CIHM Microfiche Series (lUionographs) ICMH Collection de microfiches (monographies) Canadian Insthuta for Historical Microraprotfuctions / Inatitut Canadian da microrap r oductiona historiquaa Technical and Bibliographic Notaa/Netaa tachniquaa at bibliographiquat Tha Inatituta haa anamptad to obtain tha baat original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibliographicallv uniqua. which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction. or which may significantly changa tha uaual mathod of filming, ara chaekad balow. rri Colourad covara/ UlJ Couvortura da coulaur □ Covara damagad/ Couvortura andommag^a □ Covara rattorad and/or laminatad/ Couvortura raataurAa at/ou pallicuMa □ Covar titia missing/ La titra da couvortura manqua n D D n n Colourad mapa/ Cartaa gAegraphiquaa li coulaur Colourad ink li.a. othor than blua or blackl/ Encra da coulaur (i.a. autra qua blaua ou noiral Colourad plataa and/or illuatrationa/ Ptanchaa at/ou illuatrationa an coulour Bound with othar matarial/ Rali4 avae d'autraa documanta Tight binding may causa shadows or diatortion along intarior margin/ Laroliura sarr*a paut cauaar da I'ombro ou do la diatorsion la k>ng da la marga intiriaura Blank laavas addad during rastoration may appaar within tha taMt. Whanavar possibla. thasa hava baan omittod from filming/ II so paut qua cartainas pagas blanchas aiout4oa lors d'una raatauration apparaiaaant dana la taxta. mais, lorsqua cala itait poaaibia, eas pagaa n'ont paa *t* filmAaa. L'Inatitut a microfilm* la maillaur axamplaira qu'il lui a At* possibla da sa procurar. Las details da cat axamplaira qui sont paut-*tra uniquas du point do vua bibliographiqua. qui pauvant modifiar una imaga raproduita. ou qui pauvant axigar una modification dans la m*thoda nermala da filmaga sent indiqu*a ci-daaaoua. Colourad pagaa/ da coulaur D Pagaa damagad/ Pagaa andommagiaa □ Pagas raatorad and/or laminatad/ Pagaa raataur*as at/ou poiliculias Pagas discoiourad. stainad or foxad/ Pagas d*color*as, tachatias ou piquias rn Pagaa datachad/ Pagaa ditachias Showthrough/ Transparanea fyj Showthrough/ r^ Quality of print varias/ Qualit* in*gala da I'imprassion Includas supplamantary matarial/ Comprartd du material supplimantaira D D Only adition availabia/ Sauia Mition disponibia Pagas wholly or partially obscured by arrata slips, tissues, ate. hava baan rafilmad to ansura tha bast possibla imaga/ Laa pagas totalamant ou partiallamant obscurcias par un fauillat d'arrata. una palura. ate. ont *ta fiimaas * nouvaau da facon A obtanir la maillaura imaga poasibia. Additional eommanta:/ Commantairaa supplAmantairaa; Wrinkled pages nay film slightly out of focus. Les pages ondulSes peuvent causer de la distortion. This item is filmed et the reduction ratio checked below/ Co document est film* au taux da r*duction indiqu* ci-deaaoua. 10X 14X 1SX 22X nx »X / 1 12X 1BX mn MX 2BX ax Th« copy filmad htm ha* b««n rapreduetd thank* to th« g«n«ro«itv of: AraMvwafOiHario Th« imago* appoaring haro aro tho boat quality po**ibio eonoidoring tho condition and logibiUty of tho original copy and in kaoping with tho fUming ooniioot apocificationo* Original copio* in printod popor eevor* aro fHmod beginning with tho front eovor and onding on tho loot pogo with o printod or iUuotrotod improo* *ion. or ttM bock eovor whon approprlato. All othor originol copioo aro fUmod beginning on tho first pogo with o printed or Uluetrated improe- *ion, and ending on the loot pogo wMi o printod or illMtrated improeoion. Tho lost recorded frame on eoch microfiche shell contain the symbol -^ (mooning "CON- TINUf D"). or the symbol ▼ (mooning "END"). wMchevor appliea. Map*, plote*. charts, etc., may bo filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to bo entirely included in one expoeuro are filmed beginning in the upper left hend comer, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. Tho following diegrams illustrate the method: 1 2 3 1 2 4 5 L'Msmplaira filing fut raproduit grica i la 94fi«roaiti da: AraMM puMIVMi «• rOntwto Laa imagaa suivantaa ont M raproduitat avac la plua grcnd aoin. eempta tanu da la condition at da la nattat* da I'aaamplaira film«. at an eofif ormh* avac laa condltiona du eontrat da fHmaga. Laa axamplalraa originaux dent la eouvartura an papiar aat imprimda aom fllmda an commandant par la pramiar plat at tt tarminant toit par la daniMra paga qui comperta una amprainta d'impraaaion ou d'iiluatratiofl. toit par la tacond plat, aalon la eaa. Toua laa autraa anamplairas originaua aom fUmda an eommanfant par la pramiAra paga qui comporta una amprainta dimpraaairn ou dlNuatration at an tarminant par la damiAra paga qui comporta una taila amprainta. Un daa aymbolaa auivanta apparattra sur la damiira imaga da ehaqua microfieha. talon la caa: la aymboia -^ aignifia "A 8UIVRE". la aymbole ▼ aignifia "FIN". Laa cartaa. planciiaa. tablaaux. ate. pauvant *tra filmAa i daa taux da rMuetion diffirants. Loraqua la documont aat trap grand pour ttra raproduit wt un aaul cNchd. il aat film* k partir da rangia tupdriaur gaucha. da gaucha * droita. at da haut an baa. an pranant la nombra d'imagaa ndcaaaaira. Laa diagrammaa auivanta illuatrant la mdthoda. 