South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900), Saturday 21 June 1856, page 3


PULTENEY-STREET CENTRAL SCHOOLS.

The half-yearly examination of the pupils of this school (which was established in 1847) took place yesterday, in the presence of a number of ladies and gentlemen interested in educational institutions, besides parents of the

scholars. His Lordship the Bishop presided, and was supported by the Rev. Dean Farrell, the Revs. W. J. Woodcock, C. Marryat, Captain Allen, Dr. Wyatt, Mr. MacDermott, M.L.C., Messrs. Ross, Wickes, Addison, Bath (of Christchurch Schools); &c. The proceedings were commenced by the singing of the National Anthem, it being the anniversary of the accession of Her Majesty to the throne ; and Mr. K. C. Mitton read the following REPORT. 'My Lord, Ladies, and Gentlemen — 'In the few remarks I have the honour to make upon this occasion I shall in a great measure confine myself to a detail offsets upon which it appears to me more appro-priate to await your judgment than to adventure my own. 'Assuming the conduct of these schools about the middle of October last I found 35 children present in the boys' school) which number was increased to 51 ere the Christmas vacation; and I am happy to state that the books now show a return of between 90 and 100, with an average attendance in favourable weather of upwards of 80. "Under the able and devoted superintendence of Miss Light, the girls' school during the past twelve months has increased more than 200 per cent., viz., from 20 to 63— a number, as I am informed, exceeding that of any former period. ' Upwards of 180 children, then, arc at tho present time receiving the benefits of the Institution— a fact which may be allowed to speak for i ? self. 'It is not, I apprehend, so much the aim of thislnstitulion, as it certainly i9 not the object of my ambition, to fnniish the world with inathcmiUiiiians; scholar?; and statesmen, as by means of a sound practical English, education to induce habits of thought and moral rectitude, based upon a solid substratum of Christian principles. I do not, therefore, my Lord, ladies, and gentlemen, anticipate the awakening in your minds of any very profound speculations upon the possibilities of the future of these children. '' Full many a gem or purest ray scrcno The dark unfathom'd eavvs of ocean bear.' For aught 1 kuoiv there may be among thnsn many e-.tch 4 gems.' I can conscientiously sneak of their general cmi» duct as 'good)' would prefer to sec them' .vise' rather thau 'clever;' 'useful' rather than 'brilliant;' and shall be abundantly satisfied if they hereafter prove upright and intelligent cltiiehs of this world; dnd lieirs df eternal life in that which Is to conic. ' In accordance with these views, and a due regard to their priscnt attainments, I have felt it my duty to eun; fine their attention almost exclusively to the more ordinary and useful, but less showy branches of education ; in addition to which, however, thj scmur classes sonic

lime ago stuuicu me anmiai kimitiiuu., uuu, mum recently, England, physically, politically, ami historically, including statistics uf population, commerce, mannlactures, tho sources of Wealth, rational superiority, Sec.; and, in Scripture, the history of Daniel, including aotices of Babylon, the Chaldean empire, &a. 'As having a bearing upon the cSamination about to take place; 1 may state; iu relation to the bbjs' f chcol, that of the children before ydu orlly twenty-seven were prcseut on the last occasion of a similar kind, and of these William Morris is the only representative or the then first class. You will, therefore, your Lordship, ladies, and gentlemen, be enabled to arrive at a tolerably correct estimate of the results of the past half-year; nnd you will, I doubt not, be interested to learn something of those whose conucction with us has tcrminatdl. Of the first class, Robert Hill is now Assistant Librarian to the Mechanics' Institute ; A. l{Diu!al!, A. Johnson, and G. Stephens, are in rcspectuble situations in the city; E. Brvant and his brother Have returned with thc;r parents to 'England ; and W. Kogc, who resides at a. disHanen, has discontinued coming for the winter. Of vhu Remainder, some have removed frcm the neighbourhood, three arc ill, two arc kept at home because their fathers arc out of employ, one it was my painful duty to expel, and the absence of two remains unaccounted for, though one of these attended up to the present month. ' For thb present oce&ion I have nothing prepared— not even a programme; the children iia befb'M jou, let their attainments be thoroughly tested; and to your verdict, my Lord, ladies, and gcutlcmen, I shall respectfully bow.'A A very interesting examination was then conducted by His Lordship and other gentlemen on various topics, including general history, mental arithmetic, gcoyrapliy, English grammar, the Scriptures, vocal music, and matters pertaining td commerce and manufactures. At thb clrise; His LoiiDsriu? rerrhrked thr,t in saying the scholars had acquitted themseltcfl1 wjth credit; h-! was giving expression to a Very general opinion On the pirt of those who had conducted and witnessed the examination, lie could not avoid passing a high culogium on their excellent preceptor. Mr. Mitton, whose assiduity and intelligent modo of communicating information had been productive of the good results made apparent during the examination which had taken place. The exertions of tHs prccsptrcss, Siiss Lijrht, had met with considerable success among tha fctnalb piipils- and the fact that her labours had bx-n appreciated so fully mu.st be a source of satisfaction to her. Previously to the distribution of the awards of the cxamizers, it was announced that though there were no prizes to be given on the pr sent occasion, the pupils might, through the liberality of a warm and constant friend to the Institution, look forward to the offer of prizes at the Christmas examination to the value of £10, divided cuually among the boj'sand thcgiils. A hope was expressed ll'.at this would act as an incentive to increased exertions, arid an emulation on Ihc part of everv individual to lit himself or herself to carry off the

