66

C—3

Mr. A. H. V. Morgan, M.A., Director of the Waihi School of Mines, to the Under-Secretaey, Mines Department, Wellington. Sir,— Waihi. I have the honour to report as follows on the work of the Waihi School of Mines during 1906 : — Attendance. The attendance during the year was highly satisfactory, the average number of individual students being sixty-five, and the class attendance 171, as compared with an average of fifty-six students, with a class attendance of 113 during the preceding year. The following table shows the attendance for each term in the various classes :—

Table of Attendances for the Year 1906.

Examinations. At the annual examinations held in December twenty-five candidates presented themselves, sending in altogether seventy-two papers. The results are by far the best yet obtained, thirty-three first-class, twenty-two second-class, and eight third-class certificates having been secured. Mr. J. Livesey's gold medal for the highest marks in mining subjects was won by E. J. Morgan, with E. V. Turnbull eight marks behind. Mr. Eobert Morgan's gold medal for the highest marks in any four subjects was won by C. Milne, with an average of 85 per cent. Mr. M. F. Haszard's gold medal for surveying was won by O. Bell, with 78 per cent. Upon the recommendation of the conference of Directors of the northern schools of mines, the Mines Department last year instituted practical examinations in wet and dry assaying, bullion assaying, and chemistry. The Customs Department also have agreed to grant bullion assayers' certificates to students who have been examined at this school and are certified by the Director to be competent assayers. Under this agreement two students —I>. J. Shaw and J. Spearing —are entitled to the Customs certificate on the results of the last examinations. At the examination for Government certificates last year students from the Waihi School of Mines were very successful. Three students sat for first-class mine-managers' certificates, and two —P. G. A. Mackie and R. R. Lewis —passed. For battery-superintendents' certificates seven students weie examined, and all were successful, their names being R. J. Morgan, W. E. Williams, E. Johnson, H-. Aitken, A. J. Walker, D. Anderson, and T. Clarke. Since Waihi became a centre for examination —nine years ago —twenty-three students have passed as first-class metal-mine managers, two as coal-mine managers, and thirty-seven as battery-superin-tendents. In addition to these a number have gained second-class mine-managers and engine-drivers' certificates, bullion assayers' certificates, &c. Laboratory. During the year seventy-eight assays and analyses were made for the public, a considerable proportion of which were for prospectors, and free of charge. Among them were the following :— (1.) A sample of silver-ore from Suva, containing 115 oz. of silver per ton. (2.) A sample from the Ruahine Mountains, near Woodville, supposed to contain platinum. No trace of platinum, however, was detected. (3.) Three samples of coal used for steam-raising by a local company : (a) consisted of slack, (b) of nuts, and (c) of steam-coal. They agreed very closely in composition, as the following analyses show;—• ' ■ ■■'■■■

Name of Subject. First Term. Seoond Term. as I *-* Pure mathematics Practical mathematics Junior theoretical chemistry ... Senior theoretical chemistry ... Junior practical chemistry Senior practical chemistry Dry assaying Metallurgy ... Junior mining Senior mining Junior surveying Senior surveying Practical surveying ... Drawing Electrical engineering : J .8 14 21 23 12 5 36 18 11 10 L5 L8 8 20 18 10 4 11 6 15 11 7 7 9 8 13 18 15 31 18 12 4 14 8 18 12 7 7 9 8 15 18 16 8 8 II 9 17 111 14 16 19 Class attendance 164 176 172 171 Individual students ... 64 70 60 65