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5. Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Engagements, Ist January, 1886. Assets. £ s. d. Liabilities. £ s. d. Value of endowments .. .. .. 40,000 0 0 Bank of New Zealand overdraft .. .. 1,776 8 3 Value of Grammar School buildings and Loan from New Zealand Land Mortgage furnishings .. .. .. 8,000 0 0 Company for additions to school buildValue of other buildings, let to weekly ings .. .. .. .. 2,000 0 0 tenants (old) say .. .. .. 1,200 00 j Outstanding claims, per schedule .. 457 0 6 Rents outstanding .. .. .. 190 1 0 Cash in hand .. .. .. .. 13 19 1 Board of Education— Quarter's allowance to 31st December for Drill Instructor at Girls' High School 12 10 0 Share of rent of Choral Hall, presentation of prizes, 1885 .. .. .. 13 9 £49,423 13 10 £4,233 8 9 Engagements. —Agreement with headmaster for ten years at £700 per annum, besides capitation allowance; six years unexpired. G. Maubice O'Boeke, Chairman. G. yon dee Heyde, Accountant. Seen.—L. A. Dueeieu, Auditor, 20th February, 1886.

G. Be:toet of the Inspectob-Genebal to the Hon. the Minister of Education. Auckland College and- Grammar School. —lnspected 14th October, 1885. —This continues to be one of the largest and most highly-classified schools. Most of the boys enter rather too late and leave too early for their own advantage and for the credit of the school. One result is that the headmaster—wisely, I think—has no form above the Upper Fifth. I have inspected the school for several years, and I am of opinion that, notwithstanding some weak points, it is in better condition now, as to teaching power and as to tone, than it has been in any former year. That I should be able to say this is the more remarkable because of the really severe loss sustained by the school in the removal of so able a master as Mr. Sloman, who resigned on being appointed principal of the Girls' High School. Greek is not taught in the school; but—alongside of Latin and mathematics—French, drawing, chemistry (with laboratory work), physics, and military and calisthemc drill are prominent subjects of instruction; and two largo classes of boys are learning the use of tools in a workshop fitted with all necessary appliances, including four lathes. I think that the recent determination of the Auckland Education Board to offer some scholarships to boys under the age of thirteen is likely to have the effect of drafting off, not only the successful candidates, but also some of their rivals and schoolfellows, from the primary school to the high school at an earlier age than has been the common rule in this district, and so to improve the school and the boys for whose benefit it exists, and make it a feeder to the University College. At the same time, I fear that some of the masters may seek and obtain higher remuneration in spheres of greater responsibility than those which they now occupy, and that it may not be easy to fill their places. The school year in this institution ends in August, so that my visit occurred in the first term of the year instead of in the last, as, according to my usual custom, I designed, and consequently I saw the school in the wwst condition for display. I append the programme for the year that had just ended : — Work of Upper Fifth, September, 1884, to August, 1885. — Latin. —Horace —Odes, Books 111. and IV. ; Carmen Sajculare ;De Arte Poetica. Sallust —Jugurtha. Virgil —iEncid, Book 11. ; Eclogues, 1., IV., V., VI., VII. Bradley's Introduction to Continuous Prose, Ex. xxi. to xci. (pages 47 to 253), Division 2. "Wilkins'sEasy Exercises, lxxvi. to Ixxxiv. (pages Cl to 83). Bradley's Arnold, Ex. i. to xxxv. (pages Ito 188). Public Schools Primer —The whole, with special attention to pages 120 to 172. Notes on grammar, the calendar, money, weights, &c. A general grammar paper weekly. Unseen translation weekly. Repetition — Horace, Odes, 111., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 18, 30; Carmen Socculare. English. —Shakespeare —l Henry IV. Bacon—Ten essays. History—Elizabeth to Anno, George IV. and William IV. Geography —Hughes's Classbook —Preliminary, continents, Polynesia, United Kingdom, British North America, United States, Mexico, Central America, West Indies, States of South America, India, Nubia, British possessions. Essays weekly. French. — ■'La Tulipe Noire" (Dumas), chapters i. to xi., pages Ito 100. Bloaet's Composition, Part 1., Nos. i. to lvi., pages Ito 37. Brachet's Elementary Grammar —The whole (Books I. and 11. revised without exercises; chapter iii., syntax, with exercises). Natural Science. —Chemistry— Preparation and properties of principal metallic and non-metallic elements and their more important compounds ; the atomic theory and laws of chemical combination ; quantivalence of the elements; general problems, involving application of Boyle's and Charles's laws, and the alteration of volume in gaseous combination. Practical work in laboratory—Detection of metallic and non-metallic radical composing an unknown simple salt, including the common phosphates and oxalates (Division 1, also detection of metals in a mixture of two or more unknown salts). Text-books —Eoscoe's Lessons, Muir's Practical Chemistry for Medical Students, Tilden's Practical Chemistry. Physics— No special text-book. Heat —About as in Ganot's Popular Natural Science. Mechanical powers, much more fully; also mathematical problems. Work of Class Alpha, September, 188-1, to August, 1885. —Algebra—Todlmnter's Smaller, chapters xxix., xli., and general. Euclid —Book VI., with riders on Books I. to IV. Trigonometry —Todhunter's Smaller, chapters i. to ix. ; Hamblin Smith (introduced in Third Term), i. to xii. Work of First Form for the Third Term {Fourteen Weeks) of the School Year. —English History— Nelson's Brief and Blackwood's Eeader, Edward 111., Bichard 111, Grammar —Trotter, pages 7to