SCHOOL-MISTRESSES. The Board have arranged to receive three mistresses of schools, or persons nominated to schools, into the house of the Training School. They attend the regular instruction of the pupils, and take their share of teaching at the National School. No mistress will be received for a shorter period than three months; and the Per week for Board for the first three Months Fee to the Training School..... Fee to the National School £ S. 0 9 ... 0 6 0 0 10 They must bring with them two pairs of sheets, and six hand towels. Law Report. KIRBY RAVENSWORTH FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL-PROPOSED EXTENSION OF INSTRUCTION. The Vice-Chancellor's Judgment. THIS petition was presented under the 3rd and 4th of Victoria, c. 77, by the present and late wardens and steward of the Kirby Ravensworth Grammar-school and Hospital, and the curate and churchwardens of the parish, praying the Court to extend the system of education in the school to ancient and modern history, geography, and the various branches of mathematics, in addition to the English language, writing, arithmetic, and the different branches of mathematics now taught in the school, and that the Latin and Greek languages might be taught to such boys only as should require them, and also that the office of usher of the school might be in future held in succession by poor boys belonging to the parish, and that no boy should be allowed to hold the office longer than three years, according to the will of the founder. The school and hospital were founded in 1556, by Dr. John Dakyn, the rector of Kirby Ravensworth, who declared that "being long tossed to and fro on the waves of this inconstant world, and perceiving nothing lasting in its events, but knowing for certain that death hangs over all alike, and that nothing was more uncertain than the day of his departure hence, and desiring most heartily to bewail his errors, ignorances, and grievous sins, and at last to pull in the reins of his youth that had been too long loose, and to be conducted into the harbour of eternal rest, he had resolved to expiate his sins, and redeem them as far as he was able, by bestowing an almshouse out of the goods bestowed on him by God, and intrusted to his disposal by others." He then proceeded to found the school and hospital in honour of St. John the Baptist, for the education of boys and young persons, and for the support and relief of poor and indigent people, which was to consist of two wardens, one teacher or master, sufficiently learned or skilled in grammar, and certain other persons, according to the statutes and ordinances declared by him. Among these statutes and ordinances, which were penned by the founder's own hand, it was ordained, that as often as the office of schoolmaster should happen to be vacant, the wardens, with the rector, vicar, or curate of the parish, and the two churchwardens, should meet together to consider about another schoolmaster, and the major part of them should appoint an honest man, unblameable, a priest, not religious, nor at the least beneficed with the cure of souls, neither bearing office, learned and skilled in grammar, who should teach gratis the boys of that parish that should resort to him, and this should be diligently done, according to the capacity of every boy in grammar, rhetoric, and verse;" and such master was to receive £9 per annum for his salary, and to take an oath that he would freely, without exacting any money or other gains, diligently instruct the children of the parish, and all other that should resort unto him in grammar and other " humane doctrine," according to the statutes, and would " not read unto them any corrupt or reprobate book set forth at any time contrary to the determination of the universal Catholic church, whereby they might be infected with any kind of heresy or corrupt doctrine, or be induced to an insolent manner of living. With regard to the system of education to be pursued, the statute went on to declare, that "since youth is naturally prone to evil, and as Horace writes,' with what flavour the cask is tinctured while it is fresh it will long retain it,'" the founder, therefore, ordained that the schoolmaster should regard as a principal concern honestly and decently to form the manners of his scholars, and strictly to restrain them from theft, lying, swearing, and filthy talking; and that he read and interpret to the boys those books which may induce them to virtue, piety, civility, and morality, and not to lasciviousness or sauciness; those generally taught being, the Decalogue in Latin, Cato, Esop's Fables, Cicero de Officiis, or Moral Duties of Friendship and Old Age, and his Epistles; Sallust, Virgil, Terence, and others of the like sort, with respect to the age and capacity of every boy." The statutes also provided one usher, who should be chosen and removed at the pleasure of the master, and should be a poor boy of good morals, born within the parish, and that he should, as well in the presence as the absence of the master, teach the boys, and assist the master to the utmost of his power. The petition having set forth the statutes of this charity, went on to state that a commission was issued under the authority of the great seal in 1803 to regulate the future administration, and to apply the surplus revenues. Under this commission it was declared that it was the charitable intention of the founder, and agreeable to the wishes of the parishioners