E.—2.

ments seem to be quite complete; the trouble with hakihaki had been unimportant. There will probably be some change in the drawing ; it is no doubt desirable that a more distinctly technical character should be given to it, although this point has already received some attention. The workshop (now complete, in good working - order, and very satisfactorily utilised) was in progress, the boys doing much of the work of construction, under the supervision of a skilful technical instructor. The boys read the musical scale, and take intervals very well —even fairly difficult ones; rounds are pleasingly sung. The drill is very creditable to the teachers, Messrs. Carrollo and Smith. The interest shown in the boys by their teachers is very great—and indeed it is deserved. Better work is not often seen than the physical exercises done by these boys. The examination took place on the sth May, 1902. Fifty-four boys were examined. The lower classes, taught by Miss Lumsden, who deserves much credit for her work, obtained passes as follows : Seven passed Standard 1., and one failed ; six passed Standard 11., and none failed ; four passed Standard 111., and none failed ; and three passed Standard IV., none failed. It was hardly to be expected that the senior classes, with their double change of teachers —which took place in the one year, during a portion of which the headmaster was taking his holiday—would do quite as well as they ordinarily do, and they certainly did not; in the circumstances, however, the results in these classes were capital. The arithmetic had suffered somewhat more than the'other parts of the work. Of the twenty-two boys qualified by attendance to take up the examination for the first year, twelve passed, one well. Of the nine qualified for the second year's work, eight passed, one well,* Te Aute College, Hawke's Bay (inspected 26th March, 1902). —The average attendance for the previous year had been 6678. The garden and grounds of this institution are very pretty, and well fitted to give the boys a love for a combination of natural beauty with order and neatness. I would suggest that a general time-table is of great use to a visitor. The detailed tables will be quite satisfactory when they provide for some manual—in addition to the literary and scientific work —but a " conspectus " can hardly be obtained from separate documents. All the boys seem to be thoroughly in earnest about their work, and to value the opportunity afforded them by their residence at Te Aute. The singing and the drill are very good. The drawing is, in the senior classes, fairly strong and good ;it is improving in the junior class. Possibly a junction will take place later on between the drawing and the carpentry. The teaching here is very strong and good throughout. I ventured to make one or two suggestions, but with much caution. It is undesirable that an institution already doing first-class work should be troubled with proposals that might possibly, in the circumstances, " change all that," if acted upon ; not that the suggestions would necessarily be useless, but their adoption might not quite suit their context—existing circumstances. As at other schools so here, figures with regard to the dietary scale at present in use have been made use of; they were obtained from the headmaster : Meat, !■§■ lb. per boy per diem ; bread and potatoes, ad lib. ; sugar, 1-J- lb. per week (golden syrup being included) ; butter, J lb. per week. There is no fish-supply. Cabbage and puha when obtainable, so also rhubarb. Paukena in the winter. Bice, J lb. per week. Plum-pudding twice a week. Jam occasionally as a treat. Milk with tea and in puddings. Dormitories are as usual; I have before now been in the most crowded of them at 4 o'clock in the morning, and have not found the atmosphere objectionable. W.C. and other sanitary arrangements are in first-rate order. lam persuaded that everything is satisfactory. Dr. Pomare had visited the school lately. He left only one recommendation, since given effect to. One additional remark may be made. The two junior masters occupy one large room. They are, both, active and enthusiastic workers, and it is therefore desirable that they should constantly pay attention to the problem of reducing noise to a minimum. The noise referred to is that due to determination to do sound and impressive work, and not to disorder. It is therefore creditable, although very inconvenient. The examination took place on the 12th and 13th of December. The boys of Form VI. were away at the matriculation examination, leaving fifty-four boys to be examined at the college. On the whole, the results were very satisfactory. Of course, there were a few cases of breakdown; these were—one in Form V., one doubtful in Form IV., two in Form 111. The work of the two lower classes was relatively less presentable. Form 11. was relatively stronger than Form 1., and showed some decidedly satisfactory work. The following boys passed with distinction: Form 1., Momo te Aonui; Form 11., H. Wills and E. Mitchell; Form 111., H. Grinnell and Hiroti Turu ; Form IV., J. Jury, E. Ellison, Broughton, and Wharetini Bangi, all very good ; Form V., Ehau Keepa, Te Anga Tukere, W. Walker, all very good also. These names are given in order of merit in each class. High marks were obtained in the following subjects : Forms IV. and V. obtained excellent marks for Euclid. Physiology marks were generally high. Form V. did admirable work in history, and also in English. Only moderately high marks were obtained for Latin ; but the questions were certainly not easy. Algebra was good in Form 111., and in some cases very good in Forms IV. and V. The arithmetic of Form IV. was good; some of the papers in Form V. were very good. On the whole, this was a very successful examination, perhaps the best as yet held at Te Aute. Mr. Bird, M.A., gave much valuable assistance in examining the papers. The Maori Mission School, Otaki. —The school was inspected on the 18th November, and examined on the 21st of the same month. The school tone is very pleasant indeed ; teacher and children are on good terms. The parents, however, do not keep their children constantly at school. The teaching is meritorious, and the merit increases as time goes on. While regretting

* As a kind of appendix to the report on St. Stephen's a note is added showing how the technical work is managed : The boys work in squads of four. A squad will work with their director in the mornings four hours a day for a whole week, thus losing their morning's school-work. In the afternoons another squad of four will work for a whole week four hours in the afternoons, thus losing their afternoon's school-work. This rotation will continue until all eligible boys are exhausted ; then the " rota " will recommence.

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