E.-4,

1889. NEW ZEALAND.

EDUCATION: INSTITUTION FOR DEAF-MUTES. [In Continuation of E.-4, 1888.]

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

No. 1. Extract from Twelfth Annual Report of the Minister of Education. Institution for Deaf-mutes. Of the forty-two pupils under instruction at the end of 1887 there were nine who did not return after the midwinter holidays. Seven of these had received sufficient instruction (on the articulation method) to qualify them for taking part in ordinary conversation, and two were prematurely withdrawn by their parents. Six new pupils were received during the year, and the number iii attendance at the end of 1888 was thirty-nine. The expenditure for the year was £3,210 14s. 5d., accounted for as follows : Salaries, £1,206 16s. 7d.; board of pupils, £1,470 10s. 7d.; rent, £345 ; travelling, £39 Is. 5d.; sundries, £99 ss. lOd. Towards this cose the parents contributed £329 lis. The expenditure for the current year will be on a lower scale, the Director's salary and the rate of payment for the pupils' board having both been considerably reduced.

No. 2. Report of the Director. Sir, — Sumner, sth June, 1889. In submitting for your information my report of the School for Deaf-mutes for the year 1888, I have the honour to state that the official duties of the institution's staff have been performed with strict regularity, that the school work was done with care, and that the progress of the pupils, with few exceptions, was marked and satisfactory. The number of inmates amounted to thirty-nine. There were pupils from all parts of the colony, viz. : nine each from the Provincial Districts of Otago, Canterbury, and Auckland, one from Westiand, two from Nelson, six from Wellington, and two from Hawke's Bay, while the one from Adelaide remained. A detailed analysis of these numbers further shows that, of the twenty-one pupils from the South Island, Orepuki sent 1 ; Invercargill, 1 ; Stirling, 2; Greytown, 1; Dunedin, 3 ; Port Chalmers, 1; Akaroa, 1; Yaldhurst, 1; Kaiapoi, 1; Christchurch and suburbs, 6; Brunnerton, 1; Reef ton, 1; and Waimangaroa, 1. Of the seventeen pupils from the North Island, the City of Auckland contributed 6; the Thames, 1; Gisborne, 2 ; Napier, 2 ; Patea, 1; Marton, 1; Bulls, 1; and Wellington, 3. Nine pupils left the institution at the close of the year —four with a good, and three with a fairly good, education ; whilst two were withdrawn through causes which call for special notice. Of the seven pupils who stayed with us a sufficient length of time, several are, by education and natural talent, capable of becoming useful members of society. One of them, a boy, whose parents reside in a small town, has since his return home been apprenticed to the tailoring business, with what prospect may be seen from the following extract from his father's letter: "We received your kind letter, making inquiries respecting Alfred. I showed it to his employer, and he said he was getting on well, and had every reason to hope he would make a good tradesman, as he learned things readily. He is a good boy, and generally will do anything I ask him." Two others —both bright boys—are anxious to follow a similar course, but the fact of their being located some distance from a busy centre has hitherto prevented their friends from making arrangements for their learning a trade. From letters received and enclosed it will be seen that their time at home has not been wholly spent in idleness. Facts like these, however, go far to prove the correctness and wisdom of the practice pursued in the European and American institutions for deaf-mutes—viz., that of backing-up the acquisition of school-learning by some training in a useful trade.