BISHOP'S SCHOOL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 298, 18 December 1871, Page 2

BISHOP'S SCHOOL.

The annual distribution of prizes took place at tliis school, on Saturday afternoon, tbe Bishop of Nelson presiding. After a few prefatory remarks from his LoßDsmr. the Rev. G. R. Johnstone, who had examined ihe boys, brought up his report, in which lie stated that his duties Ind this time been much lighter than on previous occasions, owing to the Bishop having t;tken the elephant's share ot the examination, and for this the parents, teachers, and others interested in the pupils, w,ere deeply indebted to his Lordship, as its conduct could not have fallen into abler or more competent hands, nor could he, in any other way, have shown so clearly how great was the iDterest.be took in ihe progress of the scholars. After alluding to the .are.it benefit that had been conferrei upon the parents of noysin Nelson by the establishment of this school by Bishop Hobhouse, and remarking that great interest was still taken by him in its welfare, Mr. Johnstone proceedea to state that he wa^ much gratified with the results of the examination of the boys, which had included French.jHistory, Geography, and Heading. With regard to the former of these branches of education, he was enabled to state that the standard attained was highly creditable both to the boys and their master. In History it was evident that they had been carefully instructed ; tbeir knowledge ot it being almost surprising. With reference to Geography he could say that the result of the examination was most satisfactory, and that the boys appeared to be quite as well taught as would he possible in any English Seminary. Good "reading he looked upon as a highly useful and important accomplishment, and in this the large majority of the pupils had acquitted then: selves most creditably. He concluded by congratulating Mr s . Lee upon the great success that had attended his efforts ; a success that was all the more creditable to him in that he had of late been compelled, by the breaking down of the health of Mr. Guerin, the second-master, to do the whole work of the school single handed. Mr. Lee said that he bad heard with much satisfaction the reports of the examiners, who had carefully examined all the boys in the subj - cts presented for examination, which this year, with the exception of algebra, 'were in advance of former years There were at present in the school more boys possessing over an average ability than had been the case for the last two or three years, though many of these boys were too young to show much at an examination. On the other i hand, the number of boys on the hooks wa« unusually small, but there were no doubt satisfactory reasons for this; and he hoped that when he was able to find a suitable successor to Mr. Guerin, who Lad broken down in health, and was returning to England, the school wo aid attain its ordinary complement of pupils. Mr. Guerin carried away with him the good wishes of all connected with the school. Evidence of this was not wanting, for the boys, without any suggestions being made to them, had subscribed among themselves and purchased a beautiful collection ot New Zealand ferns, which Mr. Guerin might take with him as a token of their gratitude and affection. Mr. Lee was pleased that one of the examiners had commended a class of junior boys for their reading, and had laid stress on the importance of the subject. It had been the aim of the school to impart j a sound knowledge of the subjects of a useful education before anything more advanced was attempted. The standard in Latin was at no time high, and algebra was not taught until arithmetic was understood in all its processes; nor were boys who could stay at school only a very short time admitted to the Latin classes. He then called attention to the value of habits of industry and perseverance, and instanced tlie case of a boy who, during a single year, at an age when he had the good sense to know the value of learning, had acquired as much knowledge as many boys would have taken several years to obtain. Generally, the most successful boys in a school, and the most successful men in life, were they whose whole hearts and minds were in their work, and who by dint of steady application and determined purpose wrought out a fjood result. In conclusion he thanki-d the Bishop and the Rev. G. H. Johnstone for the care and trouble taken by tbem in the examination. Tho prizes were then distributed as follows : — Upper Foliar. Holy Scripture G. Allport Latin F. Whitwell French E. Hounseli „ | G. Allport, A. Waxman, General Progress ... j L Hut i cl?esonj G> Griffin Arithmetic & Algebra F. Whitwell Lower Form. Holy Scripture F. V. Waters Latin F. Newton Reading F. V. Waters Writing C. Dartnall Arithmetic F. Newton. A special prize for an essay written in school on a given subject, no preparation lieing allowed, was gained by E. Hounseli. Subject: "Money." The matter and style indicated the possession of a good idea of what an essay ought to be, and tiie Bishop read several passages which, he considered justified the praise he felt bound to bestow on it. After delivering the prizes his Lordship made the following concluding remaris :— Boys, I wish you to remember that we have received, each one of us, a precious inheritance in the English language. It is the common property of everyone, and it is everyone's duty to hand it on as pure, and as free from anomalies and drawbacks, as when he received it. In no part of the world ought better English to be spoken than in New Zealand, as the greater number of its original colonists were highly educated men, or men who proceeded from well-educated families, and there is not the same dan4.er of the introduction of slang words rising from social traditions as there is in some other countries. But I have some fear lest pollution reach '' the well of English undented ;" and the quarter in which I see danger is in the direction of America — not cultivated, intellectual America— but an America of a vulgarity to which I trust we may uever be allowed to descend. I deprecate the introduction of a literature which scarcely deserves the name, which is obliged to resort to the gross and ignorant expedient of raising a smi>e by its vices and its bad spelling ! We see it very frequently in our newspapers now; I cannot understand what the educators of our popular style of reading and expression — the editors of our papers — are aiming at in giving us so much of -their style of writing and speaking, condescending to quote and inves": them with the dignified influences of a proverbial authority. I can only suppose that they do this in the same way that the Spartans made their Helot slaves

