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In the third place, there should be no doubt in the public mind as to the thorough acquaintance of the governing body with the nature of the work to be required. Fourthly, the governing body should be able to act independently on its own convictions, and should therefore not have in any way a political character, so as to be bound by political ties. Fifthly, the governing body should be so constituted as to be qualified to sympathize and advise with the headmaster in any doubts or difficulties which he might encounter in his school work. "We do not enter into the question of the mode in which the governing body should be constituted, but we think that in creating such a body principles of the nature here sketched out should be kept in view. It has, however, been suggested that the services of the University officers —either of the Professorial Board, or of a Board appointed by the authorities of the University—would possess the requirements here mentioned, and would be able to give such a direction to the course of study in the school as would lead up to the University. Another important consideration would be the precise definition of the headmaster's position in relation to the governing body. It would probably be desirable that the headmaster should alone be responsible for the efficiency of the school, and consequently that his authority in the work of the school, the classification of the pupils, and the whole internal management should not be questioned by the governing body. We think that even the appointment and dismissal of assistant masters should be in his hands. On the other hand, the governing body should prescribe the general course of studies to be pursued, and possibly decide upon the branches to which the greatest attention should be devoted; but, having done this, they should hold the headmaster responsible for the results, and leave him to work them out. This strict definition of powers would have the effect of preventing petty interferences and consequent bickerings, inasmuch as it would prevent either party from trenching on tho province of the other. It would be well, too, that in case any collision should occur, or in case of exception being taken by the governing body to any thing done by the master, the boys and the public generally should not have cognizance of the occurrence, so that the headmaster's consideration in the school should not be lowered. In order to effect this the discussions of the governing body on the affairs of the school should not be held in public, nor, of course, should the reporters for the newspapers be admitted. The present Eector having resigned his charge the office will become vacant in about six months. It will therefore be necessary to fix upon some plan for appointing a successor. The Commissioners would strongly recommend that a plan similar to that by which the first two Rectors were chosen should be adopted in the present case, and that a Board should be appointed in the United Kingdom who should select some properly qualified person. This Board should consist of persons thoroughly conversant with the management of public school work, and they should be instructed to select a Hector possessing some such qualifications as the following: —■ 1. He should be a gentleman of refined taste and. manners. 2. He should be a graduate of some distinction. 3. He should have had experience in the work of a public school. 4. He should have tact and judgment sufficient to enable him to keep the school under proper control, and to adapt the experience gained at Home to the altered circumstances in which he would find himself. At the present time the schools are supported by grants received from the Education Board and by the fees of the pupils. The sum required for their maintenance is somewhat over £5,000, and the revenue by fees is a little less than £3,000, so that a little more than £2,000 over and above the fees is required to be granted by the Education Board. But it appears that the Girls' School is very nearly, if not entirely, self-supporting; therefore, the whole excess of expenditure over the income derived from fees must be debited to the Boys' School. It would probably be desirable, in case our recommendations to put these schools under a separate control should be adopted, that they should also have a separate and independent source of revenue. At present grants are made to them out of the general fund available for education purposes. Part of that fund, we are informed, consists of the revenue from endowments. It might be worth considering whether a part of these endowments might not be permanently allocated to the High Schools, and put under an independent management, the governing body being the trustees. There are various matters of detail which would have to be considered by the governing body, the determination of which would very much depend upon the character to be impressed on the school. If, for instance, it is decided that the Boys' High School should be more distinctly an institution for superior education, and that the course of study should be essentially different from and superior to that pursued at district schools, then it would be desirable that provision should be made for excluding boys who had not reached a certain standard of attainments. In this case the entrance examination, which at one time applied to the whole school, would be reverted to, and admission to the upper school would be guarded by a more severe examination than that which at present obtains. The fees at present payable are exceptionally low, being only forty shillings a quarter, and provide a very small proportion of the whole expenditure. We are inclined, to think that if the scale of fees were raised there would, in the long run, be no sensible falling off in the attendance, because those who left on account of the expense would probably be replaced by others of a class whose parents would be willing to make the sacrifice in order to keep their sons at a well-conducted school. Probably in time the numbers would greatly increase, because admission to the High School would become an object of ambition, if the tone of the school were raised. In order to effect this, however, the greatest care should be exercised in the selection of the Eector, whose duty it ought to be to place on the staff teachers who would not only impart instruction, but would also introduce into the school that important part of education—

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