EDUCATION IK INDIA. 



95 



cause less obtrusive. Most men are habitually 

 unaware of the pattern and color of the suit they 

 are inside ; but a woman's dress is, at its skim- 

 piest, too voluminous to escape her notice ; and it 

 is not a woman's nature not to see her dress. 



As for the redudio ad absurdum of mourning, 

 half-mourning, the announcement to the world by 



an admixture of grays and lavenders that you be- 

 gin to feel resigned, and hope soon to get over it 

 — it may be left to the pleas usually put forward 

 in its defense, " It is always such good taste in 

 dress " — " It is so becoming." So it is ; good 

 taste in dress, and becoming to most complex- 

 ions. — Examiner. 



EDUCATION IN INDIA. 



THE latest report upon the moral and mate- 

 rial progress of India furnishes information 

 upon the educational condition of the country. 

 In Bengal, the policy of the Government is in- 

 tended to foster pretty equally every kind of 

 education, from the lowest to the highest. The 

 annual expenditure amounts in all to rather over 

 £400,000, of which £190,000 is contributed by 

 the people, and somewhat more than one-half by 

 the state. 



The higher English education which leads to 

 the entrance examination is that to which the 

 people contribute the greatest share, namely, 70 

 per cent, of the total cost ; to middle education, 

 63 per cent., or the same proportion as they pay 

 toward female education ; to middle vernacular 

 education they contribute 55 per cent., and 46 

 per cent, to the primary. Of collegiate and spe- 

 cial education the chief cost is borne by Govern- 

 ment, the people's share being 42 per cent, for 

 the former, and 21 per cent, for the latter. Of 

 the total number of scholars, 71 per cent, were 

 in primary schools, which rose in number during 

 the years 1875— '76 by 346, with an increase of 

 27,209 pupils. The increase was almost entirely 

 in the new schools. In the primary schools, the 

 principle of keeping the standard of instruction 

 as low as possible was adhered to. This is in- 

 tended to be done until the whole of the poorest 

 classes shall have been brought under some kind 

 of instruction. In the mean time, all who have 

 time or means for learning more are encouraged 

 to resort to schools of a better class. With this 

 view an intermediate class of schools were estab- 

 lished in 1875, ranking between the primary and 

 middle class, and the success of these schools 

 showed that their object was appreciated. The 

 statistics of the middle-class schools went to 

 prove that an education which includes some ac- 

 quaintance with English is now more popular 

 than that which is restricted to the vernacular. 



The number of institutions in connection with 

 the Government department in Madras rose from 

 9,151 to 10,236, and the number of scholars from 

 255,737 to 284,480. Twelve middle-class schools 

 were added to the higher class, and a large number 

 were transferred to the lower class. Elementary 

 education being in a very backward state in this 

 presidency, the Government were devising meas- 

 ures for its promotion. In Bombay satisfactory 

 progress was made. The total expenditure in- 

 curred by the Government was £239,654, of which 

 £113,632 was granted from imperial sources, and 

 £71,833 was raised by a cess ou the land reve- 

 nue. The number of Government, aided, and 

 inspected schools increased by 144, and the 

 scholars by 12,026, the figures for the year being 

 4,478 and 250,712 respectively. The average 

 daily attendance also increased from 177,547 to 

 186,834. Vernacular schools for boys and men 

 numbered, at the end of the year, upward of 

 400. The number of "middle-class schools was 

 160, with about 17,000 scholars. In the higher 

 and middle-class schools there were 9,593 boys 

 learning English, or 259 more than in the preced- 

 ing year. The desire to learn English gives 

 most sign of development in the capital itself. 

 The number learning Latin rose from 242 to 

 282, and Persian from 757 to 885, while in re- 

 gard to Sanskrit there was a falling off from 

 2,742 to 2,648. With a view to supplement the 

 knowledge acquired in childhood, night-schools 

 are established in some of the larger villages. 

 Of these there were 87, with 2,650 adult pupils. 

 They are not, as a rule, reported on very favor- 

 ably, but some of those in or near Bombay are 

 stated to be useful to operatives of the cotton 

 mills. 



The number of Government institutions in the 

 Punjaub (exclusive of the University College) was 

 1,585, and of those receiving grants-in-aid, 480. 

 The total number of schools on the books at the 



