107 



Native Education, 



[April 



" As all native books commence with an invocation to the 

 deity, it ought not perhaps to be dispensed within these 

 books, but it ought to be couched in general terms, such as 

 may be applicable to every religion, otherwise bigotry has 

 been carried so far, I am ashamed to say, by men calling 

 themselves Christians, as, for this reason alone, to exclude 

 some of these books from, use ; and the universal popularity 

 which it should be our object to excite in their favour, may 

 thereby be partially defeated. 



" Whilst we thus endeavour to give a beneficial impulse to the 

 mind of the rising generation, generally by newly combining 

 advancement in useful knowledge, and salutary moral im- 

 pressions, with the mechanical arts of writing and reading, 

 which alone have hitherto been taught to them ; let us not 

 neglect to satisfy the thirst for improved education, and Eu- 

 ropean science evinced amongst the higher and more culti- 

 vated classes of the native community. The mode in which 

 this should be done, so far as the supply of books is concern- 

 ed, appears pointed out to us by the past experience of the 

 School Book Society. 



" In 1823 that Society reprinted at Madras 500 copies of 

 Joyce's English Scientific Dialogues. In 1830 they printed 

 500 copies of it in the Tamil language, incurring a very hea- 

 vy additional expense for its translation. Of these the price is 

 the same, and there have been sold of the English transla- 

 tion 285, of the Tamil 28. Of the former there are now in 

 store 215 ; of the latter 472 copies. 



" This shews that the demand for the English work is six fold 

 greater than for its Tamil translation, the annual sales being 

 on an average 24 of the former to only 4 of the latter. It would 

 be difficult to find a more decisive proof than this, of the expedi- 

 ency of giving the preference to English as the medium 

 for communicating to the people, a knowledge of European 

 literature ; and in order to excite amongst the more learned 

 natives, versed only in the higher classical works of their 

 own language, a taste for English literature, I would place in 

 their hands such books as Mr. Ellis's translation of the 



