E.—2.

6

Group VIII. — East Coast, Gisborne. The East Coast schools are: Wharekahika, Te Ararou, Rangitukia, Tikitiki, Waiomatatini, Tuparoa, Hiruharania, Whareponya, Tokomaru Bay, Whangara, Nuhaka, and Tuhara. The last-named school was opened in a temporary building in October, and preparations for erection of school-buildings were made at the end of the year. In two of the smaller schools exception could be taken to the appearance of the children; but in all the others the cleanliness of both the buildings and the children themselves left nothing to be desired. The attendance has been throughout the year very good indeed. Tuparoa School has increased in numbers so that additional accommodation is necessary. In nearly all these schools the people take a great interest in the work, and in some cases the children attend from long distances with commendable regularity. Two of the schools were somewhat below the standard of efficiency that ought to be reached; in the others the work done at the examination was very good indued. So far as 1 have been able to ascertain, the parents of the European children attending these schools during the year were satisfied with the progress their children made and with the general conduct of the schools. Additional accommodation has been provided at Nuhaka School, which continues to be a successful school. The fact that many of the Maori children attending it are engage-d in milking cows to supply milk to the local factory supports the opinion of the Inspector, who reports that the children are clean. The interest and enthusiasm shown by parents and children in Whangara School still continues, and excellent results were again obtained. During the year the master of this school suffered a severe blow through the loss of his wife, a valued servant of the Department, whose death I deeply regret to have to record. Group IX. — Hawke's Bay, Taupo, Wanganui, Taranaki, and Wairarapa. The following schools are included in this group: Tangoio, Te allaroto, Oruanui, Waitaluinui, Tokaanu, Karioi, Pipiriki, Pamoana, Puniho, Kaiwhata, and Turanganui. The new schools, Oruanui and Waitahanui, have been a decided success, and the number of children attending each has rendered enlargement necessary. The inspection of evening classes at the former school formed a very interesting feature of my visit. They were attended not only by the adults of all ages, but also by the children, who apparently would rather go to school than do anything else. Indeed, the committee earnestly requested me to pass a law making the children stay at home during night-school hours. A workshop has been erected here by the people and the teacher, and classes in domestic instruction for girls have been very successfully inaugurated. Kaiwhata (Homewood) School, a small school on the East Coast, Wellington, has made a fairly good beginning during the year. The settlement is, however, not a populous one. In two of these schools — Pipiriki and Puniho —the number of European children is becoming proportionately larger than that of the Maori children, and it seems, therefore, not unlikely that, in accordance with the ride of the Department, these schools will not be retained as Native schools much longer. Turanganui, a small aided school in South Wairarapa, will be closed shortly owing to there being no more children available. Group X. — South Island Schools. The Native schools in the South Island are: Waikawa, Wairau, Mangamaunu, Kaiapoi, Little "River, Aroirhenua, Waikouaiti, The Neck, and Ruapuke. I have in previous reports referred to the marked difference in the nature of the South Island schools as compared with those of the North Island. These schools are hardly Native schools from the Department's point of view, inasmuch as the children, though of Maori or mixed race, are European in thought and habits. In the case of one or two the only reason for their separate existence appears to be the objection of European parents to the presence of Maori children in the Board schools. Ruapuke and The Neck Schools are examined in February, after which time the schools are closed for the mutton-bird season. In the majority of these schools the results obtained during the examination were not up to the standard hitherto attained, and as regards three of them one can only remark that they were unsatisfactory. In one or two the want of systematic instruction in reading and in the first principles of arithmetic is still abundantly evident. Handwork is done in several of these schools, Kaiapoi and Waikouaiti exhibiting some very creditable specimens of various branches of this subject. The attendance has also fallen below the standard, and it seems to me that the Department should consider whether some, at any rate, of these schools should not be transferred to the Board of Education of their districts. Mission Schools. The following mission schools were, at the request of their controlling authorities, inspected and examined during the year : Maori Mission School, Otaki; The Mission School, Putiki, Wanganui; Matnta Convent School, Bay of Plenty; Waerenga-a-hika Mission School, near Gisborne; Tokaanu Roman Catholic Mission School, Tokaanu; and Te Hauke Mission School, Hawke's Bay. The reports on the schools show that the children attending them are clean and tidy in appearance, and with the exception of one school they are also clean in habits.