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REV. H. COSTLEY WHITE, M.A., ON 



Increased knowledge and ability, unsaf eguarded by right charactei', 

 render their possessor increasingly dangerous and mischievous 

 to the unfortunate community of which he is a part. 



[A hearty vote of thanks to the author was passed with acclama- 

 tion.] 



Mr. W. E. Leslie said : There appears to be a tendency in the 

 public school system to regard ethics from the standpoint of 

 aesthetics, to treat morals as a department of manners. Conduct 

 is often motived rather by considerations of " good form ' than 

 moral imperatives. To this defect of motive must be added defects 

 of the code. For example, although " the dignity of labour " 

 receives at least lip service, there is Httle recognition of the duty of 

 labour, except, paradoxically, for those for whom it is a necessity. 

 The obligation to serve in return for the benefits derived from the 

 social order is often ignored or even repudiated. If there are but 

 150 public schools (as stated by the author), then either they are not 

 alone in passing on our cultural inheritance, and in training men to 

 be " leaders, companions and followers," or we are confining these 

 inestimable privileges to a small plutocratic minority of our three 

 to four million boys — and that in days when such training is more 

 necessary than at any period in our history. 



Lieut. -Col. Hope Biddulph said : Mr. Chairman, I would like 

 to ask the author of the admirable paper we have heard read this 

 afternoon an elementary question on the subject of instruction. 

 Many of us no doubt remember instructors who, though possessed 

 of the highest mental and scholastic qualifications, were yet unable, 

 so to speak, to lower their minds to the level of their pupils, and so 

 failed to impart the desired instruction to them. My question 

 then is, Are teachers instructed in the art of teaching during their 

 own educational career, and is there any recognized training for 

 this ? 



Another j)oint I would mention is one that will perhaps be thought 

 out of place for a public school, as it is generally supposed to have 

 been undertaken at an earlier stage of the pupil's training. 



I refer to handwriting, orthography, punctuation and style, 

 regarding which, when 1 sat for examinations many years ago, 

 a notice used to head the examination papers to the effect that 



