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General Statement of Eeceipts and Expenditube for the Year ending 31st December, 1900. Receipts. Expenditure, & s. d. Credit balance— £ s. d. £ s. d. Offioe staff—Salaries .. .. .. 1,368 6 8 On Building Account, Dr. 1,528 11 3 Clerical aseistanoe .. .. .. 110 0 On General Aocount, Cr. 1,88113 9 I Departmental contingencies .. .. 810 18 6 353 2 6 i Inspectors'salaries .. .. .. 2,278 17 6 Government grants for buildings .. 10,236 0 0 i Inspectors' travelling-expenses .. 832 10 0 Other receipts for buildings— j Truant Officer's salary and expenses .. 203 0 3 Government grants for rebuilding Tau- j Examination of pupil-teachers .. 63 10 3 paki, Golden Cross, Katikati and Teachers' salaries and allowances (inDrury schools .. .. .. 1,036 5 0 eluding rent, bonus, &c.) .. .. 76,234 4 1 From sales of old buildings .. .. 293 2 6 Incidental expenses of schools.. .. 7,123 15 8 Sales from store .. .. .. 83 12 11 | Training of teachers .. .. .. 145 0 0 Bents of reserves and buildings .. 31 13 0 I Scholarships— Tanks, &c, sold .. .. .. 712 6 Paid to scholars .. .. .. 1,524 3 i C. Tong, refund of discounts .. 02 8 Examination expenses .." .. 87 2 1 Government statutory capitation .. 86,979 311 School buildings— Scholarship grant .. .. .. 1,604 1 0 New buildings .. .. .. 4,627 15 0 Inspection subsidy— Improvements of buildings .. .. 4,822 14 4 Ordinary .. .. .. .. 500 0 0 Furniture and appliances .. .. 1,018 9 8 Native schools .. .. .. 150 0 0 Sites .. .. .. .. 978 2 2 Grants for manual and teohnical instruo- Plans, supervision, and fees.. .. 619 15 8 tion .. .. .. .. 12 8 9 Manual and technical instruction .. 12 8 9 Sohool Commissioners .. .. 2,258 16 4 Interest on overdraft .. .. .. 8 8 0 Balances of accounts of schools closed .. 515 1 j Balance — £ s. d. Truant Officer, Court expenses .. 514 0 On Building Account .. 793 0 6 On General Account .. 2,708 17 9 3,501 18 3 £106,257 10 2 | £106,257 10 2 L. J. Bagnall, Chairman. Vincent Eice, Secretary. Examined and found correct, except as to a payment of £93 15s. as compassionate allowance to the widow of a late school-teacher, for which there is no authority of law.—J. K. Wabbubton, Controller and Auditor-General.

TARANAKI. Sib,— New Plymouth, March, 1901. In accordance with the provisions of section 102 of " The Education Act, 1877," the Education Board of the District of Taranaki has the honour to submit the following report of its proceedings for the year 1900. The Boabd.—At the beginning of the year the Board was composed of the following members: Duncan McAllum, Esq. (Chairman), Miss Jessie Heywood, Messrs. G. Adlam, E. G. Allsworth, W. Cutfield, H. Faull, B. A. Hignett, J. Mackay, and J. Wade. Messrs. Cutfield, Paull, and Mackay retired in terms of section 15 of the Education Act. Five candidates were nominated by the School Committees for the vacancies, and the voting in March resulted in the re-election of Messrs. Faull and Mackay, and the election of Mr. W. Kennedy in the place of Mr. Cutfield, who declined to again contest the seat. At the first meeting of the Board in April Mr. McAllum was re-elected Chairman. The Board held twenty-four ordinary and three special meetings during the year. Schools.—There were two aided schools opened during the year, one at Tahora and one at Pohokura, bringing up the number of schools in the district to sixty-five. Pupil-teachebs.—At the close of the year twenty-eight pupil-teachers were employed, and at the annual examination twenty-four pupil-teachers and one cadet were examined; the cadet and one pupil-teacher failed. For the first time an outside examiner was appointed for the pupilteachers, and his report shows that the examiner, Dr. A. McArthur, M.A., LL.D., was very pleased with the results of the examination, and congratulates the Board upon the training of its pupil-teachers and the syllabus prescribed for them. Of the twenty-eight pupil-teachers employed at the end of the year only seven were males, and the disparity in numbers is a clear indication that the remuneration offered to boys is insufficient to induce them to take up teaching as a profession. This is often a great drawback, for there are many cases in which it is advisable and even necessary to appoint male pupil-teachers. Scholarships.—For senior scholarships there were twenty candidates, and for junior scholarships there were twenty-two candidates. Two of the senior candidates did not present themselves for examination. Of the senior candidates six qualified, and of the junior eleven qualified. Committees. —New school districts have been formed at Tahora, Tututawa and Pohokura, and Committees elected. Buildings.—A new school has been built at Tututawa, and the old school at Urenui replaced by a new building. Eesidences have been built at Eltham Eoad and Tututawa, and a contract let for a new infants' school at Stratford, which has to be completed by the end of January, 1901. Through the number of schools increasing each year the Board finds itself very much hampered for the funds to carry out necessary works, the repairs and additions to the present buildings taking nearly the whole of the grant, and whilst recognising the urgent need of several additional residences has not the funds to erect them. Opaku Eesebve.—A conference of delegates from this and the Wanganui Education Boards met in Wanganui. At this conference resolutions were drawn up, copies of which have been forwarded to all the School Committees in the Taranaki Province; these copies have nearly all been returned to the office bearing the indorsement of the Committees to which they were sent. Finance.—The income of the Board from all sources, including £1,198 14s. 6d. balance on the 31st December, 1899, was £18,176 13s. 3d., and the expenditure £14,796 9s. 10d., leaving a credit balance of £3,380 3s. 5d.; against this balance are liabilities that fully cover the same. I have, &c, Duncan McAllum, Chairman. The Hon. the Minister of Education, Wellington.

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