The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-03-23 00:00:00

TO HE

ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SUBSCRIBERS

DEAF AND-DO4B SCHOOL

I Yesterday, at Eleven o'clock, the annual meeting of the sub-
scribers to the above institution was held in the Royal Institu-
tion, Colquit-street. The meeting was very numerously
attended, the theatre of the institution being nearly filled, the
great majority of those present being ladies. The pupils of the
institution were ranged on the two bottom rows of seats. At
the appointed hour the Rev. Rector Campbell was called into
the chair.
The CHAIRMAN briefly onened the business of the meeting
by calling upon Mr. Radcliffe, the secretary, to read the report.
It commenced by congratulating the subscribers to the institu-
tion on the manifest improvement in the state of the school
through the new master, Mr. Rhind; it enabled them to recom-
mend the school as in every way calculated to fulfil the objects
for which it was established. Mr. Rhind had introduced the
,
practice of articulation, being convinced by an experience of
10 years that it was a powerful adjunct to. the acquirement of
written language. The school was regularly improving in num-
bers and importance. An alteration had -been made recently
in the management by opening the school on Sunday mornings
for instruction in religious exercises. A gymnasium had been
erected which had been found highly beneficial to the health of
the pupils. And by making the exercises there a reward for
good conduct had done away with the necessity of punishments
as well. '['be school contained 49 pupils, 39 boys, and 10 git Is.
The number of pupils in December, 1836, was 46. Since that
tune 119 pupils had been admitted into the establishment, 70 of
whom had received full instructions. The committee recom-
mended the institution to the charitable subscriptions of the
public.