of Kirby Ravensworth, that other branches of useful knowledge should be also taught in the school to the boys resorting thereto for classical learning, and that the funds appeared sufficient for the purpose, besides amply fulfilling the other intentions of the charity. It was therefore directed that the salary of the usher should be increased, and that it should be his duty, not only to assist the master in teaching grammar and other branches of classical instruction, but also to teach the English language, writing, arithmetic, and the different branches of mathematics, gratis to all who should resort to the school, and that in case there should be no person in the judgment of the master properly qualified for the office of usher, who had been educated in the school, and was the son of poor parents, that it should be lawful for the master to appoint some other person to the office. The petitioners represented that the parish of Kirby Ravensworth was purely agricultural, comprising upwards of 14,000 acres of land, and about 1,500 inhabitants, and, as the great majority of the boys attending the school had little occasion for the Greek and Latin languages, the portion of time they were obliged by the decree to spend in learning those languages would be much more profitably employed in learning English, writing, arithmetic, ancient and modern history, geography, and the various branches of mathematics and mechanics, and the general interests of the parishioners greatly promoted thereby. They also stated, that for several years the school had greatly declined, and that there had been very few boarders at the school, the present number of the boys who were instructed in Greek and Latin being not more than 30, and only three of them boarders. The salary of the master had been increased to £200 per annum, and, on the promotion of the Rev. Mr. Holme to a benefice, in August 1842, the Rev. Mr. Easther, of Richmond, was elected to the mastership. This gentleman was the only party who offered any opposition to the petition, and he complained by his affidavit, that although all the petitioners but two participated in his election, there was no intimation ever given him of their intention to apply for any extension of the system of education then prevailing in the school; but, on the contrary, that they endeavoured to impose on him a restriction that he should not take more than eight boarders, and that he engaged not to take more than ten at any time during the first four years after his election. He insisted that the charity was a "free grammar school," and had been so adjudged by the decree of 1803; but that, if the prayer of the petitioners were granted, instruction in grammar and classical learning would cease to be considered the principal object of the foundation, and the school would degenerate into a mere commercial academy, or become assimilated to a national school; and, moreover, that the revenues were not adequate to justify so great a deviation from the object of the foundation. The petitioners, in reply to this affidavit, swore, that at a meeting of the electors which took place at the Shoulder of Mutton, to receive the report of the examiners of the qualification of the candidates for the mastership, it was resolved, among other things, as a condition of election, that the master should not take more than eight boarders, and that he should only teach the classics in the school to the boys who should require them, and also teach mathematics, mechanics, history, geography, and such other branches of useful knowledge as might be required, and that these conditions were read over to Mr. Easther, who approved of them all but the one which limited the number of boarders. Mr. Easther, however, declared he had no recollection of the conditions being read over to him, but that if they were he certainly never gave any assent to them. The petitioners now submitted, by their counsel, that the principle of expanding the system of education so as to embrace the more general branches of useful knowledge, had not only been adopted by the Court in the case of other schools on a similar foundation, but had, in fact, been recognized in this very charity by the decree of 1803, though the precise scheme by which it was to be carried out had not been settled. Of the general utility and advantage of extending the system of education there could be no doubt, and it was in accordance with the wishes of the whole parish, the only obstacle being that which was now offered by the master, who wished to confine the advantages of the charity to himself, by contracting it into a mere proprietary school. The master, on the other hand, repudiated any such intention, and insisted that the course proposed by the petitioners was contrary to the statutes of the foundation, and tended to destroy the character of a free grammar school, which the charity had always maintained, and which the Court had not the power to deprive it of. Mr. Bethell, with Mr. Willcock, appeared in support of the petition; and Mr Stuart and Mr. Stapleton were counsel for the master. The Vice-Chancellor gave judgment on the 29th of May. His Honour said, that after having read carefully through the petition and the affidavits, as well as the act of 3 and 4 Victoria, c. 77, there appeared to him to be no reason whatever why there should not be an extension of the system of instruction adopted at this school, The affidavits of the master of the school in