ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 39, 15 February 1905, Page 9

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

(From Oar Special Correspondent.} [ I LONDON", .Tannary 6. -THE WORK "F THE BRITISH EMPIFK LEAGCE. ■ftp British Kmpfcnr U-agor it-, r hear, considering th" estaMisbmetlt in Lon-j . (T f a nnn poH-ti'Mil rlnb of hig-h standing a-ppealiu<z u> support uf all FTts o t the King's dominions. T&e Httbjeet has I**"" brfore the esty-cnive ermurittee of the Leap*, of which Sx Eobert Herbert is i-hairtnen, switi it mil bo farther at a. meeting oi the council (U th« L«ag\re a fortjujrM hence. The League's eonneil «*ra tains enough | BberaDy prefixwl .uad name* u> fill a pa?" ot , "' la:J ' Te Tt < eo,t: ' oil ' s volume, the London Post Office Directory, but it lias y-cfc *° P 1 ™* , t^"'rt ' " can more tiran pa- 13 * 1 ~^ ain rpsnlaQony on matwrs of Imperial Latewst. If the members ot tiit! Coancil really made up tbtfir minds to run :VTI "Lnqx i rial Club" on t-fac i lines of a firsrtH:hws H c<!, End Club. jmtl wre prepare! to frmtaco it during > jjg "i-jwiddiinu" bam-ct-" |ifriud of existence, I b ao * >ulir - they «»»ld make it a snecfiss. tot really su«jh a Hub is sot ia tb« l< newwy " m London. I admit. ;ire pn-garious creatures as a rule, but I have not observed in them that; ardoat desire tor T,he coeesinioorJtip ori men h&ilinrr from the same pan: nf T-he w-orid whwih the pronsoteis of chit* purporting to be especially cstaJjfehed with a view to ?exvJBir the need,-- ot Colonials a.t Home poaH have as believe exists among them. Eafcher, I ha.r« found 1 he average man tmtu what a London journaj j recently, and somewhat ineptly, wnr- | e,l -rhe nether world" .more anxious to j sample "fneh woods :md pastures j new a Tlifarlst on this side i>l tht> great i waters. Th« recent demise of the j Colonial CI ah, which made a pretence j oi supplying a w * sr 1 rendezvous for Britishexs from owr tiw seus. affordti in some rasped* a proof that the : Australian. New Zeal&nder, f anadian I or South African on :i. visit, in the I'lld j Country is not irsuaJly consumed -with a burning desirr to fxa-terniw, ww?k after week "with hrs own eoantxymen. Moreover any dab which depend* to i any great extent on sabsj-riptioos from j men'"who are h<m so-day and thoa- i saads ox nriles oft' a month b< , nee- can- j not oossiWy hope to compete with the established ohlba ot the Metropoiis in point ot! comfort and convenience for ! visitors, unless it is run mare or less j as a. hobby by weah-hy men. These hig London Clubs as v. rule ope.n their doors for a limited period—a month > gaT _to any visitor, from "the orher ■ ejde" t-redenthila ure <jiwd. andj *)ia can obtain tut introdiK-uou frwtn a member. They i;harge The nottog and grant, li-hn (with some small exceptions) ail tae privileges of & full-fledged member. The Australasian Club, as it is in the heart- of coimnereial lxmdon. stands of rour?c on a -onu»whtu difFftrent footing to the sort, of rtub the Empire League eontoiiipkitp.s. Lr is pir n - , a '"daylight, Hub." ami fomts a very' convenient rendezvous tor men -who desire to disruss bn.«mes? ov4P.r The luncheon table, or while, arway an unprofitable hour bt-tvreen appoinrmpnts over a social glass or a game, of billiards. REVIEWING THE YEAH. I am by no means - ' Liiat the Press in the Old Country does not give people lierp quiu» as murh Antipodean news as they care ri> be dosed with. In some respects. iiKle*>d. it pays more attention to Australasian than is good for the Common wealth and. Maoriland. Yet I really think tha-i. the "Times" in it*, revir.w of the past year ha.v<> spared spese for UnnS move conce.minsr ilie aa<J or.htsrwise, ''Mown under'" duriug l!) 04 than the following? —"tn Australia. wheir has succeeded Lord Tennyson