honour. The following pupils then received Cebtificates op Mkeit. GIRLS. First Class.— Margaret Leyden, Jane Watson, Lucy Mehrtons, Mary Marggraff. Second Class.— Ellen Litchficld, Georgina Watson, Margaret Randall, Harriet Matthews. Third Class. — Emma Pearce, Margaret Watson, Jemima Randall. . ... An exhibition card was awarded to Augusta Schnemann for punctuality aud general improvement. BOYS. First Class.— James Fry, for general good conduct and improvement; Alexander Uren, George King, John Mounstcr, Samuel Fisher, Edward Ladner, Walter Johnson. Second Class.— Michael M'Carty, JohnM'Gill, Edward Smith. Third Class.— James Larre, Isaac Dawson, William Hill, John Le Sauvage. An exhibition card was awarded to William Morris. During tHe proceedings fcpec!mcn£o_f ^rawing; writing, needlework, Sc. were exhibited, which were in many Cnses very creditable to the manipulators, and called forth deserved encomiums, particularly in some instances where they were the work of extremely young children. The business was concluded by tho singing of tec Doxology, afceif whieh the scholars dispersed for the vacation. .--._-.-?- ? - ? . .

Assembly Bali. — The second Subscription Ball of the season was held in the Exehange on Thursday evening, ami was honoured by th« presence of His Excellency and Miss MacDouncll. Owing to the inclement state of the n eather the company wa» not so numerous as might have been expected. Her IVlAJESTxr's AcCESStoX. — Yesterdaybeing the anniversary of Her Majeity's accession to. the throne, was observed as a holiday at the various Public Offices. The Banks were also closed, and at noon a royal salute was tired by the Volunteer Artillery. The South Apstralia-' Volunteer Cohpist op Artillkby. — The members of tliis corps mustered yesterday in the Gun Paddock, under the corpniand of Captain Torrens, and fired a royal salute in honour of Her Majesty's Accession. The various detachments were then formed np for field battery exercise and instruction drill. After exercise tho rules were read over and signed by tho men, who formally enrolled themselves, and were supplied with swords and belts. The next muster for drill and exercise is fixed for Monday, the 23rd instant. A Case poe Enquiry. — Yesterday a person named Dalton gavo information to the police that he had Eeen the body of an infant lying in the front room otahouseinCoiomandel-placc— anarrnwpassagcbctwccn Pirie and Freeman streets— and it was consiili red ncccsary to make some enquiry on tho subject. Dr. Wrislit went to the place, but could not gain admittance; but Dr. AvUffe, who afterwards examined the body, gave it as his'opihioh that an inquest ought to te held. Information was sent to the Coroner, who has summoned a Jury, to sit at the Young Queen, Frccman-strcet, at 11 o'clock this morning. A Hint to hie Cori-oeatiox.— Yesterday morning the wheel of a dray laden with potatoes broke completely through tie water-tab'e ia Uu,idle:strcet (opposite Mr. Hea!«y's shop), and sank into the drain beneath. The top of the drain being formed of pieces of slate laid flat, was not strong enough to support the weight of the dray. It wcrid appear to he necessary either to arch the upper part of tho drains or to use a stronger material. . ' . Cobkigenduji. — In an article in yesterday s issue we Inadvertantly ascribed a couplet from 'Hudi. bras' to lord Byroo. V.'e should have said Butler wtoadofBrroifc 5' '?