vivâ voce questions in geography, he has a good recollection of grammar and parses very correctly, but is wanting in the practical knowledge of grammar as evinced by the badness of his English composition: he spells very well. His English writing is but indifferent, and there is much room for amendment. His arithmetic and Hindi will be noticed below. "The second class have read Prose Reader No. 3 to page 79, Clift's Geography, Asia, Hindoostan and Europe. The greater part of Lennie's grammar, Hindi Reader No. 2 to page 54, and in arithmetic four senior boys have progressed as far as vulgar fractions (rule of three) and the remaining three compound division only. All read fairly, (the pronunciation of the majority is bad, a difficulty not easily overcome, unless boys commence learning English when very young) the senior boys appeared to understand pretty well parts of the reader they did not before read, four of them spelt very well, indeed, Dunardan and Sohara remarkably so; like the first class boys they have a good recollection of grammar, and the senior boys parse well, but the practical knowledge of grammar is again here wanting, though Dunardan is in this respect more advanced than the first class boy, he gave the best English translation of a Hindi fable. In geography the four senior boys are well grounded as far as they have learned, and are expert in pointing out on the map places, rivers, &c. &c. In arithmetic Dunardan is more advanced than the senior boy; he is well-grounded as far as rule of three' in fractions; did the whole of the sums given without hesitation and without one mistake; the other four boys acquitted themselves well, and did the whole of the sums given, though not without a few mistakes: the best three boys are fairly grounded as far as compound long division. In Hindi all are rather backward, they read fairly a book they had not before seen (Premsagur,') but understood it but imperfectly, they have no idea of Hindi grammar, and spelt badly, their translation of any English fable into Hindi was very indifferent, Buxoo best; it must however be borne in mind, that to most of them Hindi is a strange language, and that they have not an efficient Hindi master. The English writing of this class is fair, Dunardan's best in the school, and they can write the Debnagree character well from a copy, but not from dictation.

"Third class. This class for the first half the session was under the assistant teacher, and the latter half under the head master, they have read Prose Reader No. 2 to page 76; the whole of elements of grammar; in Clift's Geography, Asia and Hindoostan; in Hindi, Singaram Buttesa, and in arithmetic are advanced as far as long division. The two senior boys do great credit to their master, especially the first who has an excellent memory, and is thoroughly grounded as far as he has gone; not once did he fail to answer correctly questions given him on different subjects; in arithmetic he acquitted himself most creditably, and is expert in pointing out places in the map; the second boy is little inferior to him, the last boy knows nothing and was unable, after a long time, to do even an easy sum, in compound multiplication. The other classes in this department are merely elementary and are progressing satisfactorily. The fourth class contains some promising youths.

"The committee are pleased to record the advantages offered by the Government School, are not entirely lost on the zemindars of Singhboom. During the year the minor Thakoor of Khursawan, his brother and cousin have all been enrolled as students in it, and are applying themselves earnestly to the acquirement of the English language. The committee deem it right to remark on the efficient state of the school library,

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SOUTH-WEST FRONTIER SCHOOLS.

the senior boy is reading the history of Greece, a book too difficult for him, before acquainting himself with the history of his own country! merely because the library does not contain one, or indeed any modern history; maps are also much required, but the committee have directed the head master to prepare a list of such books, &c. &c., as are wanted, which will be submitted in due course, through the usual channel."

The Hindi department, consisting of thirty-five pupils, is divided into six classes, the first contains one pupil, the second two, the third seven, the fourth seven, the fifth four, the sixth thirteen. There are twenty Coles, thirteen Hindus, and two Moohummudans. The remarks which have been made with respect to the average age of the classes, their average attendance during the past session of the English department, apply with equal force to this likewise.

The examination was conducted by the same gentlemen whose report on the English department is given above. They remark:

"The progress made during the year in this department has not been great, which must be attributed to the want of an efficient Hindi teacher, the present man who is a good Debnagree writer was put in by Lieutenant Haughton to act as teacher on half the salary attached to the appointment, because a more competent one was not to be had, and up to this time he has continued in the appointment. The progress of this department, however, which consists chiefly of Coles must necessarily be slow from the impossibility of procuring an efficient Hindi teacher acquainted with the Cole language. The assistant teacher is a Nagpore Cole, but the language of the Lurka Coles of Singhboom is quite distinct from his, and consequently he is unable materially to assist the Hindi teacher."

In forwarding the report of the Chota Nagpore and Chybassa Schools, Mr. J. H. Crawford, the Governor General's Agent, remarks:

"During the past year I have attended two regular examinations of the school at Chota Nagpore, and one of that at Chybassa; and on each occasion have observed the degree of interest taken by the local authorities in the welfare of their respective establishments, and their efforts to make them extensively useful.

"That the success of such efforts is not more directly apparent in the returns submitted, is attributable only to the comparatively simple and primitive condition and feelings of the people for whose improvement the schools are specially designed. When further intercourse with other districts shall have stimulated their energies, and the few Cole scholars now in the schools shall begin to be drafted into Government employment as they become eligible for it, the bulk of the people will attach a positive value to education, of which the strongest exhortation at present fail to give them any lasting or practical conviction.

"The head master of each of the schools appears very well qualified for his position, especially Mr. Payton of the Chota Nagpore School, whose qualifications and aptitude for his vocation are apparent in the increasing number of his scholars and their attendances, against the disadvantage of the withdrawal of an alimentary allowance to them, which did not work well.”

