HISTORY. SPELLING, AND COMPOSITION.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13336, 30 January 1909, Page 11

HISTORY. SPELLING, AND COMPOSITION.

FROM A MATRICULATION STANDPOINT. (press association telegram.) AUCKLAND, January 29. ShoulcV examiners in history in thn matriculation, examinations tako cognisance of errors in spelling and composition? This was a. question that gave rise to a brief, but interesting, discussion at to-day'e sitting of tlio Senate of the University of Now Zealand. The matter aroso out of a clams© in a report by the Authors and Periods Committeo, -which, through its chairman (Professor J. Macmillan Brown), submitted' the following recommendations in regardi to a letter that had been received from Mr J. P. Grossman, the examiner in history for matriculation :—" (1) That any paper disfigured by gross vulgarities be disqualified ; (2) That examiners be instructed to take into consideration the spelling an<ii composition in valuating tlio papers of candidates." The first recommendation was unanimously agreed to without diiseussioiL, but the. second nwrt. -with, opposition from a majority of the members of the Senate. Mr F. E. Baume, M.P., thouglit that if the Senato adopted , th© recommendation, it would be placing a dangerous power in the hands of examiners, as it ■would make it possible for a candidate who had 1 a thorough knowledge of tho particular subject in question to be prejudicbd by errors m spelling and.' composition. Tho same principle might be applied! to other subjects, chemistry, for. instance. If it was thought desirable tliat English composition should form a part of a person's •examination, they slhiould' niako English a compulsory subject for tho diogreo examinations. Mr G. Hogbeni, who agreed) with Mr Ban mo, said that -a ridiculous diegree of accuracy in spelling was required by English cxamiuers. Chaucer was a groat poet, but he could not spell, he added, quoting Artemiis Ward. (Laughter). Mr Yon Haast: I have known of a prominent member of a College Boarul of Governors, a very learned 1 man, who absohitejy could not spell at all. Mr Hogben, continuing, Eaid that an exaggerated itnportnnoo ivus attached' to spelling by the English people. A simitar importance was not attached' to the subject in Franco and Germany. The Cnanocllor : Jb may bo a question of two methods of spelling. Mr Hogbon: No, that is not so. When a. word w 6polt with a wrong letter without affecting tlie jwonunciation., no notice is taken of it in certain cases. Of course, in regard to papers on English, it was quito right tliat attention, should' bo given to both spelling and oompositiOTi, but in a history paper, an examiner, he arguod, b'hould mark for historj-, or, if it vraa geometry, ho slioulcf nxark for that subject. He had known an examiner in history examinations that he had been connected with, to mark for punctuation, and he (tho examiner) had been asked to revise his system of marking. If they w-c.ro goins? to mark for incorrect spelling in history, should' they not also mark for bad -mathematics when incorrect figures appeared in a history or economics paper without affecting the correctness otherwise of the answers? Tho Chancellor, in speaking of punctuation, said he had yet to learn thel it was an essential part of composition. Punctuation wns not an exact scienoi>, and it was rarely that th-oy found two persons, or even two printor.s, whor.o punctuation wus similar. At tho snmo times, to pass over incorrect spelling was a very different tluing. Professor J. R. Brown said that if he discovered gross misspelling in any paper, disclosing a fundamental ignorance of the word, hp would make some dtxhietion on account of it. After further discussion,, the committee s recommendation was rejected l>v eleven votes to eight.