H.—2lb

18

I have never been able to make the parents of the pupils pay anything. I counted thirty-two scholars the last time I attended ; about equal numbers of boys and girls. They both write very well. The Bey. Mr. and Miss McWilliam are still being paid. The land is now very valuable. The value has been gained by a large outlay of money and labour, several miles of ditches and drains having been made. I am now advertising to let the land, with the buildings; it ought to let for £250. The buildings consist of three labourers' cottages, a good barn, and out-buildings. I have explained, in a report to the Government, the cause of the falling-off of the schools better than I could off-hand at present. What made it break up as a boarding-school was not the falling off of funds. This was the chief cause. Ido not know that had I had funds it would not have broken down. There has, no doubt, been a considerable change during the last two years in the state of the Natives. There is less inclination to send children to school than there was amongst them two years ago. At present lam obliged to give up the industrial and boarding part of the educational trusts, and do what I can in the matter. These mighty however, be revived again. The difficulty of teaching English is that it is almost a dead language to many of the Natives in the outlying districts, and they cannot hear it spoken commonly. It requires tact and peculiar talent in a teacher to succeed in this object. It is very difficult to find the capacity for teaching language and industrial pursuits combined in the same individual. I doubt if the estate would be sufficient to carry out all the objects of the trust, the salary of the master absorbs so much of the proceeds of the land. When the Native Police was reduced on the West Coast, the persons retained in the force were all those who had been educated in the school in question. The Natives valued very much the qualifications acquired by the girls at the school, which made them useful for wives. The grown-up pupils who had married from the school have, in many instances, sent or wished to have their children sent there also. This and the other lands given for this school were appropriated by the Natives themselves, for its maintenance. During the four years in which I received £300 or £400 a year from Government, the actual expenses of the children would have absorbed the whole of these sums. The improvements were paid for, practically, from other sources. Grant, 68 acres 2 roods 35 perches, Otaki. No. 3 (N.M. Miscellaneous, p. 33, area 68 acres 2 roods 35 perches).—The same remarks apply to this as to the foregoing grant. Grant, 24 acres 1 rood 16 perches, Otaki. No. 4 (N.M. Miscellaneous, p. 37, area 24 acres 1 rood 16 perches).—This was given by the Natives, and granted by the Government. It is for the promotion of the Church Missionary Society's objects. It has been used for educational purposes up to the present time. It contains my house, the church, and cemetery, containing about eight acres ; but the rest has been used to support the school. Two of the buildings connected with the latter are upon it. These are good buildings of totara, several rooms in each. The school-house has one large room and two wings; the other is the boarding-house of the scholars, in which the Eev. Mr. McWilliam and Miss McWilliam reside, Very few Natives attend the church now, compared with former times. The road formerly was by the beach. We moved inland, on purpose to avoid the line of traffic. We have, however, been followed, and the Natives have to retire further into the bush. The congregation is now only about fifty or sixty. Drunkenness is spreading very rapidly; it has been so for the last twelve months. One of the publicans at Otaki has, in fact, very few other customers than Maoris, although the selling to them is prohibited by law. Grant, 33 acres 3 roods, Otaki. No. 5 (N.M. Miscellaneous, p. 59, area 33 acres 3 roods). —This land adjoins the large block of 396 acres. The same remarks apply to it as to the former one. Grant, 62 acres, Otaki. No. 6 (N.M. Miscellaneous, p. 65, area 62 acres). —The same remarks apply as in the former case. It also adjoins the large block. Grant, 17 perches, Wellington. No. 7 (N.M. Miscellaneous, p. 66, area 17 perches).—Mr. Hart states that this was a private purchase of the Bishop of New Zealand for the church.

[Evidence taken before Mr. Domett at Wellington.] Wednesday, 13th Apbil, 1870. Major Edivards, being duly sworn, states: I was Eesident Magistrate of the Otaki District from 1862 to April, 1870, with the exception of a period between June, 1868, and April, 1869. I know the Church School at Otaki. As far as my knowledge goes, the attendance has varied from about sixty to (at one period) about four and five. I could tell the period when it was so low, if I referred to my papers at home. I think the Hauhau disturbance was one of the causes of the decline in attendance. I believe all confidence in Europeans, missionaries, or anybody else, was lost from 1864 to 1866. I believe the attendance at the school for the last year or two has considerably improved. During the last two or three years a certain portion of English has been