2 3 S 6 1.0 I.I 1^128 lift itt 3.2 3.6 4.0 ■ 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.6 MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS STANDARD REFERENCE MATERIAL 1010a (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) THE ONTARIO INSTITUTION FOR THE EDUCATION OF THE BLIND : ITS MANAGEMENT AND MISMA! -ENT. A CRITICISM BV Arthur W. Beall, M.A., Queen's, Pkterborouoh, Ont. 1901. ) 1 *» ■* " y .■'.,'■ "3/ Though the heel of the strong oppressor May grind the Aveak in the dust, And the voices of fame, with one aechiim, May call him great and just ; Let those who applaud take warning, And keep this motto in sight- No question is ever settled Until it is settled right. Let those Avho have failed take courage^ Though the enemy seemed " j have won, Though his ranks are strong, if he be in the wrong. The battle is not yet done. For sure as the morning follows The darkest hour of the night, No question is ever settled Until it is settled right. —Ella Wheeler Wilcox. A STATEMENT Res:arding: the OnUrio Institution for the Education of the Blind at Brantford; also regarding the Investigation held thei in November and December of T900, together with some of the causes • leading up thereto TO THE PEOPLE OF ONTARIO : On June 25th, 1900, while in Peterbor- ough, in an interview with the Hon. J. R. Stratton, Provincial Secretary, in whose department is the O. I. B., ret rding the Institution for the education of the Blind, he requested me to piit my suggestions and recommendations in ^\Titing and to send it in at once, as a Cabinet meeting was to be held very soon, the 27th, if I remember rightly. This I did. In it I did not give details— I could not, as the time was totally inadequate for the preparation and compilation of such a document. I Avas compelled to content myself with making just a few generaliza- tions. In it I postulated that the Institu- tion Avas never intended to be anything else but Educational ;— that it was never intended to be a Charity, or a Home, or an Asylum, and that justly and logic- ally it ought to be at once placed under the Minister of Education ; — that then certain other results Avould inevitably fol- low :— but that, in any case, the present Principal should be removed forthwith, for as an " Educator " he was a hopeless and disastrous failure. That statement was duly acknowledged by the Provincial Secretary, but, until the 20th of November last, I never knew whether any action would be taken or not. On that day. Dr. J. Geo. Hodgins, as Senior Commissioner, notified me that an Investi- gation was to be held November 27th, at Brantford. Not until Saturday, November 24th, did Mr. Ratclif'e, the other complain- ant, and myself, receive definite informa- tion that "all" expenses wcjld be paid to witnesses. Notwithstanding these temporal and the more serious financial limitation, six witnesses were present, beside Mr. Rat- cliffe and myself. Had we had suitable notification, we could as easily have had sixty as six ; for the eager interest and unanimity displayed by former pupils in rejoicing at the prospect of the removal of Principal Dymond, were as awful as they were singularly suggestive. Abnormal and bitter is the legacy of hatred exhibited to- wards the present Principal, and, when its universal character is taken into account, can be explained on no other hypothesis than that something wn° and is not only ** rotten in the state c >enmark," but also that its King was not as an educf.tor " sans peur et sans reproche." Were the IiiHtitute under the ..lir iter of Education, there would be a .easonable chance, nay a jxisitive certainty that the Principal of such an institution would not and could not be like the man who now so unworthily satisfies the requirements of an " educator." But, after all, what better could be expected ? He was not chosen because he was an " educator," but being out of a job was considered magnificentl;, competent to " boss the job " of swaying the destinies, of moulding the characters of the blind, bringing to the accomplish- ment of this task, qualifications strap ^'ly unsuited for training and equipping ho blind to take their p\fice ^a life as Christian citizens on an equality with those who see. The Investigation was very unsatisfac- tory. The two Commissioners, both Civil Servants, were appointed to investigate charges against one of their own order. The evidence offered was not under oath. The enquiry was behind closed doors. We were forbidden to speak to any of the pupils. Principal Dymond strenuously, but unsuccessfully, strove to prevent two of the pupils from giving evidence against him. We were prevented by night-sessions of the Commission, from being able to confer with our counsel. The right of Principal Dymond to be present during the whole inquiry was never questioned, cross-ques- tioning whensoever and whomsoever he pleased, which right was not accorded to either Mr. Ratcliffe or to myself. 