as Governor-General, we Ikivp «hti the uttereKfring but short-livetl owperiJneoT of a Labonr Ministry, with Mr Watson as Pmmi<T. and the formation after his fall of a. hybrid (.ahinot presided over by Mr Reid and supported % the Dejtlcinites. (>f crrpiu.pr import Men than nny politi<;il pvents in rhe Oommonwealth ha* bwn the hrea,k up of the long droiipht -j.ik\ the reriyal of AnstraMan pr<3spejity. as far as Mature, i^tu counteract ibe dfttrimental efTects ot pa*u; extravagam"* , ainl of tile distrust <:rea£<\d l>y nowl f.rperinients in sot-iaJ leav*Vaiion. Iα N«w Zealand Mr .S«idon's nfa-sterful persan*lity still boids his majority together, and Ijjid Rauiurry. after a very srw«ssfnl tenure of the office of Governor, has betni suceeed«d by Lord Plunkel." Possibly the "Time* , wa-<= tus.inir on the ancient adap« said sooftftst m^ Q d«i-'' You might rnUirn r.bp compliment, by reviewing the y«ar ,n ihe United wmei-hing after this faahioii. , "Dtrrinjr 1004. from aa alarming attack of Piscalitis, aaid general trade depression- In Scotland symptoms oi &<sil fever ivere also o[>wrvable. bnt the poopfe have been chiefly a. oharr-h crisis, in Ireland a bojr slide recentJy ,11 used 3OTQU daroage. 'Mr Balfoiir retains his position a~ Premier, and Sir U. Campbell Bannerman remains nominally. Leade.r of the Opposition, bur Mr .Joseph. Citumberlain"a masterful persuinality. a ml His Policy dominated the [loDtk-al situation." COLONIAL CONTRIBUTION TO IMPERIAL DEFENCE. Sir Arthur Douaii?. latf L'nder-Sfcre-wy ior Defence in Now Zealand, has a i«ter in tho -'Time?" tbi-= week ou the Mttestinn of oolonia! contributions to fmperial defence. He point.* out that annual naval rote i.s very far from °"?S their only contribution. "In adto direct monetary psyuiente." J?* Sir Arthnr. '"a great 'deal been 'one towards the naval defejnoe in the tu Plle by tbe a, ' tioll Qi mc o£ the Vcn "ng colonies. Strongly prote d ports have been provided" where w mercantilf; marine ,-.vi He in security , 0{ "S time of war, und where our ships jt r can c °al and repair if necessary. . c ™Portance of such protected coalbeen strongly by many ct the greatest auv^g* 5 on the subject. The great ad*ith thY *" tboße active ly entrusted Bftrcp ,^ ,P rot ection of our floating comttktf icnowing of tbe arrival of yesPToifrL.? mercajl tile marine at these '^ 5e4 &nfe and of their absolute

dfuhtd?^ there ' -"»«*■ J «**> be Case of Zealaud. Sir nS t ,Ili ? Strates ha * has been done n that colony during pa.t years in r eSJ.n f I mpeaal defence. En the creation ot foixr protected ports and the provision of artiUery and submarine £1.000,000 had been spent up to lflos ring the same period a sum of more than €-2.000.000 had been spent rrador too ordmaxy dpfencp votes, of tvnich had been devoted in tire year IJU.-.5 to the ""establishment and main--aeniince of defences" under the respective heads of "Military Expenditure" and "Harbour Defences/ "■Hie expenditurp above quoted." he continues, "is in addition to the annual naval subsidy, which now stands at, t: 40,000. I maintain that all the expenditure ot the. colonies for external defence i s actually for Imperial defence. It is voted for the e.xprpss purpose of resisting attack from without, and the only enemies that can make snch a.n at-tade .ire those who may be at war with our Empire. '' In ronclusion Sir Arthur Douglas says, apropos the forthcoming Colonial Conference: "I do not hold that any time is inopportune for bringing f ol -. ward the question of Imperial defence, and [ do not think thai there is anything to be gakied by assuming that those who live in either ouo colony or another are not equally anxious r.o 'rake their part in it. All are imbued with the sanae ot patriotism, and fully recojrnke the necessity fur national insurance."

