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1904. NEW ZEALAND.

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

Office of the Department of Education, My Lord,— Wellington, 10th August, 1904. I have the honour, in accordance with the provisions of "The Education Act, 1877," to submit to Your Excellency the following report upon the progress and condition of public education in New Zealand during the year ending the 31st day of December, 1903. I have, &c, E. J. SEDDON. His Excellency the Eight Hon. Baron Plunket, Governor of New Zealand.

EEPOET. In this Eeport and its proper Appendix, in the Inspector-General's Eeport (E,-1a) on the certificate examinations, the Eeports of the Inspectors of Schools (E.-Ib), the Eeport of the Proceedings of the Conference of Inspectors of Schools and Teachers' Eepresentatives (E.-lc), the Eeport on the Organization of the Public-school Cadets (E.-Id), and a Eeport on the Training of Teachers (E.-1e), is contained all the information that is of public interest with respect to the administration of " The Education Act, 1877," and "The Education Eeserves Act, 1877," and also all the principal statistics relating to matters which are more fully treated of in separate papers, as follows: E.-2, Native Schools; E.-3, Industrial Schools; E.-3a, Costley Training Institution; E.-4, School for Deaf-mutes; E.-5, Manual and Technical Instruction; E.-6, New Zealand University; 8.-7, University of Otago; E.-8, Canterbury College; E.-9, Auckland Univer sity College ; E.-10, Victoria College; E.-11, Canterbury Agricultural College; E.-12, Secondary Schools; E.-13, Public Libraries. Pupils in Public Schools. The average attendance during the year at all the schools throughout the colony, which in 1902 reached the highest figure since the institution of a colonial education system under the Education Act of 1877, last year showed a falling-off of 664. The numbers were, in 1903 113,047, and in 1902 113,711. It was noted in last year's report that in 1901 and 1902 one quarter's attendance had shown a considerable decline as compared with that of the other three. In 1901 it was the third quarter of the year, and in 1902 the last quarter. The causes which led to the decline in 1902 appear to have been still operating in the first quarter of 1903 as, although there was then an increase in the actual number in average attendance, it was hardly more than proportional to the increase in the average weekly roll-number. The culmination was reached in the second quarter when, in spite of a further increase of over a

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EDUCATION: TWENTY - SEVENTH ANNUAL EEPOET OE THE MINISTEE OF EDUCATION. [In continuation of E.-l, 1903.]