3

E.—2

The number of schools receiving boarders has declined since 1879 from seven to four, the three schools that have fallen out of the list being S. Mary's (Ponsonby), Meanee (Hawke's Bay), and S. Joseph's (Wellington). The thanks of the Department are due to the gentlemen who have acted as District Superintendents of Native schools, namely, Mr. H. W. Bishop, Mr. J. H. Greenway, Mr. J. S. Clendon, Mr. G. T. Wilkinson, Mr. H. W. Brabant, Mr. E. S. Bush, and Mr. J. Booth. Much of the success of the schools in their districts is due to their exertions. Mr. Pope's Native School Eeader has been translated into Maori and printed, and the edition has been presented to a society which will sell the book to the Natives and devote the proceeds to the preparation of another work to be sold in its turn, and so on.

No. 2. The Inspector of Native Schools to the Inspector-Geneeal of Schools. Sib,— Wellington, 31st March, 1888. In accordance with your standing instructions, I have the honour to send you my report on the condition of the Native schools of New Zealand during and at the end of the year 1887-88. Numbee op Schools. Eighty-seven schools have been in operation during the whole of the year or some portion of it, viz., eighty-two day-schools (either fully-organized village-schools, or schools receiving subsidy or capitation allowance), and five boarding-schools. Of the boarding-schools, three are connected with the Church of England, and two are under the control of the Eoman Catholic Church. Only one of the two Catholic schools is, at the present time, of any importance as a Native school, the other having only one Maori pupil. At the end of 1887 there were eighty-three schools doing really appreciable work, viz., sixty-seven village, two subsidised, ten capitation, and four boardingschools. Changes: Schools opened oe eeopened, eeduced in rank, oe closed. After long delay schools have been opened in the very promising district lying between Tolago Bay, on the East Coast, and Waikawa Point, Bay of Plenty, at the following places : Tuparoa, Tikitiki, Eangifcukia, Kawakawa, Wharekahika, and Eaukokore. These schools are all well attended, and are likely to be for many years to come. At Taita, near Dargaville, a school has been opened, the success of which will largely depend on the amount of effort put forth by the Natives in the direction of making arrangements for boarding and housing the children of their district in such a way that they may be able to attend school regularly. The school at Te Matai, near Te Puke, Tauranga, has already a very large attendance, and is doing extremely well. Tokomaru was reopened in April last. There is no reason why the school should not be successful. The Native population is largo, and the people are fully alive to the advantages to be derived from getting their children educated. A final effort is being made to keep open the school at Te Ngaere, Whangaroa. The school-buildings are, unfortunately, not in the best place ; but the Native population in the neighbourhood is considerable, and, if the people would display the same amount of interest in their children's welfare as is shown by Natives in other parts of the colony, there would be no difficulty in keeping up a good attendance. Fort Galatea school has been reopened ; in spite of the many obstacles caused by sterile soil and almost complete isolation it appears to be doing fairly well. It is the fact that this school is a kind of outpost of civilisation that gives it importance. The schools at Waitapu, Waikare, Waitetuna, Waikawa, Wairau, Mangamaunu, and Port Molyneux have been reduced to the rank of subsidised schools in the course of the year through falling-off of the attendance. Of course they will be reinstated when the attendance improves sufficiently to satisfy the code requirements of an average attendance of over fifteen. The schools at Upper Waihou and Oruawharo have been closed on account of insufficient attendance. At Uawa a transference to the Hawke's Bay Education Board has been effected. It is probable that the Te Moari and Whakatane schools will shortly be handed over to the Auckland Board, the circumstances of these schools having become such that the attendance would naturally be European rather than Maori. New Schools and New Buildings, and New Schools asked foe. The new buildings at Pukawa, near Tokaanu, Lake Taupo, are well on the way towards completion. This school will open up quite new ground, and, it is to be hoped, will prove to be a pioneer of civilisation in a district where it has long been needed. It seems to be quite certain that a school of some kind will be required at Hiruharama (some miles inland from Akuaku), where a very large settlement is being rapidly formed under the influence of the well-known chief Tuta Nihoniho. It is, however, not yet settled where the principal centre of population will be, or whether the people now living at Akuaku and Whareponga will desert their present kaaingas in order to live inland. It seems, therefore, that any action in the direction of building inland, or of abolishing or removing the Akuaku school, which is now a kind of educational centre for the district, would be premature. The Akuaku