NELSON GOVERNMENT GAZETTE. 79

Riwaka: (47 present)—Mr Cowles, assistant Miss Gaskell.
—Though the master has to contend with bad attendance, his
upper classes take a respectable place. The reading is
indistinct, but writing and arithmetic are successfully taught,
The upper portion of the school is orderly, but the younger
children appear to be illtaught, and under very little control.

Brooklyn: (19 present)—Miss Mickell. —Extraordinary
progress has been made in this little school since its opening
eighteen months ago. During that period several children,
who, I am informed, have had but little instruction elsewhere
have learnt to read fairly, to write from dictation with tolerable
correctness, and to solve questions involving the multiplication
and division of money. Two of the scholars can also work
questions in practice. The rate of attendance, 69 per cent, is
not unusually high. I know of no other school in which so much
has been done at so little cost. Several of our remoter
schools cost nearly three times as much, and effect less.

Takaka: (22 present)—Mr Bow.—Although the average
rate of attendance here for the year has been very high,
73 per cent, I failed to detect any general improvement.
The children seemed deficient in animation, and apparently
took little interest in their work, the spirit of emulation
being totally wanting.

Long Plain: (22 present)—Mr Langford.—The number and
ages of the scholars at this school correspond very closely
with those at Takaka, the average rate of attendance being,
however, much lower. In spite of this disadvantage, the
children at Long Plain compare favorably with their neighbors
in several respects. They are far more alert in replying to the
questions put to them, and can give a more intelligent account
of what they have been reading. The younger classes, I
observed, were carefully grounded in their tables.

Clifton and Motupipi: Half-time Schools (20 present)—Mrs
Robinson.—The odd compromise that lies resulted in the
maintenance of two schools within little more than a mile of
each other, taught, on alternate days, by the same mistress,
seems to be alike acceptable to parents, scholars, and teacher.
More good work is being done under this arrangement than I
should have thought possible. This may be partly accounted
for by the fact that nearly all the children attend both
schools. Much is due also to the exceptionally high qualifica-
tions. The number of good readers is still
relatively large; the handwriting is neat throughout; arith-
metic, and geography being all thoroughly well
taught. Most of the children recite poetry with correct
emphasis, and with a freedom from sing-song that is as rare as
it is refreshing.

Collingwood: (62 present)—Mr and Mrs Marten.—The
present teachers have made strenuous efforts to regain the
ground that was unavoidably lost through the illness of the
late well-tried master. In one branch, indeed—handwriting—
I can observe a marked improvement upon the standard
formerly attained. The children explain very well what they
have been reading, and write correctly from dictation. They
set about their work in rather a noisy fashion.

Westport: (87 present)—Mr and Mrs Larchin.—The resig-
nation of the former teachers has rendered unnecessary the
special report on the state of this school that I had drawn up.
I may state in general terms that I found the school in a very
backward condition when I inspected it in March. There is
no reason why this should not become one of the most
advanced, as well as one of the most numerously attended
schools in the province.

Cobden: (48 present)—Mr Ray.—This is still at the head of
the schools on the West Coast, and would rank high if com-
pared with the best schools in the home districts. One proof
of this is the number and good quality of the candidates for
the Provincial Scholarships who annually present themselves
for examination, one of whom was this year successful. The
discipline is as good as the teaching.

Brunnerton: (32 present)—Mr Young.—Fair progress has
been made in several branches during the past year. The
reading and arithmetic are generally better than they were.
Grammar and geography are also very well taught. But the
dictation, especially of the second class, is faulty, and the
handwriting, without exception, feeble and shapeless.

Subsidised Schools.

Notown: (28 present)—Miss Ferris.—The inhabitants o
this township have built and furnished a schoolroom of ample
dimensions at their own cost. The children attending are at
present very young, and have almost everything to learn; but
they are being well taught and kept in good order by a teacher
who, though herself very youthful, seems fully equal to the
task that she has undertaken.

Ahaura: (42 present)—Miss Clarke.—Although their ener-
getic mistress is no longer able to teach and control the
increasing numbers that are flocking to this school, I was
gratified with the results that she had attained in so short a
time, under great difficulties. I believe that it would be for
the ultimate benefit of the school if a competent master were
engaged, as at St. Patrick's, Charleston. At present an
assistant is urgently needed.

Reefton: (28 present)—Late Mr Niven.—I found the
scholars here, with hardly one exception, backward and dis-
orderly. The late master resigned immediately after my
examination, and an experienced teacher is about to take
charge of the school, which requires a thorough re-organisa-
tion.

Addison's Flat: (26 present)—Mrs Duffy.—Good work is
being done here on the whole. The children in the first and
second classes read remarkably well, with good intonation.
The dictation is also good. Not much is being done in arith-
metic, and the handwriting is indifferent throughout, owing,
in part, to mere beginners being allowed to write in copy-books
intended only for advanced pupils. The discipline is some-
what lax.

Brighton: (19 present)—Mrs Murphy.—This little school,
which has undergone several vicissitudes, having been closed
more than once for want of support, has been re-opened by the
present teacher, under more favorable auspices than hitherto,
and bids fair to succeed. The mistress is both competent and
zealous, and the children are being very carefully trained.

Charleston, Blackett-street: (15 present)—Mr A. Brown.—
The few children who were present when I examined this school
were well taught. They read and spelt well, were exceedingly
ready in Geography and History, and parsed correctly. I felt
however that the numbers in attendance were not sufficient
to warrant the continuance of the subsidy to this school, more
especially as there is ample accommodation in St Patrick's
School for many more children than attended Blackett-street.

Charleston, St Patrick's: (54 present)—Mr De-Any.—I found
this school much better organised than it was last year, but the
almost universal slovenliness of the penmanship and the
backwardness of the arithmetic, showed unmistakably the
necessity for the teacher's obtaining more assistance. No
single teacher could possibly accomplish the task that has
latterly been attempted by Mr Delany.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

W. C. HODGSON,

Inspector.