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1886. NEW ZEALAND.

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EDUCATION: EXAMINATION OF TEACHERS. [In Continuation of E.-1a, 1885.]

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

The InSpector-Genebal of Schools to the Hon. the Minister of Education. Sie, — Education Department, Wellington, 30th June, 1886. I have the honour to report on the result of the eighth annual examination for certificates, which was held simultaneously at sixteen centres in December of last year. The number of candidates continues to increase. At the seventh examination the total number was 721; at this eighth examination it was 790, classified as follows : — Eor the examination for Class D ... ... ... ... ... 190 E ... ... ... ... ... 369 To complete the work of former examinations — For Class A ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 „ B 4 C 2 „ D ... 92 E 132 ■ 231 790 Some of the candidates sat for a part of their work at the matriculation examination, and for the rest at the Department's examination, and, as these paid a fee to the University, they were not required to pay one to the Department. The candidates for completion of former examinations are exempt from payment. The fees received amounted to £533 Is., and the expenses of examination to £603 2s. sd. Ninety-four candidates absented themselves from examination, and the number examined was 696, classified as follows : 166 for Class D, 328 for E, and 202 (1 for A, 4 for B, 2 for C, 81 for D, and 111 for E) to complete the work of former examinations. There are not many candidates that can be regarded as outsiders. The 202 candidates who sat for the purpose of completing the work of former examinations are most of them teachers, and of those that sat for the whole of the D examination there were only two that were not in some way connected with the public schools; while for Class E there were.only 31 such persons. The candidates who sat for the full examination —as distinguished from the 202 candidates who sat for completion—may be divided as follows: — Status. Examined for D. Examined for E. Already qualified for Class E ... ... ... 85 Partly qualified for Class E ... ... ... ... 38 Teachers without certificates... ... ... ... 8 ... 158 Normal-school students ... ... ... ... 31 ... 26 Normal-school ex-students ... ... ... ... ... ... 12 Pupil-teachers ... ... ... ... ... 2 ... 93 Ex-pupil-teachers ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 8 Not connected with the public-school system ... ... 2 ... 31 166 328 Out of the 494 candidates that sat for the full examination 61 passed in full. Of this number, 15 (4 of whom were already qualified for Class E) passed for Class D, and 46 (of whom 14 sat for Class D, but did not satisfy the requirements of that class) passed for Class E. Twenty-six others who sat for the D examination completed their former examination for Class E, though they failed for D. Thus, out of 494 candidates for the full examination, 4 qualified for promotion from Class E to Class D, 11 for Class D without passing through Class E, and 72 for Class E. Of the 202 candidates that sat for completion, 83 passed, of whom 20 already held certificates. Out of the 20, 19 thus became qualified for promotion from E to D, and one exchanged a provisional certificate for a final one. Also, 4 candidates for completion for Class D, while they failed for that class, were allowed to pass for Class E. So far then as examination qualifies for a certificate, 150 qualified for certificates (1 for Class A, 3 for B, 27 for D, and 119 for E), and 24 for promotion (23 from E to D, and 1 from provisional to final certificate). It may be as well to say —since the contrary is often stated with some show of authority—that examination alone does not fully qualify for a certificate, and that no certificate has -ever been granted by the Department without proof of two years' service, and the testimony of an Inspector as to sufficient practical skill. Of the candidates whose work was not considered good enough to pass, a large number have had all their good work recorded in their favour, and will be allowed to complete their examination by passing next year in the one or two subjects each in which they were deficient. Of these, 48 were partially successful for Class D, and 103 (2 of whom were candidates for Class D) were partially I—E. IA.

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successful for Class E. (In this enumeration 39 who were partially successful in Class D, and passed in Class E, are not included.) To sum up—24 candidates gained promotion, 150 qualified for certificates (so far as they could do so by examination), and 151 obtained partial success, which is recorded in their favour, while 371 failed to improve their status, and 94 did not attend the examination. It appears, therefore, that only 325 out of 698 present (that is, 46-4 per cent.) succeeded in improving their status. The percentage in January, 1885, was 64-6, and the year before it was 56-2. The three tabular statements appended to this report will furnish more minute information as to the status, success, and failure of the candidates, and as to the several education districts in which they reside. The failures in English in the examination for Class D were very numerous. The examiner in that subject (Professor J. M. Brown, Canterbury College) has written some advice on this subject, which I now submit to your notice, recommending that it be printed. A list of the successful and partly successful candidates, and copies of the papers set at the examination, are attached. I have kept back this report because I wished to include in it a statement of a more complete kind than I have hitherto been able to furnish as to the number of persons seeking to obtain certificates as teachers, and because it is most convenient to make such a statement at the time of the annual revision of the list of certificates. I have ascertained that the total number of persons who have at any time applied for certificates, or made inquiry as to the terms on which they could obtain them, is 3,370. More than half (1,795) of them now hold certificates, while 88 others hold licenses, and 2 others hold district licenses, and there are 12 who have had the offer of certificates but have not as yet accepted the offer. There are 102 who can have certificates as soon as an Inspector is able to award marks as the expression of his estimate of their practical skill and efficiency ; and there are 71 who have completed their examination but have not yet served for two years in public schools. There are also 246 (of whom 32 have licenses) who have passed the greater part of the examination, and are to be allowed to sit for those subjects only in which they have failed. In a very similar position are 42 persons who have shown certificates of examinations that give them a claim to exemption from examination except in certain special subjects. The number of candidates who have presented themselves at one or more of the examinations conducted by the Department, and have as yet failed altogether, is 527; 23 of those who have failed have licenses, and 1 has a district license. Ten certificates have been cancelled or surrendered, and 64 teachers have died. The number 467 required to complete the total of 3,370 names includes cases of mere inquiry, of rejection, of incomplete information, and so on. Put into a more compact form, the statement is as follows : — Certificated ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,795 Licenses ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 88 District licenses ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 Candidates waiting for " marks" ... ... ... ... ... 102 „ whose service is incomplete ... ... ... ... 71 „ who have not accepted certificate ... ... ... ... 12 " Partial" passes ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 246 Equivalent to " partial" passes ... ... ... ... ... 42 Failures ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 527 Surrender or cancellation ... ... ... ... ... ... 10 Deaths ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 64 Miscellaneous ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 467 3,426 Deduct 32 cases of "partial " pass and 24 cases of "failure," enumerated also among " Licenses " and " District licenses " ... ... ... 56 Total ... ... ... ... ... ... 3,370 A very large proportion of persons holding certificates have ceased to follow the profession of teaching, or are teaching in schools not subject to the control of Boards of Education. As many as 527 of the certificated teachers, and 10 of the licensed teachers, are in the list of those not known to be in the service of the Boards. The number of certificated teachers known to be in the service is 1,269, while the number of teachers employed (excluding pupil-teachers) is about 1,800. The following table shows the number of certificates and licenses in force on the 30th June for each year since the regulations affecting classification were made : —

Bank. 1879. 1880. 1881. 1882. 1883. 1884. | 1885. 1886. .st rank (A 1) .. !nd rank (A 2, B 1) Ird rank (A3, B 2, CI) .. ttU rank (A 4, B3, C 2, D 1) >th rank (A 5, B 4, C 3, D 2, E 1).. >th rank (B 5, C 4, D 3, E 2) fth rank (C 5, D 4, E 3) .. ith rank (D 5, E 4) )th rank (E 5) .. 6 24 55 99 159 239 148 10 9 37 69 138 225 299 138 7 10 45 74 176 275 307 114 4 13 49 95 193 313 323 124 11 15 61 106 231 348 344 117 13 2 16 69 125 250 384 378 161 18 2 21 80 148 274 428 447 192 22 2 27 81 167 292 510 467 223 26 Total 740 11 922 29 1,005 71 10 1,121 92 35 1,235 82 26 1.403 80 3 1,614 90 3 1,795 88 2 license district license

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The number of failures every year is very considerable. In this statement no account is taken of cases of failure on the part of those who have been examined for promotion. At the last examination there were 196 failures of candidates for Class E, and 7 failures of candidates for Class D who had not been previously admitted to Class E. Many of these candidates have failed again and again. The number of persons who have failed once or oftener is 527. This includes the 203 whose last (or sole) failure occurred at the last examination, and 324 others whose last (or sole) failures occurred in preceding years as follows : 32 in 1879, 69 in 1880, 54 in 1881, 72 in 1882, 28 in 1883, 34 in 1884, and 35 in January, 1885. Of the 527 persons who have failed once or oftener, 315 have failed once, 136 twice, 34 three times, 25 four times, 11 five times, 3 six times, 1 seven times, and 2 eight times. Of the 203 who failed at the last examination, 125 failed once only, 46 have failed twice, 13 three times, 10 four times, 3 five times, 3 six times, 1 seven times, and 2 eight times. Of the same 203 persons, 114 were at the time engaged in the service of the Boards as teachers, and 48 as pupil-teachers ; 6 were normal-school students, 8 had been normalschool students, and 3 had been pupil-teachers: there were only 23 that were apparently not connected with the public-school system. Out of the whole list of 527 persons that have altogether failed there are only 137 that were not in the service of the Boards at the time of examination, and many even of these had previously been pupil-teachers or normal-school students. It would be interesting to know what advantages those teachers who have certificates enjoy over such as have failed to obtain them ; but I cannot, without holding this report back too long, arrive at an accurate statement as to the relation between certificates and salaries. I observe, however, that candidates sometimes retain their appointments after five, six, seven, or eight failures ; and that a teacher, with a D 2 certificate and £40 a year, is assistant to a head teacher with £140 a year, who has failed three times, and has not yet passed for Class E. I have, &c, Wm. Jas. Habens, The Hon. the Minister of Education. Inspector-General of Schools.

Table I. —Candidates for Completion of Former Examination.

Table II.—Candidates for Full Examination.

