P.—No. 5.

PAPERS RELATING TO NATIVE SCHOOLS.

15

On the 25th I ascended the Hokianga for some miles visiting on my way the old mission station, church, cemetery, See. —all now in a state of abandonment and ruin, as may be said of several other places on the river once occupied. It is painful to see a fine district, containing thousands of acres of fertile land, lying utterly useless to either Native or European, simply because the senseless pride of the Native owners forbids them to part with it. On the 26th I returned to Waimate to attend the general meeting, to be held on the 27th, to arrange for the establishment of schools in this neighbourhood. I beg to annex the names of the school committee, trustees, See., of the Waitapu district. I have, See., A. H. Russell. - P.S.—I hope to be able to return to Auckland by the steamer leaving the Bay of Islands on the 29th instant.

Waitapu. School Committee. —Mr. Spencer Yon Stunner (Chairman), John Hardiman (Native), Wiremu Tana Papahia, Herewini Mangu Mangu. Proposed Trustees. —Wiremu Tana Papahia, Herewini Mangu Mangu, Spencer Yon Stunner. Boundaries of School District. —Commencing at the north head of the Hokianga Eiver ; thence by the coast to the Herekino Eiver ; thence by its south bank to the Manakau ; thence in a straight line to Motu Kauri; thence by the Hokianga Eiver to the commencing point.

No. 13. The Inspectoe of Schools to the Hon. the Native Ministeb. Sib,— Auckland, 20th April, 1872. With reference to that paragraph in my Report of 13th ultimo, in which I stated that I had made certain arrangements at Whangaroa, which I thought might be completed by the Resident Magistrate (Mr. Edward Williams) I have *vow the honor to inform you that I have received a letter from that gentleman, stating that, upon his making his usual visit to Whangaroa, the Natives of Kaeo agreed to contribute £30 a year towards the schoolmaster's salary, and to make over the Native church or meeting-house (which has ceased to be used for Divine service), together with the acre on which it stands, provided the Government would refund to them £25, as part of the cost of the meetingi-house. As this was an advance upon the arrangement proposed when I was at Kaeo, Whangaroa, and there seemed to me no good reason why they should receive a re-fund upon a building already erected, and long disused, I declined to comply with their request • but have expressed to Mr. Williams the desire to carry out the arrangement then offered by me, viz., that the Government would make the building habitable, and provide the necessary school furniture; and I have accordingly authorised him to incur an outlay not exceeding £20 in all for those purposes, upon their compliance with the Acts. He also informs me that Kingi Hori Kira and Rewi Hongi, assessors, and chiefs of Te Ngaere, a village on the coast between Whangaroa and the Bay of Islands, desire to have a small court house, erected by Government, employed as a school, and that they are prepared to pay £30 a year towards a master's salary. But as I am not acquainted with the locality (this being the first application) as I apprehend the number of children is small, as it would bo necessary to incur the expense of erecting a master's house, the court house being only twenty feet by fourteen, and unlined, I have informed the Resident Magistrate that I think it should stand over until my next visit, by which time we shall know how far the school at Kaeo has been successful. I have, Sac., A. H. Russell.

No. 14. The Inspectoe op Schools to the Hon. the Native Ministeb. Sic,— Auckland, 20th April, 1872. With refeience to that part of my Report, from Waimate, dated 13th March, 1872, in which I stated that I found the Resident Magistrate of the Mangonui District was holding a Land Court near the North Cape, in consequence of which I was unable to meet with him, but that I had written to request him to complete anything I had not been able to finish in his district, I have now the honor to report that he informs me it is very desirable that a school should be established at Parengarenga (near the North Cape), where there are a great number of children in an isolated position, whom he believes to have a particular and interesting claim upon the Government, inasmuch as that they have hitherto been cut off from many advantages which have been open to other Natives. They are most urgent for a school, and offer to erect a building to serve as school and church, and to provide half the schoolmaster's salary, viz., £40 a year, provided the Government will provide the master's house, the remainder of his salary, and furnish the school. I have stated to the Resident Magistrate that I consider their offer very fair, and accept it on the part of the Government, provided the master's house does not cost more than £65, the amount allowed in other cases, but suggesting that it might be better to build a schoolhouse containing the usual