E.—l.

The biennial examination for a Gilchrist Scholarship of ,£lOO a year, tenable for three years, instead of being held in July this year, will be put off till January. The tenure of the scholarship does not begin till July, 1887, and it is considered unnecessary, now that there is a direct steam service and rapid communication by mail and telegraph, to put an interval of nearly a year between the competition and the successful candidate's entry upon the enjoyment of the scholarship. It is very satisfactory to observe that Mr. Herbert M. Inglis, 8.A., wbo was successful at the competition of 1884, and went home last July, has come out first at the Natural History examination at Edinburgh, and so gained the distinction of " Senior Medallist." In 1883 Mr. E. Laishley, of Auckland, being about to proceed to Europe, and intending to make himself acquainted with the education systems of many countries by personal observation and inquiry, intimated his willingness to embody the results of his researches in a report if requested to do so. The request was made, and, since the last report of the Department was published, he has sent in a copious report, which was laid upon the table of the House of Eepresentatives last year. In illustration of his report Mr. Laishley has sent a large collection of books and papers relating to the methods of education pursued in Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Belgium, and the United States. He is now engaged upon a revision and extension of the report, which will be again submitted to Parliament * when revised, and will be found to contain a large amount of information of a trustworthy character and in a compact form. Mr. John Hislop, LL.D., who was for many years Inspector and Secretary to the Otago Education Board, and who has been Secretary for Education ever since the office was created at the beginning of 1878, is now absent on leave, and will definitely retire in September next. By his retirement the Government loses the services of a very zealous and highly experienced officer. The thanks of the Department are due to the Secretaries of the several Boards for the earnest desire they have manifested to furnish the materials required for this report as soon as they were able to obtain them. Had it been possible for the reports of the Boards and of the Inspectors to be prepared within the period of three months allowed for that purpose by the Education Act, this report might have been ready much earlier. One Board sent in its report in February, and several others completed their returns by the 31st March, but some papers of importance did not reach the Department till last week, and even now it has been found necessary to close the report while the summaries of School Committees' accounts are avowedly incomplete. The Auditors' certificates that were wanting in the reports of two Boards as printed will in all probability be given before long.f

* Since the report went to press the report as revised has been presented, and the House of Representatives has ordered that it be printed. t Since the report went to press the certificate of the Marlborough Board's accounts has been received. The Hawke's Bay accounts were among the first that were sent in.—Sec. Eduo.

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