A XEW ZEALAND ANTE-PREFER-ENTIALIST.

Mr. Pprcy Harris, who is a >"e\r Zea- j lander by birth, and a member of a firm of merchant* carrying on an extensive trade with, the colony, is the prospective Liberal candidate for the Ashfonl Divi sion at the next general election in Ens- j land. Mr. Harris i- not a believer in the ! preferential trade policy of Mr. Chamber- j lain. He considers that the scheme would i be absolutely injurious to both the i Mother Country aud I he colonies, and it Is his belief that the more the colonies examine the eonditlous of the offer of a preference in English markets, the more will they fight shy of it. Mr. Harris detailed his views at some length in an- interview with a "Westminster Gazette" representative. Taking New Zealand as an instance, he pointed out that with a I population of only 800.000 thr colony hp.s \ a very small consuming capacity. "I do ! not for a moment believe," h< , continued, j "that it* manufacturers could afford tn i lei English goods into their market on more favourable terms uo compared with ! ttreir own goods. New Zealand's i.-hief ! rival in manufactures is Great Britain. ! and ir Ls determined to guard its. home j market as closely as possible. Its export I trctde to England in food supplier i= at the .same time all-important to its grow- | ing industries, and if the English work- i in<r liaises hud to spend mur.' on their ' Loots and clothes, as wonld happen if the \ fon'io-ner wrp taxed, they would have !es< to spend on New Zealand mutton and j butter. A far-<=eeing colonial i-; not. there- j fore, in fuvonr of Mr. ('bamberlain"s Ileal policy. H" id not. in the first place. , prepared to let British goods into hii | ' country at a cheaper rate, so that hf- can really give little or nothing in return, and he tears that any reduction ot The spending: powers of the working classes , would '-eriously injure his trade in food | .-upplips with England, on which himanufacturers depend." ; "I cannot bJp 1 hinkinjr."' continued ' Mr. Harris, "that, if once the bargaining spirit, were allowed to creep into the re-j 1 latiou:- of England with her colonies. ; there would be many ranspe for friction. I Australia would complain if a he did not t ! orpt, an equal advantage for her wool as I New Zealand tor her mutton and Canada , ;' for her corn. South Africa would wa.ni. a preference for lier wine and her pre- : ciou- stones! Kngland would expect, something in return, but all Unit the I colonies could give wrnild be a preference : in their markets over foreign poods. But I this would be ot very little assistance to i England as colonial industries continued I to develop. And the colonial manufacturer, whose chief competitor is the Eng- | lish manufacturer, would always be ivI dined U> grumble. ;is he has done in OanI ada. against the lowerraar of the tariff on J the products of his most formidable i rival. j "The resnlt would be that the relations I bet ween this conrrtry and her colonies i would be embittered by constant bickerI ings, and the sentiment that at present j biiiiLs England and her colonials would I be perverted into a question of I s. d. I believe, indeed, that preference might he the bejrinning of the break-up of the Kmpire. by mowing the *i>eds of distrust and I dislike among Englishmen and colonials. I The British fanner, for instance, would j find the (wmpetition of i.he colonial far|m*T hardly less onerous than that of the j foreign**! - . Do you suppose that he draws a tine distinction between Canadian and I Amerkswi corn or between New Zealand idiid Arjrpntinc mutton? He will demand a tax un all imported foodstuffs, j On the other hand, the British labourer. Iftndin,!? his foodstuff.- higher, will vote tor ■ the retvrrn of men to the House of Comjmocs pledged ti> remove the tax on torfeign foodstuffs. The colonies might re- ; spond by no longer granting a preference j to the British manufacturer, and a very 'volcano of conflicting interests would j tht*ri be let loose." Mr. Harris is convinced that it is the land quest ion which lie.s at the root of much of Eng-laiul's distress and want of employment, both in town and countn r . "In land reform." he says, "there is much sht* can learn from the colonies, and this is a policy that will not involve the taxation of the people's food or end in alienating the Mother Country from her colonies." A