© a^ o H Candidates. H3 d 3 u p --1 d E 3 eg Si s o re .5 M W O g o a 39 H O o 'A o -^» q a Q d o OS a a i a d o 01 P. '3 0 a; </> d o n at o U) +-> O 1 4 2 92 For Class A—Passed .. For Class B—Passed .. Failed .. For Class C—Failed .. For Class D—Passed .. Passed for E Failed .. Absent .. For Class E—Passed .. Failed .. Absent .. 1 3 35 4 ■ • I 1 2 42 1 •■ 1 1 7 1 I 13 J 1 13 19 2 1 '2 3 1 3 5 1 •• ! 1 : 3 3 1 1 7 1 13 1 6 14 3 1 1 1 2 1 •• .. 1 ■• I .. 1 1 11 2 8 5 7 12 1 i .. 3 1 2 2 5 1 11 2 4 1 3 3 5 4 2 1 i 2 1 i 2 44 132 70 18 i 2 I ■' Totals 87 115 29 58 7 15 3 1 j 47 6 I 4! I I 3 48 14 231 12 13

© o H Candidates. m m <o 6 t> d Is -t-> 9 % o w '3 d q a © D a E a I B a o m 1 - « ,0 fcfl P o Ja 3 O t O 3 n o O 03 a a _^ a o 02 9 GO a Eh CO & < d c m O 'A 9 U o o O 190 For Class D—Passed Passed for Class E* Partially successful Ditto for Class E .. Failed completely Absent For Class E —Passed Partially successful Failed completely Absent 15 40 [31] 48 2 2 12 13 1 14 10 15 36 74 16 1 1 3 "s 1 1 1 1 3 5 8 6 3 i' i' i 6 13 17 1 11 3 3 13 24 4 32 61 24 1 1 1 3 2 5 3 7 3 2 2 i" i' 3 15 5 5 17 16 5 5 2 1 3 3 i i i 4 1 7 17 2 369 ioi 3 14 3 6 13 3 5 4 i" 4 10 2 2 11 1 195 41 i* 559 Totals 87 151 + 31 250 65 193 21 26 27 16 4 24 82 22 10 10 95 29 » Thirty-one of the candidates that passed for Class E were also partially successful in the Examination for Class D,

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Table III.—Relation of Candidates in Table II to Public Schools.

List of Passes, etc.

I. Passed the Examination foe Class D. Auckland— Hyatt, Henry Rushton. Watkin, Beatrice Ellen. Wanganui— Grant, George. Nelson— •Deck, Mildred Rebecca Massey. North Canterbury— •Dohrmann, Adelaide. 'Gosnell, George Charles. fHoddinott, Frederick W. •Taylor, William. tYoung, Frederick, W. Otago— •Binnie, Christine Isabel. •Cook, Edith. Grant, James. Huie, Robert. •Ross, Maggie Rose. •Truman, Annie Rebekah. 11. Passed the Examination for Class E. Auckland— Burns, John Stuart. Coghill, Margaret. •Edwards, Charles Thomas. Ellis, Howard James Shoveller. Escott, Mary. •Gillibrand, Margaret Elizabeth. Gray, Wynne C. S. Green, William. Grierson, James. •Hall, William Henry Victor. •Higginson, Frank. •Hooker, Annie Exley. Large, George Ephraim. •Mulgan, Selina Imogen Frances. Philips, Henry William Cosby. •Priestly, Hannah Jane. •Purdie, Sarah J. •Steel, Peter Gillies. •Thompson, Rosina Eliza. •Whitaker, Joseph Robert. Worsley, William Harold. Wellington— Heenan, George Charles. Lawson, Annie Henrietta. •Levy, Ellen Jane. •Page, Margaret. •Worboys, Joseph Harrison. Marlborough — Lucas, Maude Alice. Grey— Hicks, Charles. Westland — •Ward, Esther. North Canterbury— •Alley, Frederick James. •Doherty, Kate.

North Canterbury— continued. Fletcher, Florence. 'Harrison, Nellie. Henderson, Evangeline. *Penlington, Benjamin. 'Rowley, Francis John. *Sawle, Annie. *Voss, Johann. Otago— Gerkens, Teresa C. B. * Graham, Charles Haig. •Hardy, James William. •Maekic, William White. Marshall, Angus. •Matheson, John. *Maxwcll, Jessie. "Morgan, Mary Ann. Ross, Donald. Southland— *Birss, Helen Lumsden. 111. Paetial Success eecorded towards Class D. Auckland— Bell, Laura. *Burns, John Stuart. Christie, James. 'Davis, Frances Jenaway. •Flavell, Dennis Rupert. Gilbert, Alice Lilian Frances. Gill, Esther Marcella. Gilmer, Mary Sproulle. Hougham, Charlotte Harriett. 'May, William John. Newton, William Henry. 'Ohlson, Frederick John. •Purdie, Sarah J. •Scott, Augustus Nixon. •Smith, Martha. •Steel, Peter Gillies. 'Symons, Bessie. •Thompson, Rosina Eliza. •Whitaker, Joseph Robert. Whitelaw, Margaret. Wilson, Henry Brougham. Wanganui— Coventry, Harry. Espiner, George Henry. •Low, David Walker. •Parkinson, Henry Ainslie. Wellington— *Baty, Mary Alice Jane. Mason, Francis. Payne, Olivia Emma Pellow. Wallace, Ellen. Marlborough— *Bary, Mary. Nelson — Deck, Charles James. Dencker, Wilhelm H. Peart, Alfred. Twisleton, Henry Lea.

Candidates. h o <^ ■§« B O O jh S a y 3 2 d d a d d w d «B§ D o o ■SIS o5 I o o SI =S S § §-3 fc'g 3 o 'or Class D—Passed Passed for Class E* 4 2 26 [18] 1 "l [1] 1 1 5 1 11 38 109 81 8 13 [12] 9 1 1 15 40 Partially successful Ditto for Class E .. Failed completely .. Absent 'or Class E—Passed Partially successful Failed completely .. Absent 36 1 48 2 61 24 32 101 195 41 45 21 9 1 1 1 10 36 47 3 "l 7 13 0 2 2 2 8 1 4 3 "l 8 22 5 Totals 198 59 12 559 106 39 99 38 * Thirt; '-one of these wore also lartiall succes isful in the D examination. 'ho nunihi jrs in si [Utt! •e brackets relato to the 81,

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Grey— Bromley, John Arrowsmith. Westland — Andrew, William Jeffrey. North Canterbury— •Andrew, Albert William. •Brown, Charlotte Edith. Connor, James Ramsay. •Duncan, Robena. Gillanders, James. Henderson, Evangeline. •McGillivray, John. •Maginness, Mary. •Penlington, Benjamin. Stout, Thomas. *Voss, Johann. •Watkins, Ernest John. South Canterbury— Auld, James Alexander. Browne, William. MoNaught, Thomas. Otago— •Adamson, Margaret Bennett. Beattie, James Martin. Bremner, Philip. •Cameron, Mary (i.) Campbell, Jane. •Cottle, Mary Elizabeth. •Cowan, Robert. •Evans, Emma Jane. •Fitzgerald, John Annandalo. Forbes, Frank James. Fowler, Lillian Elizabeth. •Fraser, Mary Jeannie. Gilfedder, Michael. •Graham, Charles Haig. Gray, John. •Hardy, James William. •Henderson, Jessie. Jeflery, James. Kelk, Henry Phillipson. Kelly, John. King, Mary. Marshall, Angus. •Matheson, John. •Mathews, Alfred. Ross, Donald. Smith, Ethel Rebecca. Sutherland, James. Todd, Helen Thorn. IV. Partial Success recorded towards Class E. Auckland— •Akers, Elizabeth. •Bates, Herbert. •Biggs, Elizabeth Emily. •Black, Joseph Robert. •Bull, Effio Sophia. Burgess, Harriet Hannah. •Calvert, Kate. *Coad, Emma Maria. Crookes, Frank Clement Jenkins. •Davidson, George Adam. Donaldson, Sarah Annie. Dowden, Charles William. Dunning, Alexander Carson. •Edmiston, Clara Agnes. Fortune, Mabel Helen. •Hall, Sarah Anna Jane. Hankin, Frederick Stephen Macinnes. Horgan, George Browne. •Hould, Mary Elizabeth. Jackson, Annie Colquhcun. Jones, Dhalse G. •Judd, Harriett Moreton. La Prelle, John. •Larritt, Sophia. •Lowe, Francis Edwin. •Macky, Catherine Cochrane. •McLeod, Jane Eliza. Mulvany, Kate. •Murrish, Charlotte. Parry, Robert Jones. Rust, Alexander Mearns. •Salmon, Leonora Elizabeth. •Smith, Harriett. •Spragg, Nellie. •Tristam, Ada Mary. Truscott, Kate. •Weston, Jessie. Taranaki — •Hobbs, Annie Clara.

Taranaki— continued. •Mills, Fred. McKay, Alice. Hawke's Bay— •Bedingfield, Douglas Shelley. •Haughey, James. Walker, George. Wanganui— •Astbury, Henry Edward. Bowater, Charles Henry Thomas. Relf, Ree-Emma. Sanson, Herbert. •Strachan, Samuel. •Tompkins, Ernest Walter. Wellington— Davis, Amy Gertrude. Davis, Caroline. Duncan, Annie. Nelson— *Boyes, William Henry. Denoker, Eugene Ferdinand. Evans, Harrison. •Manson, Janette Charlotte. Grey— Brown, Katherine Anne. Patrick, Charles John. •Scott, Elizabeth Askew. Westland — *De Bakker, Leo. •Hirtcr, Jane Gertrude Bertha. Hogg, Susan. •Williams, Henry. North Canterbury— Ball, Rebecca Louisa. •Craddock, Charles Etheridge. •Dick, Fanny. Friar, Eliza. •Frizzle, Robert. •Hamilton, Kate. •McGallan, Thomas Gibson. •Martin, Kate. •Maule, Mary. Mitchell, Thomas. Murray, Ada. O'Shaugbnessy, Julia. •Pope, George Henry. •Stanton, Edith Emena Fannie. •Todd, Avis. •'Veysey, Hester Ann. White, George Henry. South Canterbury— •Cooper, Edith Margaret. •Erskine, Albert. Otago— •Anderson, Jane Sangster. •Chappie, Emma Josephine. Fraser, Johanna. •Harrison, Elizabeth Mary. Kilburn, Joseph. •McCarthy, Mary Ann Recknall. •McLeod, Isabella Hughina. McMillan, Mary Sinclair. •Rankin, Agness Finnic Ridland, William. •South, Moses. •Strong, William James. •Sutherland, Isabella. •Whinham, Lois Annie. Southland— •Dryburgh, Isabella. Hardie, Mary. Hay, William. Jaggers, Emily Frances. •Lea, Mary. •Molvor, Johanna Margaret. •Merrie, Thomas. Passed in the Subjects uequiked to complete Former Examinations. ' Auckland — Bell, Laura (E). Channon, John William (E). Chapman, Thomas Henry (D). Coulter, Thomas William Henry (E). Currie, Annie Hamilton (D). Fletcher, Kate Annie (E). Gifford, Arthur (B). Goldsbury, Alfred (E). •Grant, Catherine Donaldson (D). Hamilton, Thomas D'Arcy (D). Harris, Mary Johanna Maria (E). Haultain, Frances Aplin (D).

