Breaking up of the Kingston Collegiate School.
A
large number of ladies and gentlemen
assembled at the Conversorium at eleven
o'clock
yesterday morning for the purpose of
witnessing the
distribution of prizes to the successful
pupils of the Kingston Collegiate School.
Among
those present we noticed the Hon. Colonel
C. J. Ward, the Revd. John Radcliffe, the
Revd. J. B, Ellis, M. A., the
Revd. William Gillies, the Revd. H. H.
Kilburn, the Revd. Donald
Davidson, the
Revd. James Cochrane, Dr. M. Stern, and
Messrs. George Levy, Sydney Levien,
L. G. Gruchy, Oconnor DeCordova, John Campbell, W.
deB. Hodge, Arrowsmith, Andrews,
and Dr. J.
A. Carpenter, &c.The Hon. Colonel Ward was enthusiastically
received by the
children and thelarge
number of persons present, and immediately
conducted to the
platform where, he was
introduced by William Morrison, Esq. M.A.,
the Principal of the School,
and kindly
asked to. preside over the day's
proceedings. Colonel Ward having thanked Mr.
Morrison for the honor done him, stated
that Mr. Morrison would
give a brief account of the
working of
the school for the half year. Mr.
Morrison was highly gratified and greatly
encouraged by the large number of persons
present, and commenced his
remarks by
saying that it was not
his intention of troubling his hearers with
a report of any kind, as he
had
decided that every one of his pupils
should be supplied with one to enable
them to take it
home to their parents,
to let them see what they had been
doing for the last half year. He was
glad he was in a position to state
that the last year's results, relative to
the working of the
school, were very
satisfactory. At their breaking up last
year, however, the results appeared
to him
very gloomy and he then expressed very
much regret at the small number of boys
who
had passed the Cambridge Examination,
but some of the boys came to him,
and not only
assured
him but cheered him and promised that
they would go forward and endeavour
to
pass their examinations successfully. The
last Cambridge Examination was the greatest
and
most successful. Out of ten boys
who went up for examination, eight passed
successfully -
the highest marks having been
obtained not only by the boys belonging
to this island but
those of the other West
India Colonies. He then proceeded to read
the names of the boys over
sixteen
years of age and under eighteen, who
had been successful at the Cambridge and
Local Examinations, all of whom had been
educated in the Collegiate School and were
well
known to the other pupils. He also
stated that the certificates of the
successful competitors
had been received direct
from the University and would be distributed
by the Chairman, and
then proceeded to
say that no better test of the
efficiency of the School could have been
furnished than by the Certificates forwarded
by the examiners of the University. He
then
alluded to the number of boys
belonging to the School who had passed
so creditably at the
Civil Service
Examination held in this island and also
mentioned the name of an old Collegiate
boy who had distinguished himself in Canada
- Mr. Alfred Mayner,
as also Mr. Passmore at the
London
University, who passed the M.B. examination,
taking the first place, and at the
conclusion of a very brilliant career took
the gold and silver medals. Mr. Morrison
then referred
to the large number of
pupils who had left the school, and
were employed in the various large
commercial houses in the City and who
were daily giving unbounded satisfaction to
their
employers, and concluded by publicly
acknowledging the very valuable assistance he
had
received from Messrs. Hendricks and
Scotland, the assistant masters,as well as
the ladies'
assistants to Mrs. Morrison who
conducted the lower branch of the School.
The
Honorable Colonel Ward then appointed a
Committee to inspect and report upon the
papers in writing prepared by several of
the pupils, after which Master Sherlook, in
a very
appropriate and well rendered
address, introduced the competitors in Elocution,
as follows:-
"Regulus before the Roman
Senate" - Master George DeMercado;
"Bernardo del Carpio"
- Master Alfred
Shirley; “the
Baron's last Banquet" - Master George
Henriques; "the Stow-
away" - Master
William Morrlson; " Charles Edward at
Versailles” - Master Angusto Alvarez.
At
the conclusion of these well rendered
selections the Chairman announced that the
Committee
of Elocution had decided to give
the first prize to Master William
Morrison and to recommend
Master Alvarez for
a special prize for his delivery and
the conception of the piece he had
rendered, allowances having to be made owing
to Master Alvarez being of Spanish descent,
and
when admitted into the school four
years ago could hardly speak a word of
English.
The
Chairman then proceeded to distribute the
certificates gained by the pupils at the
Cambridge
University as well as the prizes
obtained at the School during the half
year.
The
Chairman said he was very much pleased,
and he was sure the ladies and
gentlemen present
were equally so, at the
excellent manner in which the boys had
acquitted themselves generally.
Their performances
reflected the highest credit on Mr. Morrison
and his assistants. There could
be no
doubt that the Collegiate School was one
of the best in the city, and from
what he could see of
the boys there
then, and those who left and entered
the various professions, it spoke volumes
for the teaching capabilities of the island
as well as for the boys themselves. The
speaker then
spoke for some time on the
standard of education in the island, which
has had to be raised higher
and higher
from time to time; the efforts which
were being put forward by other countries
all over
the world to educate the
masses of the people
so that no excuse could be made that
they had not
an opportunity of obtaining
the advantages of a fair education, and
concluded his speech by
thanking Mr.
Morrison for the honor he had conferred
upon him in calling upon him to take
the chair,
and the very creditable
manner in which the pupils had gone
through their examination.
The
Revd. William Gillies congratulated Mr.
and Mrs Morrison and their assistants on the great
success which they had achieved
in the working of the school. Mr.
Morrison was rendering
a great deal of
service to the country, which service,
however, had not been very often publicly
acknowledged enough. He then alluded to the
large number of boys who were finding
their way
to the island from Panama,
the Colonies, South and Central America &c.
to obtain the benefits
of a good
education and said he looked forward to
the day when Jamaica would be the great
educational centre in the West Indies.
Master
Ashenheim, one of the most successful
pupils, on behalf of the students thanked
the
Chairman for the able manner in
which he had conducted the proceedings of
the day as well as
the ladies and
the gentlemen for their kindness in being
present. He also publicly acknowledged
the
well known ability of their Principal, and
thanked him as well as his assistants
for the care and
attention he had
bestowed upon them. He congratulated the
successful competitors and
offered his sympathy
to the unsuccessful ones at the same
time encouraging them
to persevere
in their studies.In
concluding he proposed that three cheers
should be given for the Chairman,
three
for Mr. and
Mrs. Morrison; three for the ladies and
gentlemen present, and three for the
holiday
which having been warmly done, the Chairman
on behalf of Mr. Morrison, thanked the
ladies and gentlemen for their attendance
and the proceedings terminated.
The School will be reopened on the 6th August next.
We,
too, also join heartily in congratulating
Mr. Morrison and his assistants for the
highly
satisfactory and efficient manner in
which they have conducted the working of
the Kingston
Collegiate School. Mr. Morrison
is undoubtedly, entitled to the best thanks
of the community for
the very great
interest he has been taking
in the educational advancement of the young
people
in the island, and we trust that
he may long be spared to continue the
arduous work which he
has been engaged
in for so many years.