'IL Madras. Honourable the Governor in Council thinks, that the Government of Madras should be informed of Lord Dalhousie's correction of Major Maitland's misapprehension. I have, &c. (signed) W. E. Baker, Lieut. Colonel, Fort William, 19 September 1856. (No. 1249.)-Ordered, That the above letter, and that of 8th August last, of which it is in continuation, be communicated to Major Maitland for his information. Fort St. George, 15 October 1856. -9. PAPERS referred to in Madras Public (Educational) Despatch, dated 1st September 1858, No. 47, para. 43. No. EXTRACT Public Letter from Fort St. George, dated 11 November, No. 34 of 1856. Para. 37. THE accompanying papers have reference to the establishment of schools on the Neilgherries, for the instruction of the In Diary to Con. 3 June 1856, Nos. 9 and 10. Budagas, or native settlers, residing on those hills. In Diary to Con. 30 Sept. 1856, No. 1147. 38. The Director of Public Instruction has, as will be seen from his letter, himself visited the several villages in which it is proposed to locate the schools, four in number, and after making the inquiries necessary to enable him to judge of the probable success of the project, he has recommended that the experiment should be tried. 39. A monthly grant of 10 rupees is proposed for each of the four schools, and considering their elementary character, this sum will, it is believed, be sufficient for the salary of the master, and for the provision of paper, slates, &c., such books as may be required being supplied from the Director's depôt. 40. We concurred in Mr. Arbuthnot's recommendation in favour of the establishment of the schools, as an experiment; no provision, however, has been made for schools of this class in the educational establishments sanctioned by the Government of India in their letter of the 5th January last, and as we did not approve the arrangement adverted to at the conclusion of Mr. Arbuthnot's letter, for meeting the expense of the projected schools, viz. that of dispensing with one of the talook schools for the Coimbatore district, we have solicited the authority of the Government of India for an expenditure to the extent of 40 rupees per mensem for the maintenance of these hill schools. 41. On this authority being obtained, a grant of 400 rupees, as applied for by the Director, will be made by us for the erection of the required school buildings. 42 We coincide in Mr. Arbuthnot's opinion, that instruction in these schools must, in the first instance, be entirely free, believing that, until the hill tribes are better able to appreciate the advantages of education, the demand of school fees would have a discouraging tendency. II. Madras. No. 9. * In all. EXTRACT Fort St. George Public Diary to Consultation of 3d June 1856. Received the following Letter: (No. 19.) From E. B. Thomas, Esq., Collector of Coimbatore, to J. D. Bourdillon, Esq., Sir, I ENCLOSE a true translate of an application from the energetic and intelligent tahsildar of the Neilgherries. I know his representations to be correct, and his efforts to improve the people under his charge are very laudable. I would request, that if Government think right, the small allowance asked, three schools, at 10 rupees each, or 30* rupees with 50 more for books and a few school necessaries of the plainest kind (paper, a few slates, mats to sit on, pencils, &c.), may be granted by the Director of Public Instructions, to whom Government will perhaps give the necessary orders. Coimbatore, 15 May 1856. I have, &c. + Three districts containing about 43 villages. No. 10. TRANSLATION of an Urzee Address to E. B. Thomas, Esq., Collector of Coimbatore, by M. Sooudra Moodelly, Tahsildar of Neilgherry Talook, dated 25th April 1856, No. 352. THE monigars and respectable inhabitants of the various villages of Todanad, Parunganad, and Maiknad† report to me, that their children are illiterate and ignorant, from the want of schools to teach them in their villages; that as you have lately ordered that the future monigars should be chosen from among those "educated," the present monigars themselves have a desire to learn, and that if they should go to Ootacamund, and learn in the schools established there, they are prevented from doing so, in consequence of the distance they have to travel from their villages. Under these circumstances they request that public schools may be established by Government at each of the above three localities, to enable the monigars and their children to learn. It appears to me that the want of any schools in the Burgher villages is the chief cause of the ignorance of the Burgher monigars, and of the children of all the Burghers in general; and it is therefore highly desirable that such charitable institutions should be established on these hills, as in the low country, and three efficient teachers appoinced, on a pay of about 7 or 10 rupees each, to teach the Burghers in the above three villages. By this arrangement the Burgher monigars and the children of all the Burghers in general, will be enabled to acquire some knowledge, and prove themselves more efficient, and it will be a charity in the Government to grant their request. The Burghers are now ignorant of any written characters, and are unable to speak anything but " Canarese." They are desirous of learning Tamil, the vernacular language of the whole district, and as I hope that by imparting to them Tamil language, they will improve themselves, and abandon many of their vicious practices, I request that their application for the establishment of schools may be anctioned. (signed) M. Sooudrum, Tahsildar. (No. 620.)-Referred to the Director of Public Instruction. EXTRACT Fort St. George Public Diary to Consultation of 30th September Received the following Letter: (No. 719.) 1856. From A. J. Arbuthnot, Esq., Director of Public Instruction, to the Sir, 2. The tahsildar originally proposed three schools to be located in the districts of Todanaad, Parunganaad, and Maiknaad, at the villages of Tanneri, Adhikarati, and Kaligherry. He has since suggested the establishment of a fourth in the immediate neighbourhood of Kotagherry. 