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Mr. Tendall, Mus. Bac. During the past year five pupils have passed the matriculation examination, and two, viz., A. Mills and C. Lamb, have gained junior University scholarships. During the past month three pupils have gained scholarships under the Board of Education, as follows : —ln Class E, E. Stevenson ; in Class D, F. Sheard ; in Class C, B. Speight. Gymnastics is still a prominent part of the teaching of the school. School op Art. The school still continues to gain favour with the public, and the Board, wishing to popularize the teaching and extend the usefulness of the school as much as possible, arranged with the Art Master to give lectures on " Building Construction " and "Machine Drawing and Construction." Lectures have been given during the past year by the Art Master on " Plant form applied to industrial design." A class for landscape work will be commenced at once when weather permits. The assistant master will take students out sketching and superintend their work, and give instruction while in the field. Tlie boys from the High School continue to receive instruction in drawing, the junior classes going to the school to be taught freehand. The Art Master attends the Boys' High School and teaches the senior class in geometrical and mechanical drawing. The number of students attending classes last year were as follows : —Evening classes, ninety-seven ; morning classes, fifty-four. The number attending during the present term is : —Evening classes, sixtyfour ; morning classes, twenty-five. Museum. The Canterbury Museum during the past year has proved, as hitherto, a place of great attraction to the public, and though, from want of adequate means, only a few small show cases could be added, through careful rearrangement some more space has been obtained for the accommodation of a number of new specimens, and for the better exhibition of collections hitherto crowded together from want of room. The public in New Zealand and numerous friends of the Institution in various parts of the world, have continued to enrich the collections with valuable donations, of which the report of the Director gives a full account. Several series of New Zealand specimens have been sent to different Institutions, and valuable collections have been received in exchange. Special attention has been paid to the further completion of the series of type specimens, both for teaching purposes and for the use of the general public. Ample use has been made of the contents of the Technological Museum by Professor Bickerton and Messrs. E. Dobson and D. Blair, for the illustration of their lectures. Leave of absence for twelve months has been granted to the Director, beginning on Feb. Ist of next year, in order that he may be able to proceed to England as Government Commissioner to the Colonial and Indian Exhibitions, to be opened in London in May next; and no doubt he will while in England obtain many valuable contributions to this Museum. The Museum has been visited by 86,097 persons during the year, of whom 57,847 visited it on weekdays, 28,250 on Sundays. Library. The Circulating Library was closed in May for stock-taking. The return then made showed the following volumes were on the shelves of the Librarv : — Vols. Architecture and Mechanics ... ... ... ... 365 Biography ... ... ... ... ... 791 Fiction " ... ... ... ... ... 3,856 History ... ... ... ... ... 785 Literature (general) ... ... ... ... 601 Miscellaneous ... ... ... ... ... 568 Periodicals (bound) ... ... ... ... 437 Poetry and Drama ... ... ... ... 243 Science (general) ... ... ... ... 610 Travels ... ... ... ... ... 1083 Total ... ... ... ... 9,339 During the past year 475 volumes have been added to the Circulating Library, and 181 to the Reference Library. Total number of volumes in the Reference Library, 6,990. The Governments of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland have been good enough to forward bound copies of their Statutes for the Reference Library. The number of colonial papers taken in is 53, the number of English papers 6, the number of American papers 1, and the number of periodicals 20. These can be read by the public free of any charge. In the hope of inducing two or more members of a family to become subscribers, Clause 2 of the Library Regulations was altered, by which a reduction of ss. on the annual and 2s. 6d. on the half-yearly ticket was made ; and at the same time, to give every inducement to persons making a short stay in Christchurch to become subscribers, a clause was introduced in the rules by which anyone could get a monthly ticket on paying 2s. and a deposit of 55., to be returned at the end of the month. The Board is doing its best to make the Library a popular instruction. It is intended to instruct the London agent to forward by each monthly parcel an additional number of periodicals, as this class of literature is in much request by subscribers. It is a matter of regret that the limited funds at the disposal of the Board are not sufficient to make large additions to the books of the Library ; nevertheless, a considerable number have been added during the past year, and the usual parcel will be ordered for each month. It is a subject for congratulation that the annual expenditure for this year does not exceed the income ; but hopes cannot be held out that the debt owing by the institution will be reduced for some time to come.