Page:Adam's reports on vernacular education in Bengal and Behar, submitted to Government in 1835, 1836 and 1838.djvu/279

Rh be attributed to European influence or to a desire to conciliate the favor of the European rulers of the country; but the establishment of a separate school in his own house and at his own sole expense can be ascribed only to his opinion of the importance of knowledge of English to his dependents, and a desire to aid them in its acquisition. The English branch of the institution at Sahebgunge supported by Raja Mitrajit Singh and superintended by his son, does not appear to have been of native origin; and generally speaking the desire to know English is found in fewer instances in the Behar than in the Bengal districts. In both it is chiefly learned and wealthy men that have sought it for themselves or their children; and, with a view to purposes of practical utility, it is to those classes in the present condition of native society that it is most suitable.

The orphan schools at Berhampore and Burdwan belong to a class of institutions which deserves special notice and encouragement not merely because such institutions supply the immediate wants of destitute orphans, which alone constitutes a strong claim, provided the means employed are not allowed to weaken existing domestic ties; but also because the object is to train them to the arts and habits of industry by which they may in after-life earn their own bread. In other schools a knowledge of books, of the words and phrases which books contain, and of the ideas which the understanding of children can apprehend or their memory retain, is taught; in these industrial institutions, some kind of art or trade is also taught, the physical powers are developed, enjoyment and profit are connected in the mind with labour as effect with cause, and thus both the capacity and the disposition are created that will prevent the youth so instructed from becoming a burden either to himself or to others, and that will make him an industrious and useful member of society. I am not aware of the existence of other institutions of the same kind in other parts of the country, and the two I have mentioned are still in their infancy. The increase of their number with a view to the improvement of the condition and habits of the lower classes of the people is eminently deserving of consideration.

The importance of the object contemplated by the establishment of native female schools, and the benevolence of those who have established them, cannot be questioned, but some doubt may be entertained of the adaptation of the means to the end. The native prejudice against female instruction, although not insuperable, is strong; and the prejudice against the object should not be increased by the nature of the means employed to effect it. Now it appears nearly certain that, independent of the prejudice against the object, native parents of respectable rank must be unwilling to allow their daughters, contrary to the customs of native society, to leave their own homes and their own