The following is the report of the general annual examination of the Barrackpore school, drawn up by Professor Graves, who was deputed to conduct it:

"The examination commenced with the fourth or lowest class, which contains forty boys formed into three divisions, of ten, five and twentyfive boys, and learning, respectively, Nos. 2 and 1 Prose Reader, and No. 1 Spelling.

"In the first two divisions, with two exceptions, the reading was either very middling or decidedly bad. There was no attention to emphasis, intonation or pauses, and the articulation was so indistinct, that without a book before me I could scarcely distinguish a word of what was being read. Most of those boys appear to have commenced English at too late an age for acquiring a clear pronunciation of elementary sounds. Among the boys learning the 1st No. Prose Reader, there is one about fourteen years old, and there are two of fifteen and thirteen who are not through the 1st No. Spelling.

"In spelling, four boys answered well, four middlingly and three badly.

THIRD CLASS.

"Number in class twenty-two, examined eighteen, subjects No. 4 Prose Reader, Poetical Reader No. 1, Lennie's grammar, arithmetic.

"Two of the students of this class are beyond sixteen and four beyond fifteen years of age.

"The reading from No. 4 Prose was generally bad, and in explaining and parsing sentences from the Poetical Reader, only four were tolerably successful; the rest evidently understood nothing of it.

"In arithmetic it was stated that the class was learning the rule of three. Being required to write in words a number to seven places of figures, eight failed: the others were correct as to the value of the numbers, though none of them could express it with grammatical correctness. In reducing pies to rupees, eleven either failed in the operation, or commenced dividing by twelve, through long division. I recommended the master to confine the class for the present to the elementary rules and reduction.

SECOND CLASS.

"Number in class twelve, examined nine, subjects Azimghur Reader, Poetry No. 2, grammar, geography, arithmetic.

"The class was first required to write on slates from dictation two different passages from the Azimghur Reader. This was done with much fewer errors than I had anticipated, and one boy Womesh Chunder Sein committed no error whatever.

"The reading of prose and the explanations and parsing from poetry were also satisfactory. There is a wide difference between this class and the one below it, and it does not appear likely that from the present materials of the lower classes, a future class equal to this one can be formed. "One of the absent boys, I observed, was close on eighteen years of age. "In arithmetic, I found the class very imperfectly acquainted with reduction. In most of the operations the figures were set down without regard to place. Units under hundreds, and so forth. I directed the particular attention of the master to these defects.

FIRST CLASS.

"This class contains seven boys, of whom four had been candidates for junior scholarships, and whom therefore I did not consider it necessary to examine, one boy was on leave. The two remaining boys are twelve and thirteen years of age. The younger of these, Bholanauth Mookerjee, is decidedly a promising boy. He evinced a good knowledge of the portions of Greek and Roman history he had read, and also read well and distinctly from the 5th No. Prose Reader. The subject in poetry was Campbell's Pleasures of Hope. Considering the age of the boys, it was much too difficult for them, and they made but a very poor attempt to write the meaning of a short passage I gave them.

"I consider Bholanauth Mookerjee of the first, and Womesh Chunder Sein of the second class, to be deserving of encouragement, and would have wished to recommend them for free studentships in this college, but the master informed me that they would be too poor to support themselves away from their homes.

"There is no writing taught in this school. This appears to me a defect. The boys are left to pick up what they can of the art out of school. Hence their manner of doing any work required in words or figures is slovenly and careless, which must be obviously detrimental to the future welfare of the boys, as they cannot be qualified for situations as writers or accountants in Government or mercantile offices, the only channel in which boys of the class that are in this school can turn their knowledge of English to any practical account. Paper of a sufficiently good quality could be procured at four annas the quire, and a boy would not use more than a quarter of a quire in the month, or one anna's worth of paper, and allowing as much more for quills the cost for each boy would be but two annas per month, and probably the boys, if charged that sum for stationery, would willingly pay it."

Vernacular Schools.

The following is the report of the Sudder Board of Revenue, on the working of the Vernacular Schools during the past year:

From the statement in the margin, it will be seen that of the

nineteen schools allotted to the Jessore division, sixteen were in operation during the whole or a part of the year under review. The number of pupils on the rolls of these schools at the commencement of the year was seven hundred and forty, the admissions during the year three hundred and eightyseven, and the withdrawals three hundred and fiftythree, leaving seven hundred and seventy-four at its close. The aggregate daily attendance during the year averaged six hundred and seven.

The schooling fees collected amounted to 478 rupees, 14 annas and 7 pie, which added to the balance of former years 1274 rupees, 2 annas and 8 pie, gives a total of 1753 rupees, 1 anna and 3 pie, there having been no disbursements; 103 rupees and 13 annas were also realized by the sale of 562 volumes of books. The expense incurred on account

of teachers was 3203 rupees, which apportioned among the pupils in daily attendance, gives an average of 5 rupees, 4 annas and 5 pie, as the annual cost for the tuition of each pupil.

The schools in this district do not appear to have been visited either by the Commissioner or the Deputy Collector. The Bancoorah. average attendance at each of them, has been somewhat less than during the preceding year. The school-house at Bishenpore was recently blown down, and as the party by whom it was originally erected has declined to re-build it, the Deputy Collector has been called upon to ascertain and report whether the inhabitants are willing

to erect another.