55

H.-2

General Statement of Income and Expenditure for the Year ended 31st December, 1878.

Details.—Office Staff: Half of joint salary of Secretary and Inspector, £231 ss. ; clerk, £100: total as above, £331 ss. Departmental Contingencies: Furniture, £26 13s. 6d. ; legal expenses, £13 Bs.; printing, £56 9s. 3d. ; advertising, £158 16s. 3d.; stationery, £16 18s. 7d.; incidental expenses, £26 ss. 7d. : total as above, £298 lis. 2d. Buildings : New schools, £2,187 3s. Id.; enlargement and improvement, £819 os. 7d. ; purchase of sites, £72 ; rents of buildings, £71 Bs.: total as above, £3,149 lis. Bd. Total of general statement as above, £19,030 13s. 5d.; Public Libraries Account, £312 18s.: total of Board's audited general statement, £19,343 lis. sd.

NORTH CANTERBURY. Sib,— Christchurch, 31st March, 1879. I have the honor, in accordance with section 102 of the Education Act, to submit the following report of the proceedings of the Education Board of the District of North Canterbury during the year ended 31st December, 1878 : — Constitution of Board and District.—The year is to be divided into two portions, for, though the system established by "The Education Act, 1877," came into operation on the Ist of January, 1878, the formation of the Education Board of North Canterbury, and the constitution of the Board on its present footing, were not accomplished till the 30th April. During the first four months of the year, the Board constituted under the provisions of " The Education Boards Act, 1876," continued in office, having jurisdiction, as previously, over the whole Provincial District of Canterbury. The Board thus existing was composed of nine members (one seat being vacant) —viz., J. Inglis, Esq., A. Duncan, Esq., T. W. Hall, Esq., W. Montgomery, Esq., W. Rolleston, Esq., Hon. E. W. Stafford, H. J. Tancred, Esq., J. N. Tosswill, Esq., H. R. AVebb, Esq. It held nine meetings, the average attendance of members being five. On the 30th April the change provided by " The Education Act, 1877," took effect. The portion of Canterbury lying south of the Eangitata was formed into a separate education district, with a Board of its own; and the remainder, with the addition of the Counties of Kaikoura, Amuri, and Cheviot, in the Provincial Districts of Marlborough and Nelson, became the present Education District of North Canterbury. The Board of the North Canterbury District, as elected on 4th April, consisted of J. Inglis, Esq., W. Montgomery, Esq., AY. Rolleston, Esq., H. J. Tancred, Esq., A. Duncan, Esq., C. C. Bowen, Esq., H. R. Webb, Esq., J. V. Colborne-Veel, Esq., A. Saunders, Esq. The first meeting was held on the 30th April, when J. Inglis, Esq., was elected Chairman. Two vacancies have since occurred. The Rev. W. J. Habens, who had been Secretary to the Board since lst January, 1877, resigned that position on receiving the appointment of Inspector-General, and Mr. J. V. Colborne-Veel, who, though elected a member of the Board, had not taken his seat, was appointed Secretary. The vacancy thus created was filled on the 4th July by the election of the Rev. C. Fraser. On the lst August Mr. Rolleston sent in his resignation, on account of his continued absence from the district, and on the sth September E. C. J. Stevens, Esq., was elected as his successor. The Board has continued to meet on the first and third Thursdays of each month; the number of members present since 30th April has averaged very nearly six (594). No meeting, either in the previous or latter part of the y rear, lapsed for want of a quorum. At a meeting held on 19th December, it was determined by ballot that Mr. Montgomery, Mr. Duncan, and Mr. Bowen should be the members to retire on 31st March, 1879. School Districts. —During the year 1878 nine new school districts were constituted —viz., Chertsey, Hunter, Kyle, Totara Valley, Seafield, Makikihi, Tinwald, Aylesbury, Loburn North. Of these, Hunter, Totara A Talley, and Makikihi are in the southern part of the provincial district now forming the Education District of South Canterbury. The boundaries of Ashburton and South Ashburton were altered by the inclusion of a part of each in the new district of Tinwald, and the name of the South Ashburton district was changed to Willowby. In the constitution of several of the above-named districts considerable difficulty was found to arise from the operation of section 36 of the Education Act, according to which, as the Board is advised, if the boundaries of a new school district are so arranged as to include any part of a district already existing, the proceedings take no effect till the commencement of the next school year — i.e., till the next lst January. The Board has received applications for the constitution of new districts in no less than eleven localities —six in Ashburton County, two in the County of Selwyn, and three in the County of Ashley. Since the lst January, 1879, one of these districts has been formed, and the preliminary steps taken towards the formation of several others. New Schools.—Within the last few weeks tenders have been accepted for the erection of school buildings in Dunsandel aud Irwell Districts, and a site acquired for a side school in the District of West Christchurch. These demands have exhausted the means at the disposal of the Board, and it has been found necessary to leave many applications to be dealt with during the next financial year.

Income. £ s. d. 'o Balance on lst January, 1878 — Maintenance Account ... ... 1,357 5 2 Buildings ... ... ... 245 11 4 Grants from Government—General ... 12,022 13 6 „ „ Buildings ... 5,003 12 0 Net receipts from reserves ... ... 347 11 2 Arrears of rates collected ... ... 200 Donation ... ... ... 10 0 0 Incidental Receipts—Refund, Town Committee ... 3 14 0 „ „ Interest ... 38 6 3 Expenditure. By Office and Board— Office staff ... Allowance to members of Board ... Departmental contingencies Inspection—Salary (half) ,, Travelling expenses Teachers' salaries and allowances School Committees, for educational purposes (including school-books to scholars, £854 4s.) Scholarships Buildings —Works, &c. „ Plans and supervision Balance in hand £ s. d. 331 5 0 18 14 0 298 11 2 231 5 0 104 2 0 8,916 6 0 i 1,358 17 4 162 2 0 3,149 11 8 33 2 6 4,426 16 9 £19,030 13 5 £19,030 13 5