PROSPEROUS LAXD COMPANY. The chairman of the New Zealand and River Plate Land Mortgage Company. Ltd., had a very satisfactory ■state of Vtrairs to comment upon in hU speech at the annual met"ting at the Cannonstreet Hotel on Tuesday. In moving the adoption of the report, the payment of a dividend of '->l per <-ent. (making with the interim dividend 7 per cent. f<»" the year i. and the addition of £12.000 to the reserve, the ch-airman (Mr A. Mitchison) observed that for the lirst time in the career of the company the whole of their capital was hilly paid, and there was no uncalled- liability. They had been drawing nearer year by year to this position, and it seemed to come now a≤ a matter of course, but he thought that the shareholders mmld agree with the directors in considering that it was an important matter, and that- all of them might congratulate themselves on the removal of the incubus. The loans on mortgage at !the River Plate now stood at £576.309, or £88,527 more than the amount shown a year ago. In New Zealand two of the company's principal properties were the St. Heliers and Birkenhead estates; these were being "nursod" and sold by degrees. The company had not done so badly, and i*ey started in their 22nd. Tear witka -capital af.£3o0 5 00flL a raseree

,of £-202.000, and with a stron™ and well- , established earning power. Mr T. H. 1 Jone.s seconded the motion, which wa.----i carried unanimously, i I WASTED: A COLONIAL POLICY. • Discnssinj.' the position of British =etti lers in the New ttebride?. a writer in tlie I "Morniiiir Post,"' after contrasting what j the -French Government does for their [settlers with what Australia does for the ;-British, ""who.-e very existence is practijcally ipnored by the people uf Great ißritsin.'" remarks: — -"L'he (,'ommun.'wealth Government gives a subsidy of i £6000 per annum, a portion <>i which poes to providing wiiite labour on the J subsidised vessels, to a* steamship lino owning land in the group, but the servk-s ■ thus obtained is quite inadequate. Even lif the amount of the subt:dy is raised !to £10.000 by the next bialgpt" . . . . the British sptticr would still be in an iinferior position to his French rival be caujp of lack of capital and of a 1 market for his produce . . . Frob'ably the only meaauro which would enable him to hold hi? own is the grant of I preferential treatment under the Federal tariff, so that he might enjoy the same 'advantages in the Sydney market a≤ hi.-; French competitor hiis at Noumea. If what Mr Reid calls the ocean destinies lot" Australia' are to be realised, a liberal measure of the kind must be conceded 'without delay. Otherwise the French i settlers will soon, dominate the southern ■ islands, where the best harbour* are to 'be found, and when the existing condominium is ended by a, partition of the ! group. France will obviou-ly lie entitles 'to the. lion's share of all that L- wortii ', having." Concerning the Imperial ("iovernraent's position in relation to the group, thn writer says: —"The existence oi the New I Hebrides, problem in its present form ia la striking proof of the undeniable fact I that Great Britain, though the first of colonising powers, lui-s not ;i colonial 'policy. The British Government, in prac lice if not in theory, regards the right.-* of British citizenship as a variable quantity, diminishing in importance in proporton to the distance of the citizen's domicile from London. Whatever the faults of France as a colonising power I m . she has always treated tits French colonist, as the political equal oi it-he Frenchman living in France. [f Great Britain contemplated the affairs of Greater Britain from this. tlie. only logical point of view, the Australian colonies would never have been told by the Colonial Office in 1883 that tiey must federate so as to 'diminish the responsibility' of the Mother Country in dealing with the problem of the New Hebrides in its then form. Since those years of 'Majubanimity' the Colonial Office has ben made a much more effective agency for managing the business of the British subject in partibus. bat it cannot be said that we yet possess a colonial policy such as France or Germany have devised and are working out day by day in detail. If we had such a policy, the importance of Great Britain's foothold in the New Hebrides would be recoginised. and we should be prepared to assist Australia in tie task oi rendsemg it permanent. , '

