guiding influence which can lead those greater powers to be more exerted for good, the result of this, immediately affecting society at large around them, must manifestly be of the utmost moment. Now this is precisely what we believe to be the working of this institution. It is the working of it, in the first place, because it brings the high prestige of our universities to bear upon a class of intellectual competition and studies which otherwise it could not possibly reach; and inasmuch as, in this ancient country, these great universities do stand at the head of the givers of all certificates of intellectual merit to students as students, it must be a great quickening to the intelligent mind of the young to know that there is brought to bear on their studies this power of judging of the success of their studies by experienced judges from the two great universities of the land. Therefore, it is for every one of us to consider how the generous desire of acquiring greater intellectual power, and the means, therefore, of future usefulness, may be quickened in many a young heart by its being distinctly known by that young man that, instead of simply carrying off the prize in some, perhaps, unknown distant local academy, he will have the opportunity of proving, before examiners selected by the best examining body in the country, how he has improved the faculties which his Maker has given to him. In this respect it is of great moment, and then it is of great moment in another respect. The conveyors of knowledge, the schoolmasters, the instructors, and the trainers scattered throughout the country, if they are merely left as individuals to be acted upon simply by the sense of duty, refreshed and replenished only by local influence, must, as they continue along in their course, be exposed to the very greatest dangers of growing remissness and slackness in the execution of an often-repeated task. It is imputing no ill to them-God forbid that I should impute ill to them, for they are a class for whom I have the highest respect; they are a class of men often very insufficiently paid for very important services; but they are men, and as men they are subject to the influences which act upon a man who, in a certain fixed routine, is conveying over and over again the selfsame somewhat elementary instruction to a continually successive set of young students, with no sense brought to bear upon him that his work is going to be thoroughly tested, and excusing himself probably by saying, 'If they don't succeed under my teaching, it is no fault of mine. It is no fault of mine if I cannot concentrate this boy's attention. He will find out his mistake in after-life, and then he will regret that he has not better used his opportunities. Such soft excuses must rise in the heart of the lone teacher as his work begins to pall upon him, and he grows in some degree weary of the task which he has set his life to accomplish, and which, because there is no successive progress in it, but a continued reiteration of the same old steps, involves often in its own texture a certain measure of besetting weariness in him who administers it. To such a man who does wish to do right, I say that this institution is a most ingeniously-contrived method of helping him, and making him feel that not only in the distant trial of a future life will his work be tested, but that, almost immediately, will the work that he has performed be brought under the observation of duly qualified examiners, and have distinct judgment in effect passed upon it in the persons of the pupils whom he sends out. This is precisely the same thing as if you suppose that a man was engaged in some curious work of art, who was, we may suppose, engaged in multiplying photographs, medals, or coins, or the like, knew that his work was to go out only to some distant savage land, where they would gaze with almost equal approbation upon the most poorly and the most admirably executed work; or it was to be submitted, as soon as the die was struck, or as soon as the plate was cast off, to the eyes of first-rate artists, who should pronounce upon him whether his work would stand examination, or perish under it. In bringing this sort of influence to bear upon the schoolmasters and instructors of our youth, it seems to be a matter of great moment that there should be this kind of examination, of trial, and of giving certificates, in superaddition to the giving of prizes. "The difficulties which led at first to the exclusion, at least from the examination, so far as it furnished marks for classifying pupils, of religious. instruction, are known to every one of us. Here, as everywhere else, the unhappy religious divisions of this country-unhappy to all concerned, because upon every single question of morals or of religion that can be raised, weakening the arm of this intelligent country as to the results which might be obtained-that unhappy action of these unhappy divisions came in here, and made it seem at first as if it was necessary for the success of the scheme that this greatest of all subjects, the knowledge of God's revelation of Himself, and of His ways, should be excluded from the examinations so initiated by the universities. Most happily, as I think, wiser counsels have now prevailed. I venture without doubt to call them wiser for this reason, that they have now been tested by experiment, and under experience they have succeeded. The fact that in the examination of this year the number of those who have been up for this religious examination has increased so vastly, and forms now so large an item, that in proportion to the others they may almost be considered as the whole, marks, I think, to the eye of every reasonable observer, the great success of this new scheme, which was tentatively begun under many