The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-06-21 00:00:00

DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES

Yesterday, the distribution of pries (on the close of the
midsummer examinations of the pupils of these schools,)
took place in the theatre of the iibtitution. The galleries
were filled with the friends and relatives of the pupils,
who were as enthusiastic and impartial, as boys always
are, in the applause which they bestowed on their suc-
cessful classfellows. The chair was occupied by the Rev.
Rector Campbell, and among the gentlemen on the platform
were Judge Jay (of New York), Mr. James Tyrer, Mr.
John Campbell, Rev. Dr. Hume, Mr. Alderman Cooper.
and the Rev. Mr. Denny, &c., &c.
The Chairman said—ln addressing you, my young
friends, in this one of our half yearly meetings, which I
have always very great pleasure in doing, I cannot refrain
from commencing my observations by condoling with you,
and with our assembled friends, at the absence of one
who was always received with pleasure, and we valued so
highly—my dear departed friend, the late Archdeacon.
We all miss bim sadly ; at the same time we must be
conscious that his departure from us was in the course
of nature. He departed from us full of yearS, and with
faculties unimpaired, and, therefore, we must not lament
him too deeply. Valuable friends still remain; you know

"uno evulso'nOn deficit alter," and so long as we continue
in the course which we have begun, in promoting, as by
God's blessing, I hope we always shall promote, the glory
of God and the good of mankind—so long as we do that
God's blessing will rest on us, and this institution will be
endeared with a vitality, ah ! surviving the frail life of man.
(Applause.) In condoling with you upon this point, I was
going also to condole with you on the state of the weather
which seemed this morning so hopeless that I expected to

see almost an empty hall, and very much feared that your
friends and relations would not have been able to be present
to witness the ceremony of this day. I am most thankful
to perceive that I have been agreeably disappointed in that,
and that the numerous assembly which I see before me,
shows most satisfactorily the deep interest that is taken in
•
your
welfare. I am very thankful for that. I cannot
corclude my observations without stating that I have
another cause for satisfaction, which is in the presence of a
gentleman who sits at my right hand, and who has held
the highly important office of a judge in the city of New
York. (ficar, hear.) He has retired from that office, and
is a guest amongst us now. (Applause.) lam happy to
say he is a welcome guest, and that he comes from a people
who, thank God fur it, still continue and I hope ever will
continue our faithful friends. (Applause.) t have not
much time for the study of politics, and therefore I
do not know a great deal of what is going on amongst
States and Empires, but still I have heard and read,
as we all have heard and read, of wars and ru-
mours of wars, but I must confess I never could
persuade myself to believe them. (Hear, hear.) I never
could persuade myself to believe that, although Astrea is
said to have deserted the earth, that the golden acre of
common sense is completely at an end, and that the two
great people of England and America could ever think of
going to war; I must confess that seamed to me so incredibly
absurd that I never could believe it, and that however
foolish the two governments might be, and governments are
not al ways guided by absolute wisdom, the two nations—
the two people—never would be so foolish as to go to war.
I am happy to hear that all chance of that has passed away,
and I am thankful, as I before said, to hold out the hand
of friendship to my neighbour on the present occasion.
(Applause.) I have, I believe, another cause of congratu-
lation, for my friend, the Principal, tells me that we are
prospering exceedingly. He says, in his letter to me,
" that the upper school has been gradually increasing for
some time, that it is now much larger than it ever was,
that the other two schools have not fallen, and that
our university distinctions, since Christmas, are
considerable, one of our boys (Rigby) having been
second Wrangler and second Smith's pr:zeman this
year, besides being in the second class of the classical
Tripos." Now, although it is, I am sorry to say, fifty
years since I left Cambridge, still I know enough
about Cambridge to know that that is a very high distinc-
tion, indeed, to be second Wrangler, and second Smith's
prizeman, at the present day ; and I congratulate the young
man on the high honour he has obtained, and hope that he
may prosper. The rev. gentleman then mentioned that the
letter also stated that another of the boys (Webster) had
obtained also high university honours, and concluded amid
the applause of the assembly.
The Rev. Mr. Howson, principal of the institution, in his
address, previous to the delivery of the prizes, alluded to the
openings in the public service, civil and military, which
were being presented, and which would more and more, he
trusted, be presented to those boys who were now under-
going their course of education. The institution had the
honour of obtaining one distinction in the military openings
—a young man who completed his education there, having
gone through the examination at Woolwich, and obtained
a very high place in the practical c'ass of the Royal
Artillery. Ti'ey could not claim the cred't of the whole of

