South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 - 1889), Tuesday 20 December 1859, page 3


IV.-E DUCATIONAL MOVEMENTS.

At this season of the year a great amount of interest is concentrated in the-various aca/lemiral examinations throughout the province. Many of these are yet to come off, but the examinations of the two principal schools in Adelaide have passed, and are here reported, with those of one or two other schools of good standing, but of less magnitude.

ST. PETER'S COLLEGIATE SCHOOL.

On Thura Jay, December 15, the annual recitations by the students of this College took place in the schoolroom of the Institution, the walls of which were embellished by plans and specimens of drawings executed by the students. There was a very large attendance of ladies and gentlemen, the large room being quite full ; and amongst the company we noticed the Lord Bishop, Lady Cooper, the Hon. John Mor-phett, the Commissioner of Public Works, Dean Farrell, Archdeacon Woodcock, the Rev3. Mr. itussell, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Marryat; and Mr. iieitl, and Captain Mills and Mr. Stiirliug. The Secretary, Mr. Hawkes, was also in atten-dance. His Honor the Chief Justice came in at the close of the recitations.

The LORD BISHOP opened the proceedings by stating that the interest felt in the well-doing of the College School was sufficiently evidenced by the large number of persons pre-sent. He then called upon the Head Master to read the report of the Examiners.

EXAMINERS' REPORTS.

LATIN.

'-St. Peter's Collegiate Schcol, December 15, 18*9.

" M'y Lord'-Having at your Lordslyp's request examined the whole school in Latin, I have the honor to report that

the boys named below afforded the most successful results of their half-year's study.

" I have the honor to be,

" Your Lordship's obedient servant,

"Vf. WYATÏT. '. The Lord Bishop of Adelaide.

"Sixth Form, 2 boys-Cicero'« Orations in Catilinam, 1 and 2 -Stuckey ii), Short (1).

" Fifth Form,4 boys-Virgil's ..Encid, Cook 2 -Rounsevell,

Williams.

" Fourth Form, Remove, Uboys-Caisar, Chap. 21 to 34. All these boys performed their work in a geneially credit-

able manner.

"Eighteen boys belonging to the fifth and sixth forms translated and parsed poi tions of the 1st and second Books of Entropius very satisfactorily.

"Fourth Form, 10 boys-Cornelius Xepoä-Warburton (2), Oldham (3), Goode, wooldridge.

"Third Form, 13 boys.-Arnold's delectus, 2.0 to 34 p.p.Manning, Gouge, Haynes, Solomon ((¡). The work generally

well done by the test.

"Second Form, Remove, 17 boys,-Delectus, 14 to 20 p.p.Shuttleworth, Dutton (1), and the other boys for the most part well.

"Second Form, 14 boys- Latin Accidence, Delectus, first 12 p.p.-Stirling, Haynes, Crawford, Morphett, Palman,

Price.

" First Form, Remove, 14 boys-Latin Accidence, Dalectus, first 3 p.p.-Solomon, Degenhardt, Stuckey, Brown, Watson, Bagot (3).

" First Form, 15 boys-Latin Accidence to the verb, ' Sum" inclusive-Phillips (-2), Gwynne, Richardson, Hawker, Mitchell, Blyth. ' '

" The examination of all the boys, except those of the first form, included parsing, and.the boys of all the divisions showed themselves well grounded, so far as they have gone, in tl»e rules of syntax."

HISTOKV AND GEOGRAPIIV.

" St. Mary's Parsonage, Tuesday evening.

"My Lord-To-day I fulfilled your request made to me that I should take part in the examination this Clnistmastime of the Collegiate School of St. Peter. The branches of the study which fell to my lot were the historical and geographical. I now proceed to lay before you my

brief report.

" The 1st division were examined by me in the History of the Commonwealth and in the reign of Charles II. The geogiaphy comprised the physical facts of England' Italy, Spain, and Portugal. The ans weis in geography were to my entire ¡jatisfuciion. The historical answering was on the whole good; but it was late in the afternoon before it caine on, and we were all wearied, and consequently I am con-scious of not having succeeded in bringing out all ihey knew on the subject. Tua boys of whom I wish to make honourable mention are Stuckey, Hardy, aud Bagot, primus. It is but just to mention tliat Rounsevell, Short, and Feather-stone were engaged during the chief part of my examination in competing for an exhibition elsewhere ; otherwise it is probable they would have won for themselves a favorable

mention.

" The 2nd division passed examination in the reigns of Henry VI., onward to Elizabeth-, and in geography, the physical and political facts of Italy, Spain, and Portugal. The answering for the most pu-t was quick and intelligent, especially Solomon's and Taylor's primus. After these, Haynes, Buchanan, Aldridge, and Cíood.