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Auckland— continued. Isemonger, Thomas (E). Keesing, Kate (E). Kidd, Marion (E). Mcintosh, William Nepean (E). •Murray, Elizabeth Brown (E). Nicholson, William Henry (E). Pearson, Clara Jane (E). Beid, George Bellis (E). •Bobertson, Constance Louisa (E). Byan, Arabella Colthurst (E). Scott, John Lyons (D). Smith, Catherine Smart (E). •Symons, Bessie (E). Tobin, Cecil Alexander (D). •Trimncll, Margarita Mary Sutton (E). Wilson, Henry Brougham (E). Taranaki — Cliff, Annio Evelyn (E). •Boby, Ada Maria (E). Wanganui— Espiner, George Henry (E). •Igglesden, Olive Mildred (E). Mair, Janet Law (E). Nye, George (E). Wilton, Sarah Anne (D). Wellington— Baty, Mary Alice Jane (E). •Dowdeswell, Adelaide (D). Evans, Eliza H. (E). McGowan, Elizabeth (E). Mason, Francis (E). Payne, Olivia Emma Pellow (E). Scale, Charlotte Fanny (D). •Treadwell, Laura A. (E). Marlborough— Bakewell, Frederick Haslam (D). Nelson — •Allport, Jane Harriett (D). Bakewell, Bobert John (D). Bright, Mary Elizabeth (E). Deck, Charles James (E). Gaseoigno, Mary Catherine Helen (D). Hood, Marion Carmichael (E). Humphreys, Joseph William (E). Scott, Margaret (E). GreyBromley, John Arrowsmith (E). •Polling, Mary Anne (E). Westland — •Ecclesfield, Eva (E). Williams, Sophie Martha (E). North Canterbury— •Alpers, Oscar Thorwald Johan (D). Andrew, Albert W. (D). Bishop, Martha Louisa (E).

North Canterbury— continued. •Bourke, Charles (D). •Brown, Charlotte Edith (E). •Campbell, Isabel Oinskie (E). •Clark, Ernest Henry (D). Currie, Susan (D). •Duncan, Bobena (E). •Harband, Beatrice Mary (D). •Hiatt, Sara Prances (E). Mahood, John James (D). Mayne, Arthur Jonathan (B). Prosser, Hannah Elizabeth (E). Bobinson, Sarah Lewis (E). Stirling, William (D). Wicks, Mary Bulmer (E). Wilkinson, Henry Bobert (E). Woodford, Kate Sarah (E). South Canterbury— Hamilton, Hugh Bichard William (E). Menzies, John, jun. (E). Laing, Bobert Malcolm (A). Otago— Albert, Sarah Elizabeth (E). Annett, Alice (E). Barrett, Bichard James (D). Botting, John Francis (D). •Cameron, Mary (i.) (E). Campbell, Jane (E). •Charmer, Agnes Elizabeth (D). •Cottle, Mary Elizabeth (E). •Dippie, Margaret (E). Donald, Margaret Forest (E). Poster, George (D). Gilfedder, Michael (E). Golding, Jonathan (B). Goulding, Jane Elizabeth (E). Hay, Mary Jane (E). Kelk, Henry Phillipson (El. Loudon, Mary (E). McDonald, William (E). Mackin, Prances Lily (E). •McNiokle, John Alexander (D). Mills, Maria (D). •Mollison, Barbara Archer (D). Montgomery, John B. (D). Pilling, Ewen (E). Bandle, Howard (D). •Biddell, William (D). •Boss, Annio Murray (D). Sutherland, James (E). Southland— •Jaggers, Annio Eliza Mary (D). •McLeod, Caroline (D). McNeil, Duncan (D). O'Bourke, Margaret Teresa (E). Shepard, Henry (E).

* Too young to hold a full certificate.

t Not to receive certificates until qualified for Class C.

EXAMINATION PAPERS. Class E.—English Gkammar. Time allowed: Three hours. 1. " His capacity for innocent enjoyment Is just as great as any honest man's." In the above sentence what parts of speech are " for," " just," "as " ? What other parts of speech may they be ? Write short sentences illustrating the use of these words. Parse the word " man's." What words must be added in order to fill up the ellipsis in the latter part of the sentence ? 2. Write the past tense and past participle of—climb, eat, weave, awake, swim. Give the past tenses, and distinguish between the meanings of—sit, set ; lie, lay ; fly, flee. 3. What is the force of the prefixes in the words —avert, advert, divert, revert, emigrant, immigrant, antechamber, antipathy, suppress, subordinate, supervision? Show how the words indissolubility, undergraduateship, are made up, and the meaning of each part. 4. " Yet simple Nature to his hope has given, Behind the cloud-topt hill, a humbler heaven; Some safer world in depth of woods embraced, Some happier island in the watery waste. To be, contents his natural desire ; He asks no angel's wing, no seraph's fire, But thinks, admitted to that equal sky, His faithful dog shall bear him company." Analyse the two first lines. Parse the words—"embraced," "island," "contents," "admitted," " company." Write the passage in your own words.

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5. Punctuate the following passage, and put capitals where required : The genius seeing me indulge myself in this melancholy prospect told me I had dwelt long enough upon it take thine eyes off the bridge said he and tell me if thou yet seest anything thou dost not comprehend upon looking up what mean I said those great flights of birds that are hovering about the bridge and settling upon it from time to time these said the genius are envy avarice superstition despair with the like cares and passions that infest human life I here fetched a deep sigh alas said I man was made in vain how is he given away to misery and mortality tortured in life and swallowed up in death. 6. Correct any errors or ambiguities you observe in the following: (a.) Although tigers were known to exist in the neighbourhood, and I accompanied several expeditions in search of them, they were not successful, (b.) A painting was shown which is said to be by Murillo, and which may be the truth for all one can see to the contrary, (c.) The hardship is that one can neither speak of kings or queens without suspicion of politics or personalities, (d.) Let the storm bend the tree-tops in its course, while they cling with their roots to the swampy ground, (e.) Not having seen them for several years, her arrival caused considerable excitement. (/.) lam one of those who cannot describe what I do not see. 7. Eewrite paragraph A in a terse form, using direct terms for circumlocutions, and omitting unnecessary words ; put together the unconnected sentences in B so as to form a narrative : — A. A bed is nothing but a bundle of paradoxes. When we approach it, it is with the reverse of a feeling of willingness; yet when we leave it, it is with a feeling of regret. We come to a determination in our minds every night that we will go away from it at an early hour, but with regard to our bodies we every morning come to a determination to remain in it till a late hour in the day. [Observe and give effect to the antitheses —minds, bodies ; early, late.] B. He was walking in the street. He saw a spacious building. The open doors invited all to enter. He followed the stream of people. He found it a hall or school of declamation. In the hall professors read lectures to their auditory. He fixed his eyes upon, a sage. The sage was raised above the rest. The sage discoursed with great energy. The discourse was on the government of the passions. 8. Write not less than 25 lines on Perseverance; or, A description of a journey in any part of New Zealand.

Class E.—Exbboisb in Dictation and Spelling. Words to be dictated by the Supervisor: Catalogue, accommodate, forfeit, admissible, massacre, seventieth, besiege, deferential, cylinder, diphthong, embarrass, amphibious, descendant, agreeable, pyramid, independent, buoyancy, mistletoe, disguising, tyrannical, dissyllable, chandelier, tarpaulin, miniature.

Class E.—Arithmetic. Time allowed: Three hours. 1. Multiply the sum of three million seventy thousand and forty-eight and two million nine hundred and two thousand and fifty by their difference, and write down the answer in words. 2. A society having to raise £1,507 10s. in a year finds that a monthly contribution of 2s. 9-J-d. per head will be sufficient: what is the number of members in the society ? If 96 members decline to pay, what additional monthly contribution must be made by the remaining members ? 3. Multiply 26m. 15p. 4yd. 6in. by 17f 4. A plank of wood, 7ft. 6in. long, Ift. 2in. broad, and 1-Jin. thick, weighs 421b.: find the weight of the wood per cubic foot. 5. Find, by Practice, the value of 42ac. lr. 24p, at £2 16s. _Jd. per acre. 33. \i_ 6. Simplify—=— t^x. > anc^ n<^ e difference between fof half a sovereign and •§• of half a guinea. Af of 1 3 7. Explain the effect on the value of a number of removing the decimal point to the right and to the left. Show how to reduce the decimals -016 and -016 to vulgar fractions. 8. Eind the value of -0625 ton + -8125 cwt. - 2f of 12}lb. 9. A gallon of water weighs 101b., and a litre of water weighs 1 kilogramme. Having given that 1 litre — P76 pints, express lib. as the decimal of a kilogramme. 10. If 3 compositors set up 36 pages of type in 5 days of 8 hours each, how many compositors must be employed to set up 84 pages in 2 days of 10 hours each ? 11. Eind the simple interest on £1,272 10s. from Aug. 13th, 1884, to Dec. 20th, 1885, at 5$ per cent, per annum. 12. A grocer gains 5 per cent, on tea which he sells at 2s. 7-Jd. per lb.: what must he charge for the tea to gain 15 per cent. ? 13. The population of a State in 1870 was one million six hundred and eighty thousand, and in 1880 it was one million seven hundred and thirty-eight thousand eight hundred : find the increase per cent., and calculate what the population will be in 1890 at the same rate of increase.

