the view to secure a really substantial education to the pupils. We much regret that there should be any necessity to point this out, as the interest of both teachers and children should be identical; but this clearly cannot be, so long as teachers maintain and advocate a system contrary to reason and common sense, and opposed to every system of education throughout the civilized world; and, indeed, quite the reverse of what they do themselves in the case of all other languages taught by them, except that of English to Gaelic-speaking children. When the pupil is sufficiently advanced in English to justify the teacher in taking up any of the Special Subjects, does he, for instance, while teaching Latin or Greek, French or German, begin by throwing aside the knowledge of English already acquired by his pupil, and commence to teach these foreign languages in the same way adopted by him in teaching the child English—a language quite as foreign to him as Latin or Greek, French or German? Does he begin with a Latin spelling book without any translations in English and teach him these languages on the same parrot system by which he managed to get him to pronounce and read English, in most cases without ever having carried with him the intelligence of his pupils? Not he. He knows better. If he were foolish enough to teach Latin and other foreign languages in such a way, he would soon discover that his labours were mainly thrown away, and that he would earn few special grants by the time his pupils left him. If it be so very absurd to teach all other languages, on such a false and ruinous plan, upon what reasonable grounds can the system be maintained in the case of teaching English to a Gaelic-speaking child? We are afraid the only valid reason which can be given is,—that our teachers are, as a rule, quite ignorant of Gaelic, and unable to teach it; and forsooth! the interests of the rising Gaelic-speaking generation are to be sacrificed to suit the convenience of those paid officials who are quite unsuitable, and who should never have been appointed to teach Highland children until they had acquired a knowledge of the language; any more than we would think of engaging a teacher innocent of any knowledge of English to teach foreign languages to a child born and bred in the Midland Counties of England. Would any one in his senses ever think or dream of such a proposal? and yet this is what some people maintain to be the correct thing to do in the Highlands of Scotland.

Government has already admitted and provided in the Code for testing the intelligence of the children through their native tongue; but this concession is quite useless where the teacher is ignorant of Gaelic, and worse than useless where the examining inspector is positively unable to test them as provided for by the Education Department. Would it not have been better still had it made provision to reach and rouse the intelligence through, and by means of it. The Legislature has also made other special provisions for the peculiar situation and educational requirements of the Highlands, and we feel sure, if it can be shown to be a necessity, that the Education Department will also alter the Code so as to put teachers who may possibly be kept back a little in the first two standards, in consequence of any time that may be lost in teaching Gaelic, in a more favourable position, and so enable them to draw the same grant as if they devoted their whole time to the exclusive teaching of English. We feel sure that no one whose opinion is worthy of the slightest consideration, will, for a moment, attempt to argue against a system of teaching children through the only language which they understand.

To teach thus, successfully, it would be best to adopt class books and grammars in the earlier stages, in both languages, as is done elsewhere, in every case where a foreign language is taught. These might be given up, when the pupil arrived at the third standard. After this he could pick up all the requisite knowledge of Gaelic with little difficulty; for be it observed, we are at present only advocating the use of Gaelic as a medium for imparting a sound and intelligent English education. We are happy to know that it is still the practice, particularly in those districts where a snobbish aping of Cockneyism has yet failed to overpower and crush out the old devotional spirit of the Gael, for the parents to conduct family worship, at least twice a day, by the reading of a Chapter and a Psalm out of the Gaelic Bible, while the children, who come to the age of discretion, have to follow the reader in their Gaelic Bibles, and thus they soon learn to read Gaelic perfectly. We think it, therefore, quite unnecessary to teach Gaelic beyond the stage at which it fails to be useful in helping to a better and more intelligent understanding of their English class-books, except to those who are to become ministers or schoolmasters; when the teacher, in the case of smart boys, should be encouraged to take it up and teach it as a Special Subject.

We fully appreciate, and make allowance for, the difficulty to be overcome in providing a special set of Gaelic and English elementary school-books specially suited for the Highlands, and would be disposed to forego the unquestionable advantages derivable from them were we satisfied that the teachers were capable and willing to make up to some extent for the defect by fully explaining the meaning of the elementary English lessons to the children through their mother tongue; and then teach Gaelic as a Special Subject in the more advanced standards to those who intended to continue their education with the view of following any of the learned professions. We had ample and conclusive proof that Gaelic reading can be acquired by Gaelic-speaking children in a very short time. Not long ago the Gaelic Society of Inverness offered prizes in the Parish of Gairloch to the best Gaelic scholars; for the best reading, the best spelling, and the best translations from Gaelic into English, and from English into Gaelic. We were informed by some of the teachers that before these prizes were offered they never taught Gaelic to the children; and even when they decided to compete, only taught it privately after ordinary school hours. The progress made, as exhibited by the examination was, on such short notice, really marvellous. The reading and spelling were almost perfect, and the translations were such that we believe translations from English to Latin and Greek, or vice versâ, of equal faithfulness would secure a bursary in some of our Universities. We are writing from actual experience, having taken a part in the examination; and one single fact of this kind ought to have more weight in argument than all the theories which those who are ignorant of the facts can propound.

We have repeatedly heard and seen objections made that a Gaelic education was calculated to hinder the Gaelic-speaking child in his progress in English, and that he could not overcome the difficulty of acquiring a correct English pronunciation with the same ease and facility as if first taught to read it. We have even heard it stated seriously that a Highlander who read and wrote Gaelic could never be a good English writer, and were challenged to prove the contrary.

When we first went to school we knew not a single word of English. We attended one where it was the rule that no English was to be taught until we were able to read the Gaelic Testament, after which we had to translate our Bible lesson on alternate mornings from English into Gaelic, and from Gaelic into English. There were eight or nine other schools in the Parish, in one only—the girls' school—in which the same rule was applied. We had an excellent teacher who taught Latin and Greek (and we think, in one instance, Hebrew) to the more advanced pupils. We have made enquiries as to the result, and find that from forty to fifty of the boys who were taught in our school have