for the senior scholarship examination, the candidates coming—seven from St. Stephen's Boys' School, four from Te Aute College, and one from Taupiri Public School; for the junior there were two candidates from the North Island and three from the South. Other intending candidates were prevented from sitting for the examination owing to the fact that their teachers had not complied with the regulations contained in the Native Schools Code, which require notice to be given by the candidates of their intention to present themselves for examination. The scholarships were awarded as follows : Senior scholarship—Joseph Clarke, St. Stephen's Boys' School, Auckland, 84-3 per cent.; junior scholarship for Native schools—Teretiu Kururangi, of Te Kaha School, Bay of Plenty, 71 - 3 per cent.; open scholarship, William Kiri, of Banana School, Botorua, 68-4 per cent. Except in the case of the senior competition, where H. H. te Wahia, of Te Aute College, closely followed the successful candidate with 81-1 per cent., there is no doubt as to the superiority of the winner. I would again point out the difficulties with which boys have to contend in regard to what is defined in the regulations as "English." The three South Island candidates, though all of them Maori by birth, did not know the Maori language; and, from the point of view of Maori school education, this is a consummation devoutly to be wished. But it was a severe handicap to them, as their marks showed, when they found that they were called upon to translate Maori, for this meant that the candidates were asked to take a step backwards in their education. I have therefore recommended an alteration in the scholarship regulations, and have submitted with the report a new syllabus of work for the consideration of the trustees. I have to note the following with regard to the work done in the various subjects, partly for the information of the trustees, and partly for that of the teachers interested: Beading appears to have been very satisfactory, but the comprehension was, in my judgment, much below what it should be; writing was good, and dictation, except in one or two cases, was satisfactory. The English I have remarked upon above. Arithmetic was very poor in the case of many of the senior candidates, that of the juniors being much better. New Zealand history, the laws of health, and Biblical knowledge were much below the standard which I should expect the trustees to wish in these subjects; and the geography was not at all up to the mark. I have to state, however, that the standard of examination has advanced in most subjects considerably beyond what appears in the regulations ; and this is, I think, an additional argument why the trustees should consider the question of revising the regulations. Statistics. A statement of expenditure in connection with Native schools will be found in tables 1 and 2 of the Appendix, the former table giving details that are summarised in the latter. The expenditure for 1905 has been less than that of 1904 by £840. Table No. 3 gives the ages of the pupils. There is a decrease in the percentage of ages of those under ten years, showing that the children are not coming to school at so early an age, and an increase in all cases above that. In the case of those above the age there can be no doubt that the establishment of workshops in several centres has had the effect of keeping the boys at school longer, while the girls are in some places not so keen upon leaving home. Table No. 4 shows that the working average for 1905 was 3,428-13, as against 3,083-75 in 1904; while the regularity of attendance (percentage of weekly roll) is 83-67, as against 81-24 last year.

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