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not be utterly disregarded by the Local
Committee, but that energetic action has
been and will again be taken, should the
occasion require it.

Two years ago, the dearth of well quali-
fied candidates for vacancies induced me to
recommend the Central Board to send to
England for several trained teachers. It
seems that the inducements held out by the
Board have not proved sufficient to tempt a
class of men whose nominal rate of pay is
nearly equal to that of our country teachers,
while its purchasing power is certainly
greater. The failure of the scheme is, how-
ever, the less to be regretted, that no diffi-
culty has of late been experienced in finding
suitable candidates to fill up the vacancies
that have from time to time occurred.

The Returns that I have laid before the
Board may be fairly considered satisfactory,
save in one respect, to be noticed hereafter.
The number of children who have attended
the Provincial schools during the educational,
year 1864—5 is 2,063, being an increase of
107 as compared with last year's return.
The number of good readers, 472, is some-
what in excess of that returned last year
while a marked improvement has taken place
in penmanship, the number of good writers
having more than doubled, so that I am able
to reckon 244 good writers in 1865, against
only 116 in 1864.

The weak point in three-fourths of our
schools is still, as it always has been, Arith-
metic, and, holding that no system of
elementary education can be considered quite
satisfactory which fails to give due promi-
nence to this most important branch of in-
struction, I will endeavor to explain, some-
what in detail, to what extent our schools
are generally deficient in this respect, and by
what means the deficiency that undoubtedly
exists at present may be remedied.

Amongst our 33 schools I could find only
277 scholars able to solve the following ex-
ceedingly simple question in practice, —
"What will 415 sheep cost at £2 12s. 6d.
each." And only 92 pupils, or less than 3
in each school, on an average, had any idea
how to work two easy sums in addition and
substraction of Fractions. I find, too, that
the total number of children who have any
acquaintance with arithmetic is less by 153
than it was last year. I see no reason for
altering an opinion that I have formerly
expressed, to the effect that a well taught
child of 12 years old should be able to solve
any simple question in money matters, as
far as Proportion and Practice, and to show
some elementary acquaintance, at least, with

Fractions. I am aware that less than half of
the 216 scholars between 13 and 15 years of
age have as yet attained this standard, but
the fact that it has actually been reached in
several of our schools that do not appear to
possess any special advantages, would seem
to prove that I am not asking what is un-
reasonable.

The causes of the general backwardness
in this respect are not far to seek. 1st. Far
too little time is usually devoted to Arithme-
tic. In some schools, little more than half
an hour daily is set apart, or about one-ninth
of the working school day. For mental and
slate Arithmetic together, I am convinced
that an hour and a half daily will not be found
too much. 2nd. Too little use is made of
the collective system of teaching, with the
aid of the black board. 3rd. In many cases,
no attempt is made to explain the principles
of Arithmetic—rules alone being given: the
result of which method is, that the examiner
finds the pupils unable to grapple with the
simplest question put to them in a somewhat
unusual form, unless the particular rule
under which it falls be also given them. It
need hardly be pointed out that such arith-
metic, after the pupils leave school, will
prove almost worthless. And there is the
less excuse for such neglect that the ex-
cellent works of Colenzo and Tate, now
almost exclusively used in our schools, leave
nothing to be desired in the shape of text
books.

I feel assured that it is within the power
of our teachers, by devoting to this subject
the attention that it deserves, to produce,
within a year, an improvement not much
inferior to what I have had the pleasure of
recording in the hand-writing.

And if I appear to insist too strongly
upon this particular branch of an elementary
education being thoroughly well taught, it
ought not to be forgotten that, putting aside
its vast practical utility in after life, it is,
with the single exception of grammar, the
only subject that affords an intellectual train-
ing of much value. On this account I cannot
deeply regret that the returns of the numbers
learning History and Geography, show a
positive decrease since 1863. Much time
that might have been better bestowed was
formerly wasted in an attempt to give a
smattering, not only of these subjects, but of
Geometry, Music, and Drawing to very
young children.

Where an assistant teacher is employed,
competent to take charge of the junior
classes, some or all of these subjects may be
and have been well taught to the more ad-