E.—s

22

Statement of Receipts and Expenditure for the Year ending 81st December, 1906, in respect of Special Classes conducted at New Plymouth. Receipts. £ a. d. Expenditure. £ a. d. Capitation on special classes .. .. 41 1 6 Balance at beginning of year .. .. 50 14 5 Capitation on acoount of free plaoes .. 7 0 0 Salaries of instructors .. .. .. 130 7 0 Rent .. .. .. .. .. 526 Office expenses (including salaries, stationery, Furniture, fittings, apparatus .. .. 65 6 9 &o.) .. .. .. .. 14 5 0 Material .. .. .. .. 13 16 1 Advertising and printing .. .. .. 616 3 Pees .. .. .. .. .. 125 2 6 Lighting and heating .. .. .. 616 6 Balance at end of year .. .. .. 21 14 7 Insurance and repairs .. .. .. 0 5 0 Rent .. .. .. ' .. .. 1 17 6 Material for class use .. .. .. 8 5 0 Rebates on fees .. .. .. 19 7 6 Caretaker .. .. .. 14 19 6 Furniture, fittings, apparatus .. .. 25 10 3 £279 3 11 £279 3 11 W. A. Ballantyne, Director. Statement of Receipts and Expenditure for the Year ending 31st December, 1906, in respect of Special Classes conducted at Stratford. Receipts. £ s. d. Expenditure. £ s. d. Balanoe at beginning of year .. .. 27 8 7 Salaries of instructors .. .. .. 89 6 6 Capitation on special classes .. .. 36 17 7 Office expenses (including salaries, stationery, Furniture, fittings, apparatus .. .. 12 12 6 &c.) .. .. .. .. 14 1 0 Fees .. .. .. .. 50 11 9 Advertising and printing .. .. .. 316 6 Balance at end of year .. .. .. 19 12 4 Lighting and heating .. .. .. 413 10 Insurance and repairs .. .. .. 3 13 6 Caretaker .. .. .. 20 0 0 Petty cash .. .. .. .. 115 8 Furniture, fittings, apparatus .. .. 915 9 £147 2 9 £147 2 9 W. A. Ballantyne, Director.

WANGANUI. Extract from the Report of the Education Board. The Board has taken special pains to develop the facilities offered for the extension of technical education, and the results are highly gratifying to all concerned. The success of the work carried out by Mr. Grant, agricultural instructor, is assured, and the numerous school gardens are striking testimony to the practical results of such instruction. The experimental garden at Halcombe School, from which it is proposed to draw seeds and plants for other school gardens, is in an excellent condition, reflecting high credit on Mr. Strachan, the headmaster. The Agricultural and Pastoral and Horticultural Societies have liberally aided this movement, and the competitions inaugurated by them will continue to stimulate it. The Board appointed Mr. R. Browne dairy instructor, and their thanks are due to the Agricultural Department for their courteous assistance in enabling him to pursue his bacteriological studies. After the holidays are over instruction in scientific dairying will be given systematically to school classes and to adults, and there is every prospect of this important innovation proving a complete success. At Wanganui an engineering class has been established in connection with the Technical School, a machinery-room having been built and fitted up with the latest machinery. The school classes for cookery and woodwork are being extended, and now two instructors are engaged in each branch to enable the more remote districts to be reached. The children are taking considerable interest in the work, and the results are very gratifying. Owing to the great development of technical education the Board found it necessary to inaugurate a new system of management, and to that end have divided the district into three —Northern, Middle, and Southern. Mr. Braik, Chief Inspector, is Superintendent of Technical Education; Mr. Varney, Director of the Wanganui Technical School, Supervisor of the Middle District; Mr. Amos, Director of the Feilding Technical School, Supervisor of the Southern District; and Mr. Hintz, Supervisor of the Northern District; all of whom are able and enthusiastic exponents of technical education, and are doing excellent work. The central administration is in the hands of a committee of the Board, and the local administration is carried out by committees comprising representatives of local bodies and contributors to the funds. This system has been found to work smoothly and efficiently, and seems to be better than control by a body apart from the Education Board. Extract from the Report of the Inspectors of Schools. Regarding the school handwork classes Mr. Varney reports as follows: " That much progress has been made in this very important branch of education is evident from the fact that, whilst in 1905 recognised classes were conducted in eighty-nine schools, in 1906 no fewer than 120 schools earned capitation under the Manual and Technical Regulations." Thanks to Mr. Grant's fostering care, the number of school gardens is rapidly increasing. These, apart from their being a means of mental training of the highest order, are a source of health and pure delight to the children, who long for the time when the school clock will point to