MINUTES OF EVIDENCE, 1888-89"
"n Mr.
Mnhaffy was struck with that ten years a*o£ind Mr.
Moore.
_ 6~4 The Society is rather slow m getting you .nrthuV'Qfthat
kind?—Well,
I cannot complain of the help the Society have given me.
They have Tiade a Wat many improvements during my time.
673.
Dr.
Traill.—Is
the Rev.
Mr.
Galbraith your catechist ?—Ves.
6:0 Lord Justice FitzGibbox.—I
suppose your tovs attend his church ?—They
do.
They are all members of the Church of Ireland.
077.
Paying boarders and all?—Paving
boarders and ali at present.
Of course I did not inquire what
the foundation pupils were; but when thy come to Primrose Grange they are required to learn the formularies of the Church of Ireland.
678.
The system of admission is the same as else¬ where, the evidence of their fitness is a certificate from the clergyman of the parish ?—Yes.
679.
Dr.
Traill.—They
could not be with you except as members of the Church of Ireland ?—Not
except as members of the Church of Ireland.
Our present catechist is not here; but there are two gentlemen here who were formerly catechists, namely, the Rev.
Mr.
Hamilton and the Rev.
Mr.
Coulter.
Oct.
P.I'm.
ITr.
w.
A Shekleton
The Rev.
Frederick John Hamilton sworn and examined.
680.
Lord Justice FitzGibbon.—You
were catechist of Primrose Grange ?-
Yes, for about two years— from November, 1S81, to January, 1834—while I uas incumbent of St.
Anne's, Knocknarea.
681.
Is the incumbent of that church always the mtechist of the school ?•—I
don't think necessarily, i ut by custom he is.
682.
What were your duties ?—To
attend at the school one day in the week for about an hour, and <nye religious instruction, and generally to supervise the school arrangements, to look into the school accounts and initial them, and sign my name to any returns made to the Incorporated Society.
683.
Dr.
Traill.—What
pay did you get for that ?
—£20 a year.
CS4.
Lord Justice FitzGibbox.—While
you were eatechibt were there any gentry of the neighbourhood -aho took an interest in the school ?—Yes
; those whom Mr.
Shekleton mentioned—Mr.
Walker and Mr.
Cochrane.
085.
Do you think it would be any advantage to a school like this, if a local body such as the Diocesan Council, had a representation on the Incorporated Society?—I
think it might, so far as Primrose IGrange School is concerned ; but I must say—although Mr.
Shekleton is present—that under his manage¬ ment everything is so well done and efficiently worked that I think it is hardly required; but there might possibly be cases in which it would be required.
686.
It is a great encouragement to a good master to have somebody to take an interest in his work ?—
Oh, yes.
687.
And if there be anyone not so good, to keep him up to his work ?—Yes.
688.
Is tiiere anything that you wish to say about the fcchool or its arrangements ?—I
was present at several of those entrance examinations, and was allowed to be present at the private part of them in my capacity of eateebist, and I think that on the whole they are verv well conducted, and that the best boys are selected.
"
ri
089.
Dr.
Traill.—You
do not think that the feenprare examination is too hard or too catchy ?—
Well, yes; I think on some occasions it was.
It de¬ pended very much on the examiner that came round.
690.
Lord Justice FitzGibbox.—To
what do you at¬ tribute the undoubted fact that two or three small locali¬ ties have got the lion's share of this foundation 1—The thoroughly good local schools under the Church of Ireland.
691.
Thoroughly good at cramming for this par¬ ticular examination ?—I
don't think so.
1 think thev would be attended with good all round.
692.
We have been told that the best boys from the Model School would not have a chance without this previous Scripture preparation?—The
boys crammed in the Scriptural exu urination would not have a chance unless they got such an education in the other branches as the Model School can give.
693.
Dr.
Traill.—Is
not the examination in secular subjects more elementary than that in Scripture ?—
Yes ; but the examiners have shown me papers which exhibited such bad spelling and were otherwise so badly worked out that no matter what the Scriptural knowledge of the boy was, I fancy that he never would have been taken in.
Though it is elementary it must be a sound secular education.
694.
Lord Justice FitzGibbon.—But
if the Scrip¬ ture examination is so peculiar as has been described, is there not a risk that the secular examination would be catchy also ?—I
don't think so.
It is conducted first by dictation, and the examiner afterwards reads out the papers.
695.
Of course in reading, writing, the elementary rules of arithmetic, and such things, there must be good teaching; but we have been told that the masters of particular schools had got the questions from year to year, and then crammed the boys in those special things, wouldn't that equally apply to one subject as to another ?—It
possibly might.
696.
Dr.
Traill.—Are
there the same examiners m secular as in religious subjects ?—Generally
not.
They generally brought round the papers—a few ex¬ amination questions.
697.
Are these papers let out of the room ?—Never.
They take up the papers along with the answers.
Rev.
Frederick JohnHaiiiiltnn.
CASTLECONNOR AND KILGLASS SCHOOLS (VALENTINE ENDOWMENT).
The Very Rev.
William SKpton, Dean of Killala, sworn and examined.
698.
Lord Justice FitzGibbon.—Dean
Skipton, I relieve you are one of the trustees of the Valenti
Killala and Achonry ; and £400 towards the institu-very Eer.
tion of a Protestant Charity School for the putting William out of Protestant apprentices to trades, which school g^JJ he ordered to be erected within the union of Frank-
Kfflala_ fort, and he nominated the Lord Bishop of Killala, and the Vicar of Frankfort to be trustees of the same —Yes.
,„„,-.
700.
Is there still a parish of Frankfort %—It is
_ __ Uii^ „^ VJ.
divided into two parishes of Gastleconnor and Kilglass.
fwT~I Taleia*bie, Vicar of Castleconnor.
dated 701.
Was the school erected?—It
was erected ^tenber 10, 1763.
He gave £600 for the support almost immediately after Mr.
Valentine's death.
<astressed widows of the clergy of tho dioceses of 702.
I understand that the money is divided now
8 i'T-d""' "'lo UJiC ux outi trustees of the Valentine fc Endowment?—Not
under any appointment in ftewill.
The bishop has been in the habit of ap-pwntBig someone in the neighbourhood as his secre¬ cy; and when my predecessor, Dean Jackson—who IT *T the trustees—died, the bishop asked me to M« Tmanagement ofit as secretary.
o»y.
I find the foundation is under the will of
