E.—l

V

that so small a number of Maori children attend the ordinary public schools. There seems to be an unwillingness on the part of many parents of both races — European and Maori—to allow their children to be taught in schools equally open to them all. It is to be feared that in some Maori settlements, that are too small and too near to public schools to be regarded as entitled to have Native schools established in them, the children are growing up in ignorance, being either withheld or virtually excluded from the public schools on account of antipathy based on difference of race. It cannot be overlooked that the ideas, and the personal and domestic habits, of the Maoris, even when some little improvement has taken place, have not yet become so closely assimilated to those of the European population as to induce the families of the latter to consent readily to such close contact on the part of the two classes of children as attendance at the same school necessarily involves. The attendance of Maori children at the Native schools has increased during the year from 1,381 to 1,618. Ages of Scholaes. A detailed statement of the ages of the scholars at the end of the year is given in Table No. 4, Appendix, page 4. The following is a summary:—

TABLE B.—Ages of Scholars at the End of the Year.

The last five columns of the table show that the proportion of the scholars at the different ages specified remains much the same from year to year. As compared with former years there was a slight increase last year in the proportion of those between seven and ten years, and a corresponding decrease as regards the number between five and seven years. Subjects of Instruction. Section 84 of the Education Act prescribes the subjects of instruction to be taught in the public schools. The following table gives the number of scholars returned by the several Boards as receiving instruction in the several subjects at

TABLE. —Subjects of Instruction.

Ages. Boys. Girls. Total. Percentaj ;o for Fivi Years. five and under seven years .. leven and under ten years 'en and under thirteen years 'hirteen and under fifteen years )ver fifteen years 10,882 18,943 14,744 5,043 770 9,981 17,086 13,711 5,008 1,004 20,863 36,029 28,455 10,051 1,840 1884. 21-46 37-05 29-20 10-34 1-89 1883. 22-20 36-78 29-00 10-07 1-95 1882. 22-04 35-56 30-09 9-82 1-89 1881. 22-73 35-41 30-39 9-GO 1-87 :8$o. 22-33 35-99 30-25 9-06 1-77 Totals for 1884 .. Totals for 1883 50,388 47,704 46,850 44,772 46,850 44,772 97,238 92,470 Increase 2,684 2,078 4.7G2

Education Districts. a to aw a M fcb 3 I a III &8 o ffl O I a I! H CO a I n o S P 1 o M 12 'A si II Auckland Taranaki Wanganui Wellington Hawke's Bay Marlborough Nelson North Canterbury South Canterbury Westland Otago Southland 18,389 2,113 5,627 7,395 4,110 1,493 4,808 18,332 4,007 3,105 21,414 6,385 97,238 92,476 18,389 2,113 5,627 7,395 4,110 1,493 4,808 18,332 4,007 3,105 21,414 0,385 18,389 2,113 5,610 7,395 4,110 1,493 4,696 18,115 3,585 3,10a 21,414 0,153 18,389 2,005 5,538 7,154 4,110 1,416 4,562 17,916 3,749 3,105 21,414 6,142 9,052 701 2,349 4,031 1,611 592 2,385 0,903 1,575 1,392 9,041 2,456 11,803 1,156 3,232 4,376 2,339 863 2,930 9,2G0 2,137 1,824 11,779 3,420 G.904 692 2,183 3,100 1,555 509 2,272 0,352 1,525 1,205 8,300 2,252 5,100 140 1,036 1,440 575 367 1,426 2,820 797 259 5,153 1,158 15,661 1,454 2,977 5,188 1,726 885 638 13,484 2,593 515 11,152 2,793 16,486 1,576 4,583 5,450 2,437 954 2,680 15,174 2,689 2,015 15,955 4,051 15,615 1,421 3,340 5,658 2,559 790 059 14,400 3,135 1,081 17,350 4,137 70,157i 04,419 7,333 691 1,517 2,822 1,559 383 1,622 7,533 1,266 1,022 6,754 2,002 4,024 139 266 125 154 72 114 1,087 68 '252 161 Totals for 1884 Totals for 1883 97,238 92,476 96,178 91,076 95,560 90,591 42,748 40,190 55,128 52,439 2,G89 36,015;: 34,526: 2,389 ■20,331 19,641 59,066 54,996 74,050 71,000 |34,504 J32,275 6,462 5,954 Increase .. 4,702 4,762 4,502 4,909 2,558 ! 690 4,070 3,590 i 5,738 I 2,229 508