Q.—s.

34

[,I. THORNTON.

of the true nature of practical religion upon the Maori mind as opposed to the mere form of it; (b) the needs of the Maori church and the methods adopted to supply them; (c) the raising up of a Maori ministry, and the advancement of the organization of the Native church." 19. In the building-up of this school you have been intimately associated with the Archdeacon ?—Yes. 20. And you have been in constant communication with him?— Yes. - 21. Will you kindly say, from your long experience with him, what his influence and connection with the school mean to the school?— His influence and connection with the school mean the school itself, practically. If it had not been for Archdeacon Williams the place would never have existed. If it had not been for the support and encouragement I have received from Archdeacon Williams the place would never have attained the standard it has now. His whole heart and soul are in the progress of the institution, and he has never grudged time, nor attention, nor money in its interests. 22. Of course, we know he lives on the estate within a few hundred yards of the school?— Yes. 23. And you are in constant communication with him regarding matters affecting the conduct of the school ?—Yes. 24. And you and he are practically responsible for the present condition of the school? —Yes. 25. What interest have the trustees past and present taken in the school since your time? — The trustees who were in existence when I first came I think I never saw. The other trustees from time to time, but not often, have visited, the school; but I have never conferred with them officially. 26. Will you tell us how the boys are admitted to the College?—We have a form of application [Exhibit No. 21], It is filled up and returned to me, and then in most cases I confer with the Archdeacon, and the application is refused or accepted according to the circumstances of the case. As a rule, preference is given to the local Natives, whose ancestors were interested in the grant. We are very careful to admit only healthy boys, and the Government, in sending us their scholars, also require evidence as to good health. The result of this has been that the health of the boys of late years has been on the whole excellent. 27. With regard to the admission of European boys to the school, how many European boys have you there now, and what proportion have you had in the past?—On an average I should say we have five or six European boj's. That is the lowest average. We have had up to ten, and as low as five. With regard to their admission, no English bo}- has ever been refused because he is an English boy. If an application is rejected it is on precisely the same grounds that a Maori application would be rejected—that is to say, because of unsuitability as regards health, age, or attainments, or because there is no room. 28. Do you find that the Maoris and Europeans get on well together?— Perfectly well; there is no friction whatever. I have never had an instance of what might be called racial friction. 29. I suppose attention is paid to the health of the students? —Yes, everjr attention is paid to their health. It lies at the foundation of everything. 30. For instance, take the case of teeth: are their teeth, as a rule, good?—ln former years we hardly ever had a case of bad teeth amongst the boys, but of late we have had more teeth troubles. My own opinion is that they are not nearly so common amongst Maori boys as amongst English boys. Most of them have excellent teeth. 31. Do their teeth receive proper attention? —Yes; if anything goes wrong with their teeth they go up to the dentist at once. 32. Is there any periodical examination of their teeth?— No. 33. I forgot to refer to the chapel that has been erected: That was not erected out of trust funds?— No. I may mention in regard to that chapel that the idea occurred to me some years ago that the Archdeacon would not always be with us, and that perhaps after he had gone some one might propose to put a stained-glass window up in the cathedral. I thought I would anticipate that some one and erect a memorial to him of a nature which I knew would please him most during his lifetime. I consulted his friends, who responded most generously, and the result is the College chapel. The building of it was a source of great gratification to the Archdeacon, and he has taken the greatest interest in it throughout. The chapel is used for daily morning prayers, for Sunday services, and for occasional services. One of the senior boys reads the lesson at prayers every morning, and also on Sundays. 34. You have also a valuable telescope which is used for observing the heavens: it is a small matter, but a matter of interest?— Yes. We have also a very valuable telescope presented by Mr. J. H. Pope, the late Inspector of Native Schools. We have used it, but not as much as I could wish. 35. Do any of the students pay fees?—At different times we have students paying fees. I have a Maori boy now whose father pays fees for him regularly. 36. Are there any school fees?— There is a question' in the form of application. 37. I see question No. 9 in the form of application [Exhibit No. 21] refers to their religious profession I —Yes. 38. Has the answer to that question anything to do with their admission to the school?—No, practically not. The majority are Church of England or "missionary," as they call themselves. Sometimes we have Catholics, sometimes Mormons, and sometimes Non-comformists, but the majority are Church of England. 39. What have you to say in regard to the curriculum of the school?— The fact that our standard is the matriculation examination of the New Zealand University defines the curriculum to a very great extent. Everything leads up to that. I may say here, in connection with what was mentioned the other day during the Archdeacon's examination on the subject of Latin, it was reported that the Archdeacon had said that the amount of Latin was "harmless." Well, that might be interpreted in more than one way. What the Archdeacon really meant to say and I have his authority for it—was that the time devoted to Latin was harmless ; that it did not inter-