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Write the following passage in prose, so as to show that you understand its construction and exact meaning ::

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To sleep! perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life:

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The insolence of office, and the spurns

That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin?

GEOGRAPHY.

(Time allowed, 3 hours.)

1. On the accompanying map of Europe insert the names of the chief seas, capes, and mountain chains; trace the course of the Guadalquivir, Rhone, Arno, Oder, Theiss, and Dniester; and place Bremen, Turin, Munich, Jassy, Seville, Helsingfors, Cracow, Lucerne, Corfu, Inverness, Limerick, and Palermo.

2. Sketch a rough outline map of India (as large as your paper will admit), marking the positions of the British territories, the dependent and independent native states, the principal mountain ranges, six principal rivers, and eight principal towns.

3. Write a brief geographical description of Scotland, or Ireland, or Wales. N.B.-One country only is to be described.

4. Where are the following places, to whom do they belong, and for what are they known ?-Burgos, Panama, Jellalabad, Utrecht, Port-Mahon, Nankin, Trebizond, Rangoon, Medina, Londonderry, and Amiens.

5. Mention the rivers which flow into the German Ocean, and describe carefully the course of any one of them.

6. Where are the rivers Murray, Mackenzie, and Fraser; the lakes Tchad and Erie; the Platten See; the sea of Okhotsk; capes Guardafui and Race; the mountains Tabor, Valdai, and Cevennes; the straits of Belle Isle, and the gulfs of Manaar and Obi; the Bight of Benin? 7. What are the principal exports and imports of Brazil, Western Africa, and France?

8. Explain the following terms:-longitude, isothermal lines, plateau, simoom, gulf stream, frith, and mirage.

9. Mention the principal discoverers of North America, and give some account of the travels and discoveries of any one of them.

HISTORY.

(Time allowed, 3 hours.)

In all cases dates should be given.

1. Give a list of the sovereigns of England from Richard II. to James I. inclusive, stating the title of each monarch to the throne, and mentioning any one important event in each reign.

2. Show clearly the relationship between the Kings Stephen and John; Henry VI. and Henry VII.; Charles II. and George I.

3. For what events in English History are the following places famous :Acre, Seringapatam, Copenhagen, Quebec, Runnymede, Carisbrook, St. Albans, Torbay, and St. Helena?

4. What do you know of the following persons:-John of Gaunt, Lord Burleigh, Lord Bacon, Lady Arabella Stuart, Lord Peterborough, Sir Robert Walpole, Lord Clive, Warren Hastings?

5. With respect to any six which you may select of the following battles, state when they were fought, who were the contending parties, who were the leaders, and what were the results:-Hastings, Barnet, Bosworth Field, Worcester, Sedgemoor, the Boyne, Preston Pans, Culloden, Agincourt, Crecy, Blenheim, Minden, Bunker's Hill, Saratoga, Maida, Salamanca, Plassy, Assaye.

6. Mention the principal causes and circumstances of the Revolution of 1688, or of the American war of Independence.

7. Mention the date and the principal terms either of the union with Scotland or of the union with Ireland.

8. What intermarriages have taken place between the royal families of England and Spain? Mention briefly the circumstances in which the history of the two countries has been connected.

9. Mention the names of any four of the principal writers of English History, and give some account of the work of any one of them.

10. Give the dates of the following enactments, and describe fully the nature and most important provisions of two of them:-Habeas Corpus Act, Statute of Præmunire, Petition of Right, Bill of Rights, Act of Settle

ment.

HINTS TO CANDIDATES.

To those who may not be conversant with the method by which an appointment in Her Majesty's Civil Service is usually obtained, the following hints may probably be acceptable.

In the First place, therefore, the intending entrant should satisfy himself that he is fully prepared to undergo the EXAMINATION prescribed for the particular department to which he desires to be nominated.

When the Candidate has satisfied himself on this score, he must,

In the 2nd place, consider how he can obtain a NOMINATION. A nomination is almost always procured through the mediation of a Member of Parliament. Sometimes, however, a nomination is procured for an individual by an influential gentleman entirely unconnected with the Government. The intending candidate should therefore endeavour to obtain the good offices of a Member of Parliament, it matters not what county or town in Great Britain the member may represent. The member selected by the Candidate should be on the Government side-this is very essential; however, a member of the Opposition sometimes procures a nomination for a party. Should the Candidate be able to obtain the services of more than one member, it would, most unquestionably, be a decided advantage. In the generality of cases, however, one M.P. is sufficient.

It frequently happens that when an individual makes an application to a member for the purpose of obtaining a nomination, he is informed that his name will be placed on the Members' List or Roll of Candidates, and that he will be remembered as soon as his name arrives at the head of the Members' List: the date of nomination therefore depends on the number of applicants previously on the roll; it may be close at hand, and it may be very distant. Sometimes the applicant is overlooked or forgotten by the member, in which case it is advisable that the applicant should, after the lapse of a short interval, either personally or by letter remind the member of his promise— this frequently produces the desired effect, and the applicant may hope to receive, at an early date, a letter from the Treasury, nominating him to some vacant post.

It is an object of the greatest importance that the applicant should, on making application to the member, state distinctly the nature of the situation, or the particular department to which he desires to be nominated, as it frequently happens that the member has it in his power to obtain a highly lucrative appointment for an applicant. Should the individual not name a particular department, he may find himself nominated to an Office where the salary is trifling; whereas had he exercised the necessary precaution at the time that he made the application, he might have been nominated to a situation the minimum salary of which would exceed the maximum salary of the other. It is scarcely necessary to inform a party, who is already personally acquainted with a Member of Parliament, how to proceed, as he may procure a nomination without any amount of difficulty.

