A VOICE FROM THE PRELIMINARY. 
069 
other. The questions in the two last examinations were more in number than 
in the first; each question has its value affixed, and failure in one may be 
balanced by success in another ; ergo, the larger the number of questions within 
limit, the greater the chances of success. Again, though desired, it is not abso¬ 
lutely required that the answer be entirely correct; one part may be good, 
another not so. Marks are given to the value of the answers taken as a whole, 
so that every facility is allowed, within reason, by the Board of Examiners, and 
justly so, inasmuch as the Preliminary Examination is not a qualification to 
practise, nor a competitive prize examination, but simply to determine that a 
youth has been fairly educated for the business upon which he is about to enter. 
That the questions are not beyond ordinary capacities is evident, because 
in the first, where the Latin was the most difficult of the three subjects, 32 
candidates out of 40 passed ; in the second, 66 out of 105 ; and in the third, 
103 out of 193. That the time allowed is not insufficient seems apparent, 
as some of the papers containing the answers were written, and well written, 
by many within the time. IIow is it, then, that so many fail, so many more 
than one could expect ? 
The following reasons are suggestive. 
1st. The candidate has never received at school the amount of instruction 
required. 
2nd. Has not benefited thereby to the extent he should have done. 
3rd. Having left school-one, two, or more years, has not in the meantime 
kept up his store of knowledge by practice. 
4th. Has not attentively and sufficiently considered the nature and extent of 
the Examination, and worked accordingly. 
Now for the supposed remedy for these failures. The original quality of the 
education being deficient, the task will be difficult; little short of close, private 
instruction will avail; but where the groundwork is good, there should not be 
much to overcome. The nature of the examination being known, it would 
be well for each candidate, whether the time be long or short since he left school, 
whether confident or otherwise, to look attentively over the first book of Cmsar; 
also the Latin grammar in reference to nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc. Let him 
refresh his memory by working at the four first rules of arithmetic, simple and 
compound, vulgar fractions and decimals; then let him attack English gram¬ 
mar, work up spelling, and try his hand at composition ; let him do this for six 
or even twelve months, during a portion of his time for recreation or cessation 
from actual business, and he certainly will not fail: indeed, u in the vocabulary 
of youth there should be no such word as fail.” 
Where half-a-dozen candidates or students can meet in any town, let them 
form themselves into an evening class, if possible, examine and question each 
other ; or better still, if some employer would take them in hand, read to and 
translate with them sentences from Cmsar, etc., give them sums to do, set gram¬ 
matical questions and revise the answers, so encourage and help the willing 
student, and there would not be half the failures. Let all who take apprentices, 
if the Preliminary has not been passed, make it part of their duty to put them 
in the way of regaining their forgotten schoolboy’s knowledge, and by ques¬ 
tioning, etc., at seasonable times, diminish the chance of failure. A question 
asked and the answer given and explained, will be impressed upon the memory 
and recollected when pages simply read are easily forgotten. That these ob¬ 
servations may assist future candidates and encourage to further exertion any 
who have failed is the sincere wish of 
