The Express.
London, England, 1858-10-14 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 14, 1858.

don and answer, without reference to the

length of time and opportualtke oteducation,waa objectionable.
When a teacher trained up boys for such an examination his
moth balsas mechanical—lt wsa a mere question of memory,
and the effect was to destroy that specialty which all good
schools had, and which constituted their excellence. Be
I referred to the advertimements offering to qualify candidates
for soy government appointment in a given number of
weeks as evidence of the absurdity of the system of com-
petitive exsmination by a fixed formula, sod urged that the
consignees was that men whom only qualification wee
memory were promoted to offics where judgment and the
higher qualities of the mind were required. While admitting
that examination as a test of proficiency was weft], ha con-
tended that It could not be wholly depended upon, as it tended
to substitute routine for invention and memory for intelli-
gence.

_
Yr. SMITH, of Babel College, Oxford, read a paper upon
the sew Oxford examinations.

A discussion then ensued, in the course of which—
Mr. Ilitown, inspector of settee* in reference to Mr.
Pitch's peper, suggested that in say scheme al sduestiaa
sad erandrastion, they should have roped to Lord Bacca's
into, that reading made a Waldo( men, spseldag a reedy
man, and writing a correct man. They Amid andsarour to
combine ell these requiremeata. He did not epee that the
Tom of eximisatkaprord

Pielmo? HIENNIVIY, of the Haman Catholic College,
=propel general ecacurrence in the view' enunciated la
Mr. Rooms Mann's paper.
Mr. IL Maass, thought the strongest advocates of
'competitive moralisation ought to be grateful to Mr. Fitch
for telliag them what might be said on the other side. They
ought, however, to disoblige themselves from supposing that
by estahhthing that system they were preventing political
corral:aim. He dented that corruption in any way intim.
mood the dispensation of government patronage. What
they required wee that they should have the bast
qualified men tilling all atom in the state.
He hand that say large or general system of competitive ex-
a:nineties met mid la the establishment of a perfect system
of routing. Ho also MANN, point out that by each a course
they would be mciluding from the serviose of the state the
sons of all ma who bad cot the mum of giving to their
children a school edsioation. He swami his ociourrems
in the apprehension expremsd by Mr. Filch, that the genera/
prevalence of the mean of competition would lead to one
uniform, mechanical *curse of instruction, and the pro-
motion of mare mom. He thought that the program of
the system should be watched with extreme cam.
They had, as he oocoeived, an exempla of a
nation of the greatest antiquity, a nation which
compelled one-third of the human race, in which the allow
of the country, from the highest to the lowest, were disposed
of on the very principle in question—China—an empire
which bad just been subjugated by a mere handful of what
would be called an ignorant get of English soldier, and
sailors.

Mr. Caanwtcx said the question at issue, as respected the
competitive examination, might be treated as one of a pro-
cedure for seosttafedng anything prescribed as qualifi-
cations, and was totally independent of the subject-matters
of the examination. Those subject-matters might
be wise or otherwise. They might put, if they
chose it, as tests of competency, such questions me
those which were said to have occupied the intellects of the
eobooluien in the middle ages—how many thousand angels
could dance on the point of a needle without jostling each
other. Mr. Milnes might u well have cited the example of
the Hindu°, as conclusive against any system of parochial
education, for in Hindostan there wee a eystem of village
schools equivalent to an endowed parochial system, and had
been for ages—with what result ? But what was it the en.
dowel or the village schoolmaster taught ? Why what were
called the truths of metrology and the abominations of Ilin-
doo mythology. If Mr. Milner, had informed himself of the
subject-matters of the Chinese examinations, he would have
learned that they were of the lowest absurdities of ceremonial
and of doctrine, degrading to the understanding, which had
been long held up as examples of sham knowledge. But low
as were the subject-matters of the Chinese examinationu
Mr. John Mill, who was better acquainted with that *Gentry
than Mr. Milner, seemed to be, declared that It might be mid
that it wee owing to them that they were ant in re abject a
state of barbarism am the kindred people, the Humans. Mr.
Wines should not lead himself or others so far away for an
example, on which 'amnions might be made the
truth of which could not be readily investigated.
We had experience nearer home, in the old competitive
. .