" The 5th division I examined in about the fu'st hall of tha Historical papers bearing du England' in tlie loth book BriÇish and Foreign School Society, and in tho geography of Asia. History gooil, and quite plaaaxl with the geography, particularly the way in which they found out with'facility the places required on the map. I would mention favorably Peachey, Scott, Phillipson, and Then. Next in merit are Shuttleworth, Price, Cottrell, and Dutton the 4th.

"The 10th division's hist irical knowledge very satisfactory, and so too the geographical, so far as icwent. Crawford and Maurice primus, answered tlie most aud best.

'. It was very pleasing to see the little fello.v-s of the 5th division striving to answer questions put to them on the early history of Britain and the outline goop; aphy of the world, with an eagerness and a zest which elder boys seem to lose. The best of this little troop were Bagot and Kings-

mill.

" Tn conclusion, I beg to remark, as Ike lesutt of my ob-servation, that while the masters of the College have been diligent in pouring in information they have not been less diligent in bringing out something which is far better, aud

without which all mire information is useless and dan-gerous, namely, honesty, truthfulness, aud a straightfor-ward bearing.

" I have t!te honor to be,

'. i'our Lordship's obdt. serva it,

'. ASTLEV COOPER.

" The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Adelaide."

i

ALGEBRA AND ARITHMETIC.

"Adelaide, December 14, isao,

" My Lord-I have much pleasure in being -.»bin to report favorably of the result of my examination of tho boys at St. Peter's College, in Euclid, algebra, and arithmetic.

" In the latter subject tile boys appear to be well grounded, and some of them decidedly quick. I think, if anything, the Euclid was done better last year than this.

" I inspected some of the papers sent up during the paper examination in mechanics and hydrostatics. I thought them fairly done, and as evidence of there existing at St. Peter's College every facility for obtaining a sound mathematical

education.

"I have, &e.,

"W. W. EWBANK.

"The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Adelaide.'1

G RECK.

»-'Alberton, December 13,18'n.

"ily Dear Lord-" I have much pleasure in reporting that the ri'sult of my examination of the boys in Greek has again proveí' satisfactory.

"The upper division brought np more work than usual, and, although Mr. Farr said that he had hurried them on in their construing, they had not apparently made less sjieed in correctness or parsing.

"The other three divisions «lid their work well-construing accurately, and showing that they were well grounded in grammar-according to their various degrees of advance-ment. The' second division, however, distinguished itself the most, and, if I am not mistaken, will be soon ready, before the boys leave the school, for some higher book than

Xenophon.

" I was also much pleased with the large class of 17 boys, who brought up the latter half of St. John's Gospel in Greek, translating it, as they did, fluently and liteially, word by word, and not trusting merely to their memory ol' til.» English translation. They were also well instructed, in the general facts of the Gospel.

" For the prize given by your Lordship for this subject I beg to recommend Stuckey and Hardy as equal. I examined them a second time for the purpose of deciding between them. Both, however, held their ground equally, for the time that I could give them.

" I remain, my dear Lord, ever yours truly,

"C. MARRYAT, M.A."

GERMAN.

"Adelaide, December 15,, lSj-1.

"My Lord-I beg to report that I examined the German and French classes at the Collegiate School of St. Peter, and I am able to state that that they afford proof of the zealous car eocstowed upon the scholars by the U-erraan awl French masters. Tlie first German class shows considerable profi-ciency, and the progress of several ol' the boys in the other classes is satisfactory. Great care seems to be taken to teach the boys a correct pronunciation. From the limited time I was able to devote to the examination, on two days, ^ directed my attention moie to the class as a whole than to individual proficiency, and am therefore rcluctaut to particu-larize individual scholars as deserving of spa'jial mention, for fear of doing injustice toothers, who, on a more careful examination, might be found equally deserving of favourable

comment.

" I remain, My Lird, your obedient servant,

"FRANCIS S. DUTTON. "The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop. of'Adelaide,

Visitor of tjhe.Col'eg'alc School of St. Peter."

WRITING.

" Norwood, December, 15,1859.

" My dear Sir-Having examined the writing, I have awarded the prizes as follows :- Johnson, primus, first prize for three hands ; do., do., do., small hand dictation ; Neale?, second prize for three hands ; Mitchell, first prize for text.

""There is a manifest improvement in the writing gene-rally ; so much so. that it becomes very dilucul t to judge for the best. I must except the round, text hand, wliicli does not please me. Morphett, primus, 'comes next to Johnson ; he is a very good second, and ifhe cent ¡hues to improve, win write a beautiful hand.' Ureh's smallhaud i-i more lin'sheS in some respecta, than Johnson's, but' the dictation was not written 30 clearly, and the' letters were not well rounded. Several other hands deserve notice, but I cannot remember the namea on the backs of the papers, and therefore I refrain from further notice. I have omitted to state that Jacobs lias

made great improvement.

