WELLINGTON COLLEGE.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5236, 4 January 1878, Page 6

WELLINGTON COLLEGE.

The annual distribution of prizes took, place at the College on Saturday afternoon, December 22. His Excellency the Governor was present, and distributed tho prizes. There were also present several members of the Board of Governors, and a limited number of ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Kenneth Wilson, the Principal, read the annual report of the College, from which it appeared that the average attendance during the year was 85, as against 117 for the previous year. The decrease was no doubt partly caused by the sickness at the College during 1876, but he trusted that the feeling of uneasiness on that account would not continue, as he was sura there was not the least ground for it. The health of the boys generally, and of the boarders iu particular, during the past year had been excellent. He was not conscious of any other reason to justify a decrease in numbers, as the reports of the examiners would show that the work of the past year had been sound aud efficient, while the standard has been very considerably raised, so much so that he had felt able to establish a sixth form, the work of which had been guided by the requirements of the New Zealand University , B.A. examination. A reference to the University Calendar would show that this was by no means a low standard, as regarded either the quantity or the quality of the work. There were twenty-one entries for public examinations, in addition to the regular College examinations, so it could not fairly be said that they shrunk from submitting the work of the College to impartial inspection. Mr. Wilson was of opinion that in view of the excellence of the work now being done by the primary schools, and the raising of the College standard, the time had arrived when it was desirable to impose some restrictions on admission to the College, both as to age and attainments. At present at one end of the school they had a B-A. examination, at the other end the making of pothooks, and this was too wide a field to be satisfactorily maintained without great waste of power. By the regulations recently issued by the Judges of the Supreme Court, the College examinations were admitted as a qualification in general knowledge for the legal profession. The discipline of the school had been generally satisfactory, and he thought they were making steady, if slow, progress in the power of self-government. The boys had that year managed the school games and sports entirely for themselves, and they had started a reading-room and the nucleus of a general library, any contributions to which would, he had no doubt, be most thankfully received. Energetic efforts were being made by several old members of the College to raise subscriptions for a Fives’ Court. He welcomed that as a sign of the interest felt in the school by “ our boys," for without their hearty support no school could maintain a high tone, A report was enclosed from Mr. Kirk and one from Dr. Hector on the work done in the scientific department, and he desired to call attention to the fact that it was in a very great measure by the success of that department during the past three years they had been enabled to raise the general standard of the work.

The report of Professor Kirk on the natural science department was also very favorable. After describing the work in the various branches, the report stated that the sum of £ll for the purchase of Beek’s popular microscopes had been promised by W. G. Turnbull, Esq., a second like amount by George Hunter, Esq., and a third by the Hon. John Johnston, conditionally on not fewer than four instruments being secured. Towards the purchase of a fourth donations had been received from W. H. Levin, Esq., and the Hon. Dr. Grace, M.L.C.

The reports of the various examiner's were then read by Mr, C. C. Graham, the secretary of the College. Mr. Gisborne, who examined the boys in .English grammar, English history, and geography, and the sixth and fifth forma in Shakspere. Mr. Gisborne reports “It affords me great pleasure in reporting the creditable manner in which the examination questions, both oral and written, have been generally answered. Each form appeared to me to be well grounded in knowledge of the subjects on which I examined it. I was especially impressed with the very good average ability shown by the four higher forms in original pieces of English composition which they wrote. One of the most important subjects of education in our schoels is a thorough mastery of the English language, and original composition is the best test of that mastery. In that view, I was much pleased with the creditable specimens of English composition sent in ; and the results tehds to show, as I think, that classical instruction aids in the practical attainment of the knowledge of the English language. The dictation which I set to the two lower forms was also generally well done."

Dr. Hector, who examined the boys in natural science, reports :—“ lam glad to be able to report most favorably on the character of the work done, ns disclosed Uy this examination, hut in doing so I must express my regret that so small a number of the students at College take the natural history course. This is no doubt owing to its being, to a great extent, an optional snbjeot, which would be a very reasonable position for it to occupy at a common grammar school ; but it is very questionable if science teaching can be safely omitted from the course of instruction adopted in an institution which has been endowed with the view of affording higher educational advantages. Nor should it be forgotten that the scholarships hitherto awarded by the New Zealand University to Wellington College students have been taken almost exclus vely by the science papers, and that out of seven science scholarships awarded, four have been won by Wellington College students." The Levin prizes tor the best collection of plants and annulosa obtained during the past year from the vicinity of Wellington, were awarded to Harry B. Kirk and James C. Webb, who respectively took first and second prizes. Of the collections Dr. Hector says that they are both highly meritorious and prove an intelligent knowledge of the subject and great industry on the part of the student . The examination inGreek,Latin,French;arid German was conducted by Mr. Gordon Allan, and that gentleman speaks in terms of praise of the progress the pupils have made in the above languages.. He says ;—“ln Latin the 6th class is reading Tacitus and Horace, and; the sth Cicero and Virgil. In Greek the senior class is reading the Alcestis of Euripides, the Apologia, Socratis of Plato, and the Anabasis'of Xenophon, and the lower the Anabasis, of Xenophon. The translation of the papers; set'from these authors shows diligence, careful training, and accuracy. I was much Struck by ami pleased with the rendering of the, passages from Tacitus and Euripides, which,: particularly that from the Alcestis, are cor-! roctly and vigorously given. ' These deserve] espucial praise, as the terse compressed style! of the historian and iho figurative language of, the poet require a considerable knowledge of! the tongue' in' which their works' are composed,; i« order to be able to understand their mean-! ing. In both translations from English toLatin I observed a groat'improvement, as' Well; as in the knowledge of the Latin- idiom and construction which the boys evinced.l’ He found that the younger boys, who bad only recently begun the study of Latin, displayed a fair knowledge of the' accidence and rudiments of the language, -Mr. Allan concludes his report with the following sentence:—“ L cannot conclude' without- speaking of. the excellent English in which these various translations won made The; show .that the cultivation of this most important, branch of the pupils’ education has not been neglected.”

