they were all Chinese youths, but I am sorry to say the examiners reported that not one could pass the examination, and the reason they gave in their report was the want of power or experience in translating Chinese into English. Well, in the following year I asked my hon. friend Dr. Stewart, the headmaster of the school, to test for me the capacity of the boys of this school in speaking English, and Dr. Stewart presented a report to the Government in which he said of the Chinese boys eighteen were able to speak English with considerable fluency, fifty-eight spoke English with diffidence, and 336 could not be said to speak English at all. Now, another independent examination has been held within the last few days by an impartial board of examiners, and I find that that board, speaking through the report of Dr. Chalmers, inform me that scarcely any of the Chinese boys produced in translation into English a single grammatical sentence, and in another part of Dr. Chalmers' report he says "The classes for translation are barely passable." Now, I attribute this partly to the fact which I have mentioned, that the boys here have been trained in Chinese for a Chinese institution, the Foochow Arsenal, and not trained in English for an English Colony, and partly also, to the fact that many of the boys in this school come here from the high-bouring empire of China, not with the intention of remaining in the Colony; they are educated here at the expense of the ratepayers of the colony, and they leave it to go back to the neighbouring province. Well, if they carried with them thoroughly sound English education, then indeed you might say the school does good so far, but in point of fact these boys carry with them a very slender knowledge of English, and when they go to their homes they probably never again hear a word of English spoken. I think, therefore, that the school has laboured under a great disadvantage in being treated as a kind of training school for the Foochow Arsenal.
But the school has also laboured under another disadvantage, and I think nobody has been for a long time more convinced of it than my hon. friend Dr. Stewart, and that is that whereas in every other school in the Colony the masters' work is subjected to the criticism of an independent examination, in this school the practice has been for the work of the teachers to be tested by the teachers themselves. I suppose there are not many schools of which that can be said, but if there be any truth in the elementary principles of instruction, nothing would tend to undermine a school so much as that the work of the teachers should annually be tested by the teachers, and though I am fully sensible of the fact that the examination which has just been held was one adopted without any warning either to the teachers or pupils, and was an examination based on the Government grant-in-aid scheme, nevertheless, making all allowances, the results of that examination are well worthy of my consideration, and I propose to lay them before the Commission I recently appointed to report upon the future of the Central School.
I have not disguised my opinion that an institution like this, upon which we expend $14,000 a year, which is presided over in ordinary times by one of the ablest officials in this colony, my hon. friend Dr. Stewart, assisted by an able staff of masters, should be devoted to higher purposes as far as this colony is concerned, and that, in fact, we should endeavour to make the Central School an academical institution worthy of the Colony and worthy of the masters who teach in it. In order to accomplish that I should like to see the younger boys and those who are in the elementary classes educated in elementary schools, so that the masters of this school may devote their attention to the higher branches of learning. In the report I have received from the examiners who recently conducted the independent examination to which I have referred, I find this remark, "Nearly all the boys of division III were found to have been admitted into the school so recently that little or nothing could be expected from them." Now, boys who enter the school at a tender age and have to be taught the mere rudiments of learning ought to be instructed, not in the Central School, but in preparatory
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they were all Chinese youths, but I am sorry to say the examiners reported that not one could pass the examination, and the reason they gave in their report was the want of power or experience in translating Chinese into Eng. lish. Well. in the following year I asked my hon. friend Dr. Stewart, the headmaster of the school, to test for me the capacity of the boys of this school in speaking English, and Dr. Stewart presented a report to the Government in which he sail of the Chinese boys eighteen woro able to speak English with considerable fluency, fifty- eight spoke English with diffidence, and 336 could not be said to speak English at all. Now, another independent examination has been held within the last few days by an impartial board of examiners, and I find that that board, speaking through the report of Dr. Chalmers, inform me that scarcely any of the Chinese boys produced in translation iuto English a single grammatical sentence, and in another part of Dr. Chalmers' report he says "The classes for translation are barely passable." Now, I attribute this partly to the fact which I have mentioned, that the boys hore have been trained in Chinese for a Chinesa institution, the Foochow Arsenal, aud not trained in English for an English Colony, and partly also, to the fact that many of the boys in this setool come here from the high- bouring empire of Chius, pot with tho intention Lof remaining in the Colony; they are educated here at the expense of the ratepayers of the colony, and they leave it to go back to the neigh bouring province. Well, if they carried with them thoroughly Bound English education, then indeed you might say the school does good so far, but in point of fact these boys carry with them a reay slender knowledge of English, and when they go to their homes they probably never again hear a word of English spoken. I think, therefore, that the school has laboured under a great disadvantage in being treated as a kind of training school for the Foochow Arsenal. But the school has also laboured under another disadvantago, and I think no body has been for a long time more convinced of it than my hon. friend Dr. Stewart, and that is that whereas in every other school in the Colony the masters' work is subjected to the criticism of an independent examination, in this school the practice has been for the work of the teachers to be tested by the teachers themselves. I sup- pose there are not many schools of which that can be said, but if there be any truth in the elementary principles of instruction, nothing would tend to undermine, a school so muck as that the work of the teachers should annually be tested by the teachers, and though I am fully sensible of the fact that the examination which has just been held was one adopted without any warning either to the teachers or pupils, and was an examination based on the Government grant- in-aid schemo, uevertheless, making all allow- anoes, the results of that examination are well worthy of my consideration, and I propose to lay them before the Commission I recently appointed to report upon the future of the Central School. I have not disguised my opinion that an institu- tion like this, upon which we expend $14,000 a year, which is presided over in ordinary times by one of the ablest officials in this colony, my hon. friend Dr. Stewart, "assisted by an able staff of masters, should be devoted to higher purposes as far as this colony is concerned, and that, in fact, we should endeavour to make the Central School an academical institution worthy of the Colony and worthy of the masters who teach in it. In order to accom- plish that I should like to see the younger boys and those who are in the elementary classes educated in elementary schools, so that the masters of this school may devote their at- tention to the higher branches of learning, In the report I bave received from the examiners who recently conducted the independent examination to which I have refosred, I find this remark, Nearly all the boys of division III were found to have been admitted into the school so recently that little or nothing could be expected from them." Now, boys who enter the school at a touder age and have to be taught the mere rudiments of learning ought to be instructed, not in the Central School, but in preparatory
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