apprehensions of what might be its consequence; but which experience so far, I think, has crowned with perfect success. This stirring up of the minds of the pupils-this keeping unrelaxed the efforts of instructors by these examinations-leads to a quickening of the desire and of the endeavour to strengthen the intellectual faculties; to make their power of acquisition more rapid; and also to a guiding of the education into those channels which will afterwards be the most practically useful to those who are the subject of them. Taking the material advantages first, as the lowest, every man who has one of these certificates has, as it were, always with him a passport, go where he will, to show that he is not untried, not unintellectual, but that he is an intellectually-trained man. Amongst the other direct material advantages, is that already many of the professions receive that certificate as a substitute for what we may call the matriculation examinations, which they would otherwise require. This applies in one stage to medicine, and to law, at least another department in the same way. These examinations, as they increase more and more as distinct institutions amongst us, will extend these material advantages with the extension of their own fame, and of their own certainty, and so give more and more to those who have in this way obtained these certificates, the entrance into other walks of life, which would be closed but for the possession of them. "But after all, my young friends, the great benefit is not that you escape an examination here and there, but that past labour is in you in present power, : and that you go forth to serve your God and your fellow-man with a capacity of service which you never could have acquired if you had not honestly, laboriously, and painfully passed through the training these examinations require. That is the great thing of all; we do not want crammed men, we want young men who have honestly and fairly set themselves to the intellectual struggle of young life, and have proceeded step by step up that difficult ladder of intellectual acquirement. I heard the other day of an answer given by that great self-taught man Stephenson, when expressing his distrust of what is called the competitive system of examination which has grown up amongst us. He said, I distrust it for this reason, that it will lead, it seems to me, to an unqualified power of cram. It would be a fair test, as good general examination is, of the intellectual acquirement of those who go up, but it will test the immediate power of receiving as cram what that particular examination is to bring out." And he then said to those who were pressing the advantages of the system upon him, 'Let me give you one piece of advice never judge of your goose by the stuffing.' Now, the thing we desire in this is the opposite of cram. It is to spread widely through the country a raised standard of education and of training, which will enable every honest student to rise gradually to the level which these examinations set before him. This, then, is another of the great advantages of it. There is one other that I must name as a university man. I think it a matter of the greatest importance that our old universities should, as far as possible, connect themselves with every grade in the intellectual training of the youth of the country. In some respects, the progress of events has been to confine the universities to one class. The grammar-schools of our country formerly supplied a mode by which the young to whom God had given those highest gifts of genius and of intellect were able, from almost every parish and district of this country, to mount up by the diligent use of those faculties to become members of the university, and so start upon an equal path in after-life with those who had inherited the far less valuable gifts of rank and of money. Many circumstances have to a great degree so far withered up these grammar-schools, that the path for the poorer classes of society to the universities, and through the universities to the intellectual plain to which it reaches, has been closed in our land. Therefore I am most thankful to see any movement in the old universities which tends in any degree to connect them again with the conduct generally, and fixing the standard of the education of this land. Now this, you know, the plan of examination greatly carries out indirectly, and without any direct and therefore dangerous interference with the trainers throughout all these schools; but indirectly as holding the great assay, and stamping the mint mark upon the different coins which they form in their several dies, the universities come again at once to stimulate, to raise, to guide, and to train the energies of all those classes of society with whom they are not at this moment strictly concerned. In this I think they bless the country and they bless themselves. They make themselves more widely useful, and to be widely useful is to be blessed. In making themselves useful, they tend directly to engage the interest and affections of a class which before considered themselves almost excluded from their influence; and so they strengthen their foundations, while they bless those through whom they strengthen them, and confer new benefits on this great land in which they have so long flourished. For all these reasons, it seems to me that the plan which we are here this day engaged in helping to carry forward is one which demands sympathy and ready assistance, wherever it can be rendered, of every member of this great country. As one of the bishops of its Church, one connected by my own diocese with one of those two great universities, it has given me, I may say, unmingled pleasure to be the humble instrument of those who have taken the labouring oar in the matter, in