E.—lb

20

in this district at very little expense. Libraries are to be found in most of the towns and settlements, and if these were subsidised by the Government to a small amount on condition of their being made free to all young persons below seventeen or eighteen years of age I am inclined to the opinion that a greater love of reading and a taste for literature among the pupils attending the schools would quickly follow. Writing.—Some of the schools have reached a high standard of proficiency in this subject, and generally it may be said that fewer failures occur here than in any other of the pass subjects except geography. Vere Foster's books, Palmerston Series, are mostly preferred by the teachers, although in several schools the series issued by Whitcombe and Tombs, of Christchurch, have been adopted. Teachers, however, may use airy book they please so long as the instruction is systematic and the writing legible. My writing tests above Standard 111. have hitherto been on foolscap paper, but, as all copy books and exercise books are examined and marked by me, I intend for the future marking for a pass the copy-book writing in all standards except the highest. Arithmetic. —Perhaps no school subject receives more attention than this one, and in some schools the results give evidence of efficient teaching. Generally the tables are well known. The examination tests above Standard I. are given on printed cards. There are five questions,, three of them presenting little or no difficulty to children of ordinary intelligence, and who have attended with fair regularity at school. Since the new regulations came into force a great improvement has taken place in the mental arithmetic, but much remains to be done before the subject can be marked as good. Eapidity in mechanical processes, like the multiplication of numbers by 5, 25, 125, 111, and so on, squaring numbers, and the price of dozens or scores, is a useful and desirable acquirement, but what is of much greater importance is training the children to apply the tables in daily use to the quick and ready solution of ordinary every-day problems. Judicious exposition and questioning are needed to bring this about, and it is in this direction that improvement is mainly desirable. Geography.—One of the most popular and certainly one of the best-prepared subjects in my district is geography. I have often been surprised at the ready intelligence displayed by the children when conducting an oral examination in this subject. Nor do I think that my test is a simple one. In Standards lE, 111., and IV. my examination is carried on by the employment of a blank map of the world and a mariner's compass, which are placed upon the schoolroom floor, and the children are fully tested in every detail which the syllabus requires to be known. I think the subject on the whole is better taught in the country than in the town schools, more especially the topographical geography, which is generally excellent in the country schools. In the towns the children in Standards V. and VI. excel in mapping. Grammar and Composition.—This subject appears to receive a good deal of attention in the larger schools, and the paper work sent in by the pupils in the two highest standards is in many cases equal to that done by first-year pupil-teachers. On the whole the general level of the work may be set down as very fair. In this subject I think it would be better if teachers gave less time to instruction.in analysis of sentences and more to composition and paraphrase. Drawing.—This, the most recently, introduced among the pass subjects, is already established as a great favourite among the children. The formation of Saturday drawing classes by Mr. Blair has done great good to the district, as his methods have been introduced into a number of schools in the instruction of the children. Drawing is the only pass subject in which the requirements, as laid down in the Standard Eegulations, are not demanded by me, nor do I see how a subject like practical and solid geometry is to be taught in the schools without proper instruments. Teachers complain that these cannot be obtained by the children, the expense being too great, and a difficulty arises as to what course to adopt in such cases. Good work is being done in freehand, and even in practical geometry and model drawing, in several schools, but I fear one must be satisfied with freehand and model drawing for some time to come, if these continue to be well and efficiently taught. I have seen no other school where such a high standard has been reached in drawing as at the Gisborne District High School. Sewing.—The lady examiners of the needlework continue to send in excellent reports as to the manner in which the subject is being taught. As far as lam aware, no instruction is given in sewing in the infants' department, as is the case in England; nevertheless the girls are making good progress, and some of the schools are marked "excellent" by the examiners. lam informed that no pass subject requires so much constant and patient attention as sewing, and that some of the lady teachers spend hours beyond the ordinary school day in placing work ready for their pupils on the morrow. Such being the case, it seems to me that girls ought to be exempt from examination in one of the pass or class subjects. I have recommended the adoption of this course before, and if the good work already done is to be continued some such concession must be made. The reports of the lady examiners are worthy of careful perusal, as they contain valuable suggestions for the further improvement of the work. Superannuation of Teachers.—Before closing my report I desire to bring under the notice of the Board a subject which closely concerns the welfare of teachers and the success of education. The Board is aware that the large majority of the teachers are in charge of schools or occupy positions from which the income obtained is none too large to sustain a family in comfort and provide a death-contingency in the-way of life insurance. Very few, I fear, among the teachers in the smaller schools are able to make any provision for .coming old age. Within the past three years two sad cases have come under my notice as occurring in Hawke's Bay. In one case the master had to resign his appointment in consequence of loss of eyesight, and he is now a poor old man subsisting on the charity of friends. In the second case the master had a serious complaint which really incapacitated him as a teacher, but his circumstances were such that he was forced to remain in charge of a school until the grave almost closed over him. These men possessed satisfactory qualifications, and their moral character was of the highest and. best. Is it not possible for something to be done to help such a class of deserving men in time of need ? Some years ago the ques-