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teacher and scholars is something pleasant to see. It is impossible to watch the kindly yet firm way in which the business of the school is carried on without feeling that by a little tact on the part of teachers it is very possible to spare helpless childhood many tears.

Lower Moutere.—Mr. Robson, Master. Under the skilful management of the present teacher, this school has for several years taken a very advanced place among our Provincial Schools. In the arrangement of the classes, the method of teaching, and the general order and cleanliness of the schools, I find but little to complain of, and much that deserves high praise.

Motueka, 1st Division.—Mr. Wilson. This, though a mixed school, enjoys like the town schools, the great advantage of being arranged in two divisions, in separate apartments, but under the control of the master of the 1st Division. The greatest economy of teaching power is secured by this plan, which might be more generally adopted than it is at present. The good results attained show that the teacher has fully availed himself of the advantages thus presented. The reading, writing, and arithmetic of the first two classes are far above the average, and the children are generally ready, intelligent, and very well-behaved. This is one of the very few Provincial Schools in which any system of collective teaching is fully carried out, and the explanations of the teacher in arithmetic and geography, as given in my presence, to a large class, struck me as being singularly clear and intelligible. The most noticeable defect in this style of teaching is, that the teacher, full of his subject, is apt to lecture, rather than to teach, and thus may leave too little to the unassisted efforts of the children. This, however, in an error of detail, and still leaves a large balance in favor of the collective, as compared with the individual style of teaching so common in our schools.

Motueka, 2nd Division.—Mrs. Homann, Mistress. Above 30 young children are daily taught the elements of reading and writing in this division of the school, which is only preparatory. Both this and the adjoining school-room are over crowded and ill-arranged but, with all these drawbacks, the scholars show careful training.

Pangatotara.—Mr. Bisley, Master. Under the active management of the present teacher a great advancement has been made in this school. The school work is particularly well apportioned, the children are well classified and very orderly, and the improvement in grammar and geography deserving of special notice.

Riwaka.—Mr. Gilpin, Master, assisted by Mrs. Inglis. This may fairly rank with the best of our schools. Both teacher and scholars work well and cheerfully together, and the advantages of the collective plan of teaching are thoroughly understood. The system of teaching arithmetic is particularly successful, the only weak point being the hand-writing, which is scarcely worthy of the high reputation of the school in other respects. Fifty scholars are daily present, the attendance for the year being as high as 70 per cent. of the number on the roll.

Collingwood.—Mr. Hawk, Master. As might have been expected from so experienced a teacher, Collingwood is a well-taught and well-conducted school. Few of the scholars are far advanced in any of the branches of education attempted, but the children are generally well grounded, and it is evident that the beginners are not sacrificed to the more advanced classes, a temptation to which more than one of our best teachers have yielded.

Takaka.—Mr. Hicks, Master. An average attendance of less than half the scholars on the roll, and a daily muster of 13 during the past year, in the midst of a population such as would justify the expectation of meeting at least twice that number of scholars, are some of the evidences that this school is by no means in a thriving condition. I found wonderfully little animation or progress on my last visit, but as the teacher was evidently so little satisfied with the results of his own work as to intimate his intention of resigning as soon as a successor could be found, further criticism may well be spared.

Motupipi.—Mr. Ray, Master. Like Wakefield, Clifton has been fortunate in a succession of good teachers, and the present master, though comparatively inexperienced in school-work, bids fair to maintain the good repute of the school. The children are intelligent and extremely well-behaved, and in several branches are beyond the average of scholars of the same age in our country schools. This is the only school that I know of where Tate's admirable plan of teaching what are called the "simple" and "compound" rules together in arithmetic has been adopted. Where children leave school early, as is so often the case in the more remote districts, this system cannot be too strongly recommended, as whatever arithmetical knowledge may have been acquired is at once applicable.