" I regret that I am compelled to write so hurriedly.

" Believe me to be, my dear Sir, yours faithfully,

"G- VV. HAWKES."

At the conclusion of the reading of the report, His Lord-ship remarked that the tone of the report showed that there was no indiscriminate praise, which remark waa assented to by the company.

The class list of honors was then read as follows : -

CLASS LIST OF HONOURS. .

Examiners-The Lord Bishop of Adelaide, W. Wyatt, Esq, M.D., - Ewbank, Esq., Rev. C. Marryat, M.A., Rev. A. Cooper.

First Class. -Gth Form -J. J. Stuckey, C. Hardy, C Bagot; 5th Form-B. Featherstone, J. A. Johnson -, 2nd

Form -T. Padman.

Second Class.-Gth Form-II. Dutton, T. 1'unier, D.

Ibbetson, W. Blue, W, Neill, H.Short; 5thForm-W. Ii. Rounsevell, H.A Evans; 4th Remove-J. E. Schlinke, .1. C. Morphett, VV. A. Pacqualin; 3rd Form-J- Manning; 2nd Remove-D. Cudmore, C. Shuttleworth ; 2nd Form -J. Thomas, W. B. Neales, C. liarritt; 1st Remove-B. Taylor; ist Eorm-E. Hawker.

Third Class.-Gth Form-J. Payne, II. Williams; 5th Form-31. Smith, G. Mayo, C. Saunders ; 4th Remove-J. Colton, G. Aldridge, G. Brown, E. Stuckey; 4th Form -C. Wooldridge, P. Peachy; 3rd Form-Haynes (1), II. D. Gouge; 2nd Remove-C. Short, T. Smith, A. Buchanan, C. Dutton, W. Uren, Cottrell; 2nd Form--Stirling (D, I<\ Dutton, Crawford (1), Phillips (I) ; 1st Remove-E. B-i.e.-»!, G. Smith. L. Stirling, A. Mitchell. J. Phillips.

Probabiles-F. Stevenson, li. Norman, R. Warburton, ('. B. Scott, A. Hallett, S. Solomon, F. Crawford, II. Benm-tt.

S. Richardson.

After which the list of Drlzemen was read as follows : -

SCHOLARSHIPS AND PRIZES. Allen Scholarship-II. Dutton. Young Exhibition -H. Short

Prizes presented by the Bishop-Scripture, Stuckey (1); Greek, Short (1); Latin, Hardy (l).

Presented by the Hon. H. Ayers, M.L.C.-German, Bagot (1); French, Williams-, Elocution, Paj ne.

Presented by G. Mayo, Esq., M.D.-1st Theme, J. Stuckey ; 2nd Theme, J. Payne.

Old Scholars' Prizes-J. Stuckey, Morphett (I), Manning,

Padman.

Diligence-Hardy, Featherstone, Schlinke, Warburton C2), Haynes (1), Maurice (2). Padman, Hawker.

Maps-Short (1) ; Proximi accessit, Featherstone.

Prefect's Prize-Featherstone. Good Conduct-W. Blue.

Librarian's Prize- H. Evans.

Presented by G. W. 'Hawkes. Esq.-Writing-Johnsou

(2), Neales.

Presented by Mr. Hill-Drawing-1st, II. Norman ; 2nd J. Morphett ; 3rd, Manning ; 4th, JJ. Evans.

In reading this list. His LORDSHIP observed that neither the scholarship nor the soripture prize was lightly won. The winner of the scholarship had been pressed hard by Weill, and Ibbetson had also done very well. In the scripture examination, it was much to the credit of so young a boy as Hardy that he could mitin tain his ground so long against the more ripened intellect of Stuckey. Hestated;tfiat, in addi-tion to examining the two candidates for this prize in the Gospel of St John, he had also trird therrt-in the First Epistle of St. John, in a portion of which they had not be-fore been, and they had shown that they were capable of com-prehending the scripture in its original tongue ; and it was very pleasing to him to find so many boys in the school were able to prosecute with success the study of the New Testa-ment. He was glad to award Stuokcy the scripture prize, and he felt it would show that those principles on which the College was founded were faithfully carried out.

The honor papers and prizes were then given, after which His Lordship called for the recitations.

Hardy-"The Goblet of Life."

M. Smith and C. Bagot-Dialogue in German,

Ibbetson-" Address to Mont Blanc."

Williams- ".¿Eneas sees Helen in the Suins of Troy.:' Hosier-"The Beleaguered City."

