SPECIMENS OF EXAMINATION PAPERS PLACED BEFORE CANDIDATES FOR ADMISSION INTO THE EXCISE SURVEYING Department. Taken from the most recent Reports of the Civil Service Commissioners. EXERCISES IN HANDWRITING. Directions to Candidates.-Copy the following Paper in your best Handwriting, or as much as you can in half-an-hour. N.B.-Good Handwriting is held to consist, chiefly in the clear formation of the letters of the alphabet. Exercise.-According to the returns of live stock, there were 600,693 horses in Ireland in 1857, being an increase over the number enumerated in the previous year, of 27,285; which, 16,606 were horses used for agricultural purposes, 2,466 for traffic and manufactures, 2,469 for amusement or recreation; 1,779 were yearlings, and 3,956 under one year old. Cattle increased by 30,686 between 1856 and 1857; the number returned in the latter year being 3,618,544: of these, 1,602,908 were milch cows, 801,875 two years old and upwards, 616,015 were under one year old, and 597,746 were one year old and under two years. These last decreased in 1857 by 23,361, compared with the same class in 1856. Pigs increased 333,627 since 1856; the number ⚫ for that year having been 918,525, and for 1857, 1,252,152. The increase is made up of 34,037 one year old and upwards, and 299,590 under one year. Sheep show a decrease of 245,618 in 1857, of which, 119,391 were ewes, 41,714 tups and wethers, and 84,513 lambs. The decrease in sheep may, I conceive, be attributed to a satisfactory cause--their increased exportation-which is now so much facilitated by railway communication. EXERCISES IN WRITING FROM DICTATION. [In writing from dictation, Candidates are cautioned, by a notice printed at the top of the paper on which they write, that “attention should be paid to clear and legible handwriting, to correct spelling, and to proper punctuation." The following extract from a memorandum sent to examiners in the country will show the method pursued in dictating : The examiner is requested to read over the passage marked, "For dictation:" first, that the Candidates may gather its general purport: a second time, slowly, that they may have ample time to write it down; a third time, that they may have an opportunity of correcting and punctuating what they have written. Ruled lines should not be allowed.] "If the importance of the subjects of which it treats be any test of the interest of a science, Political Economy will be found to have the strongest claims on the public attention. It points out the means by which the necessaries, comforts, and enjoyments, that constitute wealth, may be most easily and cheaply produced; it ascertains the laws by which they are all divided among the different classes of the community, and the mode in which they may be most advantageously consumed. Its intimate connection with all the best interests of mankind is, consequently, obvious. No other science comes so directly home to our everyday occupation and business. The consumption of wealth is indispensable to existence, but the eternal law of Providence has decreed that it can only be procured by industry :-that man must earn his bread in the sweat of his brow. This two-fold necessity renders the attainment of wealth the principal object of the exertions of the vast majority of the human race; it has subdued the natural aversion of man from labour, giving activity to indolence, and armed the patient hand of industry with zeal to undertake, and perseverance to overcome, the most irksome and disagreeable tasks. Such being the circumstances under which society is placed, the science which teaches how the production of wealth may be most effectually promoted, and which also unfolds the principles that govern its distribution, must certainly deserve to be carefully studied and meditated. There are none to whom it can be considered extrinsic or superfluous. Even the few who, having inherited ample fortunes, are exempted from any necessity of attending to the means by which they must be further augmented, must, notwithstanding, feel interested in many of the inquiries pertaining to this science. All of them involve considerations deeply affecting the well-being of numerous individuals, or of the public.” 451 ORTHOGRAPHICAL EXERCISES. [The Candidate is required to copy the passage set before him, clearly and legibly, correcting mistakes of spelling and grammar, but not otherwise altering the words or their order.] Gebraltar is a forteress bilonging to Great Britton, in the suthern part of the Spanish penninsular, a joining the narrowest part of the straight which seperates Urup from Affrika, and conneckts the Atlantic with the Meddetirranian. The sittadel stands on the westarn side of a mountanous prommontary, which progects about three myles into the see. The northern exstrematy of this rock, frunting the low, narrow ismus which conneckts it with the maneland, is perpindiculer, and wholely unaccessable. The eestarn and suthern sydes are steap and ruggid, and exstreamly difucult of acsess, so as to render any atack upon them, evan if they were not fortefyed, next to impossable; it is, therefor, onely on the western side, where the rock diclines towards the see, that it can evar be assay led with the sleighest prospickt of sucsess. Here, howevar, the strenth of the artefishial fortificashions is such that the forteress is comonly deamed impregnible, evan though atacked by an ennimy having the comand of the see. Vast galerys have been exscavvaited in the sollid rock, and mounted with hevvy canon; and comunecations have been estabbleshed bitween the differant baterys by passiges cut in the rock, to screan the difenders from the fire of their asaylents. In fact, the hole surface is lyned with the most formedible baterys, from the baise to the summet; so that if proparly vitalled and garisoned, the plaice may be said to be impregnible. As a comurcial station, Gebralter is of considdareble importence. Having been made a free port at the biginning of the last sentuary, subject to no dutys nor restrictions, it surves as a convenient deppot for Inglish and forrin artecals, destyned to supply the naboring provences. But the advantage which Great Britton derives from the possession of this cellebrated forteress is almost wholly of a polliticle carecktar. It is, as it were, the quay of the Meddetirranean; and while its occupation gives us the miens of efecktuelly anoying our ennimys in war, it afoards equal fecilaties for the protecktion of our comarce and shipping in time of piece. EXERCISES IN ARITHMETIC. (1.) COMPOUND ADDITION.-Time allowed, half-an-hour. Directions to Candidates.-Add up as many of the columns as you can in the allowed time, placing the answers in the spaces below the columns. It is important that the addition should be quite correct. Additional credit will also be given for rapidity. 8. d. 786178 2 4 810769 2 2 152836 1 9 538097 1 2 82163 9 10 74573 2 4 90574 2 1 531067 13 8 98278 17 593621 4 5 65211 426409 12 5 6673287 8. d. 8542 18 9 91376 2 11 264103 7 7 26179 5 8 EXERCISES IN ARITHMETIC. (2.) QUESTIONS INCLUDING VULGAR AND DECIMAL FRACTIONS. Time allowed, three hours. Directions to Candidates.-You are requested to write your name at the top of each of your papers; to put the number to each question; to send up the working as well as the answers; and to send up your work on complete sheets of paper, not on scraps, which are apt to be lost. N.B.-You are particularly recommended to answer the questions in the order in which they are set; not omitting any one unless you are unable to do it. 1. How many lbs., ozs., &c., are there in 72157.2 grains of gold? 2. A ton of potatoes cost £7; how many pounds might have been bought for 3s. ? 3. Find (by Practice) the dividend on £1430 12s. at 13s. 4d. in the pound. 4. Find the simple interest on £435 15s. for 2 years at 24 per cent. per annum. 14. In 5864542 inches, how many miles, furlongs, &c. 15. If a horse trots 23 miles in 24 hours, what is his rate per hour? 16. Find (by Practice) the price of 7 ozs. 14 dwts. 21 grs. of gold, at £2 13s. 4d. per ounce. 17. Find the amount of £2700 for 4 years, at 3 per cent. compound interest (neglecting fractions of a penny). |