his education, bllt they could claim the credit of the latter

part of it, and especially that which led to his success. As
regarded the civil service, he could only say that they had
boys under preparation for employment in that department
of public duties. (hlear, hear.) In conclusion, the rev.
gentleman mentioned that they were about to send two boys
to college this year, and then read the following letter from
Mr. Lightfoot, of Trinity College, the examiner :
My Dear Mr. Howson,—As I shall have left Liverpool

before you meet this morning, I may perhaps be allowed to
set down briefly on paper the impressions which the exami-
nation at the Collegiate Institution have left on my mind.
I have great pleasure in recording the satisfaction I derived
from the papers of Wainwright, the successful candidate for the
Canning scholarship, and at the same time that I congratulate
him on the result of this examination, I shall venture to ex-
press a hope that in his future career at Trinity he will not
disappoint us in the expectations we have formed from the
bright promise he has given at school. Of the unsuccessful
candidates for the Canning scholarship, I can only say that
Wainwright will leave worthy successors behind him, and that
there is every reason to hope that the Collegiate Institution
will be well represented at the universities for some time to

come.
The award of the Holme Exhibition was attended with
some difficulty. It was finally given to Rigby, but it is due to
both Pate and Archer to mention thetu honourably, which I
do with extreme pleasure, and in the hope that the credit they
have gained in this examination will stimulate them to still
further exertions.
If I were to mention any special subject in which the boys
utin,idnk,
erexamination acquitted themselves with honour, I should
single out the composition and the divinity. Several of the
translations from English into Latin and Greek, gave great
Promise, and the importance of success in this respect is not, 1
cr.sily overrated, as being, perhaps, the safest test of a
thorough knowledge of the classical languages. With regard
to the divinity, I should wish to express my satisfaction at
Wainwright's papers, which showed an amount of information
and manliness of style for which I was scarcely prepared.
But it seems to me that there is matter for far more real
congratulation than that afforded by individual merit or success
in any special branch, however important. I allude to the
amount of knowledge and interest in the work exhibited by the
boys who have come under my notice, with scarcely a single
exception. Justice seems to have been done to all according
to their abilities. This is a fact which I shall not comment
on, as it tells its own tale.
With sincere congratulations, and good wishes for the well-
being of the Collegiate Institution, I am, my dear Mr. How-
soJ. B. LIGHTFOOT.
Mr. Samuel Houylina' e, in presenting the prize attached to
the scholarship yours
very truly,
founded by him, said : I am told that this
prize has been honourably earned, and that the recipient
well deserves it. I trust it will be an inducement to future
exertions on his part. We must none of us be satisfied with
present attainments, remembering that however well we
may have studied, there is much yet for us to do. And, my
young friends, could I impart to you the experience which
I myself have obtained by living so many years in the
world, I would show to every one of you how valuable I
consider classical knowledge to be. In my early days, I did
not drink deep of it. Circumstances obliged me to apply
myself early to business ; and I, therefore, only got a sip.
You have better opportunities. I had a longing for the
draught which I was only just permitted to taste. Depend
upon it, however, that secular learning should always be
rendered subordinate, and be considered to be secondary to
religious education, because religion is the brightest orna
went of man. But if you attend to your classical
attainments, and acquire an amount of classical learning
you will acquire that which makes the religious man more
useful in the world to his fellow creatures, and
even if he becomes a commercial man, or becomes
a tradesman, he will find an unspeakable advantage
in the knowledge he has obtained, when he comes to
compete, not only with the muscles, but with the minds, of
his fellow-creatures. (Hear, hear.) Under any circum-
stances, attention to education, end a mind thoroughly
imbued with classical knowledge, give a man a pleasure in
the world which he would not otherwise possess. Remem-
ber, my young friends, that the scholar never can be alone.
If the scholar walks abroad, every blade of grass upon which
he treads, every fl ewer which looks so beautiful to his eve,
nay, every grain of sand under his feet, is replete with
interest to him. He can understand botany, he can under-
stand geography, he can understand the wonders of chemistry,
and the still greater wonders of astronomy—all these are all
laid open to him. He can trace the origin of languages;
he can read the scriptures in their original tongues • he can
understand the figurative language with which ;hey are
clothed, and the beautiful idioms which are scattered like
gems throughout these sacred pages. (Hear, hear.)
Studying, too, disciplines the mind, and promotes these
qualities whieli'are essential to success. No man can acquire
information without perseverance; and, therefore,T say that
deep thought and deep study promote those qualities and,
above all things, classical acquirements are the
ladder upon which you will mount to distinction. Pursue
then the stream as much as you please, yet recollect that
every stream has its source ; and although you may not be
able to attain the source, yet pursue the stream as high as
you can, and remember that the more you cultivate
your minds, just as the more richly the husbandman culti-
vates the ground, so much the greater will be the fruit—so
much the greater will be the distinctions you will achieve,
and the usefulness which you may develops in yourself