, 1865-06-27

udGtu D6pEOIHUOl v 4OCO3 h@0 49,
but a very short time when serious and we'll
founded objections were raised against several
of their enactments. According to these Regu-
lations all children on Estates from 6 to 10
wears of age are bound to attend school for 4
hours everv forenoon, Saturday excepted, at
one Scbool-r0om in each district, and under one
Teacher, whereby one Teacher might, IN some
districts, have 200 children, or even more, un-
der his instruction at one and the same ume.
Under these circumstances it obviously could
not be expected that, if the attendance were re-
oular. the work of instruction could be thorough
IN performed even with the assistance OF the
Monitorial system which was OF necessity re-
sorted to and experience soon concluslVeIy
proved the correctness of this reasoning, IN as
much as, owing to this, IN conjunction WITH some
other even more weighty causes not lhllleuldte-
ly within the scope Of this Report, only a very
small percentage of the children really acquired,
or do acquire, any knowledge OF reading at the
expiration of the 4 years term OF instruction III
the every day School. At the expiration OF
this term the children are removed to the 0a-
turday School where they attend for three years
longer, until the annual Examination which
takes place. first after they have attained their
18th year. But it is very evident, and expert
ence has most fully borne out the observations
that those children who do not acquire the art
of reading during 4 years schooling OF D days
every week, and who unfortunately comprise
bv universal consent, at least / OF the scholars,
will not acquire that art from instruction on on
" one day in each week for a period OF 3 years
nay more than this it is very evident, and
experience has again fully proven, that they
will, in the majority Of cases, even forget WnaI
little they may have imperfectly learned preVl-
ously. 1t has been urged however in some
quarters, that if the children were only compel
led to attend the Saturday Schools more regu-
larry than they do, they would, even under inc
present arrangement, accomplish all that Is re-
quired of them. This is mentioned here be-
cause His Excellency TIE GOVERNOR would
seem to coincide with this view but the Mlno-
ritv respectfully take leave to remark that ms
Predecessor was of a very different opinion. In
the " Session of the Colonial Council he stat
cd that it was his opinion that the Saturday
Schools are of very little use" and that he chad
frequently found that even children who had at
tended them pretty regularly had refrigerated
instead of progressing 1t is the opinion too
of most of those who have made themselves ac-
uuainted with the Schools, that, with the eXcep-
ton of the Monitors who are kept tor 3 years
in the every day School, besides receiving dali
" extra instruction after school hours, only We
nv few children learn how to read and this de-
plorable state of things is 50 obvious that even
the Parents, who are generally supposed to care
but little about the education OF their children,
bitterly complain thereof, and requests that the
children should be kept one year more at least
in the every day school, and the Saturday,
"their own day." be left to their free disposal,
whether they wish to send their children to
work in order to benefit by the higher wages
paid for Saturday labor, or to send them to their
own Church Schools to be instructed in their
particular Religion, which cannot be done in the
Country Schools where a Catechism is of ne
cessity used free of Denominational teaching,
and which claims only to be considered "as a
guide for preliminary Religious instruction,
which it is left to the Clergyman of the different
Denominations afterwards to complete"-(Vide
School Ordinance 5 14) a kind of instruction
which may answer for the smaller children, but
which certainly cannot be considered satisfacto-
ry for children up to their l4th year.
(To be continued)