Payne-Marc Antony's Addyeaa over the Body of Ca-sar," Bakewell and C. Fenn-Dialogue in German. Short-" Address to. Itope."

The prize fey. elocution, given by the Hon. II. Ayers, was awarded to M. J. Payne, whose recitation was delivered with much spirit. It seemed to bethought that the recitations generally were in advance of those of the previous years. The Latin was spoken with great clearness of enunciation. The Germar, should have been spoken in a louder tone -, but there was a very natural action in delivering these dialogues.

The HEAD MASTER then rose and expressed his general satisfaction with the present state of the school. Ho reminded tho boys that they would shortly have to con-tend ou a wider arena. He felt at first competitive exa-minations would not seem so successful as they would prove, but he was sure that they would ultimately be bene-ficial. It would take some time for examiners and candi-dates to become used to each other, but that and many other difficulties would be remedied by experience. With reference to the scheme generally he thought it was a mistake to sup-pose that we could in. South Australia initiate a scheme of education su,per'oi> to that which had trained the men who ruled England, all of whom would be found first-class men. The object of education was to train and strengthen the mind by careful analysis of language, and by habituating it to strict mathematical reasoning. That he fancied was in a measure lost sight of in the existing scheme, which unduly depressed the study of language, and gave too high a relative value to subjects of which candidates could only have a super-ficial knowledge. He was convinced, however, that time would bring about whatever changes were desirable, and though he would have much preferred having a school for languages, a school for polite literature, a school for mathematics, and a school for science, as had been suggested by the Governoi'3 of the Collegiate School, yet he would willingly endeavor to make the most of what they had got He spoke feelingly of J. Stuckey's approaching departure for England, anil of the kindness of his parents in consenting to risk their son so many miles away from them. He was sure that they diet it looking upon him in soma sort, not simply as their own child, but as the child of South Australia. He trusted that each year would give them accounts of his future progress in the field of his future laborj!, and especially that he would return,' not simply having" proved himself to possess ability, but also having shown that it waa possible, even so far from home, to preserve unstained a moral character which liad hitherto been irreproachable. He conoluded with some additional statements illustrative of tho moral condition ol' the soUoo', and concluded by saying that the Government ! had arranged that the German Professor. Grefl'rath, should I give lessons four days instead of two, besides an extra lossuii

on Saturdays for those who wished it.

The LORD BISHOP expressed his concurrence with tha views 1 of tlie Head Master in respect of the scheme of competitive

examinations, and then declared that the holidays would; last till the lstlv January, when the boys would reassembh».

The proceedings wound up with cheera for the holiday.-;

and the visitors.

The whole of the proceedings passed off with the utmost ecl'it, every person present appearing not only satisfied, bul.

liighiy delighted, \vith, the progress that had been made. A ' large party then lunched with the Rev. Mr. Farr, and after the repast, a little congratulatory speech making was in-dulged in. His Honor the Chief Justice, in an admirable speech, proposed .' Prosperity to the School," expressing; his firm belief that it would prosper, as it not only aimed at the highest cultivation of the intellect, but was based upon tlie highest moral principles. The health of the Head Master was proposed, in connection with a well-merited eidogium. Then the health of the Governors, and after-wards that of the Lord Bishop, whose indefaUgiibiu exertions were well appreciated. A similar] compliment was paid to Mr. G. W. Hawkes, to whose unromitting exertions for a period of 12 years the school U mainlyindebted for its present satisfactory financial posi-

tion. Other toasts were proposed, and toward the close» of the proceedings Mr. Farr refermi in highly compli-mentary terms to the head boy of the school-.Stuckey-who, after a most successful career, was now about to leave Si. Peter's for Cambridge. The boys of the school, with a givat number of old scholars, were entertained iu a durèrent part of the establishment with a capital repast provide 1 for them by the matron. ' The entire proceedings appeared to give the utmost pleasure to the very large assemblage of ladies aud gentlemen who attended to witness the proceedings of the

day.

PUBLIC EXAMINATION OF MR J L YOUNG'S

PUPILS

An exhibition of the pupils attending the educational in-

stitution presided over by Mr Young was held at White's rooms on Thursday when there was a very large attend-dance of the parents and friends of the young students. Mr.