THE COLONIES AND PAUPER CHILDRENmr KTNLOCH COOKE'S PROPOSALS. j i From oar Special Correspondent.) J LONDON". January 6. | Mr KinlorJi C'ooke. a gentleman very; I fond of poatng n.s an authority on ! colonial affairs generally, thought not ' '; apparently on the strength of knowledge j ; gained by personal experience in tb , -' | ' iviuur , ? dominions beyond the seas, has j ! taken up the subject of the emigration ' of Great Britain's Poor Law Children. I He has inaugurated a plan —suggested ; apparently on that mooted some Lime. ; acr« in anothex ([uart^r —based osi j ! supervision and resting! j on Kiutnal eo-openition between the Uh l I CoMntry an»l the colnnies. whereby -i j large number of cliildren may b«» tran?-1 lato«i tcr llk- newer world with a view tn I their heing brought up as useful memhex? at 1 he communities receiving them. I Mr Cook : ? plan, it is said, has been ! favourably received by our Ijocal (govern j ■ment Board, by Boards of Guardians in j this crnratry, and "by the colonies them- j , selves. ■' That is to say. Mr Cooke has found a sympathetic interest evinced in j his scheme by ib* 1 Colonial Olfiee, Lard i Milner. the Prime Minister of Cape Col-j ony. and the Governor of NaLal. while j ""those Agents-I'General of* the Auf-tral-| asian colouies who have been coratnuni-1 I rated with 'in the. subject .are equally j I friend! v. Everywhere, indeed, it seems j i Mr Cooke has received to go forward with his scheme, which h<: in insists is "based on sottnd et»nomic principles and broadened by tlio ideak of true JmperialLsm." Tie is now forming a committee to assist him to bring his scheme into operation. The outline of its main provisions arc as follows: —Each colonial Government to undertake: — To provide one or more agricultural homes or farms, where, the children would be educated, brought up. and trained under direct Government supervision for work in the colony, and to place out the children in suitable situations. To pass 3uch local Acts as may be required to moot tli<* now cireomstajires. and draft rules aud regulations (to bo approved by the Lcxsil Ovvemment. Board), for observance in the administration of the homes. To institute a system of Government inspection until the child reaches the age of eighteen. To recognise my committee a-s their agent. Each Board of Guardians to undertake : To hand over the children at an .ig. , to be arranged between the parties to the contract. To allow representatives o fthe colonial Governments to select the children. To pay to each colonial Government, in a manner hereaiter to be arranged, (). a sum of money, annually or otherwise., equal to what •would be paid for j boarding out the diildrea here, the

amount: not to exceed in any cue case the cost of boarding out for three years; Id) an agreed sum, annually or otherwise, for the cost of inspecting earh child uniil the child reahes the ago of eighteen. Ti> recosmise my committee as their agent. Mr Cooke insists on introducing "my committee" a.s an es.sem c "f the scheme because, lie <-x.pl:>,ins, it is at proseut rhe oclv responsible body which is pn- ,- pared ami organized to at-t as :m intermediary. H>- feels, however, that this is far too important a matter to be left to voluntary effort, and that in the long run a work ot ibis kind can only be effectively carried out by a Government department acting in co-operation with the represetatives o f the colonies. in the course of an interview on his scheme' Mr Cook.: remarked: —"For years I havp been profoundly convinced of the fact thiit. in child emigration w,i have the best, solution of economic problems which increase in <rravity every year. Why is the unemployed question so ;irute'.' Surely brruusc then" are more people at home than work can bo found for. Aud we have the colouies requiring additional population and eager for British stock. I have approached t.he problem from the standpoint of pubIk- economy and Imperial policy, and 1 arrive at the conclusion that a properlyorganised plan of State-aided emiprraiion for Poor Law children is esential for dealing with pauperism in this country and offers the best means of providing the colonies with a continuous flow of useful British immigrants. Moreover, the children are .given in this way a fair >tart in life, while at the same time we have the satisfaction of knowing that their bone, sLnew. and brain will be utilised in developing these, dependencies of Ihe Empire which t'omi the natural heritage of the English race."' Mr Cooke proceeded to draw attention to the fact that the children classified in tiw annual report of the Local Government Board nnder the heading "Orphans or children relieved without their parent?" numbered <-n .the tirst ot January, ISJO4. 