opposition to the petition, did not appear to his Honour to be so much directed against any alteration in the present system of instruction, as to the fear of incurring some possible evil, which he seemed to fancy, of having some additional duty imposed upon him. His Honour was of opinion, however, that though there was no objection to an extension of the system of instruction, that the Court could not grant the prayer of the petition in its present form, as it would run counter to the express language of the 3rd section of the late statute. The petition asked that the Latin and Greek languages might only be taught to such boys as required them; but the 3rd section of the act declared, that unless it should be found necessary, from the insufficiency of the revenues of any grammar school, nothing in the act should be construed to authorize the Court to dispense with the teaching of Latin or Greek, or either of those languages now required to be taught, or to treat such instruction otherwise than the principal object of the foundation, or to dispense with any statute or provision, so far as it related to the qualification of any schoolmaster or under master. The order must therefore be framed in accordance with this section of the act. His Honour was also of opinion, that the prayer of the petition was rather oddly conceived, in asking that mechanics might be taught in the school in addition to the different branches of mathematics, as it was well known that the science of mathematics included mechanics; and, according to the wording of that part of the prayer, as it now stood, the usher would have to teach mathematics specially, and mechanics generally, in addition to the English language, writing, arithmetic, &c. His Honour had, however, sketched out what he considered would be the proper order to be made. "Refer it to the Master to approve of a scheme for extending the system of instruction in the Kirby Ravensworth Grammar School, to ancient and modern history, geography, and the mathematics, having regard to the decree of the Commissioners of 1803, and the original statutes of the school, with liberty to state special circumstances, and reserving further directions and costs until the Master shall have made his report." Mr. Stuart drew the attention of the Court to the latter part of the first section of the 3 and 4 Vic., and submitted, that the Bishop of Ripon, as the visiter of the charity, ought to have been heard upon the matter before the Court proceeded to make any decree or order relating to it. Mr. Bethell contended, that the Bishop had nothing whatever to do with the matter. The Vice-Chancellor did not consider the statute spoke of such a visiter as that of the grammar school in question, in regard to what was now proposed to be done. Intelligence. Annual Meeting of the Schoolmasters in the Isle of Man.-On Tuesday, July 11th, at 10 o'clock, the annual meeting of Schoolmasters and Mistresses was held at Bishop's Court, Isle of Man. From the size of the diocese, the teachers are enabled to assemble from all parts of the island, and on this occasion amounted to about forty. The proceedings of the day commenced by prayers in the chapel, after which the Bishop gave a short address on the duties and spiritual responsibilities of masters. He then unrobed, and proceeded to make inquiries into the steps which had been taken in the several schools, to carry out the plans suggested at the last meeting. It was found, that most of the parochial masters had partially adopted the monitorial system, and had some of them attempted to teach simultaneously. They all stated the success which had attended the plan of writing from dictation, and agreed in the wisdom of adopting the school-books published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. After dinner the Bishop illustrated the advantages of simultaneous teaching; first on religious subjects, by explaining, through questions, the parable of the barren fig-tree. He tried to show how, by easy steps, the most momentous truths might be rendered intelligible to a little child, and advised the masters to make the attempt of introducing something of the sort into their schools, and to prepare themselves by examining the several classes frequently in a familiar manner. Secondly, on arithmetic, in which, by giving easy questions, which the scholars might attempt to work out by themselves, and then working them out before the large class or assembled classes, and making the children explain and give the reasons for every step, the principles would be laid before the children, and they would learn, not only how to solve the question, but why the process of solution was to be carried out in the manner laid down by the rule. He insisted strongly on making the scholars, as far as possible, comprehend the whole process. Thirdly, on sacred history, in which, as the questions were asked, the places were pointed out on the map, and the dates on the chronological table. Thus, while the scholars became acquainted with the several events recorded in the Bible, they would learn the position of the places, and the relative times in which they occurred. He showed, too, how by writing down from dictation the more important points which had been thus brought before the scholars, they would be impressed on their memory, and clearness would be given to what was taught. He advised that this system should be gradually used, as it was found to answer, and that care should be taken not to weary the children with it. He urged the masters to prepare themselves for this and their other duties; and pointed out how each individual master, as he acquired any new knowledge, might thus impart it to his school, particularly to the upper classes of the scholars. The whole was closed with a short prayer and the benediction. Promotion of Schools for the Commercial and Agricultural Classes.