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78. Does the 6s. 3d. make reasonable provision for the wants of the Committee? —I think it is sufficient to find what we require them to do, with reasonable economy. 79. What is the state of your fund for the reinstatement of schools? —We have £13,000 on fixed deposit for the purpose. 80. Do you ever draw upon that fund for carrying on the ordinary maintenance-work?—We draw upon it for the ordinary- maintenance of buildings and the reinstatement of buildings. 81. If you are always trenching upon that fund, will It not disappear in course of time? Are you making provision for the time when you will have to reinstate a lot of your wooden buildings ? —Yes, we have the £13,000 on fixed deposit for that purpose. We recognize that the maintenance and reinstatement fund is one fund for two separate purposes. We have also been able to find out roughly what was given for maintenance and what was given for reinstatement. 1 think that about half the fund is for maintenance and the rest for reinstatement. That is the way it works out with us. 82. Is money paid for primary education ever spent on technical education? —Yes, indirectly. We are paying out of the primary fund for some prizes for school-gardens, which really come under the technical. 1 cannot remember any other instance. 83. Why do the Auckland Education Board want to put manual and technical instruction under an associated Board of Governors? —Because the members of the Board feel that they cannot attend to the matter as it ought to bo attended to. The Board meets fortnightly, and has a large amount of business to deal with. In connection with manual training and technical education there is a special order paper submitted by the Director. It is also felt by the Board that if the local bodies had representation on an associated Board they would take considerably more interest in the matter than they do at present, and would probably subscribe to the funds for technical education. I believe that any moneys they subscribe would be subsidized by the Department, so that there would be more funds available for technical education 84. l T ou think it would be advisable to place all forms of education under the control of the Education Board? —I do not think so. 85. You think that separate controlling bodies make for greater efficiency?—l think so. Of course, it depends upon the amount of interest the controlling bodies take in their work. It would be too large an undertaking for the Auckland Education Board to carry on the administration of all forms of education in the district. 86. Speaking generally, have you had any great objection to the giving of instruction in woodwork in the Auckland District?— Frequently there is objection. When a new technical centre is being established at which the children can attend, many of the parents and some of the teachers object, but the objections soon die away, and after a few weeks they are rather pleased with what has been done in the matter. 87. Mr. Poland.] Do you not think it is advisable in a mining township, where a school-site chosen by the Department or an Inspector might be one that in a short time would require to be resumed for mining purposes, that the opinion of a Warden should be obtained, seeing that miningsites can be resumed without compensation ?—lt would be w-ise to obtain the opinion of a Warden, but in my experience I would not like to follow it, 88. Mr. Davidson.} You think that the chief cause of the scarcity of teachers is the defective scale of staffing in schools of Grade 4. with average attendances of between thirty-six and eighty? — If that condition of affairs did not exist we would be very much better off in the matter of teachers. So many assistants are absorbed in the schools of between thirty-six and eighty that there is no supply of female assistants left. 89. And would not that cause affect the schools throughout the Dominion? —Undoubtedly. 90. What means would you suggest to remove that defect in the scale of staffing?—l would recommend that a pupil-teacher be placed in a school of from thirty-six to fifty. 91. I suppose you are aware that the pupil-teacher system has been condemned in most countries that are considered progressive in regard to education? —I am perfectly aware of that, and at the risk of being considered retrogressive I say T am convinced that that solution of the problem is a good one. 92. You say that this district is difficult to administer. What change would you suggest in order to overcome that difficulty?— When the Stratford—Ongarue Railway is completed I think that the Taranaki Board should aaminister the schools in the Ohura Valley, w-hich are most difficult to get at. I would suggest a readjustment of the boundary between the two districts. 93. You said it was not possible to build shelter-shed schools for £80. Did the Board suggest what amount was necessary?—l think the Department granted us the full amount that we thought would be necessary, but when we came to proceed with the work Aye found we could not get it done at anything like the amount. If it could have been done in January it might have been done within the estimate, but the bad weather came in early in the King-country, and made it almost impossible to do any work of the kind. As a matter of fact, I think the roads in the King-country have been broken up for eighteen months. They did not dry properly last year at all. 94. You spoke of the difficulty 7 of getting the quarterly return made up. Do you think that if the Inspectors, in the course of their round, explain to the teachers how very simple this return is when really understood we would have many mistakes?—l do not think it would make any practicable difference. If the Inspectors spent their time in explaining regulations they would have none left to devote to the real work of the school. 95. Is not too much made of the difficulty in connection with this new form of return?— The difficulty exists. 96." Do you not think that five minutes' explanation by an Inspector to an inexperienced teacher would make the matter quite clear? —I do not think it would be of the slightest value, There are so many things in connection with regulations to explain to the teacher,