E.—4

2

followed by the loss of speech. Hence it is important, and doubly so with young children, that in all cases of loss of hearing as little time as possible should elapse before proper instruction in lip-reading is given. When the boy in question was placed under our care his speech was rapidly becoming unintelligible, and his mental faculties were becoming dormant. Probably in another year's time he would have become a mute. There is no doubt that these five wasted years have greatly added to the disabilities under which this unfortunate boy labours. The other case was that of a little girl of eight, who, in addition to her deafness, has the double burden of being almost blind. Her education will necessarily proceed at a much slower rate than that of the other children; but, by making use of her sense of touch and of the little eyesight she possesses, it has been found possible to instruct her by articulation methods, and she can now make use of a few words. It was gratifying to find that the parents of some of the new-comers had made good use •of the instructions given to them for the home treatment of their children prior to admittance. Fourteen of the seventy-six pupils came from the Auckland Provincial District, three from Taranaki, one from Hawke's Bay, eighteen from Wellington, two from Marlborough, eighteen from Canterbury, two from Westland, and eighteen from Otago. From the significant fact that for some years such thickly populated centres as Oamaru, Nelson, Napier, and others have sent no pupils to the school, one is led to fear that there may be neglected deaf-mutes in these districts. The pupils, past and present, of the school serve to a great extent to give publicity to the school, and it is remarkable how often they have been the direct or indirect means of bringing us in touch with new cases. This particular form of advertisement is lacking in the districts referred to, but meanwhile every effort is being made to insure that the compulsory clauses of the Education Act with regard to deaf-mutes are enforced. The information contained in the census returns, and in the reports of the police and of the truant officers, are proving of great value in this respect. Nevertheless, the number of deaf-mutes attending school here is considerably lower in proportion to the population than it is in many other countries. For example, Denmark, with a population of less than two and a half millions, has 334 deaf children attending school. At the end of the year four boys and eight girls were removed from the school. Three of the boys, having made excellent progress in lip-reading and in general knowledge while here, are now having their education completed at public schools. It is not expected that they will be able to compete there on equal terms with ordinary boys, but that by co-education with the hearing they will be better equipped for their life struggle in a hearing world. One of the chief drawbacks of a large institution is the tendency of its inmates to adopt those peculiar habits of thought and of language that are technically known as deaf-mutisms, and which only constant intercourse and association with hearing persons will entirely remove. It is for the avoidance of these habits that the system of boarding out is advocated. The fourth boy has obtained suitable employment, and is now learning a trade. One of the eight girls referred to was removed on account of her delicate health. She is now being educated with satisfactory results by a governess at her own home. Three of the others were of advanced age, and are among those pupils often referred to in previous reports, who, for various reasons, were not - sent here till much later in life than should be the case. All three, however, had made very good progress during the few years they were here. The other four girls had been the usual time at school, and the progress they had made was satisfactory. Besides the ordinary school course, the seven girls last mentioned had received a practical training in needlework, cooking, laundry-work, and general housework. The boys who left had been taught to milk, and to use carpenter's tools and garden-tools. Though not quite so good as last year, the general health of the pupils has been excellent. We were fortunate in escaping the more serious epidemics prevalent last year, but the work of a few of the pupils was interrupted owing to attacks of whooping-cough and of chicken-pox. To cope with the large influx of new pupils, and to take the place of the teachers who left the staff during the preceding year, two new teachers were put into training. Owing to a still further increase in numbers being expected, two additional teachers were advertised for at the end of the year. The work of the school will for some time continue to suffer from the too. great preponderance of untrained teachers on the staff. Under the circumstances this has been unavoidable; but as time goes on this defect should disappear. Meanwhile only by unwearying patience and by unflagging zeal on the part of the teachers can the high standard of work set up in the past be maintained. The contract for the laying-out of the grounds of the school was completed in the spring of the year. The work has been designed and carried out with great taste, abundant use being made of the natural features of the grounds. The beneficial effects of a beautiful environment are already noticeable, and the facilities which will in future be available for nature-study cannot fail to have marked results in developing habits of observation among the pupils and in forming their characters. The annual picnic and sports of the school were held at Diamond Harbour. Our thanks are due to the members of the Lyttelton Harbour Board for their kindness in placing at our disposal the steam-tug " Canterbury " to convey the children there, and also to Mrs. Stoddart, who kindly lent her grounds for the occasion. As there is every reason to expect that the number of the pupils will continue to increase, and as the present buildings are already becoming overcrowded, the necessity of making provision for future needs is urgent. It has frequently been pointed out that the education of the deaf "cannot be carried out with the fullest degree of success in very large institutions. The deaf should not be herded together. On the contrary, they should be separated as much as possible from persons similarly afflicted, and should be brought into association with hearing persons on every opportunity. The present number of pupils is, in my opinion, the largest that should be tolerated in any one institution. The experiment of receiving pupils at an early age has quite