6 Mr. Mcl^ean, teacher, called by me, was a very disappointing witness. On the Sat- urday prior to the Inquiry, he, unsolicited, while in Toronto, called once or twice on Mr. Ratcliffe and myself at the hotel Avhere we were stopping. We, however, were out. But the same evening, while travelling to Brantford, we had a long conversation, in which he expressed himself, in unequivocal terms, in sympathy with the objects I had in view — the placing of the Institution under the Minister of Education, and the removal of Principal Dymond — and ex- pressed himself as quite willing to appear as a witness, stipulating only that he should not be the only teacher I should call, so as not to mftke invidious distinc- tions. To this, of course, I assented. During the course of the conversation, he stated that he had interviewed the Provin- cial Secretary, the Hon. J. R. Stratton, on the unfitness of the present Principal, and quoted him as speaking of the Principal as " Old Dymond." Notwithstanding the un- disguised contempt with which the Minister regarded the Principal, he still refuses to remove him. Mr. McLean also related an episode in which he had gone to the Princi- pal to urge the importance of '* spelling " as a subject of study, which proposition the Principal, he stated, scouted as impractic- able, saying that the blind could not spell. Mr. McLean added, that, as he was con- vinced they could learn to spell, he, on his own responsibility, set to work and very soon showed that the Principal knew noth- t ing whatever about it, for Mr. ^McLean found the blind could learn to spell, if taught. (It is scandalous that O. I. B. pupils should have their grotesque spelling made the laughing stock of everyone, and all because Principal Dymond did not. and Wduld not have spelling regularly and sys- tematically taught, and persistently and thoroughly drilled.) Mr. McLean severely animadverted on the fact of the gymnasium instructor, Avho did not hold even a Third Class Certificate, having his salary sub- stantially increased for teaching reading to the Kindergarten pupils, while the Kinder- gartner, who did not hold a diploma from any school of domestic science, was teaching a cooking class. It is all too obvious that Principal Dymond considered any person was good enough for such work; on the other hand, let it be noted that in this Province no certificates lower than second class are issued. Mr. McLean still further showed his sympathy with and interest in our cause by calling on me at the Kirby House, Brantford, Monday even- ing, November 26th, and yet Mr. McLean when put on the stand was a most unsatis- factory witness. Imagine him saying before the Commissioners, " 1 really do not want to give any evidence, I would rather not give any evidence." His conduct is inex- plicable except on the assumption that he was whipped into line by Inspector Cham- berlain. Certain it is that his conduct was most cowardly, and his desertion of the cause, for which he had interviewed 8 Members of the Legislature and Ministers of the Crown, most foul. " Just for a handful of silver he left us. Just for a ribbon to stick in his coat ; Found the one gift of which Fortune bereft us, Lost all the others she lets us devote." I am still of the opinion that Mr. McLean was at heart as strongly as ever in sympathy with the cause for which I was fighting, but a spell was on him. It is reported that subsequently he stated that he could not testify, for there was " no fight in him." To discover the cause of the sudden cooling of his ardor, and the abatement of his pug- nacity, would afford a most baffling psycho- logical study incapable of elucidation, unless Inspector Chamberlain were to wave his magic wand over him. I have stated elsewhere that I considered the conduct of- Thomas Truss, willow in- structor, in reference to this investigation was simply " villainous," as on the night of November 28th, he, in conversation with James Hales, Esq., M.A., barrister, of Toronto, my counsel, so