-The information possessed by the Board was such as to satisfy them that, in a great majority of the towns of the diocese, a lamentable deficiency of adequate schools existed, and that in almost all, the establishment of a good school of the sort, ultimately to support itself, would be a desirable measure. But its exertions in this diocese have been necessarily limited by its means, and governed by its circumstances. It was not therefore because the want was greatest, though that want was great, but because there appeared a fitting opportunity, that the Board determined, in the first instance, to open the Diocesan Church School, under the charge of the Rev. G. Elliot, B.A., at Southampton. In the last Report it was announced, that very eligible premises had been secured, of which Mr. Elliot expected to take possession at Lady-day last, and the best hopes of the Board, in reference to this school, are now in the course of fulfilment. An examination of the pupils of the school, which was conducted by the Rev. J. Keble and the Rev. W. Orger, has given the Board the greatest satisfaction. Upon receiving the Report in question, the following resolution was agreed to: "Resolved-That, after the very satisfactory statement of the condition of the Southampton Diocesan Church School, the Board empower the examiners, who shall be appointed to examine the school at the end of the next half year, to award books as prizes to such scholars as shall appear to them most deserving." Since the last Report, a favourable opportunity for the interference of the Board has occurred, and has been taken advantage of in the town of Dorking, where, with the concurrence of the Local Board, it was determined, if possible, to establish a school similar to that at Southampton. Mr. Jackson Hooke, formerly classical and mathematical assistant-master at the King's School, Sherborne, was appointed Master. He entered upon his duties after Midsummer holidays, and already the Board is furnished with good evidence of the efficiency and prosperity of the school. Upon receiving from the S. W. Droxford Decanal Board a very full account of the state of education, as regards the middle classes, in the populous parish of Portsea, the Diocesan Board was encouraged to attempt the establishment of a school in that town also. Mr. Jeremiah Andrews, mathematical and assistant-master at the Royal Academy, Gosport, was elected master, and he was to enter upon his duties after the Christmas vacation. The Board has thus succeeded in establishing three schools for the agricultural and commercial classes, in three of the most important towns in the diocese, under very encouraging circumstances. The course marked out for the Board seems obvious to go onwards, until there are seminaries of the Church, schools of true religion and sound learn ing for all the children of our yeomen and tradesmen within the extent of the Board's operations. As mistakes are still prevalent in regard to the design of the Board "in promoting schools for the agricultural and commercial classes," it is right again to repeat a former statement-"That the Board does not desire to be proprietors, or to interfere in the proprietorship, of any school, or to engage as a company in scholastic speculations. The promotion of good Church of England schools is the chief and paramount object. This guarantee being given, the Board wil aid individuals in the establishment of such schools, when required, according to its means."-Report of the Winchester Diocesan Board, 1843. New College in Ireland. - The new college, in which young men, members of the Established Church, will receive instruction on the plan pursued in the English universities, has been established at Stackallan, in Ireland, and will be opened with the usual ceremonies on the 1st of August. The college is dedicated to St. Columba. The governors have already founded five scholarships, which will be held, cæteris paribus, by the sons of the clergy, with a preference to those who are acquainted with the vernacular of the Irish language. His Grace the Archbishop of Armagh, the Primate of all Ireland, has consented to become the visiter of the college, and the following noblemen and gentlemen have been appointed governors :— The Earl of Dunraven; Viscount Adare, M.P.; Mr. A. S. O'Brien, M.P.; the Very Rev. Henry Cotton, D.C.L., Dean of Lismore; the Rev. R. C. Ebrington, D.D., Regius Professor of Divinity in Trinity College, Dublin; the Rev. J. Hawthorn Todd, D D., Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin; and the Rev. W. Sewell, B.D., Fellow and Subrector of Exeter College, Oxford. The following appointments have also been made:-Warden, the Rev. Robert Corbet Singleton, M.A.; Professor of Greek, the Rev. Matthew Morton, B.A.; Professor of Latin, the Rev. Henry Tripp, M.A.; Professor of Mathematics, the Rev. Robert King, B.A. The remaining arrangements will be made in the course of the present month. Winchester Diocesan Board.-At the quarterly meeting, held in the Chapter House of the Cathedral, on the 4th inst., |