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channel, a distance of about 40 chains. This drain runs between Lots 3 and 4 of the Corporation leasehold, and has effected a considerable improvement by cutting off nearly all the water that flowed through the freehold and taking it to Spey Street channel. It also lowers the water-level on the land through which it is cut. The work of levelling the reclaimed land north of the Main Farm Road has been completed. The dredge is still engaged pumping spoil into the area south of the Main Farm Road. It is expected that this work will be completed early in the year. The electric pump for draining the freehold has been kept going throughout the year, with the result that a great improvement is now apparent, the land being drier than at any time previously. In connection with the pumping of water a great deal of work has been carried out cleaning and deepening drains. In the main drain leading to the pump a large number of piles have been driven and the sides fascined. The work of forming the balance of Spey Street in terms of our agreement with the Borough Council regarding the estuary lands has been commenced, and good progress is being made, about 50 chains having been completed. A great deal of repair work has been carried out to the western wall and weiwei planted to strengthen the banks. A bank was erected along the west side of the experimental area to keep back the tide water, and the path has been raised on the north end for the same purpose. Alterations have been carried out to the windows in the south wing to make them uniform with the pattern on the new portion recently erected. The iron on the roof of the north wing of the institution was removed and replaced with new iron, and No. 1 dairy and yards were repaired during the winter. A large shed was erected at the back of the stable on the farm to provide extra accommodation for horses, and a septic tank with the necessary conveniences has been erected at the Farm Ranch. Two bridges across Spey Street channel were replaced, and a loading-bank erected at the explosives magazine. The bootmaking industry has been carried on throughout the year with satisfactory results. Large orders have been fulfilled for the Mental Hospitals Department, and footwear provided for this institution and Paparua Prison. In conclusion, I desire to take the opportunity of thanking the staff for their assistance and co-operation during the year. Schoolmasters' Report.The most encouraging result of the year's work is that the twelve retardates have advanced from the illiterate stage to one of being able to read and to figure. Natives are the more numerous in this group. They display, as indeed do all the other inmates, a marked liking for singing and drawing, the periods allotted for these being eagerly awaited. Commendable advance has been achieved by the intermediate division in the matter of black-and-white sketching, and a widening of interest is being encouraged. As might be expected, information regarding world movements is readily absorbed, geographical and historical facts being eagerly acquired. Reading has pride of place in the students' curriculum, and the well-equipped library appears to be well used. Constant reference to works of readable authors stimulates interest; and the results may be considered highly satisfactory. The very generous supply of high-class literature in prose and verse reflects the greatest credit on the Superintendent, whose aid is invaluable. Tests, as mere examinations, are not very favourably received. However, many of the latest norm-finding papers are given, the novelty attracting students who are physically jaded. From these testings it has been found that the mental average of 1929-30 is not so far behind that of 1927-28, 1928-29, that it may not be accounted for by a younger set of inmates. Weekly and monthly opportunities are afforded in order that the classes may learn to conduct their own entertainments, a spirit of false shame being discouraged. The lads arrange short dialogues, songs, recitations, and choruses, conducting their own staging and chairmanship. Hobbies in study are urged. A fair percentage evince interest in stenography, languages, and inventions. The teachers confer frequently on such matters as mental outlook, grading, and subjects of interest. Class-work is rendered easier by the excellent order and discipline that have been maintained. Undoubtedly a fresher mind prevails ; and this must be in great part ascribed to the influence of healthful athletic contests. Waikekia Borstal Institution (Te Awamutu). (Superintendent, Mr. D. Dunlop.) On the Ist January, 1928, there were in custody 123 Borstal inmates, and 76 were received during the year ; the discharges were 2 at. the expiration of sentences, 64 on probationary license, 1 inmate was transferred to a mental hospital, and 1 inmate died, thus leaving 124 inmates in custody on the 31st December, 1929. In the reformatory section there were in custody at the beginning of the year 25 inmates, and 33 were received during the year. Of these 4 inmates were discharged on the expiration of their sentences, 9 were released on probationary license, and 15 were transferred to other institutions, leaving 30 in custody at the end of the year. Four attempts to escape were made during the year, but in each case the escapees were retaken within a few hours. In my former reports I have outlined the general policy adopted here in the administration of the Prevention of Crime (Borstal Institutions Fstablishment) Act, and further reference to the procedure is hardly necessary, but another year's review of the system convinces me that with the regular hours given for sleeping and for meals, good food, ha.rd outdoor work on the farm, and a little recreation each day with interesting games on Saturday afternoons, the system is a sound one, and I think can in general only meet with success. On being released many of the inmates go to other parts of the Dominion, and except in a few cases I do not learn how they fare, but in quite a number of cases where employment has been found for released inmates in this district very few have given any cause for anxiety.