expressed himself that neither Mr. Hales nor I had the faint- est suspicion that he would give any evid- ence other than what would be most strongly favorable to and completely con- firmatory of, the position held by Mr. Ratcliflte and myself. Then a^ain, during the two years spent by Mr. Ratcliffe in the O. I. B,. the most cordial relations Avere established between 9 Mr. Truss and him. They were like David and Jonathan. Months after he had left the Institution, Mr. Ratclitfe was enter- tained for weeks at Mr. Truss's home, which to my personal knowledge very much an- noyed the Principal. Again, after reaching Brantford, at the time of the investigation,^ Mr. RatcliflFe and I met the son and daughter of this man, both of whom evi- denced the keenest pleasure at meeting him, and the deepest sympathy Avith our cause. In the appendix will be found a letter from Miss Truss to Mr. Ratcliffe, which speaks for itself. Verily this man, Truss, is a Judas and an Ananias rolled into one. Why do I devote so much time to these two men ? Simply to affirm that had these two men stood to their guns, had they been faithful and true, had they quit- ted themselves like men, they would never have so cruelly abandoned the interests of the blind boys and girls of this Province. This is not a personal matter. Neither !Mr. Hatcliffe nor I was personally affected by this cowardice, excepting with sorrow to see men who gave promise of nobility stult- ify themselves. Had they testified before the Commission as fearlessly and as truth- fully as they had to others for years, this pamphlet and pamphlet No. 2 would never have been written. The justice and right- eousness of our case have never been affected ; the truthfulness of our charges has not been shaken ; the demand that the O. I. B. be placed under the Minister of Education has the intelligent endorsement 10 of educators everywhere — its present de- partmental relations are as illogical as they are insulting. But Messrs. Truss and McLean must be held primarily and mainly responsible for the perpetuation of that moral mangling, of that intellectual dwarfing, and of that despotic repression -which have ever characterized the regime of A. H. Dymond. •' Sowing the seed of a tarnished name ! Sowing the seed of eternal shame ! O what shall the harvest "be ?" I understand that the Commissioners would not allow the teachers, when testi- fying, to give their opinion as to whether the institution should be placed under the Minister of Education. One of the officers, however, Mr. Hossie, the bursar, in con- versation with me, in his office, November 28th, made the significant statement re- garding putting the Institution under the Minister of Education: "Oh, that's what we all want here," adding that the main obstacle thereto was Principal Dymond. At this point, we must devote a few words to a precious worthy, Patrick J. PacMen. This individual is styled "house- officer," or " supervisor." He is the Prin- cipal's " handy-man," who performs all the Principal's dirty work. He is the only agent in the Principal's "secret service"; and words fail me in attempting to describe this fawning lackey's loyalty to his liege lord. His education is of the cheapest and most meagre type. He does not hold even 11 a Third Class Certificate— couldn't if lie tried. With brazen effrontery Inspector Chamberlain tried to palm him ofi on the other Commissioners as possessing a certi- ficate, until Principal Dymond was reluct- antly forced to acknowledge the whole truth about it. In the conversation with Mr. McLean, already referred to, he des- cribed this man's falseness and double- dealing. In two-facedness he would do credit to Janus. No man in the O. I. B. is more hated by the boys, and with better reason. He would betray a pupil's confid- ence without a qualm. Sly, slippery, sinu- ous, and sinister — fawning and false — what wonder then that one with such character- istics should exercise a most malign influ- ence upon the boys ? What wonder that they soon learn to meet fire with fire and to become as deceitful as he ? Next to the Princiijal, no one in the Institution has such power. How then are first-class moral results possible with such a ubiquitous sleuth as this creature ever on the scent ? But it is futile to expect such a position to be filled by any other than such as long as men of the type of Principal Dymond and Inspector Chamberlain are in authority and in league. Only when the O. I. B. becomes in reality, what it is in name, educational, and becomes an integral part of the educa- tional system of this Province, only then will it be possible for persons to be chosen to mould the charactf^a of the doubly handicapped