H.—2

70

Girls' High School.—Shortly after the Board took office its attention was directed to the establishment of a Girls' High School in the city, in accordance with the provisions of " The Southland Boys' and Girls' High Schools Act, 1877." A Board of Governors was appointed, consisting of the Mayor, ex officio ; Messrs. Harvey and Cuthbertson, on the part of the Education Board ; and Messrs. Joyce and Jaggers, on that of the Government. An excellent site has been secured, but it has been considered expedient to defer the erection of the necessary buildings till the funds at their disposal will enable them to do so. As a temporary arrangement, one of the public halls has been leased and fitted up as class-rooms. The school was opened about the beginning of February, with a staff consisting of a lady-principal and a senior and junior assistant, under whose management there is every prospect of its assuming a high position as an educational institution. Ofeice of the Board. —I cannot close this brief report without bringing under your notice the very inadequate accommodation which the Board possesses for the transaction of its daily business. The room which is occupied as an office is in the old Government Buildings, and contains the Supreme Court library, to which the members of the legal profession have access at all times. It measures only 15 feet by 12 feet, and, being occupied on two sides by the library, very little space is left for office conveniences and necessary furniture. Altogether it is most unsuitable either for the daily transaction of business or for holding the stated meetings of the Board. The Inspector has not a separate office, and all the business of his department, as well as that of the Secretary, is transacted in the same room. On several occasions the Board has been laid under deep obligations to the County Council and the Resident Magistrate for the use of their rooms for holding meetings. It is most desirable that larger and more commodious offices should be provided. If this is not done very soon, I venture to predict that, from the daily accumulation of documents, and the want of space for a sufficient number of depositories, the business of the Board must be greatly retarded by the confusion which is certain to ensue. Public Libraries.—lt is intended to take immediate action for the distribution of the grant by Government among the various public libraries in the district, in accordance with the provisions of " The Public Libraries Subsidies Act, 1877." The grant for the financial year ending 30th June, 1878, will be available in books when the catalogue, now being prepared, shall have been received : that for the year ending 30th June, 1879, will be distributed iv money ; in both cases in proportion to the amount of voluntary subscriptions received by each library. A list of the libraries in the district is given in Appendix. I have, Ac, The Hon. the Minister of Education. John G. Smith, Secretary.

General Statement of Income and Expenditure for Eight Months from lst May to 31st December, 1878.

Income. £ s. d. ly Grants from Government —General ... 7,563 14 5 „ „ Buildings ... 3,291 5 0 Net receipts from reserves ... ... 228 0 3 Special fees for higher education ... Ill 6 6 Incidental Receipt—Rent of school site... 10 0 0 Expenditure. £ s. d. By Office and Board— Office staff ... ... ... 161 10 0 Members of Board ... ... 58 5 0 Departmental contingencies ... 120 18 2 Inspection —Salary ... ... 166 13 4 „ Examination of teachers ... 6 15 6 Teachers' salaries and allowances ... 6,353 9 9 School Committees, for educational purposes ... ... ... 681 18 4 Buildings ... ... ... 2,093 7 0 Bank interest ... ... ... 0 7 10 Balance in hand ... ... 1,561 1 3 £11,204 6 2 £11,204 6 2 Grants from Government include £2,802 lis. 8d. transft 'rinting, £12 10s.; advertising, £72 14s.; stationery, £14 lis, irred from the Otago Board. Departmental Contingencies: 3d.; sundries, £21 2s. lid.: total, as above, £120 18s. 2d.