REPORT ON SCHOOLS ESTABLISHED BY SIR GEORGE GREY.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XIX, Issue 1823, 22 May 1863, Page 3

REPORT ON SCHOOLS ESTABLISHED BY SIR GEORGE GREY.

(FBOM THE " MAORI MESSENGER," MAY 15.) The boys aie well fed. They have bread and tea, with plenty of milk, for breakfast; when the farm is fully stocked with cattle, it will cost nothing but trouble to add butter and cheese. For dinner they have meat (generally poik) and potatoes, fruit whenever they like to gather and cook it, lice and sugar twice a week, and pea soup or other vegetable soup, instead of meat, twice a week. Supper is similar to breakfast. lam very anxious to give them plenty of gieen vegetables, and they do have as much as can bo got, but my ganlen this year has been a failoie. If this diet appear too liberal, it must be lomembered that most of the boys are engaged duiiiig a pait of the day iv physically hard work. Cooking is done by a Euiopean. The mode m which the day is spent is a follows :—: — The boys get up al> six o'clock, and have short prayers in the hall at half past six, they then "tuin-to"ina body to cut up firewood and cairy up water from the river to lnsfc the day, I intend to do away with the latter part of their task by having a well dug in the middle of the yaid. ' Bieaktast is at about seven, and after breakfast, if the hewing of wood and drawing of water is ovei, the boys aie dulled by the farming-man, an old 58th holdier, till eight o'clock, when the schoolbell lings. The morning school is from eight to ten, and is conducted by Mr. Glanfield, sent up f9r the purpose by Mr Taylor, Inspector of Native Schools. The Rev. John Morgan attends three days a week to " teach religion " Fiom ten o'clock until foiu in the afternoon is devoted to indu&tiial work with the mteival of an houi for dinuoi. At foiu o'clock every boy is at liberty to leave oft woik unless kept on for punishment. Tins has veiy seldom been necessary. All soits of games are promoted after four o'clock — bathing, lounclers, and cncket aie the favountes ; at the last, which was quite new to them, a few boys can now play very fanly. Suppei is at six o'clock; after suppei Mi. Glanheld hni an evening school for an hour and a half, which has been attended by two or thiee half caste lads fiom the neighbomhood in addition to the legular scholais. At half-past eight thue aie eveuing piayeis with music, after which the boys go to bed. I now proceed to give an account of the industiial woiks in at the school

opeiation Cooking —Each in succession has to cook for a week. I look upon this pait of the work as simply disagieeable duidgeiy. At tile MeLinesian school at Kohunaiania, cooking is made, under the tuition of the Hey. L. Putt, both inteiesting and instructive, and the lesults, as any one who has visited that adinnable institution can testify, aie excellent. This requhes an educated coolc, winch we have not got. lam sensible of the necessity foi reform in this department. FAmr Work.—This has been under the supeiintendence of Mr. Maisden Claike. Two, and latterly tbiee, Euiopean laboureis have been employed. Tins has been necessaiy from the veiy dilapidated state of the fences on the farm, and fiom our having the tnnbei for lepairs and enlaigements to cart a di&tauce of four or five miles ovei unbudged nveis and swamps. This has swallowed up an immense amount of laboui. Besides caitmg the titnbei, a garden was fenced in, dug, and sown with various vegetables at the Tamo, wheie the Eev J. Moigan lives, but has, as befoie "aid, failed, chiefly fiom want of watei—it was n, mistake to make it at so grtat a distance fiom the fcchool (moie than a mile) wheie it could not be watched and attended to. About ten acies of fern land weie cleaied and planted with potatoes, which give eveiy promise of a good crop, three or four acies of manuka sciub were also cleaied and planted with mai/e. A laige ciop of hay has been got m A good deal of cleaimg and fencing has been done in the neiKhboinhood of the school buildings. At all these woiks, Maou boys have been employed as much as possible.

Carpenter's Work.—Mi Chifham was engaged »s head caipenter as soon as the school was commenced. He was sent into town to buy a complete set of carpentei's tools foi the school, and to get a journeyman to come up the countiy with him. He biought back his son, who cau speak Slaou, and appeais in every way suited to the place Mi. Chitham and his son live upon the pieinises in the out house which was foimeily inhibited by the boys, and have their meals at the school. One of the out-houses, which was in a veiy leaky condition, but had hitheito been Used as a school-ioom, was turned into a caipenter's shop, and benches and othei conveniences for caipentei's work elected. Eight of the boys have been employed at vauous times as caipenteis, and have made fair pi ogress, it has not been possible fiom the exigencies of fanning and othei woik to keep each boy to one paiticulai tiade, but I aim a.t doing this ns much as possible, and with a gieater numbei o£ boys it would be feasible.

Tuloti's Work.—Since the commencement of the school I have had G-eoige Millei, of Rangiaowhia, in constant pay It lias not yet been possible to make a tailor's woikshop, but a room m Sir. Clnthain's house is used temporal lly foi the puipose. All the clothes, mattiasses, table cloths, &c , on the premises, aie made m this shop, and when not woiking for the school, pnvate woiL foi Euiopeans and Maons in the neiglibouihood is taken in and chaiged foi by the school. William Thompson hid a pair of tiowseis made, for which he paid £1, and which never leached him, having been mteiccpted and appiopuated by Tiouoii, the a«sessoi. Only one boy woiks legulaily as a tailor ; he sews veiy well, and can "cut out tiowseis." All boys aie made to sew well enough to mend their own clothes, and aie turned into tailors ,on wet days. Sevoial are lepoited as being fail hands, but the piofe^sion does not seem attractive.

Blacksmith's wokk.—The TCangiaowhia blacksmith is a jacU-or-all tiades. We aie constantly employing him in different capacities, and when woiking for the school a boy is always sent to woik as his mate. The foi go is the piopeily of the school, the gift of Sn Geoige Gie3 in foiiuei days I wish to put it-up on the school land, and take the blacksmith into regular employment, chaigin" the natives foi all woik done to then ploughs, &c It is at present at some distance, on Maori laud, and the blacksmith woiks on bis own account and pays rent foi the use of the foige. [To have the blacksmith's woik altogether in oiu hands would probably not pay commeicially, but it would gam the Government a gieat deal of power. At planting time, the Kihikihi .and .Raiigiaowhia natives aie absolutely dependent on the blacksmith, to make their bioken and neglected ploughs fit for woik.]

Suoemakixg.—All the tools, &c , have been procuied, and the man was just about to betfin work when I was at Otawhao at Chustmos. lie is a veiy lespectable sober man, who has long lesided in the ilistuct He hsvs been two oi thiee months in my employment as cook, in which situation he gave urn\eibal satisfaction.

Puintincj —A house has been built for the printing piess, which is at piesent on its way up the liver Mi. J Yon Dadelszen, a well educated youth, employed until lecently by the Bishop of New Zealand, is appointed pimtei. Auangements for teaching the last two ti.ades have been made on speculation, in consequence of the great deshe expressed by natives who have visited the school that such tiades should be taught It is hoped that tresh boys may come to the school on puipose to leain these trades I am anxious to add a " turning lathe " and a "letail shop" to the industiial woiks, if the pi ogress of the school should ever justify me in doing so. At piesent I do not lecommend that any moie trader should be uudei taken. The boys aie leqimed to go to such work as they aie told off foi, though in auanging the woik their known tastes aie consulted as far as possible. While at worlc eveiy boy is expected to obey the oideis of the Euiopean to whom he is sent; all complaints on either side to be made to me lam told by all the Europeans that the boys woik veiy well, and very few complaints aie made.