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2. Report of Education Commission. 3. Matters from various sources referred to the Conference for consideration :— (i.) Wanganui Education Board : Topics brought under notice of Minister in interview of 21st November, ll> 12, so far as these relate to the general interests of education in public schools. (Mr. Braik.) (ii.) Education Boards, Auckland, Southland, Taranaki : Proposals to establish special model or observation schools for the training of inexperienced teachers. (Mr. Ballantyne.) (iii.) Question of (a) amendment of "Instructions" in Daily Registers of Attendance as to method of marking to indicate causes of absence (clause G); and (6) question of amendment of law to provide for the absence of children in consequence of action of medical inspectors; and (c) of amendment io define more clearly the rights of Boards in connexion with the attendance of pupils at manual training centres. (Department.) (iv.) Question of payment of salary to ingoing or outgoing teachers, &c, for the month of January : practice of Boards in this respect. Messrs. T. H. Gill and A. B. Charters were appointed Secretaries of the Conference. Mr. Garrard moved, That there be appointed a Business Committee, such committee to consist of five members and the two Secretaries. —Agreed to. Nominations for members of the Business Committee were received, and, on a ballot being taken, Messrs. Fleming, Richardson, Braik, Mulgan, and llarkness were declared elected. Mr. Fleming moved, That the meetings of the Conference be open to the Press. —Agreed to. The Conference decided to sit from l() a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and from 2.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. The Standing Orders adopted were those of the House of Representatives. It was proposed and seconded, That every member present be required to exercise his vote, but the motion was lost on a division. Mr. Mulgan moved, That the " Regulations for Organization and Inspection and Syllabus of instruction " be referred to the Conference in committee as a whole.--Carried. Mr. Fleming was appointed convener of the Business Committee. Mr. Foster moved, That a hearty vote of thanks be accorded to the Inspector-General of Schools for his interesting and instructive address, and that he be requested to allow it to be printed.— Seconded by Mr. Fleming, and carried by acclamation. It was agreed that the time-limits be ten minutes for the mover, with an additional ten minutes if the meeting so decided, and five minutes to each subsequent speaker. It was decided that a committee be set up to analyse the report of the Education Commission, to report, if possible, on Thursday morning, and that the Education Commission's report be referred to the above committee. A letter was read from the Pioneer Club, stating that the wives of visiting Inspectors were made honorary members of the club.—Received with thanks. Mr. Whetter moved. That a committee be set up to deal with the question of inexperienced teachers and teachers' certificates, and that the question be submitted to this committee. —Carried. It was decided that a committee be set up to deal with matters relating to school attendance and registers, and that this matter be referred to the committee. The provisional agenda paper was held over for the present, except that No. 3 (iv), the question of payment of salary to ingoing and outgoing teachers. &c, was referred to a committee to discuss staffs and salaries, such committee to be called " A Stalls and Salaries Committee." In regard to the following proposals submitted by Auckland Inspectors for discussion action was taken as indicated below. *(1.) That a Council of Education be constituted with administrative powers. (2.) That the Council be constituted as follows: Two members appointed by the Minister; two members appointed by Boards of Education; one member to be elected by Inspectors; two teachers to be elected, one by primary teachers, one by secondary teachers and teachers of technical schools. (3.) That the clauses referring to Education Boards, as outlined on page 7, be approved. (4.) That the proposals contained in paragraphs 1 and 3, in reference to School Boards, be generally approved. (5.) That the- number of Inspectors in each district should be fixed by the Council of Education, and should be in some more or less definite ratio to the number of schools in each district. (6.) That a general scheme of grading and promotion of teachers throughout the Dominion is desirable. (7.) That any amended scheme of salaries should take into special consideration the desirability of increasing the salaries of head teachers of Grades 4 and 5 schools, and that the annual increments in the case of these schools be spread over a greater number of years than under the present scheme; and, further, that capitation paid on children in schools of Grade obe at the rate of £10 per annum. (8.) That the question of adding to the staffs of schools above Grade Vla be no longer delayed. (9.) That no teacher on the staff of a training college be paid a salary lower than that of Grade 3 (£l2O to £150). (10.) That the following proviso apply to Table Bof the Staffs and Salaries Regulations: " Provided that if the average attendance of any school rises for one quarter to the numbers appearing in column 2, the school shall become entitled to an increase of staff without further delay; provided that an Inspector of Schools certifies that such increased average attendance is likely to be of a permanent character." (11.) That, in cases where the average attendance is affected by epidemics, clause 1 of the regulations controlling staffs and salaries be amended so that the quarter affected may be entirely omitted when computing the yearly average — i.e., in order to find the yearly average in such a case

* In this paragraph, pages and paragraphs mentioned refer to the report of the Education Commission. E.-12, 1912.