april—june 1857.] The Tamil Epic Chintamani. 43 



III, The Tamil Epic Chintamani. By the Rev. P. Percival. 



When the despatch of the Honorable the Court of Directors on 

 their scheme of education was promulgated a year and a half ago, 

 through the vernacular periodical press, its provisions were looked 

 upon by intelligent natives, generally, as a beautiful theory never to 

 be followed by any practical result. It was, indeed, believed, that 

 so much of the despatch as related to English, might, for official 

 purposes, be carried out ; but not the most sanguine of my ac- 

 quaintances among the natives had any belief in that which related 

 to the vernacular languages. Since however a beginning has been 

 made, and measures adopted for realizing the intentions of the Ho- 

 norable Court, it may easily be conceived how agreeably the friends 

 of education are surprized. The appointment of a Director of Public 

 Instruction, the actual operations of inspection, the Establishment of 

 a Normal School under a competent and zealous Principal, are among 

 the facts serving to assure the native mind that Government is in 

 earnest in the matter of public education. The Director has lately 

 put forth a Code of Instructions for the Head Masters of Talook 

 Schools which has created in many the greatest satisfaction. In 

 that carefully prepared document, it is, in the very first paragraph, 

 stated, that in the Talook Schools the instruction, the matter taught, 

 is to be conveyed through a vernacular medium ; when introduced, 

 " English is to be studied only as a language." When the pupil 

 has attained to a fixed standard in the vernacular, he will be per- 

 mitted to begin the study of English ; and not before. These facts 

 are sufficient to show that public instruction is to be largely pro- 

 vided for, and that the vernacular languages will be made the vehi- 

 cles of useful knowledge to the masses of the population. That the 

 native mind is in any degree aroused by the facts occurring around 

 us is matter of thankfulness. These auspicious prospects are, how- 

 ever, I regret to say, not unattended by much of a discouraging 

 character ; the native himself is likely to prove the greatest obstacle 

 in the way of progress as regards vernacular instruction. And I 



