45

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value, Is. Bd. per pound if in commercial quantities." This report is much better than I had expected, and it clearly demonstrates that Niue can produce this class of cotton equal to anything produced in other parts of the world. lam now putting the matter before the traders and Natives with the view of starting the project ofi on a proper commercial basis. There should not be any further difficulty in the matter, but unfortunately we have lost a season, and a period of five or six months must elapse before the people can begin planting. In the meantime lam endeavouring to obtain a further supply of seed. I hope that in my next report I may be able to state that the cotton-growing industry has been started in Niue on a satisfactory basis. Proposed Public Works. During the year 1912-13 it is proposed to complete the formation of all the public roads that were dedicated to the Crown in 1906, and render them suitable for vehicular traffic ; also, as far as possible, widen and regrade some of those roads that were only roughly made in the first two or three years after the establishment of the Government. The proposed works are as follows : — Hakupu to Liku Road (distance six miles). —Three miles of this road is very rocky, and considerable blasting will be necessary. The remaining three miles are in fair order and will require but little attention. Tuapa to Hikutavake Road (distance two miles). —This is but a very rough bridle-track at present, and forms the only means of access to the village of Hikutavake from the south side. Avatele to Fatiau Road (distance one mile). —Only a rough bridle-track exists at present, and forms the only means of access to the village of Fatiau. Alofi to Haliufu Road (distance seven miles). —This road has been open for vehicular traffic for some years, but for several miles it is so narrow that it does not admit of two vehicles passing one another. There are also several bad places that require regrading. Alofi to Liku Road (distance nine miles and a quarter). —This road was made about the same time as the Alofi-Hakupu Road, and is in much the same condition. The work on these two last-named roads will not be of a heavy character. The Niue Island Council has passed a vote of £500 for work on the above-named roads, and an effort will be made to complete them all this year, if funds permit. Roadside Tanks. —The success of the first eight roadside tanks has brought forth a strong demand for many more, and the Council has authorized a further expenditure of £100 for the purchase and erection of more tanks. The work will be gone on with as soon as the necessary tanks and material can be imported. Quarantine Station. —A sum of £100 has been voted for the establishment of a permanent quarantine station, and the erection of necessary buildings. Education. The Tufu School was reopened on the 18th August last in charge of the newly appointed headmaster, Mr. W. C. Smith, late of Grovetown State School; Marlborough, New Zealand. Some fifty boys were enrolled, most of the old pupils returning. On the 31st March last there were fifty-two boy pupils on the roll, of whom forty-seven were in residence at the school, while the remaining five, being children of Europeans, attend as day scholars. The subjects of instruction are the following, as in the New Zealand syllabus : English (reading, writing, spelling, recitation, and composition), arithmetic, geography, drawing, history, singing, moral instruction and health, physical drill (including breathing-exercises). All the subjects are correlated with the teaching of English. The pupils show a great improvement in expressing thought in English, and in pronunciation, and altogether they have made very satisfactory progress during the eight months that have elapsed since the school was reopened. The ages of the fifty-two pupils range from seven to twenty years, twenty-five of the number being over fifteen years of age. At the end of the year the classification of the pupils, according to the New Zealand Standards was : Standard V, 1 pupil; Standard 111, 14 pupils ; Standard 11, 12 pupils ; Standard I, 19 pupils ; primary class, 6 pupils : total, 52. Very many more pupils could easily be obtained, but it is found that fifty-two boys is as many as Mr. and Mrs. Smith can manage, owing to the number of classes that require different instruction. Interest in the school has been well maintained, and the boys are working under their new teachers with an enthusiasm that would gladden the hearts of many New Zealand schoolmasters. The technical workshop was almost completed at the end of the financial year. The building, which measures 36 ft. by 14 ft., is designed to accommodate six double carpenters' benches, turninglathe, &c. The benches are now being made by the pupils under the supervision of the headmaster, and shortly the workshop will be fully equipped. Already many of the boys are showing great promise in woodwork, and this branch of the school bids fair to become very popular with the pupils and profitable to the island. Owing to the extremely dry weather experienced during the latter part of 1911, and the consequent failure of the taro crop, the parents have during the past two months found considerable difficulty in providing adequate food for their boys at school. The situation has been met by allowing the boys to go to their homes each Friday to assist their parents in obtaining the food necessary for the ensuing week, the boys returning with their food each Monday morning in time for school. This arrangement has interfered to some extent with the school-work, but the position was rather a delicate one, and had to be met in the manner most satisfactory to the parents. That the attendance has been kept