9

G.—B

addition is now being made to the teachers' quarters, and, when completed, one of the rooms will be available as a class-room. I propose shortly to submit for your approval an application from a young Native for an appointment as pupil teacher at this school. Ohiwa School : Teacher, Mr. Avent.—There are 25 children on the books of this school for the last quarter; some of these, however, have only attended for a short time. There were 12 present, all boys, on the date of my visit. These were divided into three classes. I examined the first class in reading and spelling, from the " Irish National Second Book;" and the second class in reading and spelling, from the " Irish National First Book." They all read very well, I may say better than at any of the schools under my inspection; there was also a marked improvement, since my last visit, in their pronunciation, and in their appreciation of the meaning of the English words. The first and second classes wrote from dictation; the spelling of the words being very good, while the writing of some of them was not so good. They also answered questions from " Mason's Geography of New Zealand," well. The first class, and part of the second, were nearly perfect in the addition, multiplication, shillings, and pence tables, in notation and the Roman numerals, weights and measures, &c. The boys worked well the various rules of arithmetic, as far as they had severally learnt, the most advanced being in " practice." There was a third class, of three small boys, learning their letters. The discipline was good. Mr. Avent's heart appears to be in his work, and the way in which he has taught the Arawa children at Ohiwa is very creditable to him. At the same time it must be remarked, in justice to other teachers, that he has not laboured under the disadvantages some of them have; he has never had more children than he could manage, and, from his living in the Native pa, has been able to secure the regular attendance of his pupils. Omarumutu School: Teachers, Mr. and Mrs. Clarke. —When I visited this school on June 22nd, there were present 19 scholars, out of 32 on the roll. They were divided into three classeu, one of boys, one of girls, and a junior one of both sexes. The boys' class read and spelt fairly from " Mayor's Spelling Book" (words of two syllables), and answered questions from the vocabularies of " Lessons in English " indifferently. Their writing in copy-books and from dictation was good; they also worked sums—some in the simple, and some in the compound rules of arithmetic —well, as regards those rules they had lately been taught, but appeared to have forgotten in a measure the previous ones. The girls' class read and spelt indifferently well from " Mayor's Spelling Book," wrote well in copy-books and on slate, worked the simple rules of arithmetic well, and answered questions in the Maori vocabularies indifferently. Both boys and girls had a fair knowledge of the map of New Zealand, and answered pretty well when cross-questioned from the multiplication and pence tables. I noticed that the writing of the pupils at this school was remarkably good. The junior class were mere beginners. The girls had been taught sewing by Mrs. Clarke. The discipline was good, and the children clean and neat. Opotiki "Mixed School" : Teachers, Mr Wyatt and two assistants.—You are aware that shortly after this school was established under the provincial system, for the children of both Europeans and Natives, the latter ceased to attend. During the last half year, however, several Native children have been sent to the school, and I think it probable that others will follow. The present teacher is a gentleman of long experience in tuition both in England and the colony, and appears to give satisfaction to both Europeans and Natives. There are now 77 European and 9 Native children on the books. When I visited the school on the 24th instant, seven Natives were present —two boys and five girls. One boy, who has attended the school since its commencement, has learned to speak English, and is now as far advanced as most of the white children of his own age (12 years). I examined him in reading from " Nelson's No. 4 Royal Reader," in writing from dictation, in arithmetic up to rule of three and bills of parcels, and in geography, in all of which he acquitted himself creditably. The others read from " Willies First English Book," and were able to do some simple arithmetic, to say part of the multiplication table, and to write fairly. The girls had been taught needlework. Fair progress had been made, considering the short time that these children have attended school. I have no doubt that Native children attending this school will learn English in a very short time, and progress much more rapidly than in the schools purely Maori. It is to be regretted that there are but few children among Hira Te Popo's hapu of the Whakatohea, who are the only Natives living near to this school. This completes the list of schools in operation, ten in number, which have been placed by you under my inspection. Te Kaha. —The Whanau-a-Apanui and the Whanau-a-te-Hutu have collected £50 towards the erection of a schoolhouse at Te Kaha, which has been supplemented by you with the usual grant from the Native school fund. I regret that the rise in the price of timber and of labour has prevented my erecting this building, the estimated sum having been found insufficient. I trust that before my next report this school may be in operation. The schools I have had the honor to report to you on are generally in a satisfactory and progressive state. The Natives, as a rule, continue to take a lively interest in them, and the attendance is well kept up. The Maori-English school-books lately printed by the Government have come into use, and are of the greatest assistance to tho teachers. 2—G. 8.