Howard Clark took the chair in the temporary absence of the Rev. T. Q. Stow and addressed the meeting in a very appropriate speech, after which Mr Young read the report

as follows: -

The subject of education has for many years engaged the attention of the greatest men in Europe and America; the

result has been the establishment of several Government, schemes none of which accomplish the great purpose of edu- cation namely the moral and intellectual elevation of the mass of the people. Alison in his History of Europe, says

Education has been made a matter ot State policy in Prussia and every child is by the compulsion of Govern-mont sent to school but so far has this universal spread of instruction been from eradicating the seeds of evil

that serious crime is fourteen times as prevalent in proportion to the population in Prussia as it is in France where about two thirds of the whole inhabi-

tants can neither read nor write In Sweden, one of the most educated nations of Europe Alison states that in the proportion of criminals is as great as in the worst manu- facturing towns of Great Britain Bulwer says that in France, on statistical returns made some years ago it was found m the whole 86 departments that the amount of crime was just in proportion to the prevailing degree of instruc-

tion. In Toequeville's work on the penitentiary system of the United States there is the following passage, "We do not think that you can attribute the diminution of crime in the North to instruction because in Connecticut where there is far more instruction than in New York, crime increases with a terrible rapidity and if one cannot accuse knowledge of the cause ol this one is obliged to acknowledge that it is not a preventive. Are we to conclude from these facts that education debases, instead of elevates a man? Certainly not;

they however, prove that Government ínterference is in-jurious to the cause of education in consequence I believe of its usual consequence being the cultivation of the intellect merely; whereas the real object of education is to develope the better feelings of the heart. The following passage from the first Annual Report of the Board of Education of Mas-

sachusetts is very instructive - ' The fact that children have moral natures and social affections is scarcely recognized; one page of the daily manual teaches the power of commas; another the spelling of words another the the rules of emphasis but the pages are missing which teach the laws of for-

bearance under injury of sympathy with misfortune of love and fidelity to truth. If such be the general condition of the schools is it a matter of surprise that we see lads and young men thickly springing up in the midst of us who startle at the mispronunciation of a word as though they were personally injured but can hear volleys of pro-fanity unmoved, who put on arrogant airs of superior breeding or sneer with contempt at a case of false spelling or grammar but can witness spectacles of drunkenness in the street with entire composure? Such elevation of the subordinate such casting down of the supreme, in the edu-

cation of children is incompatible with all that is worthy, to be called the prosperity of their manhood. It has been well said that the true schooltnaater is yet undeveloped;" he cannot be manufactured by governments; he cannot adopt the plans of others of which his conscience does not approve; he is the man who feels himself inspired with the greatest reverence for his work, who coverts no worldly

honors or distinctions but is satisfied with an approving conscience; his reward must be within himself. Such a teacher would be loved by his pupils, over whom he would exer-cise unbounded sway -he would do much to elevate his profes-

sion and raise the standard of education to a high mark Men of this class, possessing great moral courage, are much wanted at the present time to check those imprudent schemes which are now becommg very popular and which by stimulating children by base excitements to exertion sacrifice the purity of the heart and often the health of the body; they are wanted to establish, and take charge of schools devoted to the preparation of boys for the practical duties of life on a plan somewhat similar to the one pro-posed by Dr Croly in his lecture on "National Know- ledge" in which he says - If I possessed the power of being a public benefactor-which I shall never possess - my

first benefaction would be to take 10,000 of the pale faced children ot London and give them the education which would make them vigorous in body and mind, healthy and high spirited sons of England I should call on the public to form a great college within ten miles of the metropolis,

where everything useful should be taught and everything useless should be discarded I should waste nothing on enormity of building, nor swamp my enterprise by the modern absurdity of squandering 40,000l or 50,000l only to produce a monster inn. Wooden houses scattered over the ground, each containing 20 or 30 pupils, and each with a garden for their cutivation, would be my econo- mical and effectual proceeding. The discipline should be Spartan on English principles. The expenditure should be on the most frugal scale and in the passing of a few years this college would return into the business of life 10,000 vigorous and loyal Intelligent and high-mind youths -the finest specimens of the finest race of the earth - the Englishman. It will be some time yet before

such views of education will become general. Parents must first learn to attach less importance to earthly grandeur wealth and distinctions, and not to seek the gratification of their vanity by displaying the attainments of their children. My own views of education have been much modified during

the last few years. When I commenced this school I had no idea of the responsibility of the work I had undertaken. I

thought that to teach was merely to communicate to others the knowledge I myself possessed or that I could acquire by study. I was desirous of trying the experiment whether boys could be made to take an interest in their studies with out having recourse to those harsh measures so common in schools. My system was so successful that in the course of a year the number of my pupils had so increased as to render it necessary to build additional rooms for their accommoda-

tion It was then that I began to feel that the training of tho minds of the young was a very serious matter, and that I was in many respects unqualified for the work; but the deep interest evinced by many of my pupils, their indefatigable industry, their attachment to me, the flattering testimonials I received from many of their parents, encouraged me to persevere and to hope that by devoting the whole of my time to this one work I might succeed notwithstanding my deficiencies in accom-plishing much good. Complete prostration of mind and body occasioned by mental anxiety and over exertion has compelled me to terminate my labors rather suddenly , but I

