THE CALEDONIAN SOCIETY’S CLASSES.

Evening Star, Issue 3650, 3 November 1874, Page 2

THE CALEDONIAN SOCIETY’S CLASSES.

The evening clauses in connection with the •hove Society were brought to a close last ore mug when the pnzes were distributed in the presence of the friends of the lads and others. Ihe Mayor, who is Pre ident of he .hociei y, occupied the chair. The reports of the different. masters were read. Mr M'Greg r, who teaches grammar and Kngliah composition, commenced with an attendance of 125 hoys, which soon dropped d 'wn to an average of 70 ; but this, in consequence of disparaging remarks in the papers, increased to 50. .vlr Stables commenced vnth an avenge attendance of from 35 to 4b, which fell off to about one-third of that number, Mr Lindsay, who holds classes in th® a orth Dunedin School on Tuesday and Friday evenings, commenced with 40 pupils, n July had 91, but the average attend ancs during the term was on y 58. Mr N ish, who assisted Mr Lindsay, had au average attendance of 43 at his arithmetic and 29 at his grammar classes. Reporting on the behaviour of the boys, which had been very adversely commented upon, Mr Macgrcgor says; “ i luring the hours of instruction the boys were, as a rule quiet, attentive, aad obedient. It is true tliat, on leaving the class-room, th *y did not always retire f omthe precincts ab quietly as could have been wished, and t oat the noise they made seemed all the in-oaicr from its proximity to, and its contrvt with the peaceful atmosphere of the r *ad :ng-room. But it; con Id scarcely be exI I -.. T-d that some fort, or fifty b..ys, for they I w ll o only b-.ys of from thirteen to fifteen y ni, and not young men, as one writer alx-gcd, wou d go up a Umo stair, and pass our through the lobby in perfect quietness, iicya wdl be boys, and when congregated together, especially if they have bo;n cou r fin-jii all day iu a workshop or a wareroom, arc apt to indulge in practices annoying enough to ‘ gra'e and reverend signors.’ I say this, not in defence of any mischievous) conduct of which the boys may have been g nlty, but simply in explanation as a very slight palliation of it. The masters have always endeavored to find out the guilty patties when any disturbance occurred, biu only once did they succeed iu <\r< cting _ these, and da ‘that occasion tb culprits were summarily dismissed.” - Nir "tables remarked, “The behavior of the pu 'i! a, so far as came under my own more ini...violate cha'ge, has been,’ I must say, exemplary, exhibiting nothing beyond the condition of animal spirits, naturally' arising when yomhs who have been confined all day uv t together in numbers, I have no he it i Men in asserting that nothing occurred iu Di pes nci to Ju-,tify auy <ue writing in ’ ■- )olio pints about the bad behavior of to. ■■•oya, and mdre ospeoia ly the use of such c, . ht-is as ‘densof larrik'niam.’ lean i nly u< ount for it by observing, as •ou gernj men ui st liavo of t-q. observed, that there are a number of men in our midst who are ffiicted with a chronic disorder known usually as insanahile scribi-ndi cacoiithes ; and, seeing it ifs much more ea-.y and does not r. quire such a high cast of mind to find fau.t as to point out bea ties, they ruffi into piiut on every possible occasion. And if by’ any chance an unusual word can be got hold of, so much the better. I make the above statement hecause the appearance of the letters referred to cans d the withdrawal. f more than onehalf of our beet pupils—many of the , rownup lads not caring to have such names applied to them, and others because parents were justly afraid of their children beibg contaminated, if it were the case that the class -s were such assembly- as they were publicly described.” It gives Mr Lindsay pleasure to report good or -er and discipline having been manifested m bis classes, while Mr Neish states that the conduct of the lads over whom he bad charge had been character! >ed “by respect aud propriety, and was deserving of the highest commendation. In class thev were well behaved aud attentive, I .’ and he was satisfied that they highly valued the means of education provided for them. Messrs Margregor and .'tab es refer to the unsuit, ability of.the Athenaeum hall for classes ; and the last-mentioned gentleman says he has decided objections to putting up with the inconvenience, 'discomfort, and annoyance uf the hall for another six months.

The .Rev. Dr Btuart congratulated the boys upon having teachers who had an completely defended them (applause)—and he never saw boys so heart! y vindicated by their teachers beforp. He believed, since he entered the room, that in Dunedin they lad model boys.—(Laughter.) He had listened to their teachers’ reports with ex:ieme pleasure, but he believed thit they were partly good and partly bad boys. He did not agree with the rather harsh strictures passed upon them in the Preos. He tally agreed with Mr Macgregor that there was nothing good enough in the lower hall •J the Athehasum. Boys having been confined for two hours in one room were bound to make a noise in going up stairs, and consequently the “grave and reverend sig•urns ’ in their reading room vente i their wrath upon them. He believed the Governiweat would most readily place the District ''chools at the disposal of the Caledonian Socis y. He was rather ashamed that he had not taken a greater interest in the Society this session. He thanked the Society, «nd he believed that the public generally would thank them. Ha trusted the Society would ue compensated for their expense and —(A pplause.)

The Chairmav, on behalf of the boys p-esented handsome to Messrs MaoT e '®r Stables, Lindsay, and Neish, and expressed the pleasure this afforded him.—(Appi. use ) instead of prizes, the Society nought it was better to give tickets for adm.uhion to the A then am n than books which -night never be read. The system, which vail adopted last year, had worked Very weH, the boys having made good use of their ticket’, which ware available for six *l’ J f ■ Wits found again to work well, the Society would extend the time to t-weivo months. He might express gratifleauoa at he success which had attended these classes. A ext year the Society would eu>l: avor to find (a place as equally central as •nd more adapted than th* Athenaeum hall to carrying on the 'ocietv a eveniug classes.