35.8«50. Of these 5372 were boarded out. and thus miirht be plai-«d in the catepory of yoiai}» people available for immediace emigration. R<«raru. of course, would be had to and "It is not our intention." Mr Cooke observed, "to foist any wastrels or undesirables on the colonies. We should semi only of our best and those officially as naedicaJly fit. Even so I should imagine that ou«-third sit least of the number specified wonld he available for inimediate trau.*latiou to the colonies, and I have no doubt whatever that the vast majority oi these children properly trained and jjiven new surroundings would make useful colonists,. An important factor is the age at which the children should be emigrated. For obvious reasons they ought nor to he >.ev.t out too young: aud yet. if the end in view is to be £ained. they must not be kept here too long. Much will depend on the length of training which the colonial Governments consider recessary to fit the children for the work they "will have to do. and on the amount tie gnardi-ans are in a position to contriiwrte without adding to tli© burdsiis erf tire xatepav.ers,""'

CONCERNING EXAMINATIONS. (By Eobert H. BakeweU, iLD.)' ___ ( The curse of examinations is on tbe ', voting people of New Zealand, and is ' doing rhp'ii a:i infinity of mischief. I physical and mental. I propose in this | paper to show up some of the evils of i these exams., which are affecting thousands of our young people. Examinations arc of two Tcinds, pass and competitive. Pass examinations an? those undertaken either to obtain de-greos or diplomas, or to qualify for certaia positions. Of this kind are the civil service exams., junior and senior, the exams, for th" Education j ccrtiiinates (E and D), and others of the like kind. In these exams, provided the e&ndidate obtains a certaia minimum of marks be obtains the certificate or diploma he requires. Candidates may or may not be placed in the order of merit according to the uumber of marks they obtain. Competitive exams, are those ■where the namber of candidates is unlimited, or very much more numerous than the honours or scholarsiiips to be bestowed. In such cases the candidates are always placed in the order of merit according to the number of marks they obtain. The strain of these exams, is miK'li greater than, those of the pass exams., and it i» not uncommon for candidates to break down before the conclusion of the examination. I have myself, in my younger days, gone through seventeen (IT) examinations, pass aud competitive. Of these two v.ere wholly viva voce ("MJR.C.S. ami L.S.A.). two partly written and partly viva voce (ALD- and. L-MJLCS.I, and one (for the House Surgeoncy of rbt" Hospital). I forget whether it -was wholly or only partly viva voce. It j was a competitive exam. The other twelve were all for honours u.ud were all written. In addition to these experiences as a candidate. 1 was for_ six years a n examiner tnyseh'. I may claim, therefore, a practical knowledge of the subject. Against viva vot-e exams, as a means of ascertaining a man's knowledge of any -α-bject I have nothing to say. Conducted, as they ought always to be. by two or more examiners, they are by far the best, because the quickest and fairest, methods of testing a candidate. I should certainly consider that an examiner will obtain a far better insight into a candidate's knowledge by one hours viva voee than by a dozen hours occupied in writing answers to printed questions: Of course it may be <*aid that a nervous candidate may fail to do himself or herself justice in a viva voce exam., while with a written one there would be no such nervousness. But examiners can always see when a candidate is nervous., and will encourag-e and help him or her. The nervousness that springs from conscious ignorance of the subject, of course., will not disappear under any soothing process—aor is it desirable tiiat it should, ~__.