Class B.—Geography. Time allowed: Three hours. 1. Explain the meaning of the following terms: Biver-basin, great circle, latitude, tropic, delta, volcano. 2. Give a brief description of the more important physical features of the South Island of New Zealand. 3. Give the names of four important towns in each of the following countries, and describe the position of each : Switzerland, Canada, Belgium, Afghanistan, New South Wales, Japan.

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4. What and where are the following : Zambesi, Titicaca, Anticosfci, Singapore, Maladetta, Pruth, Levuka, Yukon, Chimborazo, Aden, Panama, Kosciusko ? 5. A traveller comes to New Zealand by way of San Francisco, and returns by way of Sydney and Torres Strait: give in order the oceans, seas, &c, through which he would pass, and mention the usual places of call on such a route. 6. Briefly describe the mountain system of Europe. 7. Give the political divisions of South America, together with the chief towns of each. 8. Draw a map of Europe, and show on it roughly the positions and courses of the following rivers: Ehine, Ehone, Danube, Volga, Ebro, Elbe, Po, Seine, Petchora.

Class E.—English Histoby. Time allowed: Three hours. 1. Give a short sketch of the relations between King and Parliament during the reign of James I.; explaining particularly (1) the means employed by the King to raise revenue, (2) his conduct in relation to Spain. 2. Give a short account of British settlement in America during the Stuart period. 3. Write a short biography of Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford. 4. What is meant by the Kevocation of the Edict of Nantes, and what was its effect upon English history ? 5. When and how did government by party originate in England? 6. "In actual fact, it [the Kevolution of 1688] was transferring the sovereignty from the King to the House of Commons." Explain this, and mention the principal measures by which this result was accomplished, and tho persons who were most instrumental in carrying them. 7. Mention in order Marlborough's great campaigns. Give fuller details with regard to any one of them. 8. Who were the great prose writers of the later Stuart period ? Give a short account of any one of their masterpieces. 9. Who was John Wilkes, and what constitutional question was involved in his trial ? 10. Write brief notes on the following names: Lord George Gordon, Mr. Canning, General Monk, Lord William Kussell, George Stephenson. Classes D and E. —School Management.

Classes D and E.—School Management. Time allowed: Three hours. [N.B. —Candidates should omit No. 2 if they can answer No. 1, and No. 5 if they can answer No. i.] 1. Show, as clearly as you can, in what ways the organization, discipline, and methods of a well-conducted school may be expected to promote the formation of good habits, and to foster correct principles, in the children attending it. 2. Write a short essay on : " How to reduce school punishments to a minimum." 3. What is the principal use of home-lessons ? What arguments in favour of the total abolition of home-lessons are sometimes brought forward ? How would you reply to objections of this kind ? Describe cases in which the giving of home-lessons and the use of text-books may be injurious (a) to the mental growth of the pupils, and (b) to the general efficiency of the school-training. 4. Draw up full notes of a lesson on any one of the following subjects. The lesson is to occupy twenty-five minutes: — (a.) A bank cheque. (Standard VI.) (b.) Ice, icebergs, glaciers, and moraines ; or Ammonia (Agricultural Chemistry). (Standard VI.) (c.) The rendering of the sense of the following passage of easy verse into good prose : — Ye gentle souls, who dream of rural ease, Whom the smooth stream and smoother sonnet please, Go, if the peaceful cot your praises share, Go, look within, and ask if peace be there : If peace be his —that drooping, weary sire ; Or theirs, that offspring round their feeble fire ; Or hers, that matron pale, whose trembling hand Turns on the wretched hearth th' expiring brand. (Standard V.) (d.) The method of working the following question : If 45 men can clear 195 acres of ground in 63 days, how long would it take 54 men to do it ? (Standard V.) 5. Draw up full notes of a lesson on any one of the following subjects. The lesson is to last twenty minutes: — (a.) One or two of the most striking facts and incidents illustrating the life of the Stuart period. (Standard III.) (b.) The parts of speech in the following sentence : All gentlemen of fortune are, in consequence of their property, liable to be called upon to establish the rights and, sometimes, to dispose of the lives of their fellow-subjects by serving on juries. (Standard IV.) (c.) Kauri gum and its uses ; or The Kiwi. (Standard II.) (d.) Eour or five groups of easy words of one syllable, illustrating sounds represented by two letters. (Standard I.) 6. Show that each of the three ordinary methods of teaching young children reading has its special use, and that the best results are to be expected from a judicious combination of these methods. When, and under what circumstances, would you give the greatest prominence to each method ?

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7. Give examples of cases arising in the course of actual class-teaching in which (a) " telling" and (b) "eliciting" may be injurious. What relation should unassisted " silent work " generally bear to that which is done viva voce, and under the master's direct teaching ? 8. Draw up a time-table for a school with 32 pupils. The children are to be taught by a master or a mistress only. The classification of the children is as follows : Two are preparing for Standard V.; four for Standard III.; five for Standard II.; seven for Standard I.; there are five children in the lower division of the preparatory class and nine in the upper. In a large school, what devices may be used to prevent, as far as possible, inferiority in the girls' literary work through their having to attend classes for sewing ? 9. Explain the meaning of the following phrases in " The Standards," 1885: Percentage of passes, percentage of failures, percentage on class-subjects, additional marks. In a certain school there are 57 children on the school-roll; 51 of these are present at examination, and 34 pass ; there are no " exceptions " : find the percentage of passes and the percentage of failures. 10. What is '.'the weekly roll-number "? Describe fully all the register entries that should be made when a new pupil is admitted. At a certain school not more than one-fifth of the total number of the children on the roll were absent on any half-day of the September quarter except those mentioned below, when the attendance was as follows :— Boys. Girls. August 25, morning and afternoon ... 7 3 „ 26, „ „ ... 5 3 September3, „ „ ... 10 10 „ 4, morning only ... ... 15 14 „ 7, morning and afternoon ... 8 4 „ 8, „ „ ... 7 3 With these data complete the following returns to line XIV. Criticise line XV. :

Return of Attendance for the Quarter ending September 30, 1885.

Classes D and B.—Elementaey Science. Time allowed : Three hours. [Note. —Candidates are not to attempt more than twelve questions. Female candidates, if proficient in Needlework, may substitute for this paper the paper on Domestic Economy and the Laws of Health ; but passing in Science will not exempt them from passing in Needlework also.] 1. If a body just floats in water, will it float in oil ? In what liquid will iron float? 2. Draw a vertical section of a fire-engine. What is the use of the air-vessel'? 3. Describe simple experiments to show the pressure of air. If a cylinder of air, open at one end, were placed mouth downwards in a vessel of mercury, how far down would it have to be pressed in order that it might be half filled by the mercury ? If the vessel contained water, how far down would the cylinder have to be pressed ? 4. How is power gained by the use of a common screw lifting-jack? 5. How may the pitch of a musical note be determined? 2—E. la.

: SCHOOL. HalfDays. M. F. TOTAL. I. How many scholars were returned as belonging to the school at the end of last quarter ? [Line VII. of last quarter's return] II. How many of these have left, not having attended at all this quarter ? .. 27 3 24 1 51 4 III. What, then, was the number really belonging to the school at beginning of quarter ? [ Subtract II. from I] IV. How many have teen admitted during the quarter ? 24 23 5 17 5 V. How many, therefore, have belonged to the school this quarter ? [Add III. ami IV.] VI. How many of these (in V.) left before the end of the quarter ? .. 24 1 28 3 52 4 VII. What, then, is the number now belonging ? [Subtract VI. from V.] VIII. What is the average weekly number on the roll during the quarter ? 23 23-7 25 24-6 48 48-3 IX. How many times has the school been open this quarter (mornings and afternoons to bo reckoned separately) ? X. What is the number of half-day attendances ? .. XL What, then, is the strict average attendance ? {Divide X. by IX.] 143 2,805 2,911' J XII. On how many half-days has the attendance been not less than one-half of the number on the roll for the time being ? XIII. What is the number of attendances on these half-days ? XIV. What, then, is the average attendance by the second computation (or working average ) ? [Divide XIII. by XII.~] XV. What has been the largest attendance on any half-day this quarter ? 25 24 19

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6. What are the laws of the reflection of light ? Show by a diagram how an image is formed in a mirror. 7. Show how an image is formed in a photographic camera. 8. What is the difference between boiling and evaporation ? Upon what does the boiling point of water depend ? 9. What is heat supposed to be? What are the principal ways in which it can be produced? 10. Give the important properties of a magnet. State the apparatus you would need to illustrate these properties. 11. What are the chemical properties of an electric current? How is water decomposed ? 12. Describe fully the action of carbonic acid in nature. 13. Describe a candle-flame. How may gas be burned so as to give a non-luminous flame ? 14. Describe the manufacture of soap, or glass, or porcelain, in any case stating the chemical action. 15. Describe the mechanism for breathing. What purposes does it serve? 16. Explain how food gets into the blood. 17. Describe a plant, and state the functions of its several parts. 18.- Give an outline of the classification of the animal kingdom.

Classes D and E.—Domestic Economy and Laws op Health. Time allowed: Three hours. [Note. —This paper is for female candidates who are proficient in Needlework, and, in consideration of this, are allowed, if they prefer it, to be examined in Domestic Economy and the Laws of Health, instead of in the general subject of Elementary Science. See the note on the Elementary Science paper.] 1. What are the chief effects of breathing vitiated air? Give examples of its influence on the rate of mortality. 2. What is considered the most satisfactory way of connecting a house with a drain? 3. Why is physical exercise required by those engaged in mental occupations ? .4. Name some of the infectious diseases. What precautions are necessary to prevent the spreiad of such diseases ? '■5. What are the several ways of cooking eggs? Which of these ways are the most suitable for invalids ? 6. What are the effects of alcoholic drinks, and such drinks as tea and coffee, upon the system? 7. Describe the skin, and state its functions. State all the circumstances by which the temperature of the body is maintained and regulated. 8. Describe the process of digestion. Why is fried meat usually not so digestible as grilled meat? 9. Describe the heart. What effect has undue physical exertion upon its structure? '.101' Make a sketch showing the direction of the flues in an ordinary kitchen-range. Why does a chimney produce a draught ?