have a cheering hope that in the course of a few years, I 'shall return to continue the great work I have commenced,

and to pursue it with greater energy and zeal than hitherto. The subject of education will absorb nearly the whole of my time during my absence from the colony, and if my means will allow I intend visiting several countries on the Conti-nent, to become acquainted with the different systems of education adopted there, so as on my return to be better qualified for the responsible situation I have held for the last nine years. I regret not being able to report as favourably as usual of the progress of my pupils during the last half year; the blame, however, in a great measure attaches to myself, in yielding to the advice of some of my friends to allow my pupils to compete at the forthcoming examination. During the first quarter an unusual amount of work was done by my pupils, especially in the first-class; but from the time I adopted the course of instruction drawn up by the Board of Examiners, there has been a feeling of careless indifference manifested by many of my pupils in their studies which never before existed in the school. I have, however, to report very favourably of the progress made by my first-class pupils in geometry, many having greatly distinguished themselves, especially Finlay-son. J. Robertson. Woodforde, Howard, Whitington, Bishop, J. P. Roberts, and Bennett. I am also much pleased with the progress of my pupils at algebra and arithmetic. Those who have made the greatest improvement are J. Coulls, J. Robin, Finlayson. J. Robertson, Woodforde, Moorhouse, Whitington, and H. M. Martin. Science has always been an important branch of education in this school. Its impor-tance cannot be overrated, for it engenders a spirit of enquiry, thus cultivating the reasoning faculties ; it shows how to investigate the causes of natural phenomena, and ren-der them conducive to our comforts; how, by lessen-ing labour, to allow more time for the improvement of the mind ; and is of all studies that which demonstrates most fully the power, wisdom, and benevolence of God. In the senior class the course of lessons on chemistry commenced last half-year, has been continued, and I have much pleasure in stating that many of my pupils have acquired a consider-able amount of information on this very important subject ;

especially E. Babbage, Finlayson, and J. Coulls.

" Adelaide, December 14,1859.

"Dear Sir-In reporting the progress of your pupils under my tuition for the last half-year, I beg to bring before you what appears to me of especial value in the acquirement of classical knowledge.

" I believe that amongst others it is one great means of strengthening the intellectual faculties, and that the study which tends to this end-no matter however disconnected with the future vocations of the student-cannot be, as per-haps many imagine, altogether useless. For the worth of the acquisition does not depend so much on the intrinsic value of the thing acquired as on the personal exertion it costs to gain it; and the thing taught is not merely the end but the means of education. In this limited view-not to speak of their excellence of a higher character - I consider classics well calculated to excite the personal application of the pupil, however the teacher may simplify and explain abstruse or obscure subjects.

'.With some interruptions to our usual course, the books read for the half-year are - 'Virgil,' select eclogues and first and second books of the 'AEneid.' 'Eutropius' 'Caesar's Commentaries,' first and fourth books. 'Latin Delectus,' ' Greek Delectus,' ' Latin Grammar and Syntax,' and a por-

tion 'Ellis's Exercises.'

" I beg to recommend for the prize:-First Class, James Robin; certificate. Finlayson. Second Class-Prize, Hill;

certifícate, H. Martin.

"I would also recommend to your notice, Bishop, senior, Clement Giles. Woodforde, and H. M. Martin, whose dili-gence I consider worthy of' honorable mention.

"And, here, on the eve of your departure for Europe, allow me to thank you for the great kindness I have ever received from you while in your establishment ; and believe me, that wherever you go, wherever your lot in life may be cast, you bear with you my best wishes for your welfare-wishes in which I am sure all who have the pleasure of your acquain-tance in South Australia heartily unite.

'. Dear Sir. faithfully yours,

" GEORGE NEEDHAM.

" Classical Master, Adelaide Educational Institution."

'.Dear Sir-In handing you my report for the current half-year, I must premise, in justice to you, and for my own satisfaction, that the attendance of several boys in my class has been very irregular, more so than I ever before expe-rienced: and I must beg that parents will not fail to recollect this in judging of the progress of their sons. With these exceptions I am glad that my report must be favorable, although some of the boys would have done more had they been a little more diligent. But perhaps this is owing to the preparation for the competitive examination taking all their

time.

"I must particularly mention Fr. Martin. Gunn, and Charles Kingston, as having worked very steadily, especially the first, who is a very promising boy.

"In conclusion, I trust you will allow me, on your retiring from the Institution, to tender you my most sincere and hearty thanks for your universal kindness and courtesy to me ; and to hope that in your fatherland you may be re-warded for that great labor and anxiety which have been productive of so many advantages to your pupils in South

Australia.

"I am, Sir, &c,

" H. GREFFRATH."

