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No. 2. REPORT OF THE INSPECTORS OF TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION. Sir, — We have the honour to report as follows on the state and progress of manual and technical instruction in the colony during the year ending the 31st December, 1905 :—- A. Manual Instruction. The number of schools, primary and secondary, in which manual instruction in one form or another is given continues to increase. Classes were recognised during the year in connection with over 850 schools, as against 725 schools in 1904. The total number of classes for all subjects was 3,041, an increase of over 1,000. Details of the number of classes in the several education districts, and of the subjects of instruction, are given in the table on page 5. Of the various forms of manual instruction taken up, elemental-}- handwork, comprising chiefly modelling, brush drawing, bricklaying, paper and cardboard work, and free-arm drawing may be said to be most closely connected with the general work of the school. The tendency in the past on the part of many teachers to regard the various branches of handwork as isolated subjects is, it is gratifying to note, becoming less noticeable —due, no doubt, not only to a better appreciation of the underlying principles, but also to the experience gained in the endeavour to utilise both methods and materials as aids to the teaching of other subjects of the curriculum. It is also apparent that, whereas a few years ago considerable attention was being given to certain forms of handwork which at the best could only be regarded in the light of interesting occupations, teachers are now confining themselves almost entirely to the branches of handwork enumerated above, for the reason that these have been found by experience to offer more and better opportunities for correlation. Modelling in plasticine or clay is taken in a large number of schools, and a considerable amount of useful work is being done, especially in connection with the teaching of geography. It is suggested that work in modelling might with advantage be correlated in the case of the higher classes with nature-study. The modelling of natural objects within the range of the capacity of the class would not only assist pupils in memorising their forms, but also tend to encourage and foster habits of accurate observation. In the lower classes the work in modelling should, it is considered, be confined chiefly to the designing of simple borders and patterns, employing only the simplest elements, such as " balls " and " strings " and shapes based on the various geometrical figures and simple natural objects with which the children are already familiar. With the view of encouraging habits of accuracy, some forms at least should be drawn, cut out, and shaped to given dimensions, and then arranged in definite positions, the distances being judged by eye. The work will also afford opportunities for the introduction of simple lessons on the elementary principles of design, such as repetition, alternation, balance, &c. The value of paper-work as an aid, in combination with drawing, to the teaching of elementary arithmetic and elementary geometrical notions, and as providing opportunities for exercises in oral composition, is being recognised by an increasing number of teachers. Paper-work is now being taught in the lower classes in a large number of schools with excellent results. Less attention is, with advantage, being given to the folding of objects, and more to correlation, in the directions indicated above. Bricklaying is also increasing in favour as teachers realise the possibilities of this branch of handwork. A course in bricklaying affords excellent training in habits of observation and accuracy, and provides opportunities for practice in oral composition, in drawing plans and elevations, and in elementary mensuration. Cardboard-work, when not confined, as is too often the case, to the making of objects of which no use is afterwards made, is also found to be of considerable assistance in teaching geometrical and freehand drawing. This branch of handwork is being taken up in the higher classes of an increasing number of schools, and in many cases excellent courses of work are being carried out. An example of the kind of work recommended may not be out of place. The form of a given geometrical solid is analysed, and the pupils are encouraged to discover the best method of constructing the solid out of cardboard; the " net " of the model is then carefully set out in cardboard, and the construction of the model proceeded with. A dimensioned freehand sketch of the finished model is then made, and the plan, elevation, and perhaps an isometric view, drawn to scale. The area of each face and the total surface-area of the model are next calculated, and the relation between the number of faces, edges, and angles noted. It will be at once seen that, treated in this way, carboard-work can be made to be of considerable educational value. In some districts training-classes in cardboard-work, on lines similar to those indicated above, have been arranged for teachers, with the result that there are now quite a number of school classes working on these lines. Brush drawing is being taught in a large number of schools. The character of the work generally may be said to show a distinct advance on that of previous years, especially where opportunities for courses of training have been provided for teachers. Hitherto the work has too often been confined entirely to the making of brush impressions, and of borders and patterns based thereon: now in quite a number of schools, in addition to work of this kind, the pupils are taught to draw directly with the brush, in outline and in mass, representations of natural objects, and to adapt the forms of objects to the purposes of elementary design. Speaking generally, it may be said that there is evidence not only of improvement in the character of the handwork done in the schools, but also of a better appreciation of the relation of handwork to other subjects of the syllabus—due, no doubt, to experience gained in the class-room on the one hand, and to the special courses of training provided on the other. As regards what may be termed the more special branches of handwork, such as cookery, woodwork, &c, there has been a considerable increase in the number of classes in the various education districts. Cookery or woodwork, and in most cases both these subjects, are now being taught in nearly every education district of the colony, generally on the central system, which, though