An applicant who has no particular claim on a member must not be importunate in his solicitations to the member, otherwise he may find, in the long run, that his case is a hopeless one.

A member has frequently to refuse an applicant, in which case the party is advised either to abandon his suit, or to endeavour to obtain a stronger amount of influence to bear on the member.

There are some members whose practice it is to decline asking favours of the ministers, with a view to ensure their entire independence of action-it is, therefore, scarcely necessary to add that applications made to such members must prove unsuccessful.

It occasionally happens that appointments are placed voluntarily at the disposal of members, and it is the usual practice in such cases for the members to select the most deserving applicants.

There are appointments of a local nature, such as the offices of Postmaster, Collector or Sub-Collector of Taxes, Distributor or Sub-Distributor of Stamps, Landing-waiter or Tide-waiter of Customs, and Clerks in Provincial Post Offices, which are understood to be in the gift of the member of the place. When one of these situations falls vacant, the party aspiring to the situation should lose no time in procuring a number of recommendations from influential local gentlemen to the meinber. He should then wait on the member in person, if practicable, and endeavour to obtain a favourable reply.

It sometimes happens that a nomination is obtained by a party addressing a letter on his own behalf to the Head of a Department; for instance, the Chairman of the Board of Customs, or the Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue.

There are so many ways, however, in which parties have claims on members, that it is quite impossible to suggest modes of procedure applicable to the exigences of every case; but it is hoped that the foregoing may in some measure enable such parties as are desirous of entering the service to overcome the difficulties of the preliminary mode of procedure.

It may be necessary to add that the right of nomination is vested almost wholly in the Treasury, but it must be understood that the Patronage Society of the Treasury will not nominate on the mere application of a party wishing to obtain an appointment for himself. In the event of a person making a direct application to the Treasury for an appointment, he will, in all likelihood, receive a letter from the Secretary, stating that he is unable to give him any expectation of an appointment.

When the party has succeeded in obtaining a nomination, he will generally find that a few days are allowed him to prepare for examination. Should his residence be in London, or within a convenient distance thereof, he will require to attend at the Offices of the Civil Service Commissioners, to submit his qualifications to trial. Should his residence be in Scotland, he will be examined at Edinburgh by the Assistant Examiner, Alexander Longmore, Esq., of the Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer's Office. If the party's residence is in Ireland, he will be examined by Johnstone Stoney, Esq., Secretary to the Queen's University in Ireland.

The Candidate will receive timely notice from the authorities as to the day on which the examination will commence.

The Candidate should procure certificates of age, health, and character, which will require to be given to the Examiners immediately before the examination commences. Should these certificates not be in accordance with the prescribed regulations, the examination will not be allowed to proceed. Tables of the Limits of Age will be found in this work, therefore it is unnecessary to allude to them here. With reference to the certificate of Health, a certificate

from the Candidate's family physician, certifying that the Candidate is free from any physical defect or disease which would be likely to interfere with the proper discharge of his duties, will suffice. With regard to the certificate of Character, in some cases the Commissioners require a certificate signed by a Minister, Justice of the Peace, or some such person acquainted with the Candidate, in other cases, if the Candidate has been previously employed, a certificate from his late employer has been deemed sufficient: the Commissioners, however, reserve to themselves the right of communication with the parties granting certificates.

When the Candidate is under examination he will observe that a certain time is allowed for each set of questions, and it need hardly be stated that he must make the best use of his time; he will also observe that no books or references are permitted to accompany him into the examination room. Should any candidate be detected resorting to such means for obtaining information, the examination will not be allowed to proceed. Candidates will observe that, whether successful or otherwise, all expenses incurred in attending the examinations are to be borne by themselves, and not by the Govern

ment.

HINTS TO CANDIDATES

Relative to the Nature of the Examinations prescribed for the several Departments, the mode in which the Examinations are conducted, and general observations.

The Examinations, conducted by the Commissioners, are instituted for a double purpose:—

1st, To ascertain the Candidate's fitness for the actual duties which he will be called upon to perform upon his first admission to office. 2nd, To test his education and intelligence.

For the first of these purposes he is almost invariably tested in writing, orthography, and arithmetic; a lower or higher degree of proficiency being required according to the situation to which he is appointed.

SUBJECTS.

(1.) ARITHMETIC.-The elementary paper on arithmetic is given to Tidewaiters and Weighers in the Customs, and to candidates for temporary employment in some department. The papers commencing with Reduction and ending with Decimals are placed before candidates for permanent clerkships in most of the civil establishments, and before other classes of candidates nominated to temporary employment. In some cases a portion only of the higher paper is given: thus, for example, from candidates for clerkships in several branches of the General Post Office, Reduction, Proportion, and Practice only are required; in other cases, Vulgar and Decimal Fractions are not included. The higher examination papers contain, it will be observed, in some cases, as many as forty questions; but either by the printed rules, or by a memorandum at the head of the paper, candidates are desired in the first place to answer two under each head, and then to proceed with any others which they might choose to select. The object of proposing so great a variety, has been to ensure to each, as far as possible, an opportunity of satisfying the condition prescribed. No one who complies with this requisition is rejected on the

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