" Adelaide, December 14,1859.

"Sir-I have much pleasure in handing you the following half-yearly report of the Bookkeeping Class, as I am enabled to write in a favorable way of the class generally, which I, in a great measure, attribute to the alteration of the time; for it allowed me a better opportunity of having a full attendance, and I therefore strongly recommend a continua-

tion of the same.

" Having had the whole of your first class studying the ' Course,' I had many boys to instruct who had not had a previous knowledge of accounts; so I confined mysalf more to leading them through the simple cash-entries, the journalising ol purchases and sales, the transfer of the same to to the ledger; then determining the profits from the sale of such goods ; and, finally, balancing the ledger

accounts.

"So far the class, which has been invariably attentive, affords me the means of expressing myself well satisfied.

" I am, Sir, &c.,

" T. BENNETT.

" To Mr. Young."

" December 15,1850.

" Dear Sir-I have had great pleasure in looking over the drawings of your pupils at the close of this session, and beg to report as follows:

" l. In crayon drawing, the large and somewhat singular piece of a female figure supporting a fountain, evidently deserves the prize; but there is merit in some of the other pieces also.

"2. In peneil drawing, after careful comparison between ' Winter Pastime,' by John Robertson, aud the piece similar to it by F. C. Gibbs, I award the prize to the former.

"Quite approving the plan of giving the certificate to another class of boys, I examined the works of the junior artists, and found the piece by Rose to be very creditable, and to be quite worthy of this honorarium.

"a. In mapping, I had no hesitation in deciding the Map of Australia, by J. Robertson, to be the most meri-

torious.

" In the survey department there were some excellent plans of the Park Lands, and I think great praise is due to several of the young surveyors, both in the junior class, and those drawing on the scale of two chains to the

inch.

" I am, dear Sir, yours obediently,

"F. W. Cox. "J. L .Young, Esq."

" December 14, 1859.

"My dear Sir-I am sorry that I cannot report so favour-ably of the result of my examination of your boys in History and Geography as on former occasions. I have little to complain of the junior classes ; but the first class, usually so energetic and prompt in their replies, were on this occa sion particularly apathetic. The subjects of examination were the geography and history of the land we live in, and the history of our native country. The boys in all the classes bore examination very well in relation to the principal facts under both, subjects ; but I was disappointed in not obtain-ing from them a clear and precise account of the constitu-tional peculiarities of the Governments of the various Australian colonies. I have usually found your boys well trained in matters of inference and judgment, as well as in bare facts; and I can only account for the comparative failure of the higher class on the present occasion by suppos-ing that the neccesity of travelling over a large field in pre-paration for the public competitive examinations prevented that close and intimate investigation of causes and principles which constitutes the most valuable portion of the study of History. Hoping for better results on another occasion,

"I remain, yours very truly,

"WILLIAM W. R. WHITRIDGE."

The arrangements for the future management of the school are nearly completed. My brother, Mr. Oliver Young, will have the general superintendence, and give the lessons on history and drawing; Mr. Palmer will take the mathematical classes and the senior class in classics ; Mr. Bennett will give the lessons on geography, bookkeeping, and writing; Mr. Needham will take the junior class in classics; and Mr. Greffrath the French and German classes. Although absent, I shall continue to take a deep interest in the school, and nothing will afford me so much pleasure as to hear of its prosperity.

A number of the young gentlemen then recited various well selected pieces, and displayed very careful rhetoric, and an amount of preparation which reflected great credit upon their teacher. Some of the recitations were so good as to elicit loud applause from the audience, which was well de-served. The Rev. Mr. Stow, who had arrived in the interim, then distributed the prizes, and addressed the boys in a speech of great excellence. After this, a vote of thanks to Mr. Young was proposed by Mr. Reynolds, M.P., in which he commented on the benefits which Mr. Young had con-ferred on the community by his successful system of educa-tion. This vote was seconded by the Rev. Mr. Lyall, and cordially approved by the audience. Mr. Young replied in a short and suitable speech, briefly alluding to his intended de-parture from the colony, and expressing his intention to return to his adopted country after the lapse of a short time. A vote of thanks was then passed to Mr. Stow for his conduct in the chair, which he had occupied for a portion of the after-noon. Mr. Stow replied, recommending the youths present to continue their studies hereafter, so that their school labors should not be found to be ultimately thrown away. A great number of very superior drawings executed by the pupils were exhibited, and it is worthy of remark that all the land plans were drawn from field-books made by the pupils, from actual surveys, none of them being copies. The meet-ing was a very interesting one, and after its termination an elegant refection was furnished by Mr. Young to a number of his pupils in the large school-room.

We understand that Mr. Young leaves by the Orient on a trip to England with the view of recruiting his health, which, has suffered from arduous attention to his scholastic duties.