The objections to written examinations are radical. The first is that it is impossible., when candidates are numerous, to prevent fraud, either by impersonation, or by surreptitiously obtaining possession of the printed papers of questions. Impersonation is probably not very •common herp—because to be successful yon must have a very clever rogue who J is willing for a bribe to personate the ■ candidate, and you must have a candi- j date eon.*cious of bis deficiencies, able i and willing to bribe the clever rogue, j and acquainted with him. The last ia i the main difficulty. You have to brim; I the ignorant candidate and the clever rogue together. Personations are only made when the object of the exam, is to qualify lor some profession. Ob- i vioiisly they never occur in oompeti- j tire or honour exams. Occasionally they are discovered, but in my profession they are more often guessed ar. One finds a medical nran duly qualified j ami registered, but so crassly ignorant i that it seems impossible For the most > indulgent examiner To have passed™ him. Probably he baa iror someone j else to pass the exams, for him. ' When some hundreds of examination ! papers have to be printed, it is quite impossible. I should think, to prevent the printers striking off a few extra copies, which they know will fetch an j enormous price. It is believed that some j unscrupulous* .rammers get such copies a few days before the exam, and coach their pupils in them. But apart from fraud, a written exam, must always be unfair in its operation. You set down a candidate at a desk with a printed paper of "questions, pens. ink. and paper, and a limited time in winch to answer the questions. Now, some young people are rapid writers, and some slow ones, and it is at once obvious that the rapid writers have very greatly the advantage. They can give fuller answers, if they please, or they have more time to think the question out. Then, again, and even more important, is the great difference between candidates —I assume that they have equal knowledge of the subject—in their quickness of composition. Some very srreat writers have been very slow in composition, writing and re-writing, and then correcting and revising, before their manuscripts are ready for the press. Even then the proof sheets are a terror to the printers. Other men are not so fastidious about the choice of their language, or they have a more copious vocabulary, or they are able to put their sentiments into shape before writing them down, which is a feat of which some writers are incapable. It often happens that a man who knows more of a subject than another man may write a much worse paper on it, if he is limited as to time. Give him ample tune, and he can easily show his superiority, but limit him to three hours, the usual time, and Ik* sends in an ill-written, blotted sheet, full of erasures and alterations. ' that disgusts the examiner. Again, in many subjects it is very; useful to make diagrams, and the man who can readily draw a neat diagram may save himself much paper and ink, and show the examiner that he is well acquainted with the subject. There is ;inother way in which an inexperienced candidate may do himself a great injury- There are. say. eight questions. The inexperienced candidate takes them as they come, and answers them to the best of his ability. He, most probably, spends too much time and answers too fully the first four or live, and is horrified to find that he cannot give time enough to answer the others properly. The experienced candidate glances over the questions, picks out thoso he knows best, answers them at ouce as succinctly as he can. and then takes the others one by one allotting a fixed portion of time to each. If he is dubious about an answer he spreads out all he does know as thin and as wide as he can. If he is very weak in one question he leaves that to the last, and just notes in a hurried scrawl at the close. "Time up.'" Now. these useful little dodges are not of the slightest use in a viva voee exam. If a candidate attempts to I spread himself out iv answering a qxies- . tion on which he is strong, the examiner ■ cuts, him short, and puts another ques- ! tion. If he skips points in which he is i weak 1 lie examiner pins him to them. j Unfortunately, in competitive examij nations for scholarships or Civil Service appointments, as one candidate must be compared with every other, a feed set of questions and a written examination are indispensable. If we c-oula , trust our teachers and heads of departments to act honestly, faithfully, and with a regard to justice only, there are many better means of ascertaining the fitness of candidates than a written exam- But, alas! who can expect such disinterested public virtue, when the ethical standard is so low and sordid? One alteration ought certainly to be made. It is nothing short of cruelty to compel young- people in their teens to undergo an. examination extending over six consecutive days. Numbers give up before the close, utterly dene up. Tlk*v thus sacrifice all tb*y have done. The mental .and bodily strain even of three or four days' consecutive examination is terrible. And the injustice inflicted on those who feel themselves unfit for the struggle is manifest. Robust health and a good memory, conpted with moderate intelligence, will win the. day against the roost persevering industry. ujgacconipamed with those qualifications. Ponsonby-roadr February 13, 1905.