1836.] 



Native Education* 



110 



tary books' had been discontinued, under a belief that they 

 were discountenanced by the head Tamil master at the Col- 

 lege, though they were deemed by the master of the school 

 himself preferable to any other ; but they are in universal 

 use elsewhere, amongst the presidency Tahsildary schools. 

 Of all the scholars, a little girl of pure caste, grand-child of 

 one of the Hindoo masters, particularly attracted my notice, 

 from the singularity of such an occurrence here. I hope her 

 example may be followed by others of her sex, and that here, 

 as in Bengal, females will no longer continue excluded from 

 learning. It appears to me particularly desirable that these 

 Tamil and Teloogoo Tahsildary schools at Madras should 

 be extended, as subordinate branches of the great cen- 

 tral seminary to be established at the Presidency ; for 

 we have them here within our reach, and under our 

 own personal supervision ; and they may thus be made 

 the models upon which the subordinate schools in the 

 interior may hereafter be fashioned, if not the nurseries 

 for teachers at these more distant future seminaries. As if; 

 is of importance that these schools, where useful, should be 

 supported by voluntary contributions from the public, in ad- 

 dition to the Government retaining fee of 9 rupees per 

 mensem, I recommend that it be clearly explained that the 

 masters are not bound to teach any, except the children of 

 the poor, unless the parents consent to give the same fees 

 for their children, as are usual in other native schools. This 

 will make the situation of the masters more profitable and 

 respectable, and the value of the fees realized will enable us 

 to judge of the respective estimation in which the teachers 

 are held by the public. I saw several children at these 

 schools, whose parents are in easy, if not affluent, circum- 

 stances, and the teachers complained that it was under- 

 stood that Government discouraged their receiving fees. 



" With regard to the provision of school rooms and sta- 

 tionery, for the use of either the Tahsildary or the Col- 

 lectorate schools, the expense would be enormous, and is by 

 no means requisite. Europeans, in this respect, may with 

 advantage take a lesson from Hindoo simplicity. The shade 

 of the spreading banyan tree, to be found in every village, is in 