The present pupils and old scholars connected with Mr. Young's establishment have presented that gentleman with a magnificent sterling silver tea service (manufactured by Mr. Muirhead) as a parting mark of esteem.

VICTORIA-SQUARE ACADEMY.

Tile nineteenth annual examination was held on Friday the 16th December. Owing to the threatening appearance of the weather the company assembled was not so large as on former occasions. The walls were decorated with maps, plans, and drawings, which not only showed a considerable amount of skill, but evinced a very fair average degree of taste. Wc would mention in particular Master J. B. Whitington's drawings, and Master Lyle's maps and

surveys.

Throughout the examination the pupils gave proof of their being well up in their various studies ; these were particu-larly apparent in the Latin and German classes, and in the grammar and book-keeping classes, reflecting the greatest credit cn their respective teacher?", the Hcv. C. Platts (cl.a?sics) and Professor Greffrath (German).

Mr. Cawthornc remarked that he had to bid farewell to no fewer than four of his senior pupils, who were leaving for Europe in few days.

The subjoined is the prize list with the certificates of

merit :

Class L-J. J. Coleby, J. B. Whitington, W. II. Wadey, If. Lyle, J. Brooks.

Class II.-F. W. notting, W.U. Broadbent, F. W. Caw-thornc, A. Jaffray, W. Kray, C. Everett. J. Everett.

Class III.-T. Powell, H. Bryant, J. Fea, W. Menz.

Certificates of Merit -J. Groser, S. Garratt, G. Herring, S. Haseltine, P. Lawrance, F. Pries, W. Day, W. Sowter, W. Wadey, A. Eymer.

W. A. CAWTiionNjc, Principal.

H. Grte-FFBATH, Professor of German. Kev. C. PLATTS, Classics.

The following note was received from the Central Board

ol' Education :

" Education Board Office, Dec. 15,1859.

" Dear Sir-I was much pleased to find that the class ol' pupils I examined nt your request on Tuesday last, on the Elements of Bookkeeping, gave satisfactory evidence that they understood the piinciplca on which they fiad been work-ing their accounts.

" They answered every question I proposed to them readily and correctly.

" I am. Se.,

" ED. W. WICKE-?. " Mr. W. A, Cawthorns"

TITE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE, "VVHITMOBE HOUSE, WHITMORB SQUABE.-On Friday, December ICth, the half-yearly examination of the scholars of this Institution, took placj in the larg« schoolroom. There wnsa -jood atteudaice of ladies and gentlemen, relatives of [the scholar;, and friends of tho establishment, in attendance, to wit .os ¡ tho proceedings of tho day. The director of tlii:; Institution, Mr. F. Ilaire, for many ycats prior to his r.co-it visit to England was the hea I

r.r ,i la. ge and mest successful s-.iolastic establishment ii Anfiis-btieet, and we believe \. o tiro con ecb in say-ing was the gentleman who first introduced the practice of public examinations into this colony. Mr. Haire i for a considerable pel iod withdiew himself as a puhl;c I' teacher, but about six months siuce lesumed tho i>i* .

fession in the present establishment, whei c his first lialf yearly examination was held. Considering the short timo the institution lias been open, the degree of proS I ciency of tlie major pait of his pupils gave evidenco of ! tho success of Mr. Haire's method of instruction. Some

very able pieces of composition in tlio classics, and also in French and German, woio produced by the elder pnpils ; and they, and those who were less advanced,

lindern ent a careful and successful viva loee examination by Mr. Uaiic, assisted by Mr. Nootnairel, who took the Gorman class. A very elevei debate upon ' the mental capacities of tho se\cs," in which 14 of the scholars took part, clecitod fiom the visitors very marked c\pi estions of npproh

tion. The specimens of mapping and drawing also most deservedly called foi th f he praises of the coiupanv. After thp " work " had been pot tin ough, Dr. Ayliffe d-stributed tho prize-, as follows:-Fii st class-W.ü. Whitford, J. Crocker, W. K. Loftus, aud J. Solomon ; Second clvss-A. McCarthy, J. Allen, and M. Moms, accessit. Third class-J. Hogan, George Cuiven, and 1?. Martin, jim , accessit. At the conclusion of the business, Mr. Haue aildressel sonio observations to the company upon his system of insti notion, and told them that many of his old schol.irs had come back to him, and that the number of pupils had rapidly and largely in-creased sinco he had recommenced in tho now establish-

ment. 1 he business off he day being over tho lads ad-journed to the "fun and frohc" irmal on such occasions, and in duo time the visitors separated, warmly congra-tulating Mr. 1 faire upon his resuming tho laboiv, he is so well qualified to follow with success.