A Gentleman on behalf of the Treasurer then read the state-
ment of the accounts, from which it appeased, that including a
balance of £541 handed over frorn last year's account, the
total receipts had been £l2Bl ss. Id. The outlay of the insti-
tution for various items was £943 14s. 9d, having a balance on
hand of £337 10s. 4d.
The Rev. J. C. PRINCE rose to move that the report and
treasurer's accounts be received, printed, and circulated.
Mr. WILLIAM KAYE seconded this, which was unanimously
cart ied.
Dr. RALPH said the Almighty might be pleased to afflict, as
he did, numerous individuals. But though shut out of many of
the blessings of the outer world, the deaf had many comforts
inwardly from which others were debarred, thus creating a
beautiful balance of good and evil. He concluded with moving
" that the thanks of this meeting be given to the committee and
officers for the last year," and read a list of persons who were
appointed to act for the present year, which will be found in
the adve-tisement in another column.
Mr. Baooxs briefly seconded this, which was unanimously
adopted.
Dr. SCOTT said he had been requested to move "the thanks
of the meeting to the ladies who have formed the committee for
the past year." When they considered the very tidy appear-
ance of the young girls belonging to the charity, there could be
no doubt of its bearing ample testimony to the care which the
ladies had bestowed upon them for the last year. When they
considered the importance of the objects of the institution in
rescuing the pupils from the depths of moral darkness, in
which, otherwise, they would be lost, there could be few ob-
jects to which female exertions could be applied, more fitting
of the example which the ladies so constantly and generally set
to mankind. Among the innumerable inventions brought for-
ward every day, setting before them the great strides of every
branch of science, he could not but think that recent ages had
produced nothing in the way of knowledge so ennobling to
Malik illd—so extensive, so valuable in itseffects, as that society
which they saw before them. It had fur its object the with-
drawing the shadow of moral darkness from a large portion of
the rising generation—of leading them from absolute darkness
of intellectual light, into the brightness of a moral and intel-
lectual sunshine. A very large portion of the aids for this pur-
-1 pose was to be traced to the sincere co.operai ion of the ladies
to whom he begged to move the thanks of the meeting for their
valuable services, and also to nominate their successors on the
committee.
The Rev. ROBERT DAVIES said he had great pleasure in
seconding the resolution. He had visited the institution re-
peatedly, and his first impression of gratification on doing so
had been so strong that it had never beer. effaced. He had
been led to rejoice at this addition obtained by the community.
He could not let the opportunity pass without expressing his
high opinion of the talents of the master, and his satisfaction at
the reciprocity of good'r feeling which existed between the mas-
ter and pupils. He had no doubt that the attentions of the
ladies' committee had been exceedingly advantageous to the
interests of the institution, and had much pleasure in seconding
the resolution.
The CHAIRMAN said he could not propose the resolution
without saying a few words himself; because, connected as he
was, with the institution, as one of the members of the com-
mittee, he might be supposed to feel very much the influence of
the ladies. He was only expressing the feelings of the com-
mittee iu saying that the institution could not go on without the
ladies. He might be allowed to say—he was only expressing
the sentiments of every married man, when he expressed his
own—that they none of them could do without the ladies.
They derived the greatest comforts of their life from them.
Without their assistance, and kind care, and superintendence,
this institution could not go on; he, therefore, had much plea-
sure in joining in seconding the resolution. (Loud applause.)
The resolution was carried unanimously.
Mr. RICHARD RATHBONE rose to move that the thanks of the
meeting be given to Mr. Sandbach,the treasurer, who had been
exceedingly attentive to his office, and therefore he thought he
should not be allowed to retire without the thanks of the meeting
being given to him. He had received a note, a few days ago,
from Mr. Rhind, the master, suggestiug the propriety of forming
a small museum for the pupils. A few specimens of qrt might
be collected without much expense if the want of them were
made known. He had tried to put down a few articles which
would be acceptable. Pictures and engravings of all kinds of
objects: men, women, and children ; plates and drawings of
machinery; instruments and tools of all kinds; specimens of
shells and natural history; sea-weeds, wooden bricks for build-
ing bridges, &c., &c., would be found very useful to the pupils,
and he hoped such things would be freely given. Many indi-
viduals possessed things of this kind which had grown useless to
themselves, and if contributed they would have very good effects,
and would be missed by nobody.
Mr. RADCLIFFE begged to second the resolution which was
carried unanimously.
This concluded the business of the meeting. The thanks of
and the examinations of the pupils commenced.
Mr. RH IND, the Master, briefly addressed the company. He
expressed his embarrassment at being called forward to address
a public meeting—a position so unusual for him, and his feeling
of the heavy responsibility which rested on hint. He had felt
considerable encouragement ip the performance of his duties,
by the ;continual attentions of the Rectors to the institution,
from whom he had always experienced the most ready co-ope-
ration The instruction of the deaf and dumb could not but be
a subject of lively interest to every contemplative mind. It
was imagined by some persons that when tney were able to
speak with the fingers it was all that was necessary to commu-
nicate with the deafand dumb, and to teach them. But this was
a mistake; because they were instructed by signs, their natu-
ral language. Although they learned every thing by the fin-
gers, this, of itself, communicated no ideas to the mind; the
meaning of words must be explained to them by signs, in their
own language.
Mr. RHIN D then called up the first or lowest class, consisting
of little boys, about eight years of age. The first thing they
taught them was to learn to write. Tbe deaf and dumb when
they spoke always expressed the idea by the countenance. Mr.
Rhind then expressed several short words by signs to the pupils,
which they wrote with chalk on a board placed at the back of
the platform. He then called up the second class, who were
advanced to short and easy sentences, such as " what is your
name ?" " are you fond of school ?" &c., which the children
wrote with great readiness on the board. One of the boys, on
being asked what he learned, replied, he " learnt to write, and
read, and cypher, and understand Latin." Several similar
questions were put to them, and their ready answers ap-
peared to give much satisfaction. He then called up the
third, or had class : it consisted of about an equal num-
ber of boys and girls. One of the boys was nearly grown
up, as were also one or two of the girls. They were asked ques-
tions of a more abstruse nature: as, " What is sugar ?" to
which a girl answered, " Sugar is a sweet substance obtained
from the sugar cane." " Wheie does the sugar cane grow ?"
"In the West Indies ?." " What is tea?" " Tea is a plant
which grows in China?" " How is tea made ?" " The leaves
of the tea tree are picked, dried, and packed in boxes, and
brought to this country by ships: it is infused by pouring boil-
ing water upon it, and used for breakfast and in the afternoon."
This was the written reply of a remarkably intelligent-looking
girl. A number of questions of a similar kind were put to both
boys and girls, which they answered iu a similarly satisfactory
manner. The master said, in order to prove that these questions
were not prepared, he should be glad if any of the company
would ask them neestions. A number of questions were then
put to them, some of which they answered, and in some of which
they failed. They were then questioned on subjects of a religi-
ous character, in which they showed a pleasing and remarkable
proficiency, readily finding required texts in answer to such
questions as, " Whom does the Bible say created the world,"
&c. Several questions were then put to the boys to test their
knowledge of geography, as, " Where is Oxford?" " the Isle of
Man ?" " the Isle of Wight ?" "Which is the largest county ?"
" Which the smallest ?" and each of these questions were rea-
dily answered, and the places pointed out on a large map. They
were then asked, " for what Staffordshire was famous ? for what
Devonshire? for what Durham ?" and readily answered, " For
pots, cyder, and mustard." Several historical questions were
then put to them,
_which they answered very satisfactorily; as,
" Wheie was the battle ,between William the I. and another
king?" " Hastings." '• Who was that king ?" " Harold,"
&c. The proficiency of the pupils was then put to the test in
articulating open sounds as the vowels, and also the sounds pro-
duced
by their junction with consonants. The manner in which
this is taught to the pupils is very extraordinary, they having no
ear to guide them. The thumb of the pupil is-placed against
the larynx of the master whilst he is pronouncing the required
sound, and the sounds are learned by the different vibrations of
the master's throat. The manner of surmounting this extraor-
dinary•difficulty was exhibited by the master, a pupil putting
his thumb on his (the master's) throat, and be followed him in
number of open sounds with much ease.
The Rev. CHAIRMAN wished to know the practical utility of
this?
Mr. RHINO said he was convinced that it assisted the pupil in
learning by the association of ideas: They were continually
repeating their lessons over, when they could articulate, which
greatly assisted their memories. [We should imagine it would
be of the greatest utility to the pupils when they left school, and
were by any chance thrown amongst strangers. They would
by means of being able to articulate be able to make their wants
known to those who did not understand the language of signs,
or of the fingers.]
A very fine intelligent looking boy, apparently about ten
years of age, then stepped forward to speak the following ad-
dress. Notwithstanding its length he repeated it with the
greatest exactness, and with remarkable precision in the pro-
priety of sound.:—
" LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
"Permit us humbly and respectfully to solicit your patient
and induleent ear, while we attempt to express, in words, our
gratitude for the kind support which you have hitherto afforded
to the School for the Deaf and Dumb, and entreat a continuance
of the same on behalf of our school-fellows, and all those who
are similarly situated to ourselves, that they may experience
corresponding advantages to those which we enjoy.
" Without your fostering care we might have lived in igno-
rance, and ,grown up a burden to society and useless to ourselves,
agrief to our friends and a terror to those around us; but through
your liberal bounty we have been rescued from mental darkness,
taught to distinguish right from wrong, and made capable to hold
intercourse with our inure favoured fellow-creatures, who are
not suffering under the privation of hearing and of speech ; and
by your generous aid we have been enabled to read and under-
stand the Sacred Scriptures, from which we have been instructed
in .eur duty to God, 'our neighbour, and ourselves, and become
acquainted with that Savieur, through faith iu whom all who
believe, may obtain salvation.
"The institution has been established ahnut thirteen years,
and contains, at present, forty-nine Pupils. Until a few months
since, I was unable to utter a syllable, now we are ALL learning
to speak, and I feel grateful to Almighty God for having put it