Class D. —English Grammar and Composition. Time allowed .- Three hours. [Note. —Each section must be attempted.] 1. (a) State the grammatical function which each italicised word in the following seems now to fulfil, and the function it fulfilled in an earlier stage of the language : (a) Some ten of them went (b) Give me the hook; (c) They took such men as they could get; (d) Men say that he did it; (e) Ought I to go ? (/) You were about to say ; (g) He acts like a statesman; (h) He drove past us; (i) Both he and I go ; (J) A dozen men ; (k) Our journey home; (/) He has done it before now. (/3) Distinguish in the following bracketed sentences the syntactical uses of the italicised phrases or clauses : (a) He came, lohen I came ; He asked when I came ; That was the time when I came : (6) He taught me to read; He seems to read well; It is a pleasure to read so well; lam glad to read that: (c) Is any afflicted, let him pray ;Is any one afflicted with the disease ? He asked, Is any one afflicted ? (d) He brought all but three ; But three were brought; "But three," he cried. 2. In each of the following sentences a word is inaccurately used; point it out, substitute the correct word, and state both the meaning that is common to the two and the differences between them: (a) For several hours we looked at the watchmakers as they worked, and we were surprised at the address with which they manipulated their tools and the minute pieces of the machinery. (b) We went to the athletic sports last year, and there we saw the renowned wrestler who accompanied you in your tour through Europe, (c) The chemist gave his evidence clearly and vigorously, and he declared that the drug which the prisoner used was the most forcible he had in his shop. (d) The lady gazed some time at the sea as it stretched out towards the horizon, and, turning round to her friend, exclaimed, "Is it not lovely ?" (e) He brought up the child with the greatest care, and instructed him to speak three languages well. (/) He now came to see the error of his ways, and showed an inclination to recant his allegiance to his king, (g) His memory, lam certain, has not begun to fail; for, all these years that he has been absent from the neighbourhood, he has recollected the details we have entirely forgotten, (h) The woman was vigorous and not unfrequently witty in her conversation ; but she was so garrulous that no one who had not the gift of silence and hours to spare would venture near her. (i) Those misfortunes which came upon him later in life every one looked upon as just revenge for all the crimes he had committed in his youth. 3. Bewrite the following so as to avoid the ambiguities, inaccuracies, archaisms, awkward, unrhythmical, and ungrammatical constructions, and intricate and ill-balanced clauses. The words and order may be changed, but no idea of the original is to be omitted. "The truth is, the

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prince had some secret intimation of the marquis's purpose of immediately leaving the town and embarking himself for the parts beyond the seas, before the marquis himself sent him word of it; upon which, in great passion and rage, he sent him notice of his resolution presently to be gone, that he who had the command of all those parts, and thereby an obligation not to desert his charge, might be without any imagination that the prince would take such a distracted government upon him and leave him any excuse for his departure: and if in this joint distemper, with which they were both transported, any persons of discretion and honour had interposed, they might, in all probability, have prevailed with both for a good understanding between them, or at least for the suspension of their present resolutions and considering what might best be done." 4. Outline an essay on the character and work of any one great English statesman, and their relationship to his age. Write out the introduction and conclusion in full; but in the main part of the essay give only the main ideas, numbering them in logical order, and under each of these arrange the subordinate ideas in logical order. 5. Punctuate the following passage: I see you are getting tired and stupid Ben said Mrs. Garth accustomed to these obstructive arguments from her male offspring having finished her pies she moved towards the clothes-horse and said come here and tell me the story I told you on Wednesday about Cincinnatus I know he was a farmer said Ben now Ben he was a Roman let me tell said Letty using her elbow contentiously you silly thing he was a Eoman farmer and he was ploughing yes but before that that didn't come first people wanted him said Letty well but you must say what sort of a man he was first insisted Ben he was a wise man like my father and that made the people want his advice and he was a brave man and could fight and so could my father couldn't he mother now Ben let me tell the story straight on as mother told it us said Letty frowning please mother tell Ben not to speak Letty I am ashamed of you said her mother wringing out the caps from the tub when your brother began you ought to have waited to see if he could not tell the story now Ben well oh well why there was a great deal of fighting and they were all blockheads and I can't tell it just how you told it but they wanted a man to be captain and king and everything dictator now said Letty with injured looks very well dictator said Ben contemptuously but that isn't a good word he didn't tell them to write on slates come come Ben you are not so ignorant as that said Mrs. Garth carefully serious. 6. Write a list of words read out by the Supervisor.

Class D.—Exercise in Dictation and Spelling. Time allowed .- Three hours. (Part of a paper on English Grammar and Composition.) Words to be dictated by Supervisor:—Monosyllabic, revelling, metallurgy, mosque, mimic, traceable, acquittal, vying, fulfilment, advisable, enthrall, acacia, cantos, fulfilling, cabal, manoeuvre, aeronaut, mimicking, embarrassment, independent, ajsthetic, until, idiosyncrasy, canvasbaok, rhinoceros.

Class D.—Arithmetic. Time allowed .- Three hours. 1. One million eighty-nine thousand three hundred and sixty-three trees are planted in rows 5 feet apart, and the trees are 3 feet apart in each row: find the area planted, in acres. 2. The cost of asphalting a footpath, a mile and a half long, at Is. 1-J-d. per sq. yd., amounted to £210 7s. 6d. : find the width of the footpath. 3. The weight of an ingot of gold is found to be scwt, 3qr. 161b.: express this weight in ounces troy. Having given that the value of 401b. troy of gold is £1,869, find the value of the ingot. 4. Find, by Practice, the value of 4 tons 13cwt. lqr. 121b. at £4 12s. 6d. per ton. 5. If the velocity of sound be 1,100 feet per second, and that of a cannon-ball 1,000 feet per second, calculate the distance from the gun of a spot where the report is heard three-fourths of a second before it is struck by the shot. 6. Simplify ft of (3f - If) x fc-fi t ff +I. 7. Explain the rule for converting a mixed recurring decimal into a vulgar fraction, taking as an example the decimal -354. 8. Find the value of f of f of 15s. 9d. - -625 of 13s. 4d. + -2153846 of £1 12s. 6d. 9. A square cistern, 8 feet deep, has to be constructed to contain 12,000 gallons of water: find the length of a side of the cistern. [1 gal. = 277-274 cub. in.] 10. If the work of raising a pound one foot be called a foot-pound, and the work of raising a kilogramme one metre be called a kilogram-metre, express a horse-power, which is 550 foot-pounds per second, in kilogram-metres. [1 metre = 3937in.; 1 kilog. = 2-21b.] 11. Eind the amount of £375 put out for 4 years at compound interest at 6 per cent, per annum. 12. In a school of 650 children the percentage under twelve years of age is 84, and in another school of 250 children the percentage under twelve is 92. Taking both schools together, what is the percentage of scholars under twelve years of age ? 13. If cloth be bought at 2s. 9d. a yard, find what its selling price must be to leave a profit of 30 per cent, after allowing a discount for ready money of sixpence in the pound. 14. A person finds that if he invests his money in the 4-per-cents at 92 his income will be less by two guineas than if he invests it in the 4i-per-cents at par: find the sum to be invested.

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Class D. —Geography. Time alloived : Three hours. 1. Explain the moaning of the following terms and phrases: Left bank (of a river), meridian altitude of the sun, longitude, watershed, polar circles, height of the snow-line. 2. Explain how it is that portions of the nearly spherical surface of the earth are represented with sufficient exactness by means of flat maps. Explain the nature of Mercator's Projection. 3. Describe the positions of the chief mountain-ranges in Great Britain and Ireland. 4. Draw a map of the Mediterranean Sea; insert the chief islands in it, and mark the positions of the chief towms near its coast. 5. Describe the positions of the following towns in Asia: Delhi, Erzeroum, Shanghai, Yarkhand, Mandalay, Tashkend, Yokohama, Damascus, Herat, Lahore. 6. Describe the river system of that part of Europe which lies north of the great watershed. 7. Where in Australia are Geelong, Maitland, Port Augusta, Eockhampton, Eiver Yarra, Shark's Bay, Eiver Lachlan, Perth, the Grampians, Cape Howe, Lake Torrens, Champion Bay? 8. Draw a map of New Zealand, mark the names of the chief capes, and insert the following: Lake Manapouri, Waimakariri Eiver, Bay of Islands, White Island, Mount Cook, Kawhia Harbour, Taieri Plains, Lake Wairarapa, Mania Peninsula, Teremakau Eiver, Lake Eotorua, Pelorus Sound.

Class D.—English History. Time allowed .- Three hours. 1. Characterize Dunstan as a legislator. 2. How did William the Second deal with the Church ? 3. What was the attitude of the English Kings to feudalism ? 4. Whence did our parliamentary system get its principle of representation? 5. Distinguish frithgilds, craftgilds, and merchantgilds, and discuss the significance of their rise. 6. What led to the fall of Eichard the Second ? 7. Give the main events of the reign of Eichard the Third and investigate his character. 8. Tell the story of the relations between England and Spain during the latter half of the sixteenth century. 9. Compare the Petition of Eight and the Bill of Eights as to purport and result. 10. What attitude did English statesmen of the close of last century take up towards the Erench Eevolution and the English sympathizers with it ? 11. Sketch the advance made by England during the eighteenth century from a social and an economic point of view.