blind, who are doubly endow- ed, morally and intellectually. But »vhat 12 better results can be expected when the blind are by the Ontario Government classed with the insane, the idiotic, and the criminal class ! when such as Dymond, Truss, McLean and Patrick J. Padden are among the chief formative influences sur- rounding them ! and when such a moral cipher and political huckster as Chamber- lain is its sole inspector ! Is such a man capable of perceiving that the O. I. B. is the O. I. E. B. ! Ninety five per cent, of his work is that of inspecting the asylums and jails, so that, when he reaches Brantford, he has become so afflicted with mental obli- quity as to be utterly incapable of even imagining that the blind should be treated other than as " inmates " mentally or morally defective. This is seen in the character of most of the men placed over them, seen in the separate dining-rooms for the teachers and the " inmates," and seen all the way right on down through to the flush-closets for the teachers and the pig- stys for the boys ! THE PROBLEM OF THE BLIND. The great problem with regard to the totally or partially blind of this province is how to make them self-supporting, self- respecting CI tian citizens — citizens of equal economic value to the state with their sighted fellows, and the more difficult the problem is of solution, the more resolute should be the determination to bring every 13 power to bear upon the work, to bring together the finest spirits capable of pro- ducing these results. One of the most stubborn prejudices to be overcome is that the great majority of the blind must neces- sarily be brothers or sisters of Bartimeus— that they are fated to be dependents. Let it once for all be understood that it costs more to make the blind, citizens of equal economic value with their sighted fellows. On this score, however, the people of the Province have lavishly provided, for with the Province at its back, from $30,000 to $35,000 have been spent annually, in the most cheerful manner, upon the O. I. B., but the economic results are crushingly dis- appointing, for a man's economic value to the state, no matter how well-equipped he may be, mechanically or scientifically or in- tellectually, is in direct ratio to the strength of his moral character and to his tenacity upon moral verities. And when we look to-day upon the graduates and alumni of the Ontario Institution for the Education of the Blind, during the last fifteen years, we find a number of whom it may be affirmed that whatever moral worth, that is, whatever economic value they are to the state, is in spite of the O. I. B., not because of it ; the great majority of them are fighting hard to regain their moral equilibrium, ever hampered by evil habits and more evil modes of thought and haunted by sickening memories that wnll not down ; the remainder are doomed to a life of moral hopelessness or helpless de- 14 pendence. For Sweet Charity's sake I will concede that it is possible there may be a handful who came up through great tribu- lation and who kept their garments white, but who at the same time have not a scintilla of gladness at the retrospect upon their " old college days." I am well aware of the gravity of this indictment ; all I can say is that to understand an atmo- sphere one must live in it^ and this I did for three and a half years ; I have lived behind the scenes, I have moved beneath the surface of the life at the O. I. B. in a way which no teacher or officer ever did and I know whereof I speak. " By their fruits ye shall know them " — judged by this highest test, the results are appalling, but the blame for it must primarily rest upon the head of the Principal. For whatever aim or policy the Institution may be said to possess or not to possess, Principal Dy- mond must be held responsible ; about twenty years his spirit has dominated, in- formed and permeated the Institution ; and anyone who has known his powers, by polysyllabic diatribes, of riding ruthlessly rough-shod over an opponent, in public or in private, will be able to appreciate fully this man's fitness for directing the symmet- rical education of the blind. And right here I must protest against the aspersions emanating from a certain quarter that the blind are " morbidly sensitive.