into the hearts of Christian people to provide Instruction for the
Deaf and Dumb. We heartily thank yon, kind friend.; of the
institution, for what sou have done fur us, and we hope that all
Deaf mutes may succeed in obtainingadmission where they may
be taught how to be useful and happy in this life, and made wise
in those things which concern our eVernisting peace."
The audience applauded the little fellow enthusiastically when
he had finished his task. The master said he was a remarkably
clever boy. A number of pencil drawings by the pupils were
then handed round the room, some of which, landscapes, by
thh female pupils, were far superior to many drawings we have
seen by boarding school young ladies, of finished education,
drawing included. Some of them were remarkably well exe-
cuted. The pencil drawing of a cow was also very well done
by one of the boys. The pupils were then asked by the master
to describe, by signs, ploughing, reaping, a horse, a lion, &c.,
in which exercises they were very perfect. Some of their signs
were very laughable, though highly characteristic.
The CliAmmArt said he was appointed by the committee to
express the satisfaction they had experienced, as well as the
ladies and gentlemen present, at the examination. (Applause.)
Of course in exhibitions of this nature the pupils must labour
under great disadvantages ; and he had not a doubt that the
real merits of the institution were much better seen in the school
itself. At the same time what had been shown there that day
must be very satisfactory to all who had witnessed it, and be
very gratifying to every mind. He trusted they should all be
filled with a sincere desire to promote the interests of the insti-
tution by every means in their power. It had been very well
said by Dr. Ralph, that the afflicting dispensations of Provi-
dence had this manifest good effect of exhibiting to the sympa-
thy of our fellow creatures those who are afflicted; and in this
one particularly, one of the most afflicting dispensations of Pro-
vidence that could befal human nature, enabled them to per-
form one of His commands, namely, imitate perfection. They
were told that they were to be perfect, even as their Father who
was in heaven was perfect, and by such institutions as these, by
the exercise of their particular care, they might be able even to
imitate his miraculous perfections, su far as poor fallible crea-
tures could do, by unstopping the ears of the deaf, and causing
the dumb to speak. It must be a sincere satisfaction to the
master to rescue his fellow creatures from their low estate. He
hoped in connexion with these few remarks, which he endea-
voured to impress on all who heard him, from his anxious wish
to promote the permanent interests of the institution, that new
subscribers would give their names. Their subscriptions were
a £lOO a year short to meet the current expenses, and they had
to depend on donations and legacies. He was happy to say
that he had just received an account that Mr. Ogden had left
the institution a legacy of £5O. The institution appeared there-
fore to be very much in want of annual subscriptions. If they
could get more numerous annual subscriptions of ss. or 10s.,—
or if each person now there would get an additional annual
subscription, it would raise the funds of the institution, and set
aside all doubt or difficulty, and they should be able to place the
institution in the situation which it was eutitled to hold in the
town; because he did not.:see why this charity should not be
placed on a level with any other charity in the town. It pos-
sessed claims of a very superior nature. He trusted they should
all do their best to rescue it from the position in which it was
placed. He concluded with thanking the company for their
attendance that day, and hoped they were gratified.
Mr. RHIND briefly returned thanks for the compliment paid
to him, and the meeting broke up about half-past one o'clock