Class D.—Latin. Time allowed .- Three hours. 1. Give the ablative singular of tristis, felix, melior; and the ablative plural of dea. Give the vocative singular of meus films. Decline, in the singular number only, uterque senex, altera respublica. Write down the first person singular of the perfect active, the infinitive active, and the supine (if any) of veudo, veneo, venio, sero, pasco, condo, dlvido, aufero, suadeo, crepo, saepio, cognosco. 2. What are the common interrogative particles, and how are they used (1) in direct, (2) in indirect questions ? Erame examples. Express in Latin, " We must find out whether these things are true or not." 3. How do you express motion to, motion from, and rest at a place, (1) in the case of common nouns such as urbs, ager, regio; (2) in the case of proper names ? Erame examples. 4. What cases are governed by the following verbs, respectively: Parco, memini, fruor, credo, invideo, praesto, subvenio, juvo, placeo ? Where more cases than one are used, explain the difference. 5. Translate into Latin— A poor man is never believed. We must resist the tyrants. Do not be angry with me. I am afraid you are angry. I cannot hinder him from doing these things. Be silent, will you ? Take care that you are not deceiving yourself. 6. Translate—Luisse enim quendam ferunt Demaratum Corinthium, et honore et auctoritate et fortunis facile civitatis suae principem; qui, quum Corinthiorum tyrannum Cypselum ferre non potuisset, fugisse cum magna pecunia dicitur, ac se contulisse Tarquinios, in urbem Etruriae florentissimam. Quumque audiret dominationem Cypseli confirmari, defugit patriam vir liber ac fortis, et aseitus est civis a Tarquiniensibus, atque in ea civitate doinicilium et sedes collocavit. Übi quum tie matrefainilias Tarquiniensi duo filios procreavisset, omnibus cos artibus ad Graecorum disciplinam erudiit.

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Class D.—Algebra (Optional). Time allowed .- Three hours. 1. Explain the meaning of the expression v7^ +5Vp + 3r+l — [|^-; and'ftmdi'the value of fa; 2 — a?y + labx — Zy s, when a— 5, b=o, x—l, y—l. 2. Divide 2a 3 + 10 - 16a - 39a 2 + 15a 4 by 2 - 4a - 5a 2. 3. Eesolve into elementary factors x s + y"; a; 3 +%* — 132a:; x i — 2a:?/ 3 + 2a% 2 — xy'; (2a; + 3?/) 2 —(x — sy)". Eind the factors of x" -\- x— 2, and hence write [down the quotient obtained when this expression is divided into 2x (a: 3 —1)(«+2) 2. 4. Find the highest common factor of 2a: 3 - 10a; 3 + 42a; - 60, and 7a; 4 - 24a;" + 113a; 3 - 42a; - 15; and the lowest common multiple of xs + y 3, 3a; 2 + 2a;?/ — y", x% — x-y + xy~. 5. Simplify 2[a-3 (b - 2o) ] -(-B[a-26-2 ( - b + c) ]) ; , , r a-(b +c) . [ 3a-2b-c )~] . 1 , 26 . _ „. ~, tia x-a 2 . 6. Simplify - -^^- +I^, + x _ ¥a , and r + ?A(~^) - + zr-a--\y xj\ij i — x i) x'+xy xy—y* x _ „ , ~ .. 25~i' 16x+4i r, 23 7. Solve the equations ——r H — o ,° = 5 . —r; » x + l ix + 'J, x + 1 x 1 + a (2a —x) — ? =( x — ) + a 2. 8. A man has one kind of tea worth a pence per pound and another worth b pence per pound: how many pounds of each kind must he take to form a mixture of p pounds which he can sell for c pence per pound and gain 15 per cent. ? 9. Two pedestrians walk in opposite directions round a circle-a mile in circumference; they start from the same point, but the second starts ten minutes after the first. If the first walk at the rate of 3J miles an hour and the second at the rate of 3J miles an hour, where will they meet ? If they continue walking, where will they meet for the second time ?

Class D.—Euclid (Optional). Time alloived: Three hours. 1. Distinguish between a postulate and an axiom. Quote the axioms which are applicable exclusively to geometry. 2. The angles at the base of an isosceles triangle are equal to one another, and, if the equal sides be produced, the angles upon the other side of the base shall also be equal 3. To draw a straight line perpendicular to a given straight line, of an unlimited length, from a given point without it. Show how the construction might fail if the point, through which the circle is described, were taken in the given straight line, or on the side of it on which the given point is situated. 4. Parallelograms upon equal bases, and between the same parallels, are equal to one another. Show how a rhombus may be constructed equal in area to a given parallelogram. 5. In every right-angled triangle the square which is described upon the side subtending the right angle is equal to the squares described upon the sides which contain the right angle. 6. In obtuse-angled triangles, if a perpendicular be drawn from any of the acute angles to the opposite side produced, the square of the side subtending the obtuse angle is greater than the squares of the sides containing the obtuse angle by twice the rectangle contained by the side upon which, when produced, the perpendicular falls and the straight line intercepted between the perpendicular and the obtuse angle. 7. To describe a square that shall be equal to a given rectilineal figure. Show how to describe a rectangle that shall be equal to a given square and have one of its sides equal to a given straight line.

Class D.—Chemistry (Optional). Time alloived: Three hours. [Candidates arc not to answer more than nine questions.] 1. Five corked bottles are placed before you, each containing one of the following gases : Oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, chlorine, carbon dioxide (carbonic acid). How would you find out which gas each bottle contains ? 2. Write down an equation to show how chlorine gas may be got from common salt. 3. Arrange the following gases in the order of their specific gravity, all being at the same temperature and under the same pressure : C0 2 , NH 3 , CH 4 , H,S, H 2 O, CI, HCI, HI, PH 3 , NO, NO a , S0 2 . 4. What agencies are at work removing oxygen from the atmosphere ? 5. In what way do the breathing of animals and the growing of plants affect the composition of the atmosphere ?

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6. What weight of (a) carbon dioxide (carbonic acid) and (b) water is made by burning 1001b. of marsh gas (CH 4 ) ? 7. Write down the names, symbols, and atomic weights of the non-metallic elements. 8. Write down the names and symbols of the oxides and chlorides of hydrogen, nitrogen, and phosphorus. 9. Describe the process for the manufacture of sulphuric acid. 10. Describe the allotropic forms of carbon or of phosphorus. 11. State what you know of ozone ; how it is made, its properties, and the tests for it.

Class D—Electricity (Optional). Time allowed: Three hours. 1. What is the distribution of electricity on a cube, a sphere, and a disc respectively ? What is the special peculiarity of points, as regards distribution of electricity ? 2. Describe any form of electric machine in which induction instead of friction develops the electricity. 3. How would you make the experiment to show that the electricity in a charged Leyden jar was upon the surface of the glass, and not in the covers ? 4. Describe three essentially different ways of producing a current of electricity. 5. How is an electro-magnet made ? How would you make experiments to illustrate magnetic induction by its means ? 6. Describe a Daniell's, a Grove's, and a Volta cell. In what respects are the two former an improvement on the latter ? 7. Describe the Morse telegraph instrument. What is the use of the relay so often used with it ? 8. Make a sketch showing a section through a Bell's telephone, and state how it differs from Edison's. What are the relative advantages of each ? 9. Describe the process of electrotyping and electroplating. What form of battery is best for the purpose ? 10. Describe a Gramme magneto-electric machine, or any other form of "dynamo" you are acquainted with.

Class D.—Sound and Light (Optional). Time allowed: Three hours. 1. What is the velocity of sound in air? How has it been determined? Upon what does its velocity in any substance depend ? 2. How is a musical note produced in an organ-pipe and in a concertina respectively? 3. What are the fractions that represent the musical scale ? Supposing C to make 256 vibrations a second, what is the length of vibration in the note^ D ? _ 4. State what you know of interference of sound. 5. Give the laws of reflection. Why does a lamp reflected in water often produce the appearance of a streak of light ? 6. Show how it is that a candle, placed a long way from a concave mirror, produces an image that is smaller, and inverted. 7. Show how an image is produced by a convex lens, such as that in a photographic camera ; show also how a convex lens magnifies an object. 8. What will happen when a beam of yellow (sodium) light is sent through a prism? What will happen when a beam of common white light is sent ? Draw a diagram in each case. 9. Give a general account of spectrum analysis. 10. State what you know of interference and polarization of light.

Class D.—Heat (Optional). Time allowed .- Three hours. 1. Describe how the coefficients of expansion of solids and liquids have been determined. Why is the cubic coefficient generally considered three times the linear ? 2. What arrangements are made to compensate for expansion in good timekeepers? 3. How are winds produced? What are the trade-winds? In what direction do they blow? 4. What is the dew-point ? How is it determined ? Upon what does the quantity of dew deposited depend ? 5. What are the various means of producing artificial cold ? Describe any process for freezing meat. 6. What are the varieties of energy ? What is trie energy in gunpowder ? What form of energy is latent heat ? 7. What are the circumstances that influence the boiling of water? What is the difference between boiling and evaporation ? 8. State what you know of radiant heat. If a piece of white paper and a piece of black paper be placed in sunlight, one gets hotter than the other : which? Does the same thing happen if they are placed before a fire ? 9. Eadiant energy manifests itself in three ways —as heat, as light, and as chemical action : how are these distributed in the solar spectrum ? 10. What are the latent heats of water and of steam? If 101b. of water at 30°C, 31b. of ice at 0° C, and 21b. of steam at 100° C. were mixed, what would be the resultant temperature ?

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Class D.—Botany (Optional). Time allowed .- Three hours. 1. Mention all the kinds of underground stems that you know, and explain how they are distinguished from roots. 2. What is meant by a compound leaf, by decussate leaves, by bracts, and by connate leaves? 3. Describe the different kinds of venation found in leaves, illustrating your descriptions with diagrams. 4. Give all the characters you know which distinguish monocotyledons from dicotyledons. 5. Describe, and illustrate with diagrams, the terms " perigynous," " hypogynous," and " epigynous ;" and name examples of each. 6. Describe the flower in the following natural orders : Liliacese, Scrophularinese, Compositae, and Cruciferee. 7. Describe as many dry dehiscent fruits as you can. 8. Explain why a plant with opened leaves requires to be watered for several days after transplanting. 9. How does a plant obtain the oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen it requires for food? 10. How is it that mould grows in the dark, while ordinary plants require sunlight?

Class D.—Geology (Optional). Time allowed: Three hours. 1. How do you distinguish quartz, felspar, mica, augite, and hornblende from one another? 2. In what rocks is olivine found ? How do you recognise it ? 3. What are organic rocks and metamorphic rocks ? Give examples. 4. Eocks formed under the sea are now found far inland. How do you account for this ? Giy» reasons for your opinion. 5. Draw a diagram showing unconformity, or discordance, between two sets of beds, and explain what inferences may be drawn from it. 6. Describe the geological action of ice. 7. State your opinion of the origin of valleys among mountains, giving your reasons for|so thinking. 8. Write down the table of eras and periods into which geological time is divided. 9. Describe the structure of the following fossils, and state during what periods they lived : Ammonite, nummulite, trilobite, graptolite, belemnite. 10. How do geologists make out the relative ages of rocks ?

