NATIVE SCHOOLS

School Buildings. The school-house, 32i.. x 18b. x 10n., is sufficiently large, with proper means for ventilation, which are improperly neglected ; many, indeed nearly all the windows in the school and class-room> originally made to open, are most carefully nailed up : the consequence is that the rooms in a few hours become almost ut.inhabitable. The class-room attached to the School is 121. x 18b. x 10h. Two Native Teachets' Houses, one 151, x 30b , the other 151. x 25b. are detached from the school premises, and also from one another. These buildings are in good repair. Sleeping Accommodation, S/c. The Girls' Dormitory, 32l x 19b x lOii, with Matron's room attached, forms one wing of the Mission House. In it are 16 iron bedsteads, furnished each with 1 mattrass, 2 blankets, and 1 rug. The proper ventilation of this apartment is overlooked. All the girls, with the exception of 4 married women, sleep in this room. The Boys' Dormitory, 36l x 10b Ch (originally Dr. Harsant's dwelling-house) is about half-a-mile distant from the school. It has 9 beds occupied by 26 boys. There is a monitors' room attached, where a married native and wife sleep. This dormitory is badly lighted and ventilated, the whole building stands in need of repair. Its remoteness from the school premises is objectionable. The boys seem to come or go as they please without any supervision. The bedding, with the exception of a mattrass, is found by the pupils; the supply is, therefore, very limited. The other boys belonging to the establishment are quartered in the Native teachers' houses. Clothing and Cleanliness. The children of this establishment are ill clad; as proof, we may mention that on the first day of our inspection, we found two boys absenting themselves from school by order of the teacher, in consequence of a deficiency of garments. We were not afforded an opportunity of inspecting the children's stock of clothes, but what did come under our notice was ragged and dirty. The dormitories and bedding (both boys' and girls') are essentially filthy. A want of cleanliness is everywhere manifest. This is the more inexcusable as there are so many strong young women on the premises, part of whose duty and education it should be to keep everything iv strictest cleanliness. Diet and General Manner of Living. Three meals per day are allowed in this school. The breakfast consists of boiled flour, the dinner and supper of potatoes. Milk is supplied throughout a part of the year, and meat twice or thrice in the week. The large room, 48l x 21b x lOii, forming the right wing of the Mission Station, is used as the refectory. The meals are roughly served up and more roughly partaken of. The children, with the exception of 4 in hospital from some cutaneous disease, were reported in good health. Daily Routine of Business. From 6 to 8 a.m., work on farm and prepare for breakfast; from 8 to 9, prayers and breakfast; from 9to 1 p.m., school, with an interval qf about 20 minutes. After dinner there is a recess till 3 p.m., when the girls sew and the boys work on farm till supper-time. Industrial Employment. The girls are instructed in needlework, and also assist in out-door work, together with the boys. It is objectionable that they should be so employed, unless under the strictest supervision, which we have grounds to believe is not at all times exercised. The boys take an active part in every kind of farm labour. Wo consider an undue attention is paid to this branch of their education. On this head we would lemark that, notwithstanding we are fully impressed with the necessity of training Natives to work, to occupy their time, and so induce them to abandon the listless, apathetic habits of the Race, still we are strongly of opinion that an undue importance may be attached to labour by the managers of some schools, and that the physical powers of the children may be taxed to their serious detriment. The term " industrial training" should not be confined to mere manual labour only, but should be understood in a wider acceptation. Where a school is endowed, the school estate might, and we think ought to be benefitted by industrial field-training of the pupils. We are induced to make this remark principally from the fact, that the school• estate at Otawhao, a noble endowment of 780 acres granted by Sir George Grey, remains almost quite unimproved. Farming Implements. There is a full supply of all farming implements on this establishment, viz., ploughs, harrows, threshing-machine, scythes, rakes, forks, &c, &c. School Estate. This very valuable property, consisting of 780 acres, is about a mile distant from the school. 80 acres have been surface-sown with grass seed. The rest is in its natural state. The boys' labour, up to the present time, seems to have been wholly employed on the Mission property, 190 acres of which are under cultivation. The produce of the Mission ground is appropriated to the maintenance of the scholars. 200 sheep have been recently given over to Mr. Morgan for the benefit of the school. With such advantages as this school now possesses, we see no reason why, in the course of a few years, it should not be made to exist wholly independent of Government aid. Henry Taylob, L. O'Brien.

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