alillainatioes of colleges and universities ; we had the expe- '
rime of the matron of the competitive scholarships and
patronage scholarships in Scotland, where a commission had
years ago, upon an impartial examination, condemned the 1
patronage appointments, and approved of the competitive
principle, in the intorato of education and cf the country.
The anion of competitive principle had been examined by an
Mae& saarissica, sasposed of General Pollock and others,
in he arts Is Frames, sod they report that it has raised the
schentifle boss& of tin Preach army to the highest standard
in Europe. Boesparte, who might be considered man authority
on military efficiency, prided himself on the military schools
when the competitive principle was tarried out, se producing
his most aMe officers. The experience to which Mr. Fitch
Marred, se prolonged, could only have been as to pass
examieatioss to minimum standards. It was for them that
the cram was easy : it had been often proposed to resort to
the competitive examMation as a means of preventing or
abating the evils of Ohs cram. If any one went to Bur-
lington-beam sad bard the vies 00C4 examinations, supple-
mentary to the written examinations, be would convince
himeell that the seam was impossible. In his (Mr. Chad-
wick's) view the major ratters of examination, which
were indispiadost of ths principle, were radium-
they and yet Is Hair labery, and no doubt wars
sareptibis of gnat haprovaerat. Hs had contended that
they ought to be directed as closely me practicable to its speci-
alities. For inample, two-thirds of the oil oes in some
keneriess of the service woe offices of account. In this
commercial conanuaity, as well as in the public service, the
art of mounting was at a very low ebb ; and he hied one-
tended that there ought to be examinations directed to the
cultivation and Mating of qualifications in that highly im-
portant speciality.
A Meninx doubted whether the tree time was not mid-
way listwarn the adorers sad the opponents of competitive
examination. There was • great mistake abroad that the
bursae memory was • very disreputable faculty. (A laugh.)
He, on the contrary, thought It • very vs/stable faculty, and
one that semi be caned into sales in every scheme of educa-
tion Be Inbred that if air monster carried them too for
we wan paying too arch straits to the cultivation of the
*goat to Its projodial of wry.
Mr. &Away, M.P., frond that the competitive examina-
tion plan, if carried too far in our patois might Interim
with the caltivatka sad dovsloposmat of the higher feelings
of sympathise of Kama arm.
Mr. Doors Diliainta, of Bdinburgb, answered Mr.
Mossidon Eller me the political aspect of the clement.
Mr. MOLLIFY spoke in favour of oompstitire examination
In the risotto' of candidates for governmenet appointments.
mad pirated spar any lowering of the standazd of the
somastnadat he sins is the civil arra, aatll the whole of
the rople had bed se °wreak, of osallarla sad imps-
hag as the brad thsezistirg stsialsid. Hs aissortiossisd
the practise of paring err lits rods of cid:exad acespolost
stratato in perils cakes parr who war no lam adlsisat
As showing that the sloadard of a/mation was higher err
fonarly in thm hues alarms, a. rsortiod that malty houses
of hulass replied this their parrs sad lowest servants
should be this to road sad writs.

Kr. T. Hanna seggeeted that the examiner should always
be the wood heed of the department ; that the nocul-
adios ee veld bs la the bode et mob= of the House of
Como In the fleet inelenen end ha rotation as vacancies
la the daft strvies erase ; sad that the piny nominated
should serve frr eels Oaks to On bis godlikeness, sad then
that the heed of the depremmt eebdd hens • veto.
This wagostion wee eseabeeSell by several gustlemen
the cores et a log sod desultory OISVIVOLtiOII. 0110 gas-
wheepposed the priselpheatempsticiat
illairkid that the Duke of WOO* bed been appointed
sot by comyoUthe exassiaimos, be by political iltilacaca
The PIUDIMINT, in addreselsg lb. swtlag, Oserved that
the pest sere of the appoistmeals oder 'soloist OW
1,6601 at alms in which the darks wan only seminal,
soli as °Min, mad tylsg up pipers. Kembers d parlia-
'seat would be very tutwilliair b ..demob the duty of
eemsiuMbi eltiedaldes kr gemenweat -rush ate. if so-