ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

SCHOOLS OF NEW BRUNSWICK, 1886.

PART I.-GENERAL REPORT.

To His Honor The Honorable Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, C. B., K. C. M. G., Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of New Brunswick:

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR HONOR,—

I have the honour to submit the Fifteenth Annual Report of the Free School System of the Province. During the year a gratifying degree of progress has been made in several important respects-increased average attendance, greater conformity to the course of instruction, and a larger attendance of pupils in advance of Standard IV. The number of schools, however, and the total enrolment of pupils were less than during the preceding year, but a comparison in these respects cannot fairly be made as the year previously reported embraced a period of fourteen months. But there are other reasons for this decrease in numbers besides the shorter period. A considerable number of schools in the Acadian districts of Gloucester County as well as a few in like districts in several other counties were closed from the want of fairly suitable persons to teach them. It is true that persons could have been got as formerly to keep the school, but the Inspectors having in view the instruction of the children declined to recommend the employment of those whose services they knew would be of no value. In several other counties not containing any Acadian districts there were also a larger number of schools closed than during the preceding year. Inspector Wetmore in referring to this subject in his report says: "This (falling off in some districts) in most instances arises from the depression in business, some districts finding it so hard to collect taxes, that at the annual meeting no supplies were voted and attempts were made to close the schools for a term or two."

Progress as respects the erection and repair of school-houses and the furnishing of teaching appliances though less marked than in some former years has not been unsatisfactory."

A Summary View of the Schools for the Year ending June 30

The Statistical Tables of Part II. embrace two terms, viz., the December 31st, 1885, and the term ended June 30th, 1886. Table show the disbursements of Provincial Grants and the apportion County Fund to Trustees for the same time.

Part III includes the reports of the Principal of the Normal Sc session ended May 1886, of Inspectors, of Boards of Trustees of c corporated towns, of the President of the University, and of the S ents of the Deaf and Dumb Institution at Fredericton and at Ha the Blind Asylum at Halifax, for the year ended December 31st, 18

TABLE I.-NUMBER OF SCHOOLS, TEACHERS, PUPILS, & Second Term, 1885.-The number of Schools was 1,441; th Teachers, 1,509; the number of Pupils, 52,753.

First Term, 1886.-The number of Schools was 1,515; the Teachers, 1,590; the number of Pupils in attendance, 61,802.

The number of Districts having Schools in operation in the S that were without Schools in the First Term, was 89; and the nu Schools in the First Term, that were without Schools in the Secon 156.

The total number of different pupils in attendance at the so the year was 68,367.

TABLE II.-PROPORTION OF POPULATION AT SCHOOL, AGE AND SE PERCENTAGE OF DAILY AND FULL-TERM ATTENDANCE

Second Term, 1885.-The proportion of the population of enrolled at the public schools this term, according to the census of in 6.09. It will be seen that the attendance exceeded this perce following counties: Carleton, Charlotte, Kent, King's, Northumbe gouche, Westmorland and York. It was highest in Westmo next in York (5.64). It was lowest in Madawaska (7.87), and ne (7.78).

Three hundred and twelve were under 5 years of age; 49,92 and 15 years, and 2,518 over 15 years.

There were 26,991 boys and 25,762 girls.

Grand total days' attendance, made by the pupils enrolled, w The average monthly percentage of pupils daily present dur was 85.24. The following exhibits this percentage during the S since 1874

The percentage of pupils daily present on an average during the period the several schools were open was 59.23. St. John made the highest percentage (70.81); Restigouche second (60.90), and Queens the lowest (52.98). The following shows the percentage for the Province during the Summer Term since 1873

The attendance of pupils in all the schools in operation for a longer or shorter period of the year was equal to attendance during every prescribed teaching day in the term of 54.63 per cent. This percentage measures both the regularity of attendance and that of the time the schools were open. The highest percentage was made by St. John County (69.13, Restigouche second (55.06), while Queens stood the lowest (46.66). The following are the percentages since 1873:—

First Term, 1886.-The proportion of the population at School this term was 1 in 5.20 (census of 1881). This percentage was exceeded in Carleton, Charlotte, Kings, Queens, Westmorland and York. It was highest in Carleton (4.13), lowest in Madawaska (6.67).

Of the pupils 383 were under 5 years of age; between 5 and 15 years 56,595, and 4,824 were over 15 years.

There were 32,884 boys and 28,918 girls.

Grand total days' attendance made by the pupils enrolled was 3,966,207. The average monthly percentage of pupils daily present during the term was for the whole Province 86.55. The following are the percentages for this term since 1874:

The percentages of pupils daily present on an average during the period the several schools were in session, was, for the Province 56.03. The highest percentages were in St. John County 66.53, Charlotte 58.31, and Restigouche 59.44, while the lowest were in Sunbury 49.55, Queens 50.85, and Gloucester 50.99. The following are the percentages for the Province, during the Winter Term, since 1874:

*The average monthly percentage for this term appears smaller than during any of the preceding years from the fact that it consisted of eight months instead of six as did the other terms.