, 1865-08-18

WHOSE CNItiCIICC L duuuCCS HOulb3 - SCClU3
be met, by the Superintendent, with such
reply as that-alI this is because Educa-
~tionistS in all these Countries England
Ireland, Scotland, the United States, and
the British Colonies, kaOw no 6ett~r, 0nd
Mun The trO0be Of IojHg better!! | mean
no offence to the Superintendent, but real
ly the parallel Of such an absurdlty does
not exist in the whole world OF controversy.
Imagine, Mr.. Editor, the Superintendent OF
eight obscure Country Schools in the little
Island of St. CroiX-hinself q foreigner,
with the very limited knowledge Of the Eng
fish language which his writings betray-
mounted on the.very apex OF a Swelling
Alp" of self-appreciatlon-gazIng around
in disdain on the whole English educatIon-
al worId-and compIacently pronouncin9
it, where it differs from ais theories, 1gRo-
runt and jaIoirnt! Irresistibly, as | gaze
on this picture, there rises before my
minds eve the vision of Thomson's little
critic fly and as irresistibly does his des-
cription of it flow from my pen, forming
the most appropriate fellow picture to the
other that | know
Gas if upon a full proportional dome,
On swelling columns heav'd, the pride of art!
A critic-ly, whose feeble ray scarce spreads
An inch around, with blind presumption bold,
Should dare to tax the structure ofthe whole
Whether the public, and, above all, the
Government, with whom the power OF rec
tifying these matters chiefly rests, Will be
satisfied with such an answer as this, to
such an argument, remains to be seen.
But says the superintendent, the system
has been adopted by some Teachers i'll
England, who have felt the absurdity of
the old system, and have been encouraged
by the Government, but vh0 huUe ta5IeI
wiM IT, Certainly this is an extraordinary
recommendation Of any protested improve
ment in any branch of art or science, that
it has been tried, and even under the au-
spices of Government has pr0Ue1 u future.
But adds he, they have failed simply be-
cause they have not followed my plan, and
that of Mr.. Stow-'I believe to have sue
ceeded," (sic) and do not see therefore why
my system should be called an absurdity.
Now surely this is a no less extraordinary
argument than the last Mr.. Stow, and
Mr.. Gardin, versus the whole English edu-
c%ational world! and claiming success for a
system, which, III a trial here of so many
years, with every advantage in its favor,
yields, at double the expense, not ] the sue
cess Of the oldsysteme elsewhere, and gives us,
not more certainly, than 6 per cent. readers
among the adult graduates of our Schools.
But, says he again, this is an ''intellectual
SYSTEM while the other is only "Parrot
work"-"mechanical drudgery," &c. Yet
under this "parrot work. and "mechanical
drudgery,' all the vast learning of English,
and American, Statesmen, Scholars, Poets,
Philosophers, photographers, and Phllo-
logists, has been acquired surely then we
may well be content with such a system for
our laboring classes! Certainly too, if
there be any ground for the Superinten-
dents assertion-that it would be ''folly
and unfaithfulness'' to abandon his 'intel-
lectual SYSTEM" with it's meagre results,
to return to the old, under which so much
more is accomplished, then, something
quite as reprehensible, to say the very
least, was committed, when the latter was
abandoned for the former, in the very teeth
of the universal verdict of the most compe-
tent Judges of English education. But, we
are told, the British (sic) Government has