244 



Substitution of the Roman [No. 8, new series. 



most Natives read is generally attributed to the inferior quality of 

 the education they receive. Doubtless the education communicat- 

 ed in the old, unimproved vernacular schools is defective enough, 

 but considering the length of time the children generally stay in 

 school, they ought at least to master the mechanical art of reading 

 It is a Native proberb that " arithmetic and writing (literally let^ 

 ters, that is, reading and writing) are the two eyes of man." Na- 

 tive arithmetic is undoubtedly well learnt in Native schools, and 

 as the Natives are equally desirous of learning to read fluently, the 

 exceeding rareness of this accomplishment must be owing to the 

 difficulty of their character. Every one who has attentively listen- 

 ed to Native reading and noticed the class of mistakes that most 

 frequently occur, will be able to confirm the accuracy of this opi^ 

 nion. 



I have had considerable experience myself for many years in the 

 superintendence of vernacular village schools, in the daily instruc- 

 tion of pupils in mission boarding schools, and in the training of 

 schoolmasters and catechists, and so far as my own experience has 

 gone, the ability to read any printed book fluently at sight, with- 

 out mistakes, has always appeared to me to be one of the rarest of 

 Native acquirements. However clear the style of the book may be, 

 and however familiar the subject, I have found that almost all Na- 

 tives will commit blunders in reading which similarly taught Eng- 

 lish people would never commit in reading English. 



The perplexity of the Native characters presses still more heavily 

 upon children than upon adults. In examining from month to 

 month the progress made by Native children in learning their let- 

 ters, the difficulty of the native character has often forced itself 

 upon my attention. To learn any Indian alphabet thoroughly, so 

 as to be able to combine every consonant with every vowel and to 

 know the various combinations of consonants, involves an acquaint- 

 ance with from 200 to 500 symbols, according to the nature of the 

 alphabet, and is surely the most difficult task to which poor school 

 children are set in any country in the world. So difficult is it, 

 that ere the duller sort of children have learnt their letters, the 

 time is come when they should leave school. At least five per 

 cent, of the pupils in Native schools, not including idiotic children 



