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No. 59.

SIR C. P. LUCAS to MR. H. J. MACKINDER.

MY DEAR MACKINDER,

Downing Street, 12 December, 1908. I HAVE received your letter of the 9th of December,* and I agree to the arrangement which you have made with Messrs. Newton for the sale of the coloured slides at reduced prices, and which seems very satisfactory.

I agree also that the Press notice should be kept back until the 3rd or 4th of January. I am telling Noall to wait until he hears from you, or from Chamberlain by your direction, before sending out the notice.

I enclose a list of the paperst to which Press notices from the Colonial Office are usually sent, and copies of the book should be sent to them by Messrs. Waterlow with a slip from the Chairman of the Committee.

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I quite agree to your obtaining the services of an addresser.

I am, &c.,

H. W. JUST,

(for Sir C. Lucas).

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young people can have easy access. Books, too, are cheap and plentiful, thanks 6d. series published by Cassell, Collins, Stead, to the excellent 3d. and

Lectures and entertainments, instructive and otherwise, are Newnes, &c., &c. common enough in the city, whereas they are a rarity in the country. With all these advantages it is natural that the city boy or girl should be much better informed than the country child.

In scores of villages not a book is to be purchased for love or money; little wonder, then, that ignorance prevails. The shopkeepers themselves are East Indians or Chinese, who are probably unable to read or write except in their own language.

When inspecting schools in rural districts I often ask pupils if they read at yes"-because it is thought that is what I want, home invariably the reply is " but when pushed to say what books they read the range is generally limited to Bible, hymn-book, Prayer-Book, and Graphic Reader!

Anyone having a knowledge of the conditions of life in, say, Moruga, Guaya- guayare, Blanchisseuse, Castara (Tobago) will agree with me that the lantern lectures are at the present time far more useful from an educational point of view in these districts than they would be in town.

I am afraid I have not very clearly explained what I mean, but I feel strongly upon the point, and Mr. Urich is of my opinion.

As Your Excellency addressed me privately I am replying in the same way; if I am wrong in so doing pray excuse the error,

And believe me, &c..

I return Sir C. Lucas's letter and the proof sheet.

J. H. COLLENS.

J. H. C.

No. 60.

CYPRUS.

THE HIGH COMMISSIONER to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(No. 4.)

MY LORD,

(Received 16 January, 1909.)

[Answered by No. 65.]

Government House, Nicosia, 6 January, 1909. REFERRING to your Lordship's "Miscellaneous" despatch of the 5th of June last, on the subject of this Government being supplied with prints of the photo- graphs taken in Cyprus by Mr. A. Hugh Fisher, I venture to ask whether any of such prints are yet available.

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I have, &c.,

C. A. KING-HARMAN.

No. 61.

TRINIDAD.

MR. S. W. KNAGGS to SIR C. P. LUCAS. (Received 18 January, 1909.)

DEAR SIR CHARLES LUCAS,

Government House, Trinidad,

12th December, 1908.

In reply to your note on the subject, dated the 11th of November,† I enclose a letter from Mr. Collens, our Inspector of Schools, in which he explains why, in his opinion, the lantern lectures are of more value when given to schools in the country districts than to those in Port-of-Spain.

While I am inclined to agree with this opinion, I can hardly find in it a reason for altogether depriving the children in the town of such an admirable and interest- ing means of instruction, and I will ask Mr. Collens to include the town in his next series of lectures.

Yours sincerely,

S. W. KNAGGS.

His Excellency

S. W. Knaggs, C.M.G.,

Acting Governor.

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SIR,

No. 62.

THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE to VISUAL INSTRUCTION COMMITTEE. (Received 20 January, 1909.) [Answered by No. 64.]

64, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., 19 January, 1909. REFERRING to the interview you granted yesterday to Mr. Mackenzie, one of our Provincial Secretaries, I am requested by Grand Council to ask if you will be so good as to supply the Primrose League with the lecture book and full set of slides of views of the various parts of the Empire, suitable for exhibition to English school children, as soon as they are ready for issue.

Grand Council is also desirous to know if you attach any conditions to their exhibition, and will be grateful for any further information that you can give them on the subject.

W. E. Noall, Esq.,

Secretary,

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I am, &c.,

GEORGE LANE-FOX,

Vice-Chancellor, Primrose League.

Visual Instruction Committee.

No. 63.

DEAR MR. KNAGGS,

Enclosure in No. 61.

Queen's Royal College, 11th December, 1908. My reason for giving the country the preference re lantern lectures is :- Port-of-Spain has one large library and two or three smaller ones, to which

• No. 55.

+ Not printed.

† No. 20.

ROUMANIAN CONSUL-GENERAL to VISUAL INSTRUCTION

DEAR SIR,

COMMITTEE.

(Received 20 January, 1909.)

[Answered January 21, 1909: not printed.]

Roumanian Consulate-General, 49, Parliament Street,

London, S.W., 19 January, 1909.

I SHOULD esteem it a great favour if you could let me have a copy of the sever.

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

I l l l l l l l l l l l l l

Reference :-

C.O.885

19 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

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lectures on the United Kingdom issued for use in India, together with a list of lantern slides, as I wish to forward the same to my Government. I should be glad if you could give me any information with regard to the success these lectures have achieved during the time that they have been given./

Yours truly,

ALFRED STEAD.