Class D.—French (Optional) Time allowed : Three hours. 1. Give the plural masculine of the following adjectives : Egal, fatal, tout, bleu, hebreu. 2. When do proper names take the sign of the plural ? 3. What three nouns are masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural ? 4. When do suppose, excepts, ci-joint, &c, remain invariable ? 5. Translate— lt is easy to see, &c. I know that book; it is very amusing. I understand what you mean ; it is quite clear. It is I who told you so. It would give me great pleasure. 6. What is the usual position of the adverb in French—(l) when the verb is in a simple tense; (2) when the verb is in a compound tense? Would it be right to say "Je I'ai hier vu'"i 7. From the following adjectives form adverbs : Doux, poli, prudent, lent, aveugle. 8. Translate— Whatever you think, keep it to yourself. Whatever your lot may be, &c. 9. When does le remain invariable before plus and moins ? 10. How are—the more the more; the less the less, &c, to be translated in such sentences as—The more you learn to-day, the less you will have to learn to-morrow ? 11. Before what words beginning with a vowel is the article not elided? 12. State the origin of the words ma mie, &c, and m'amour. 13. Translate—l have a toothache. You are hurting my arm. He has broken his leg. Wash your hands. My headaches come on in the evening. 14. Translate — What do you say? Take ivhat you like. What a beautiful flower! What! do you think I would do such a thing ? 15. Translate —You make such a noise. She is such a good woman. Such a thing is not known here. 16. Give the principal parts of the verbs plaindre, paraitre, ouvrir, dormir, battre. 17. Conjugate the imperative of ne pas s'admirer. 18. What difference in meaning is there between the following verbs when conjugated, first with etre, secondly with avoir : coyivenir, demcurcr, echapper, expirer ? 19. When is a to be used after tarder, and when is de to be used ? 20. What difference in meaning is there between j'ai Hi and je suis alii ? 21. Translate into English— D'autre part, il est possible d'acquerir et il est k desirer que nous acquerions une connaissance beaucoup plus approfondie des langues modernes que des langues mortes, et pourtant nous agissons comme si c'ctait tout le contrairo. Quoiquo les examens qui sont la pierre de touche de notre connaissance des langues modernes, soient beaucoup plus

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frequents et plus difficiles que ce ne saurait etre le cas pour le Grec et le Latin, nos iddes sur ce qui constitue une connaissance approfondie de ces langues sont beaucoup trop vagues. Ce n'est pas assez de pouvoir lire des livres ordinaires avec une tolerable facilite et d'avoir des notions vagues sur leur contenu, ou bien de soutenir une conversation a batons rompus sur le temps ou les mets d'un diner: la facilite d'clocution et de composition sur des sujets graves et serieux, une appreciation juste du genie et des idiosyncrasies du langage aussi bien que la justesse des details, une connaissance etendue de sa litterature, le sentiment qu'on est dans son element, si je puis m'exprimer ainsi, sont une acquisition qui, bien qu'elle ne nous soit accessible qu'apres de longues annees d'une pratique continue, nous dedommago amplement du travail qu'elle nous a coute. Translate also — L'avalanche. Un bruit imprcvu se fait entendre du somrnet des montagnes; c'est une avalanche que se procipite avec fracas. La masse enorme, froissant, bouleversant toutes les couches d'air qu'elle parcourt en tombant, donnp naissance a des coups de vent, precurseurs d'une crise violente. Bientot la tempete delate; d'horribles eclairs, brillant d'une lurniere effrayante, se succedent sans interruption; les tonnerres, grondant de toutes parts, sont rcpotus par les echos de la vallee ; les eaux du lac sont violemment agites, et, mugissant, soulevent leurs vagues ecumantes; les vents, soufHant avec fureur, jonchent la terre des debris des vieux pins roulant du sommet de la montagne; les nuages s'entrechoquant versent des torrents de pluie de leurs flancs dechires par l'eclair. En un instant, toute la region est inondee : les ruisseaux grossis, bondissant avec l'impetuosite des torrents, entrainent tout ce qui se rencontre sur leur passage, et cette vallee, naguere si riante et si belle, n'offre plus a l'ceil consterne qu'une vaste scene de desolation et de ruines.

Class D.—German (Optional). Time allowed : Three hours. 1. Compound nouns usually take the gender of their final part: what are the exceptions to this rule ? Exemplify by words ending in muth, inort, and scheu. 2. Before the following nouns place the appropriate definite article : Miidchen, Friiulcin, Weib, Nachtigall, Schwein, Krokodil, Kind, Pferd, Katze, Maus. 3. Mention some cases in which the definite article is used in German, but not in English. 4. Give the genitive singular and the nominative plural of the following words, putting the definite article before each of them: Kopf, Ilerz, That, Hand, Gebirg, Mutter, Tochter, Tugend, Schuh. 5. How may the words zwei and drei be declined in some cases? 6. Give in full the present indicative of sich freuen. 7. Give in full the present indicative of anfangen. 8. Give the first person singular of the imperfect of brechen, schlagen, laufen, liigen, schallen, heissen, thun, trciben, rufen, schivdren. 9. Give the first person singular of each tense of wissen. 10. What are the cases governed by prepositions in German? Give one example of each kind. 11. What difference in meaning is there between— der Schild and das Schild ; der Kunde and die Kunde ; der Leiter and die Leiter; der Thor and das Tlior ; der Heide and die Heide ? 12. Show that bar, en, em, haft, icht, ig, isch, lich, sam, are suffixes of adjectives, by giving one example of each. 13. Mention a few substantives which occur only in the plural number. 14. After each of the following verbs put the appropriate preposition : sterben, sich belaufen, bestehen, sorgen, sprechen, zielen, lachen, spielen, leben, sich hut en. 15. Translate — Wir liessen den Mann kommen. Er soil nach Paris gcgangen sein. Was soil das bedeuten ? Karl darf im Garten spielen. Ich kann Italienisch. 16. How should you translate " however " in such a sentence as " However learned you may be, &c." ? 17. Translate—The month of June. The battle of Waterloo. The Queen of England. The art of painting. The fear of man. The thought of you. The love of money. The want of sense. 18. Translate —Both the parents. Double the money. Half a second. So great a man. Quite an old man. 19. Translate —I did it without anybody helping me. We heard of his going away. He was punished for hitting his brother. I have called on you, wishing to know how you all are. 20. Translate—Will you have another cup of coffee? Have you any more children? I have two more. She has no longer a mother. 21. Translate into English the following extract from Heine's " Eeisebilder:"— " Wir nahmen freundschaftlich Abschied, und frohlich stieg ich den Berg hinauf. Bald empfmg mich eine Waldung himmelhoher Tannen, fiir die ich in jeder Hinsicht Bespekt habe. Diesen Biiumen ist namlich das Wachsen nicht so ganz leicht gemacht worden, und sie haben es sich in der Jugend sauer werden lassen. Der Berg ist hier init vielen grossen Granitblocken übersiiet, und die meisten Biiume mussen mit ihren Wurzeln diese Steine umranken oder sprengen, und muhsain den Boden suchen woraus sie Nahrung schopfen konnen. Hier und da liegen die Steine, gleichsam ein Thor bildend, fiber einander, und obon darauf stehen die Biiume, die nackten Wurzeln fiber jene Steinpforte hinziehend, und erst am Fusse derselben den Boden erfassend, so dass sie in der freien Luft zu wachsen scheinen. Und doch haben sie sich zu jener gewaltigen Hoho empor geschwungen, und, mit den umklommerten Steinen wie zusammengcwachsen, stehen sie

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fester als ihre bequemeu Kollegen im zahinen Forstboden des flachen Landes. So stehen auch im Leben jene grossen Manner, die durch das Ueberwinden friiher Hemmungen und Hindernisse sich erst recht gestilrkt und befestigt haben. Auf den Zweigen der Tannen kletterten Eichhornchen und unter denselben spazierten die gelben Hirsche. Wenn ich solch ein liebes, edles Thier sehe, so kann ich nicht begreifen, wie gebildete Leutc "Vergniigen daran finden, es zu hetzenund zu todten." Translate also into English the following extract from Schiller's " Jungfrau von Orleans ": — "Johanna (allein). — Lebt wohl, ihr Berge, ihr geliebten Triften Ihr traulich stillen Thaler, lebet wohl! Johanna wird nun nicht mehr auf euch wandeln, Johanna sagt euch ewig Lebewohl. Ihr Wiesen, die ich wtisserte ! Ihr Biiume, Die ich gepfianzet, griinet frolich fort! Lebt wohl! ihr Grotten und ihr kiihlen Brunnen ! Du Echo, holdo Stimme dieses Thais, Die oft mir Antwort gab auf nieine Lieder, Johanna geht, und nimmer kehrt sie wieder ! Ihr Platze alle ineiner stillen Freuden, Euch lass' ich hinter mir auf immerdar ! Zerstreuet euch, ihr Liimmer auf der Heiden, Ihr seid jetzt eine hirtenloso Schaar, Demi eine andre Heerde mass ich weiden, Dort auf derii blut'gen Felde der Gefahr, So ist des Geistos But' an mich ergangen ; Mich treibt nicht eitles, irdisches Verlangen. Denn der zu Mosen auf des Horebs Hohen Im feur'gen Busch sich flammend niederliess, Und ihm befahl, vor Pharao zu stehen, Der einst den frommen Knaben Isai's, Den Hirten, sich zum Streiter ausersehen, Der stets den Hirten gnadig sich bewies, Er sprach zu mir aus dieses Baumes Zweigen : ' Geh hin ! Du sollst auf Erden fiir mich zeugen.' "

