8.—2

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many cases the boys' work has been very good indeed—quite equal to that of the First Standard girls. It was found also that Maori parents generally were taking very kindly to the new departure. Except in one or two schools, where the teachers had evidently expected very little and had hardly been disappointed, quite satisfactory work had been done: the first impression made by the boys' needlework has been entirely favourable. (3.) The Magic Lantern in Native Schools. The magic-lantern system, inaugurated by the Hon. W. P. Beeves some years ago, is still in operation. There are now five lanterns in circulation, and they penetrate to the most secluded parts of New Zealand. On the whole, this is a very useful service, and in many places the advent of a lantern is looked forward to with much pleasure. Without disparagement to other parts of New Zealand the East Coast schools may be mentioned as evidencing very high appreciation of the lanterns, and as working the system with no unnecessary delays. Here and there masters have been so much pleased with the effects of the lantern work that they have been induced to purchase lanterns for themselves. It is, I think, desirable that two more lanterns should be put into circulation, and that at least, three new sets of slides should be organized and sent out. It is noticeable at one or two of the schools that neither teachers nor Natives take much interest in the lantern exhibitions. The coincidence is curious. (4.) " The School Attendance Act, 1894." The success attending the working of this Act has not been quite so great as it was expected to be. While the Act was new and altogether unfamiliar a dread of what might happen to parents who kept their children away from school caused a considerable inflation of the attendance ; there was ignorance about what the recent legislation could do, and still more about what it could not do. Now that the Act has been found to be tolerably innocent, because on the one hand all legal action has to be initiated by the Maoris themselves, and on the other because experience has taught that Maoris will not initiate any legal action to speak of against their relatives, the Act has been deprived of most of the terrors it originally possessed. Still, the Act is a good one, and would be very serviceable if used when really required; all that is needed is an intelligent understanding of its scope and intention, and a reasonable amount of honesty and straightforwardness in working it. It was not intended to be a violent external remedy, to be applied to whole Maori communities in a one-sided way, without any kind of consideration of the circumstances or the needs of Maori life and of Maori habits and prejudices, but rather as an aid to Committees of wellestablished schools, to assist them in dealing with careless and ill-conditioned parents —recalcitrant Maoris disposed to set at nought the Committee's authority and the public opinion of the settlement. Where the Act has been so employed it has been of considerable utility, and it may perhaps be hoped that as time goes on a Maori public spirit will come into being, and allow the Act to be utilised wherever its assistance is really needed. Meanwhile the teachers and the school authorities generally have been learning the salutary lesson that, on the whole, the permanent success of the Native schools must depend on the amount of enthusiasm that can be aroused in connection with them through the teaching and other training of children and their parents, rather than on any external coercion that can be brought to bear by means of legislation. Yet another lesson has been learnt in direct connection with this matter; it is that even where the Natives are very well disposed towards their schools (which is the case now in many a district where there was formerly sheer indifference) an undue tightening of the rein caused by want of consideration for parents' urgent need of the services of their children produces ultimately a very harmful effect on a school. (5.) The Training of Maori Girls as Hospital Nurses. Two "second-year girls," one from St. Joseph's, Napier, the other from Hukarere, Napier, received hospital scholarships last September. The reports that came in from time to time with regard to these scholars were quite satisfactory. The girls appeared to take interest in their work, and the hospital authorities appeared to be satisfied. Quite recently, however, the Hukarere scholar appears to have found the work irksome, and it is understood that she will give up her scholarship. Steps are already being taken to fill up the vacancy. Probably even the six months' hospital experience gained in this case will not have been without its use. (6.) Lines on which Further Advance in Native School Instruction should take place. The time has come when an advance should be made in certain departments of the Nativeschool work. The best proof of this is that the advance referred to has already been made in many schools —in one direction in one school, in another direction in another. There seems, indeed, to be no good reason why all these improvements should not be universalised—why the new and better position occupied by three or four schools in one particular branch of work should not be reached by the other schools ; and so, also, when more than one particular branch is concerned. At all events, it will do no harm to describe the progress made at certain schools in certain subjects ; this will at least show what can be done, and it may induce teachers now contented with a low degree of attainment to strive for something better. Space will not allow me to deal completely with more than the First Standard, but a few words will be added with reference to salient points in other portions of the work. To begin with preparatory classes: In several schools nearly all the children that have been more than twelve months at school show a good general knowledge of the First Standard work, and could make weak passes for that standard if their reading were more fluent, and their vivd voce arithmetic were stronger. In some schools, also, the First Standard children read fluently any part of the Native School Primer, and can read with proper pronunciation and emphasis previously unseen English sentences made up of easy words of one syllable. They also spell correctly any word in the Native School Primer. In schools where writing is especially well taught the writing on slates is neat, uniform, firm, and all the letters are satisfactorily formed. Printed capital letters are correctly transcribed; figures are neatly formed. At many places the English for simple Maori words is given correctly ; the English names of