to select the persons best fitted to meet the requirements of the district, but should be interested in maintaing a good school, either on account of having children of his own to educate, or because of an intelligent appreciation of the value of education to the community and the State.

The records of the District are to be kept by the Clerk, and all orders upon the Treasurer are to be drawn by him, and much depends upon his faithfulness and efficiency in performing these duties.

As a person appointed to fill a vacancy holds his office only till the annual meeting succeeding his appointment, in those districts in which vacancies have occurred since the last annual meeting, elections must be held to fill the offices for the balance of the unexpired terms.

TO THE COUNTY SUPERINENDTENTS OF SCHOOLS. Gentlemen By section 6, of chapter 176, General Laws of 1862, establishing a system of Graded Certificates, it is made the duty of the County Superintendent of each county "to establish, under the advice and direction of the State Superintendent, the standard of attainment in each brach of study, which must be reached by each applicant before receiving a certificate of either grade, and the standard so established shall be uniform for the county."

Before advising in this matter, I desired to consult with you, and for that purpose called the general convention at Janesville. It afforded me much encouragement to meet so many there. Those present represented more than half the counties and three-fourths of all the schools of the State. The results reached by the deliberations of that convention may be safely assumed as the basis of advice. In my recommendations I shall but embody the wishes of all present at Janesville. It was agreed that uniformity of examination is desirable so far as practicable; that beyond a minimum limit it is impracticable to demand it.

It was further agreed that the minimum number of questions upon each branch of study should be ten. That the written answers to these questions should be correct both in form and fact. (Correctness of form implies as I understand it, a proper enunciation of the principle, without extending to orthographical execution. Errors in that direction will be noted under the head of orthography.) That no certificate of the third grade should under any circumstances be granted to an applicant who does not answer correctly, at least fifty per cent. of the questions presented in each branch. That the minimum for a second grade certificate, should be sixty per cent., and for a third grade certificate, seventy per cent. It will be noticed that only the minimum limit is agreed upon. It was fixed so low that all who are worthy a certificate could reach it. Each Superintendent will use his discretion in fixing

the standard for his own county, at or above the minimum agreed upon. The number of questions proposed will also be fixed by each Superintendent at or above the number fixed as the minimum. Whenever a doubt exists as to the correctness of any particular answer it should be settled by oral examination. The minimum must be reached in each branch, and no allowance made for deficiency in one by extra qualifications in others. In other words, there should be no averaging of results. Upon these points the Convention was unanimous. I would therefore urge upon all the adoption of these general principles, that there may be a perfect understanding one with another.

If to any the minimum should appear too high for certain localities or single districts, it is sufficient to say, that the law allows limited certificates for special districts. I can not urge too earnestly the exercise of great caution in granting such limited certificates. They should be granted only in extreme cases and when an absolute necessity exists. The efficiency of our schools can never be increased when an indiscriminate use of limited certificates is allowed. Teachers, who can obtain them will not improve themselves, and may often stand in the way of better applicants. The Superintendent should be thoroughly convinced that no well qualified teacher can be secured before he places over any district one poorly fitted. School officers are indifferent enough to the interests of their schools, without any special bounty being conferred upon such indifference. Give to such officers the promise of a teacher who is not fully qualified, and their carelessness increases, and schools suffer beyond all estimate.

In some few instances during the spring examination, persons have obtained knowledge of questions which they would be required to answer, and have prepared themselves specially upon those questions. To prevent the recurrence of such dishonesty, Superintendents will be cautious and keep their questions entirely to themselves until examination, and then furnish them only to persons who are actually expecting to teach in the county for which the examination is held. When a reasonable suspicion exists as to designs of applicants, special questions will be presented. This should be done at any rate, when the applicant has been examined in any other county. This advice will I am sure apply only to a very few cases, and let me encourage trust rather than suspicion, though I thus speak.

As to the character of questions to be used, I can only refer you to the advice I gave you previous to the spring exominations. Be a little more thorough than then, but do not rise too fast.

J. L. PICKARD,

State Supt. Pub. Inst.

EDITORIAL MISCELLANY.

THE ASSOCIATION.

The attendance was very large, amounting we understand to about 350 teachers. Of these a large proportion were ladies. The war, harvest, and the discrimination in favor of the ladies on the score of entertainment, explain the paucity of gentlemen. But for the presence of the County Superintendents, both the male side of the house and the receipts of the treasury would have been quite slim. The proceedings are published in this number.

The exercises were of an interesting and profitable character-though not quite as well adapted some of them, to the immediate practical wants of the bulk of the teachers, as they might have been, However, lecturers have their own reputation to sustain, and then there is some advantage in making it apparent to some people that there is something yet for them to learn. Everything passed off smoothly and pleasantly, except a little war excitement, and that found vent in the very hearty endorsement of some strong resolutions, after the Association had adjourned as such. We do not think the Association need have felt any great timidity in speaking out at this crisis. If the resolutions offered were too strong, it was easy to soften them. The truth was, that from the shortening of the session, no time was found for the transaction of any miscellaneous business whatever, except in a hurry-a defect that will be provided against next time no doubt. The expenditures also much exceeded the receipts, which will require more dependence next year upon home production. One more criticism: there are so many teachers who would have something to say if they had a chance, that it is likely to excite a little jealousy and dissatisfaction if the same persons are called upon repeatedly, and successive years, unless there is such a pre-eminent and acknowledged superiority as to make it peculiarly fitting. On the whole, the session was extremely pleasant, and the arrangements very creditable to those who had them in charge.

