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admitted in August was 22, of whom 5 were Maoris. Six had left, and the average attendance for six weeks had been 14. It has not yet been possible to obtain a site, on account of differences of opinion as to the most suitable place for a school, and difficulties connected with Native titles to land. The schoolmaster has spent only part of his time at the school, the rest being spent in visits for instruction to distant places for the benefit of 24 children. The expenditure on Native school buildings in 1885 was £4,235 12s. lid. The principal outlay was on new buildings at Waiomatatini, Otaua, Te Ahuahu, Waimamaku, Huria, and Paeroa, and in enlargements at Waima and Colac Bay. Since the end of the year a new building has been finished and opened at Papawai, near Greytown, Wairarapa ; and one at Karetu, Bay of Islands, is to be opened immediately. Tenders have been invited for schools at Tangiteroria (Northern Wairoa), at Kopua near Alexandra, at Tapapa and Te Waotu in the Cambridge District, at Eaukokore in the Bay of Plenty, and at the following places on the East Coast: Eangitukia, Tikitiki, Kawakawa, Tuparoa, Wharekahika, and Tokomaru. New schools are urgently required at Te Matai, near Te Puke, and Mokoia, near Lake Eotorua, but at present there are obstacles to the obtaining of titles to the proposed sites. There is every probability that a school will soon be wanted at Tokanu, on Lake Taupo. Mr. Pope, to whose ability and influence the satisfactory state of the schools as a whole is largely due, has expressed his desire to be relieved of some of the most arduous work involved in inspecting schools in places difficult of access. An arrangement has, therefore, been made for a partial exchange of duties between Mr. Pope and Mr. H. B. Kirk, M.A., who for seven or eight years has performed all the most important part of the clerical work in the InspectorGeneral's branch of the Department. Mr. Kirk is now on a tour of inspection among the northern schools. Mr. Pope has made good progress in the preparation of his book on the elementary ideas relating to society and the state, intended especially for the use of Maoris who have been educated in Native schools. He hopes to finish it as soon as the present pressure of more urgent affairs is sufficiently relaxed to allow of his giving his attention to it for a few consecutive weeks. His report on the schools will be submitted to Parliament (E.-2). The services of the District Superintendents are of great value, and deserve cordial recognition. They are often able to give most useful advice to the Department and to the teachers, and their frequent visits to the schools constitute an important extension of the system of inspection. Institution foe Deaf-mutes. The advantages of this school are gradually becoming better known, and there is a corresponding increase in the number of pupils; the number at the end of the year was 37. As has been often stated, the principle and method of instruction are based upon the fact that the deaf are very rarely dumb ; the want of speech being the result not of defect in the organs of speech, but of want of hearing. The children are taught to speak with the mouth, and to perceive the articulate speech of their neighbours by observing the movements of the lips. There can be no doubt as to the great ability and energy of the Director, Mr. Van Asch, or as to the high value of the educational methods employed by him. He has three assistants. The lease of the premises occupied by the girls of the institution having recently expired, a lease has been taken of the property known as Sumner College. The accommodation is sufficient for the Director and his family, who formerly occupied a separate house, and for all the pupils except the older boys. These latter, with two masters, still reside in a separate cottage. The expenditure of the school for the year 1885 was £3,189 11s., made up as follows : Salaries, £971 13s. 3d.; payment to the Director for board of pupils at £40 a year each, £1,703 ss. 4d.; rent, £340; travelling expenses, £79 19s. Bd.; contingencies, £94 12s. 9d. Many of the parents are quite unable to contribute

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