HINTS ON THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH COMPOSITION. By Professor J. M. Brown, Canterbury College. Students of composition are often stopped on the threshold of the art by the warning that it is an art, and that the artist is born, not made; whilst teachers shrink back from guiding their pupils in it because of the feeling that it cannot be taught, that he who.has the capacity has it, and he who has it not cannot acquire it. But this is a mere begging of the question, as is evident from the opposite fallacy which is so often urged against the study, namely, that everybody knows his own mother-tongue. The truth lies between the two. Every Englishman has been crudely practising the art of English composition from his earliest years of speech, and has thus developed in himself some latent capacity for the art. But only a few can reach the higher levels of prose-style; for these demand the concurrence of many and varied talents, verging as they do on the sphere of poetry. It is the common levels of unambiguous prose that are out of the reach of none. Yet how few Englishmen, even amongst the most highly educated, can write a simple, sequent, and lucid piece of English, even on the subjects they know best! The explanation is that spoken prose differs widely from written prose, and that little or no training is ever given in the latter. In conversation the aids of tone, accent, expression of the countenance, and gesture supply the defects of words, so that an imperfect, slipshod style is permissible, if not the rule there. Take these aids away and write down what conies to the lips, the result will be anything but unambiguous, simple, or sequent. This suggests the first and most elementary exercise in composition : make the pupil write out a story just as he would tell it, or the conversations he has just had in the playground, point out the defects or errors either through the criticism of his fellow-pupils or by direct comparison and correction of their various versions, and finally get him to write out to dictation a correct version. By this means not only will he lose timidity in the use of the pen and acquire accuarcy in writing English, but he will learn to eschew vulgarisms and slang in his talk. Another advantage of this exercise is that it connects written English with daily speech, rooting it in something that lives and grows, and saving it from pedantry by guiding it to the fountains of simple Saxon words. And, finally, grammar may be thus taught as a practical thing, the functions of the various parts of speech and ultimately of the subtler grammatical idioms being pointed out as connected with common living speech. Grammar is, as a rule, completely divorced from composition, and pupils pass away from school with an impression that it is a meaningless acquisition, having some mysterious use which is no more to be investigated than an incantation. Yet its only proper use is as an aid to composition or as a preparation for it. And nothing is more necessary to the subtler minutiae of the art than careful distinctions of idiomatic grammatical usages. To more advanced students frequent exercises should be set on such distinctions. And for this purpose manuals like Mason's Grammar or Smith's 3—E. la.

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will bo helpful, whilst Maltzner's may be appealed to for more copious materials. As a guide to the importance and method of making grammar a practical part of composition, the teacher will find nothing better than the second part of Hodgson's Errors in the Dse of English. As difficult and as necessary a part of composition is the accurate and idiomatic use of words. And what seems to make it still more difficult is the great scope of the vocabulary of our tongue; there arc so many words which express almost the same meaning that even.the most practised writer is puzzled to choose between them; and yet they have each their peculiar and distinctive use. But it is really only in the narrower pale of the older and bettor-established words that this bewilderment of choice occurs; the newer words—which indeed constitute the larger majority— have most of them definite and single meanings wdiich do not tend to overlap. A list of a few hundred words would include all the important synonyms in English. And, in order to acquire the correct use of these, pupil's should be daily exercised in distinguishing words that seem to be alike, in forming sentences and paragraphs that bring in each correctly, in inserting the right words in blanks left in sentences, and in pointing out words that are inaccurately used and substituting the right ones. One of the most useful and comprehensive books for this is the oldest—Crabbe's English Synonyms, a new edition of which has lately been published; another more recent but scarcely so good manual is C. J. Smith's Synonyms discriminated. An excellent collection of errors which recent writers have made in the use of synonyms is to be found in the first part of Hodgson's Errors in the Use of English. But nothing—not even such practice as this—can take the place of reading widely and critically the best prose writers of our own generation; earlier writers are too full of solecisms, archaisms, and violations of what are now counted the elementary principles of the art. These two divisions of the subject will not carry the student far ; they will only lead in the end to idiomatic use of the word. How to form the sentence so as to be unambiguous, simple, and orderly is as important. The partially-inflected character of the English language leaves traps open at every turn in the construction of sentences. The pronoun alone puzzles the most practised writers to keep unambiguous of reference ; whilst the use of relatives and connectives needs the nicest discrimination. Our best authors often fall by their inapt or too frequent use into perfect labyrinths of sentences. And the teacher has not to go far to seek specimens for his pupils to break up and strip of intricacy and obscurity. Clarendon's History of the Rebellion and Alison's History of Europe he will find inexhaustible mines of bad English for his purposes; there Jspeeimens are ready to his hand far more varied in their badness than he can hope to manufacture. Thence he should draw sentences to be corrected But, as a preparation for such work, Abbott's little book, "How to write clearly," will supply a good guide, although many of the sentences in it are left still faulty after the corrections which the author recommends are made. The pupils should be made to write out the rules which are violated by each fault, and to give as far as they can the reasons for the rule; they should write good versions; and some of these the teachers should take up and criticise, or get the class to criticise, and at last dictate a final, version himself. The third and fourth parts of Hodgson's Errors in the Use of English will give valuable aid in this department, supplying as it does numerous examples of errors from writers of the day. Nichol's Primer of English Composition and Abbott and Seeley's English Lessons for English People will also give good hints on this as on the other departments of composition. To this method of teaching by correction of faulty work some have objected that it may habituate the pupils to the errors. But how are they to know the faults they are to guard against unless they see them pointed out and are taught to avoid them? It is as if one should object to the sailor learning where the rocks and shoals are lest he should get into the habit of running on them. But it would be well to supplement the method by others : the easiest would be to teach the pupils to pick out the best sentences of the authors they read, and to make them analyse the sources of their excellences as far as these can be analysed, and to make them commit the passages to memory. Another and more useful would be to break up a well-constructed long sentence into sentences, each consisting of a single clause, and to lay these before the pupils to tarn back into a single sentence. Thus they will learn to write a long sentence without falling into intricacy or ambiguity. But by far the most difficult of all the stages of composition to master is continuous and sequent writing. No rules can be laid down for the paragraph or for the manipulation of ideas ; only practice under good tuition can develop the capacity for these. Themes should bo given on which essays have to be planned or outlined, in order to bring out the power of logical sequence and the faculty of order in composition ; the various parts of the essay—the introduction, the body, and the conclusion—should be each divided into main sections, and under each of these the subordinate ideas arranged, each of which would make a paragraph. This planning should also be applied to essays which the pupils themselves have written or are to write, in order that the weak, padded, or inconsequent parts may be made manifest. But, as a rule, teachers paralyse the faculty of composition by giving themes so jejune or commonplace that the pupils have no ideas on them, or can get them only at the expense of all their mental energy. "Virtue," "Punctuality," " All that glitters is not gold," and similar subjects arc so threadbare that it would take the greatest genius to find anything fresh in them. The pupils should be supplied with plenty of the ideas required, or have themes set them connected with.the books wdiich they are reading at the time, and in which they are interested. Perhaps the best thing to do is to give out an interesting novel or play (like Westward Ho ! or a tragedy of Shakespeare's) to be read at leisure at home; then to get an account of the plot or a description of character after character. When this is done a dozen different subjects.will suggest themselves to the pupils in connection with the book—the key to some one of the scenes, the morality of the book, the art of its construction, the light it throws on the nature and opinions of its author or on his time, a compai'ison between it and some other similar book which they have read. By this means they will have such abundant material that they can spend all their energies oil the form and style.

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Another good rule is to give the subject out a week or more before the essay is to bo written, and to have the pupils come without notes, and write it in the class-room within a limited time. All the essays should then be taken in, criticised, corrected, and classified, and all the faults of all gathered together and explained and emphasized to the whole class. Such a system will make the dullest pupil write fluently and accurately in a short time. And this latter part of the method does more: it teaches the pupils to think for themselves over the books they read, and to read in the most beneficial way, whilst by no means turning pleasant books into taskwork. In this department of the work there is no text-book that will much assist; perhaps Hall's Manual of English Composition might give a few hints. But a good teacher with some literary taste is what is wanted more than any manual; so much is there in the manipulation of ideas and in the formation of paragraphs that is not definable by rule, although there is little for which a good critic and teacher will not be able to give a good reason. And in this higher sphere, as well as in the mere mechanism of composition, the best teacher will avoid dogmatizing, trace his rules back to first principles, and show, as far as he can, the secret of the pleasure that is to be found in a good sentence or passage. Though this may not enable the unimaginative amongst his pupils to put the secret into practice, it will tend to develop what imagination there is in any of them. One fallacy about the teaching of English composition has perhaps stood in the way of its advance more than any other. It is commonly thought that a pupil is learning English when he is being taught Latin. But this assumes that he has got so far in Latin that he can translate with some ease—a stage which very few reach in schools or even in universities—and that the teacher of Latin pays as much attention to the correction of the pupil's English as to his understanding of the original. But, as a rule, teachers of Latin have no very clear notion of teaching English, and, even if they have, the majority of their class are so entangled in the difficulties of the older language that their whole energies have to be given to the elucidation of these. Even assume that as much attention is paid to correction of the English as to the original, the method does not carry a pupil far in the use of his mother-tongue ; it only extends and refines his vocabulary, and gives him no guidance in the manipulation and expression of his own ideas—by far the most difficult and most necessary part of composition; it habituates him to the slavery of following step by step some model or original; and it fails to make him think for himself, or find pleasure in getting appropriate expression for the thought when it has come into his mind. After Latin has been well learned, and English composition has been well learned too, without a doubt translation from Latin is a valuable auxiliary to the English scholar. But nothing can take the place of painstaking and direct teaching-of English composition. [Approximate Cost of Paper.— Preparation, nil; printing (2,900 copies), £'20 4s. Od.'l

Authority : Geobge Didsbury, Government Printer, Wellington.—lBBG.

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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/AJHR1886-I.2.2.3.2

Bibliographic details

EDUCATION: EXAMINATION OF TEACHERS. [In Continuation of E.-1a, 1885.], Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1886 Session I, E-01a

Word Count
14,849

EDUCATION: EXAMINATION OF TEACHERS. [In Continuation of E.-1a, 1885.] Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1886 Session I, E-01a

EDUCATION: EXAMINATION OF TEACHERS. [In Continuation of E.-1a, 1885.] Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1886 Session I, E-01a