We advert to a portion of the exercises of the week, but have not space at at present to notice all:

THE ADDRESSES BY HON. MESSRS. BATEMAN AND GREGORY.

The former of these was the Opening Address, on Tuesday evening; the latter was delivered on Wednesday evening. Without attempting any synopsis of these masterly efforts, we may say that both were broad and comprehensive presentations of the great theme of public education-its importance-its necessity. Mr. Bateman's address dwelt more upon the public, national aspects of subject; Mr. Gregory's pursued it farther in its individual, interior bearings. Tö gether, they quite thoroughly exhausted the subject, and both efforts were worthy of the flourishing States of which these gentlemen are the able educational heads.

THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS.

Mr. Ford's Address is published in this number, and speaks for itself. We need only say that it is characteristic of the straightforward, business like traits of the man, and contains many solid truths.

SUPT. PICKARD-HIGH SCHOOLS.

Mr. Pickard's Essay was a timely defence of our Higher Schools, and will do good service in counteracting the efforts of penurious, selfish parties against them. As we hope to publish the Essay in full, we will not attempt a synopsis.

PROF. SILL-GRAMMAR.

We were not able to listen to all the details of Prof. Sill's views of English Grammar, but gathered the main drift of his remarks. He proposes to clear away what may be called the rubbish of the subject, and simplify, in a more logical order, what remains. For instance, the English verb he maintains, and we think correctly, has no mode; that is no modifications of its form, as in Latin and some other languages, to express the idea of the verb in indirect or collateral senses. Strictly speaking, we use the verb proper only to declare, to interrogate, or to command. Hence sentences may be declarative, interrogative or imperative; but the verb remains unchanged in form; as, ind., ye go; int., go ye? imp., go ye. The illustration can be given only in the second person, because the imperative is used only in that person.

But what becomes of the "potential mode?" This term is awkwardly and unphilosophically made to denote many things besides potentiality; I can, is a verb expressive of potentiality; Imay, denotes contingency-possibility; I must, obligation, &c. And these and many other words commonly called "auxiliary verbs" are really principal verbs-or simply they are verbs; for in our language a verb is a verb and nothing else, a single word and nothing more, while the language is eminently rich, in that peculiar class of verbs which express incomplete ideas, and require modifying words to finish the sense. I am, denotes abstract or unlimited existence; I can, unlimited power; I will, unmodified volition, and so on, though none of these can be predicated except of Deity. But to say that go, in the sentence "I must go," is a verb in the potential mode, and that in the sentence "I will go," it is in the indicative mode, is untenable-a distinction without a difference. In both cases "go" is an infinitive, limiting the real verbs of the two sentences-must and will. Such was the doctrine endorsed by Prof. Sill, and having the authority, as he remarked, of some of our more recent and more philosophical writers on the language.

But may we not go farther, and principally dispense with tense also? In the sentences-I love him, and I loved him, or, I see him, and I saw him, there is the difference of past and present, and a difference in the form of the verb. But when we have said this, have we not stated all the tenses that pertain to English verbs, and all the modifications that our verbs undergo, to express tense?

What is called the perfect tense may be disposed of by considering the "sign" have, as the principal verb, and the participle by which it is modified simply as a modifier. I have, expresses the relation of possession; but, like the declarations I am, I can, &c., it must be modified, to express complete sense, as, I have money, I have sorrow. Nor is the case altered, if the delaration is modified by a participle, or a participle and noun, as, I have seen, or, I have seen a lion; i. e., the fact of sight in the past pertains to me; or, the fact of the sight of that animal pertains to me. The same mode of treatment disposes of the pluperfect or past perfect tense, and the future tenses; also, of the passive voice. I will go, means I will to go, the verb being modified by the infinitive go. I am here, denotes the fact of existence, modified by place; I am tired denotes the fact of existence modified by the condition of fatigue. In one case an adverb, in the other a participle is the modifier. It results that our verb is a very simple thing-can scarcely be considered subject to any inflections; and that the whole matter of “conjugation," so called, is principally a waste of time and paper. The following short table exhibits all the modifications that a regular verb, simple and proper, undergoes:

We have not space at this time to follow the Professor in his remarks about case. Case-casus, (a falling, declination,) certainly does not belong to the English noun, as it does to the Latin, &c. To say that case means condition, is begging the question. I and me are not different "cases" or inflections, but different words. His and him, and whose and whom are inflections of he and who. To pronouns then, in part, pertain inflections or cases; but not to nouns. matter of the possessive form of nouns we pass over, for the present.

The

But says the old fashioned teacher, these are radical and sweeping views; they conflict with the established laws of the language. So did the re-assertion of Galileo conflict with the established laws of the Ptolemaic system; so did the discovery and study of the Sanskrit conflict with the old notions about the history and derivation of languages. We are not aware who claims to have first presented any of these new doctrines in English Grammar, but they seem to be deducible by any one that thinks for himself. We have very likely not said what Prof. Sill said, and as he said it, and do not hold him responsible for our own remarks. If any one is disposed to question his views, he can take care of himself. The subject is worth farther examination, and claims the attention of those who would get through all the envelopments and swaddling-clothes of English Grammar, and see it in its real simplicity. It has worn the cumbrous and unnecessary forms of Latin Grammar long enough, and they are as much out of place as the Roman toga would be upon the shoulders of our republican citizens of the nineteenth century.