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advice of its Inspectors, has decided that when a pupil has put in three years at a full engineering course and passed the annual examinations he shall be entitled to a third-class marine engineer's certificate at the end of four years' training in a recognized workshop. The Public Service Commissioner has also notified that he is prepared to receive applications from pupils who have passed the second-year examination in the first class for any special appointment in the Public Service that have a bearing on the course of the work done at the College. Visits have been made by the boys to Messrs. J. J. Niven and Co., the Power-house, Woollenmills, Railway Workshops, ami the Acetone Company. Two exhibitions of school-work have been held, one at Hastings and the annual exhibition at Napier, and visitors have assured me that improved work is noticeable every year. The usual sports have been carried on — i.e., cricket, football, net-ball, hockey, tennis, swimming, and drill. In the life-saving competition held at the beginning of the year the College gained second place, being half a point behind the winning team. A gold medal for life-saving was gained by a girl pupil. At an examination for life-saving by the Life-saving Society proficiency certificates and bronze medallions were gained by seven pupils and the award of merit by one pupil. Long-distance certificates for swimming were obtained by twenty-three boys for distances varying from 100 yards to 3J miles, and by twenty girls for distances between 133J yards and 3J miles. Three pupils passed the Public Entrance Examination at the end of 1915, and two pupils at the end of 1916. At the examinations held by Pitman's examination department forty-four pupils obtained certificates. The Cadet Company at the annual musketry tests occupied the proud position of being the only company in Group 7 in which every boy passed the test for shooting, and out of thirty-three boys competing thirteen obtained marksmen's badges. Alterations in the plumbing-shop in the shape of a brick partition wall made a most complete smithy in direct communication with the engineering-shop, and quite cut off from the plumbing department. The work carried on by the evening classes has been similar to that of the previous year, and has met with considerable success, and the results, particularly to those pupils who attended a full course regularly, can scarcely be overestimated. As in the past, courses of work have been carried on as under : A continuation course of two evenings per week for pupils who have not passed Standard VI, and trade courses for first-, second-, third-, and fourth-year pupils. Classes have also been arranged for teachers in science and art, and primary-school classes in cookery, dressmaking, and woodwork. The general attendance has improved a little over that of previous years, but it is still far from satisfactory, and until pupils, parents, and employers alike realize that regular attendance and systematic work are the only ways to achieve success the pupils' work will continue to be of little value, and certainly not worth the time that is spent on' it. The compulsory-attendance regulations have proved to be of very great benefit to a large number of pupils who otherwise would be unable to attend; but I much regret that a large number of pupils, and even parents, seem to regard them as onerous and endeavour to evade the law in every way possible, failing to realize that the instruction is for the pupils' own good, and is provided absolutely free. A writer in Education, an English paper, points out in the course of a carefully reasoned article that from an inquiry into the careers of some ten thousand men who have been successful in various spheres of work it is found that a boy with primary education alone had one chance of success in nine thousand, the secondary-school boy one in four hundred, and the college-trained boy one in forty. The total number of pupils attending evening classes was 331, an increase of twenty-eight over last year. Of this number, 139 were attending under the compulsory regulations. The highest weekly average attendance for any one month was 486, and the lowest 405; and as at least three hundred pupils would be attending twice a week, it shows that on the average nearly a hundred attendances were missed every week of the year. This irregularity has a bad effect on those who attend regularly, their progress being delayed by absentees being more backward than they. Twenty-eight classes were carried on during the year. W. Fossey, Director. Extract from the Report of the Waipawa Technical School Board. A cabinetmaking class, with an average roll of fifteen students, was held. This class was well conducted, and excellent work was done. The enthusiasm was maintained through three sessions. In fact, so keen were the majority of the students that the first session for 1917 is now well advanced. An exhibition of the work done by members of this class was held, and the public showed a keen appreciation of the finished work of the students. The attendance at the class for invalid cookery was only moderate, but despite this fact very good work was accomplished. The students were all young hospital nurses. A class in Pitman's shorthand was held throughout the year. The teacher was capable and held the little class together well. In regard to evening classes, it is still a very open question whether some measure of compulsion should not be adopted to compel young people of both sexes to take advantage of the splendid facilities offering to the end that they might become better equipped to maintain the struggle, for existence which is daily becoming more acute. We are of opinion that the increasing desire for leisure and pleasure are more potent factors in keeping students away from our classes than are fees. A. E. Jull, Chairman. W. Smith, Secretary.