, 1885-03-11

w UIODOS0 dry CuduSC III Lilo Stall VI
teachers.
The results of the changes mentioned
have, however, been extraordinarily great.
Not only has the number of children
entered in the school lists increased from
634 in December l SO and 692 in June
1884 to 1918 in December 1884. but a still
greater improvement has taken place in
the daily attendance, SO that from $40 i'll
December 1888 it has reached to TAB in
December 1884, and for the months of
November and December 1884 has amount
ed to "a per cent. of the children registered,
against 81 per cent. for the corresponding
months in 1883, and Sc per cent. in June
1884. These results are of course in them
selves of no small Importance, since a
tOlerably regular attendance at school is
an absolutely necessary condition for q
good result from the school work. The
Board has, naturally, met with some
opposition in its efforts to gather into the
schools all the children within school age
and in preventing absence without sufi.
cient cause, aud in a fow cases the oppOsi.
ton has been very determined. But on
the whole thu parents have shewn them
selves m IRE willing to fulfil the duty rest
ing upon the n, than, after the negligence
which has prevailed for so many years,
could nave been expected. AS Is most
frequently the case, the feeling that the
dem tndS made upon them were made IN
earnest was sufficient to lead parents and
guardians to fulfil them, and on the whole
it must be said that the Board, who
in this respect has hal good assistance
from the side of the Police, has succeed
ed in calling forth such a feeling. There
also seems in many cases to be on the part
of the parents a real interest in the atten-
dance Ofthe children, even if as a rule it is
not strong enough to overcome a regard to
convenience an advantage unless support
ed by the machinery of cOmpulsion. III q
single school district, however,-that of
East End-thiS latter has beer scarcely at
all required.
The total number of fines imposed for
the Country Schools has been Alb, of which
252 hav4 been RENTED, III, to All amount
of 82j.65, have been paid and 20 have been
expiated.
In other respects the condition of the
Country Schools is far from being sd iSfac-
tory. WnaI most of all produces an IN
favourable impression when one makes d
closer acquaintance with them IS the extra
ordinarily large number OF children who
know nothing whatever. In part the ex-
PLANTATION of this is no doubt to be found
in the same circumstance VIII CHI has al
ready been spoken of Ill connection with
the Free Schools in Christians ed, that
there have been admitted into the schools
at one time a large number of children who
previously had received no instruction or
next to no instruction whatever; but there
is also found among many OF the children
who had entered the schools before the
new Ordinance came into force an astonlSh-
ing degree OF ignorance. There can scarcely
be- any doubt that the teachers are not
withUu. fault in this matter. There seems
to prevail throughout a tendency to neg
lect the teaching of the smaller and less
advanced children, 80 that the school, at
that point where the children most need
to be intellectually developed, only has
to spare for them an instruction which IS
not more awakening than the life III the
estates village. ~rhoughtless repetition OF
letters and numbers does in m'ny cases
more harm than good, and it often hap
pens that the only thing which remains IS
the habit of regarding thought as some
thing for which there is no use IN the
school. Here seems to be the Fundamentals
defect of the schools, and it must be RENE
died. otherwise the VIII lie work done by
the schools will be inferior. 1t is a diff
cult and laboriouS work which the teachers
have to do, especially III u school where
the humble of pupils is very large; but
the School Board is convinced that more
can be accomplished than has hitherto