69

E—l

On a subsequent occasion we inspected the school buildings, the proper establishment for which •was at the North Shore, but the difficulty of conducting it at that place was so great as to induce the Bishop to transfer it to its present position near Auckland. The schools now therefore occupy only such small buildings as he has been able to devote to school purposes, for which they were never intended, the sums of £575 and £261 being, as shewn in the annexed paper, B, applied mostly to the improvement of those buildings, the purchase of school furniture, ho. The Girls' school is of weather boards, small and unlined, but comfortable, their kitchen and dining room small and inconvenient, their dormitory unlined and cold, but otherwise tolerably comfortable. The Boys' school room, which is used also as an eating room, is small, badly lighted, and unlined their kitchen and store room small and inconvenient. Their dormitory is a large temporary building, intended for a barn, it is cold, unlined, and not weatherproof. The school furniture is tolerably good, and sufficient for the present small numbers. Food. The several samples of food submitted for our inspection were the best of their several kinds from the Auckland markets, and consisted of bread, beef, potatoes, rice, tea, sugar, he. The scale as shewn in the annexed paper. C, is very liberal. Clothing. The clothing of both Girls and Boys appeared good and sufficient. The scale of this also, as shewn in the annexed papers, is very liberal. Bedding. The bedding of both Girls and "Boys appeared good and sufficient. Cooking Utensils, 8?c. The cooking, cleaning, washing, and other utensils were also good, and sufficient for the numbers. The hours of instruction are shewn in the annexed papers, I. The instruction is conducted by the Clergy and by the Sisters of Mercy, a charge on that account being shewn in the paper, B, of £250, for a director, teacher, and guardian of the Boys, and £165, for a directress, teacher, and guardian of the Girls, for a period of 18 months. The industrial occupations of the Boys appear to be those incidental to the school. Those for the Girls are household and needle work, he., as shewn in detail in the paper marked T. The school c state at the North Shore is shewn by the annexed paper, H, to consist of " about 390 acres of land, mostly well fenced in for cultivation, paddocks and meadows," and having upon it a large stone building capable of accommodating 50 boarders, and erected at a cost of £2000, beside some other buildings ; but the expenditure shewn in the annexed papers, B, C, and G, would appear to be greatly in excess of the income derived from this estate. It is however necessary to draw attention to the remark in the annexed paper, that "4 villages, of about 120 Natives with their families, are located on this property, having small tracts of the glebe for their plantations, and affording great opportunity for the religious training, industry, and civilization of the Natives." W. H. Russell, Brevet Lieut-Colonel, 58th Regt.