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To come to our own city, we have our good friend, Mr. James 

 O'Neill, a gentleman professionally engaged in preparing students 

 for examination and the gaining of distinctions by the display 

 of their acquired knowledge. We have Mr. O'Neill telling us 

 that one of the most prominent desires of the youths and 

 maidens of this city is a desire for knowledge, and he proceeds 

 to compass the gratification of that desire by the Extension 

 of University Education Scheme, of which he was the prime 

 mover. 



It will be remembered, perhaps, that in the Nineteenth Cen- 

 tury for November, 1888, there appeared a protest against the 

 Competitive Examination and Prize System. It has been 

 signed by 857 prominent men and women : 15 are members of 

 the House of Lords ; 94 members of the House of Commons ; 

 406 teachers, professors, and persons connected with education ; 

 62 medical men ; 280 in other walks of life. Besides these, 56 

 signed with some reservations. 



Mr. Auberon Herbert, who was the originator of the protest, 

 has published a collection of the letters received by him from all 

 sorts and conditions of people in reference to it. The book is 

 entitled, The Sacrifice of Education to Examination, and 

 contains over 200 communications, of which about one-tenth 

 appears to be in favour of the present system. The opinions 

 expressed classify themselves under seven divisions which I pro- 

 pose to state, and give one or two of the more important remarks 

 made under each head. 



Against the competitive examination system the indictment 

 is generally that it is fallacious and unnecessary, that it means 

 disaster to all true education and true teaching, and the substitu- 

 tion for true education of a mock worship of formulce and the dry 

 husks of things. As carried out by the State it is a 

 mere factory system, with a necessity for an unnatural and 

 utterly objectionable uniformity of product and centralization 

 of power. Both these are death to true education ; individuality 

 suffers ; originality is destroyed. It is to be remembered that 

 the indictment as regards examinations is against external 

 examinations only, that is, those not conducted by the teacher 

 himself of his own pupils for teaching purposes. 