gathering you together this day for the placing in your hands these certificates, and the giving for your acceptance these prizes." The Right Rev. Prelate to the successful students. standard British authors. then proceeded to hand the prizes and certificates The prizes were beautifully bound editions of Forty-five in the senior class, who competed for the title of "Associate in Arts," took certificates, twenty of whom gained the honourable distinction. Ninety-seven in the junior class obtained certificates, of whom seven took first-class, and nineteen second-class certificates. The following were the successful students ("seniors") in honours :- W. H. Exall, aged 16, Grammar School, Denmark Hill, C. P. Mason, Esq. W. R. Keyte, aged 16, St. Saviour's Grammar School, Southwark, Rev. E. Boger. J. Pratt, aged 15, Mission School, Blackheath, W. G. Lemon, Esq. T. A. Sisley, aged 16, Croom's Hill, Blackheah, Rev. Dr. Goodwin. H. T. Wade, aged 16, Mansion Grammar School, Leatherhead, J. Payne, Esq. W. Cobbett, aged 14, Proprietary School, Greenwich, J. Robson, Esq. J. A. Davies, aged 16, Grammar School, Denmark Hill, C. P. Mason, Esq. J. O. Fison, aged 17, Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Ipswich, Rev. H. A. Holden. J. W. Noble, aged 16, Clarendon House School, Lambeth, C. H. Pinches, Esq. F. J. Thompson, aged 16, Grammar School, Denmark Hill, C. P. Mason, Esq. On the conclusion of the distribution, the Rev. Dr. Goodman proposed, and Mr. Mason seconded, a vote of thanks to the chairman, which was carried unanimously, and the proceedings terminated. ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY. On the evening of November 24th, a meeting of the society was held at Burlington House, Piccadilly; Sir Roderick I. Murchison in the chair. A letter by Dr. Livingstone, on the Lake Nyassa, in Africa, was read by Dr. NORTON SHAW. It described the course of the gallant doctor, and was replete with the characteristics of the natives. It stated that at Mount Zomba there two tribes, which were exceedingly warlike and destructive. There was a party of those people who, elated with continued success, finding they were before a small number of about twenty, commenced shooting their poisoned arrows, when a resort to firearms was necessary. None, however, were struck by the firearms. Fortunately, none were hit by the arrows, as they were handled by native Portugese slaves. On approaching Lake Nyassa they found elephants and hippopotami, which were very tame; and in that locality they fell in with a number of natives, who wished the English to sit in the sun while they remained in the shade. This was not acceeded to, when they rattled their shields, and, being frightened at the production of a note book, which they thought a pistol, they sped away. Reference was made to a thick atmospheric-like smoke, which was composed of insects, which the natives collected, and made into a kind of cake, tasting like roasted locusts, but fishy. Alluding to the cotton districts, which were most prolific, together with the lakes and cataracts, the letter concluded with a notice of the most extensive slave traffic, which was carried on to the westward. Mr. SPOTTISWOODE read the second paper, by Captain Speke, on the East African Expedition, showing the difficulties he had encountered, and also touching on the disgraceful traffic of the slave trade. The third paper, read by Mr. BAKER, contained an account of his journeys in Abyssinia, &c., and showed that, up to 12 degrees north latitude, none of the maps were correctly laid down. He had seen elephants, buffaloes, hippopotami, giraffes, &c., and one day he killed five elephants. That was the best day. The women and children were sold as slaves. In the White Nile trade, the blacks would go up armed, and return with ivory. The CHAIRMAN here referred to Captain Burton, who had ascended the Elephant Mountains, and also to Mr. Moffatt, the brother of Mrs. Livingstone, who recommended the use of camels for exploring; and, having read a recommendatory letter from Earl Russell, alluded to the great service rendered by the Pasha of Egypt, and said, at the time the Pasha was spoken to on the geographical service, his Government was very elastic, and so it proved. Other gentlemen having spoken as to their knowledge of Zanguebar and the famine in the interior, and the rebellious and maurading Arabs. Mr. TINNEY explained some remarks which had been made by the chairman respecting three ladies who had proceeded up the Nile, but at the present time he was unable geographically to explain. Arriving up the Cartona, it was not pleasant; they had to wait there the four wet months before they could make an exploration of Abyssinia, Upper Nubia, &c. Up the White Nile they could obtain no habitation-there was nothing to their satisfaction, and they were driven at last to engage a steamer from the Viceroy's brother. Two of the ladies were left in charge of a French gentleman at Mount Hemaya, while the third went to make the contract for the engagement of the steamer. By the accounts in July last he believed they intended to proceed to Gondocoro, and when he received further information it should be forwarded to the society. He stated that the character of the climate of the White Nile was most salubrious. It was like the Virginia Waters, with the woods, and highlands, and water lilies. He knew one party who spent their honeymoon hunting elephants in Abyssinia-(laughter)—and he recommended tourists instead of going to Switzerland to proceed to those parts. He concluded by referring to the shocking slave trade which was carried on, and the opinion of the Viceroy, and trusted that public opinion would bear upon it, and that Government would afford means to effectually put a stop to such a cruel and disgraceful traffic. |