THE WELLINGTON COLLEGE.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5556, 18 January 1879, Page 3

THE WELLINGTON COLLEGE.

TO THE EDITOR OE THE NEW ZEALAND TIMES. Sib, —Mr. Ogg has addressed a letter to you on the subject of the reorganisation of the College, which I cannot allow to pass without comment. At the commencement of his letter he states that the old Grammar School lost favor with the public during the last few years of its existence. This is hardly in accordance with fact, as up to the end of 1873 a considerably larger number of boys from the town attended it than is at present to be found at the College. Mr. Harvey’s unfavorable report, and the opening of Mr. Bowden’s new English High School, caused the numbers to be reduced by nearly or quite one-half at the beginning of 1874, but the prejudice against the institution had already begun to subside, and the number of boys in attendance to increase, before the College was opened in the latter part of that year. After that event the numbers rose steadily until they reached one hundred and twenty. Mr. Ogg assumes that the cause of the attendance having fallen to seventy, as at present, is owing to those masters having been retained who had held situations in' the school previous to Mr. Harvey’s adverse report; but I think I am justified in maintaining that the numbers would never have risen from some five or six and forty up to a hundred and

twenty if those masters had not in a great measure - regained Uio confidence of the public. As regards the report of Mr. Harvey, made in the- year 1873, of which a good deal seems to be made at the present time, it was drawn up by an able, experienced, and perfectly just man, and I have endeavored in my teaching ever since to guard against the failings which he then pointed out; but there is this to be said, in explanation of the unfavorable nature of that report, which has never been made public before, namely, that for some reason which I have forgotten, the classes were examined without having had any repetition or previous preparation whatever, and the examination was a very searching one, extending over nine or ten days. It included, moreover, all the work that had been done during the previous six months, and the subjects they had to be examined in then were almost as numerous as they are now. It was therefore not a matter of surprise to any of the masters that the boys failed to satisfy the examiner.

Mr. Ogg assumes that the masters who passed from the Grammar School to the College were unpopular after the publication of this report, and have continued unpopular ever since. It is easy to say of any man that he is unpopular. The voices of one or two are quite sufficient to sway the opinion of one who has a proclivity for ill-natured gossip, and this kindly divine can write with delightful complacency of “ the' uapopular men that came from the old Grammar School;” but I refuse to believe, on the simple assertion of Mr. Ogg, that they are unpopular, or that the public will regard their dismissal with approbation, indeed I have reason to believe very much the reverse. Mr. Ogg concludes with a charge of sloth, errors, impracticability, and stupidity against some person or persons. “By my troth, Blaster Bistol, these be very bitter words.” I should like to ask Mr. Ogg whether these charges are directed against either of those gentlemen whom he would turn out of their situations with no more compunction than he would turn bullocks out of a stockyard. If so, I take leave to question whether, be works one halt as many hours a day, or with half as much vigor as they do. So much for sloth. As for errors, if any have been committed (I do not say there have not), those gentlemen are not accountable for them. The other expletives seem to have been put in for padding. I beg to apologise for taking up so much room in your columns.—l am, &c., H, E. Tuokey. January 17.