drunk, that their youths might avoid so sottish and degrading a state. I suppose, therefore, that they bring so much of this American literature and phraseology before us to deter us from affectng it and following it. Is it, however, true that our sense ot humor and wit has so departed from us that our chief joke is a badly spelt word ? I trust that you boya will put away from you all slang words, and bad spelling, as ungentlemanly and degrading. As much as possible, abstain f'.om the use of interjections. It has been well said by Max Muller that language and grammar are founded upon the downfall of interjections. A profusion of interjections, whether uttered in conversation, or spread thickly over the written page, is a mark of a low and vulgar taste, and degrades man to the level of tht beast that perishes, whose language is for the most part interjectional. The thought of this may sometimes save us from indulging in an ignorant and wonder-struck character of exclamation, and will be a help to condemn the most objectionable form of interjectional speech — profane and vulgar swearing — which, if it be meant, is blasphemous, if unmeaning, is equally degrading. After all the discussions as to the origin of man, his power of continuing sounds at pleasure to express his own ideas is that which elevates him above and distinguishes him from the beasts, whose only language is the interjectional grant, as of the pig, and the bow-wow, as of the dog. With regard to the best style of I'nglish writing, the last mail brought out some letters of Mr Buskin's on the subject. Mr Ruskin, who is a master of English style, has recently told us the secret of his success in writing English. He was in the habit, when a boy, of learning by heart large portions of the Holy Scriptures, especially of the Old Testament, and his chief books for reading at the most impressible period of his youth were " Robinson Crusoe" and " Pilgrim's Progress." This fact was a great encouragement to tliose who had neither the time nor the means of perusing classical authors, inasmuch as by equally rimple means others could attain the same results in writing English. All boys should make it a matter of conscience to use the best and purest form of expression for anything they might wish to srsy, and, after a time, the habit of correct and elegant speaking would be formed, and all slovenly expressions be eschewed. The Bistfop concluded by expressing his satisfaction that the education in the school adopted the very highest influences that could be brought to bear on the boys' mind?, and although that would not of itself necessarily make them^religious, yet the knowledge obtained by direct study of Scripture, in such portions of it, and in such ways as were suited to the ago of the boys, could not fail to have a great influence for good upon them. He had himself examined also in Latin, Arithmetic and Algebra, and was quite satisfied with the large number of boys who answered all, or nearly all, the questions. The prizes were awarded solely in accordance with the marks gained in tbe examination. He trusted Mr. Lee would soon meet with a successor to Mr. Guerin, but that Avould not be so efcsy as some might suppose, and he would counsel Mr. Lee not to be in haste in making choice of a gentleman to fill so important a post as assistant master in the school. The Rev. G. H. Johnstone then moved a vote of thanks to the Bishop for his excellent and salutary observations, and the proceedings terminated.