** If any degree of morbid sensitiveness has been dis- played by the successive generations of blind at the O. I. B., it must not be attri- IS buted to their blindness, but to those con- ditions of life existing at the O. I. B., under which introspection is the only alter- native. A cardinal priaciple in true educa- tion is to have faith in one's pupils and persistently to put them on their honor. Trust and love beget trust and love— I do not mean soft sentimental love, bx't sacri- ficial love, and the amount of this shown by Principal Dymond has been of micro- scopical proportions. He does not " believe in " the blind, consequently the blind have withheld their oonfidence and their affec- tion from him, but not their fear. One thing a boy at the O. I. B. would never do (he would cut off his hand first) was to go and make a confidant of the Principal and open his quivering heart to him. For the first few weeks sudi a one might think the Principal was a "nice man," but he soon was disillusioned, never again to indulge in such a chimera. He learned instinctively that he was not trusted and he acted accordingly. I iterate my demand for a change of relation and a change of Principal— that the O. I. B. shall be placed forthwith under the Minister of Education and that a new Principal be chosen, an all-round educator, not a man " out of a job,"— not a man who would regard the pupils as " pawns upon the board " with which for him to play his game— but a man whom the place shall seek, — a man who is ever a student of child- character, of their aptitudes and capabili- ties, a man whose one purpose is to make 16 the school as home-like and as free from * Institutional " character as possible, all things being tributary to the sHpreffle- object of existence, which is " character," —a man whose life before and behind the pupils shall be beautiful, ever " wearing the white flower of a blameless life," and whose life shall never fail to be an incentive, an inspiration to noble, sacrificial living— a man of whom the pupils shall irresistibly be constrained to say : " After leaving our Principal's presen«^e, we always want to be better and to work more faithfully, for there is a subtile charm about him that always reminds us of Jesus Christ." Then the Institution will no longer be classed among the Asylums, Reformatories and County Jails,— never again will inspec- tion by the Inspector who inspects Lunatic Asylums and County Jails be regarded as the kind to which an Educational Institu- tion of the unique character of the Ontario Institution for the Education of the Blind (for that is its full title) is justly entitled, but inspection adequate and thorough-gomg and suited to the dignity of the place. Just imagine the pupils at Brantford lacon- ically remarking, " Oh, yes. Chamberlain's here again— been visiting the idiots and the lunatics and the jail-birds — our turn now, —whose next ? Oh, we suppose our brothers and sisters at the other penal colony at Belleville." Then whatever are needed of the "Authorized Text-books for the Public Schools of this Province of Ontario " would ] I 17 be put into both " line-type " and " point," so that each pupil would have his own text- book in each subject, thereby relieving the teachers from one of their present heaviest burdens, and setting them free for more profitable work. " Seeing " pupils in the public schools study from text-books ; why should British subjects because they happen to be blind be compelled to use readers compiled and edited by United States citi- zens ? Why are these blind debarred from using our magnificent Public School Read- ers ? Why are there not British and Cana- dian Histories to be had, and in abundance ? Let us not forget text-books on Natural History, on Physiology and Temperance, on Composition (this subject as such has been totally neglected) ; and let us not forget the Spelling book, that " b§te noir " of the present Princinal. Then the middle wall of caste between teachers and pupils would be no more— as long as that congeries of Asylums and Institutions and County Jails exists, it is bound to exist ; there would then be but one table for teachers and pupils, at which the boys and girls would always meet ; for never, except when the sexes thus meet as self-respecting individuals, will it be possi- ble to inculcate the observance of table- etiquette, the little courtesies that go to make up the charm of home life, and above all, persona! purity, for never was a more damnatory statement than that made at the recent inquiry by one of the witnesses regarding the awful yet logical results of 18 the unnatural and rigid separation of the boys and girls at the O. I. B. I cannot conceive a more hideous and heart-breaking story than that long chapter of secret vice, of self-abuse and mutual pollution by grown up men with little boys, of little chaps of seven and eight going there innocent and artless, and then turned adrift among a great crowd of immoral and profane com- panions (themselves the results of similar treatment in years gone by at the hand» of others). This riarring of Christ's "little ones," this " daubing more and more from the first similitude " was not an occasional incident ; this carnival of bestiality, wwit on for years before January, 1897 (the time I entered), and went on until broken up a few months after I entered— went on un- known or unheeded— take which ever hem of the dilemma you please. Unfaithful shepherds I Verily, one is tempted to fear that the supply of millstones for necklaces may run short for those who by sheer neglect or crass ignorance caused ** His little ones to fall into sin !" Is there noth- ing tangible in this ? And how was the exposure dealt with ? By reprimand or corporal punishment or by expulsion — the one who was expelled being re-admitted at the re-opening of the school the following September. Besides all this, during the first six months I was in the O. I. B., it was a veritable hell to me, for the air was ever green with obscenity and blue with profanity. And what is the supreme remedy ? That " right knowledge, in the 10 right proportion, at the right time and by the right person will produce right results !" But as long as the proper and self-respect- ing co-mingling of boys and girls at table and in drawing-room is not only frowned on but actually forbidden, dire will inevita- bly be the results. As long as that pestil- ential heresy continues to prevail among vast numbers that *' boys must be boys, you know !" and that a certain amount of " smut " among boys and men is either a desirable or an inevitable " sine qua non " of manhood, so long will there be a scarcity of chivalrous boys and men of the type of " Sir Gallahad," who sang :— , " My strenerth is as the strengtii of tcr. Because my heart is pure !" Great help could be given were the scb ol physician instructed to complement his I duties by giving " talks " to the boys suited to their various ages. But even that will not be sufficient, unless the higher, the wider truth, be instilled and drilled into I them, the sacredness of the body in which each lives, the only " true temple of God," I and of the awful enormity of desecrating this temple, 1 Little wonder then a feeling of abiding j bitterness exists in many homes towards the Principal under whom this sickening f tale of horror went on. I know of nothing ^ more blood-curdling than this moral ruining of little boys, which went on in a place that parents supposed to be a home, and after they had handed them over to the tender care of a man who would be a father 20 ; 1 ti to them. Cruelly deceived were these parents, for no sooner were their backs turned than the little blind chaps were turned as lambs among wolves. And this went on for years and years. Is there nothing tangible in this ? What further is needed to exemplify the sad truth that when the moral foundations are sapped and honey-combed, the superstructure is bound to totter, and, sooner or later, to fall, unless re-vitalized by Divine Life and re-energized by Divine Energy. Th's last remark will provoke the ques- tion, " Is there no religious instruction in the O. I. B. ?" Yes, in abundance, but the fatal weakness is the lack of "Applied Christianity." Religiosity, on the one hand, and a saciificial, strong, noble, Christian character on the other, have ])Ut little, if anything, in common. The former has been in evidence " ad nauseam," but when the fountain-head sends forth both sweet water and bitter, the pupils will have none of it — they have not seen exemplified before them the necessary identity of morals and religion. A boy learns morality primarily as an art, and not as a science. Christian theory is of doubtful value un- less invariably accompanied by Christian practice. Character — character — character — is the only tou stone of life. If 'some of the teachers inspired to higher living, cer- tainly the Principal never did. His incon- sistency, his capriciousness, his ungoverned temper, his uncontrolled rage ; and then his roarings, and his cutting sarcasm, at 21 t i 1 \ morning roll-call, year in and year out, to and upon the wincing and smarting ones before him, followed ever by mellifluous and unctuously-toned " morning prayers " — all combining to form among the boys a never-failing target for every shaft of ridicule and scorn paid back, principal and interest. As soon as the Institution is placed under the Minister of Education, a change of name will not only be pre-eminently desir- able, but imperatively necessary. It should be at once christened " College," or some other equally euphonious and appropriate designation. The term " Institution " will be too redolent of its past associations with Asylums and County Jails. Then there will be no desire or inclina- tion on the part of partially-sighted gra