Mr. Edward Miller was the examiner in mathematics, and he states that the papers included a large number of questions, and were specially framed with the view of eliciting as far as possible the general proficiency attained. The following is the general result of his examination: —“In the lower classes, I am bound to remark, there is much room for improvement both as regards accuracy and neatness ; otherwise, the average work done is of a very satisfactory character, evidently the result of painstaking instruction and steady application, and I have much pleasure in reporting on that of some of the senior students as deserving great commendation. Their papers, particularly those in trigonometry and mechanics, are highly creditable to themselves and the institution.”

His Excellency the GovEiiNOit, before distributing the prizes, said it was the fourth occasion on which he had had the pleasure of attending at the distribution of the prizes, and although he could not help expressing his regret that the attendance at the College had diminished, he desired to express his satisfaction with the report which had just been read. He trusted that the same improvement would be found when next he had the opportunity of visitingthem on a similar occasion. He quite agreed with the remarks which had fallen from Mr. Wilson as to the advisability, if possible, of changing in some degree the character of the institution. The College ought not to be used as a primary school. It was intended for the higher class of education, and should be spared from the labor and waste of time which ensued from very young boys attending it. The machine was of too high a class for the work demanded of it, and he trusted the time would soon arrive when the whole force of the College W' mid be devoted to high-class education. He trusted that the Education Bill which, passed last session would have the effect of creating a general education in the country, and so relieve such institutions as the College from the work of primaryeducation. It was true that in a young country like this children generally left school at an early age, and it was thus difficult for them to go deeply into the higher class of education. But he trusted that year by year parents would see that for a young man to succeed in life he must have a thorough and sound education, and that they would strain every energy to give their children a good education. He again expressed his satisfaction at the reports read, and would impress upon his young friends to use to the utmost the present time to advance their education. His Excellency concluded by saying that their education was not completed when they left school. The real education of a man was obtained in after life; but it was at school they learned the power of' applying their minds to acquire information. He had much pleasure in being present that day, and it was now his pleasing duty to distribute the prizes. The names of the prizetakers were then read out by Mr. Wilson, and as each boy approached the table to receive his prize from the hands of his Excellency he was greeted with applause from his fellow pupils. The following is the prize list:—

CLASSICS, MODERN LANGUAGES, AND ENGLISH. Form Vl.—Webb, prize ; Morrah, honorable mention. Form V.—Upper Bivision—Harvey, prize ; Johns ami Martin, honorable mention. Lower Division—• Leckie, prize; Ludwig, honorable mention. Form IV,—Morrah, prize; Luraford and Martin, honorable mention. Form lll.—Barnett, prize; Nott and Hutchison, honorable mention. Form ll.—Lewis, prize ; Port «nd Muir, honorable mention'; Lloyd and Lockic, special mention for ex* amination. Form I.—Galway, prize. MATHEMATICS. Class I.—Bell, prize; Webb, honorable mention. Class 11. Knight, prize : Martin, honorable mention. Class 111.-Harvey, prize; Moorhouse, Ludwig, and Webb, honorable mention. Class IV,—Crombie, prize; Notfc, Barnett, and Nairn, honorable mention. Class V. Hutchison, prize; Gore, honorable mention. Class Vl.—Pauling, prize; Swainson, Young. Lewis, ami Pork, honorable mention. Class Vll.—Leckie, urize; Sanderson, Ellaby, Lloyd, and Reeves, honorable mention. SPECIAL PRIZES. W. Turnbull’s prize of £ls for best go acral examination —A. W. Morrah. W. Turnbull’s prize for best examination in mathematics and science combined—J. Taylor. Levin prizes for best collection of plants and animals—H. J 3. Kirk, first prize ;T. 0. Webb, second. Prize for Greek—A. ,W. Morrah. Prizes for French and German—T. C. Webb, first prize ; A. Martin, second. CAMBRIDGE CERTIFICATES. Senior Examination.—James Webb, C. S. Brandon, and Thomas. W. Bell. Junior Examination.—Daniel Cooper and Maurice Fitzgerald. The Rev. Mr. Paterson, on behalf of the Governors and Masters of the College, had much pleasure in proposing a hearty vote of thanks to his Excellency, and in doing so remarked that the reports of the examiners showed that the work done in the College was of a sound and thorough character. An enthusiastic vote of thanks having been accorded, bis Excellency returned thanks, and exhorted the boys to do all in their power to maintain the character of the institution, and said ho was glad to hear of the energy and attention they had put into their work. The proceedings then terminated by three cheers.