3. Tanneria, in which the school intended for the district of Todanaad is to be placed, is situated about eight miles to the north-east of Ootacamund. It is the centre of a cluster of villages, and the site selected for the school-house proves well adapted for the purpose. Adhikarati is about the same distance from Ootacamund to the south-west, three or four miles to the west of the Kateri Waterfall. Kaligherry is about four miles to the east of Coonoor, close to the road from Coonoor to Katagherry. In both cases the proposed sites appear to have been well selected. For the fourth school the tahsildar recommended the village of Thandanaad, about a mile from Kotagherry, close to the Ootacamund road, but another site in the immediate vicinity of Dimhutty, appears to me to be more centrical. 4. For each of the three schools originally proposed by the tahsildar, the Collector recommends a monthly grant of 10 rupees, and a special grant for the three, of 50 rupees, to provide books, paper, slates, and other school necessaries. The schools will, of course, be of the most elementary description, and the proposed monthly allowance of 10 rupees, will probably be sufficient for the salary of the masters, and for the provision of paper, slates, &c. Such books as are required can be supplied from the depôt attached to my office, and the special grant of 50 rupees for this purpose, will not be required. A grant, however, will be required in each case to provide a school-house; and for this purpose I beg to recommend that the sum of 100 rupees for each school, or 400 rupees in all, be sanctioned, to be debited to the fund set apart for building purposes. It should be one of the chief objects of the schools to inculcate habits of cleanliness, and with this view it is necessary that the school-houses should be somewhat superior to the low, ill-ventilated huts in which the Badagas live. The Badagas have promised to give their labour in erecting the school buildings. 5. The tahsildar proposes that the instruction should be given in Tamil, as being the vernacular language of the district. The language spoken by the Bagadas is a mongrel sort of Canarese, but many of them are able to speak Tamil; and they represent that in their dealings with the people of the low country, the ability to read and write Tamil would be of the greatest use to them. On these grounds I would adopt the tahsildar's recommendation, that Tamil should be the medium of instruction. 6. From the inquiries I have made, I see every reason to hope that the Badagas have begun to feel some desire for the advantages of instruction. At Tameria and Adhikarati especially, the people were evidently most anxious that the schools should be speedily set on foot. In the first instance, at all events, the instruction must be entirely free, for it is only very lately that they have ceased to look upon the instruction of their children as a thing for which they should receive payment, rather than that they should pay. Whether any of the other hill tribes, the Todas or Koters, will take advantage of the schools, seems problematical. 7. It only remains to be determined from what fund the monthly expenses of these schools shall be defrayed. Their establishment must be viewed, in the first instance, as an experiment; and I would therefore suggest that, as in the case of the Khond schools in Ganjam ; and in the absence of any provision for schools of this class in the educational establishments sanctioned by the Government of India, the expense of maintaining them should be kept separate, and should not be deducted from the funds available for the establishment of talook schools. If this arrangement be considered objectionable, it will be necessary to dispense with one of the talook schools, which would otherwise have been available for the district of Coimbatore, and to apply the funds assigned to it to the maintenance of these schools. I have &c. (signed) Office of the Director of Public Instruction, 30 August 1856. A. J. Arbuthnot, II. Madras. (No. 1146.) Resolved, That copies of the letter from the Collector of Coimbatore, dated 15th May last, and of that above recorded, be forwarded to the Government of India, with the expression of the concurrence of this Government in the recommendation of the Director of Public Instruction in favour of the establishment, as an experiment, of the proposed schools, four in number, for the instruction of the Badagas residing on the Neilgherries. No provision, however, is made for schools of this class in the educational establishments sanctioned by the Government of India in their letter of the 5th January last; and as the Right Honourable the Governor in Council does not approve the arrangement adverted to at the conclusion of Mr. Arbuthnot's letter, to meet the expense of the projected schools, viz., that of dispensing with one of the talook schools for the Coimbatore district, the authority of the Government of India will be requested for an expenditure to the extent of 40 rupees per mensem for the maintenance of the Hill schools. On this authority being obtained a grant of 400 rupees, as applied for by the Director, will be made by this Governinent for the erection of the required school buildings. The Governor in Council coincides in Mr. Arbuthnot's opinion, that instruction in these schools must, in the first instance, be entirely free, believing that, until the hill tribes are better able to appreciate the advantages of education, the demand of school fees would have a discouraging tendency. Resolved, That the following letter be despatched. (No. 1147.) From T. Pycroft, Esq., Chief Secretary to Government, to the Secretary to the Sir, I AM directed by the Right Honourable the Governor in Council to transmit to you, to be laid before the Government of India, the accompanying copies of letters, having reference to the establishment of schools on the Neilgherries, for the inst rution of the Budagas, or native settlers, residing on those hills. The Director of Public Instruction has, as will be seen from his letter, himself visited the several villages, in which it is proposed to locate the schools, four in number, and, after making the inquiries necessary to enable him to judge of the probable success of the project, he recommends that the experiment should be tried. A monthly grant of 10 rupees is all that is proposed for each of the four schcols; and, considering their elementary character, this sum will, it is believed, be sufficient for the salary of the master, and for the provision of paper, slates, &c. Such books as may be required, being supplied from the Director's depôt. The Governor in Council concurs in Mr. Arbuthnot's recommendation in favour of the establishment of the schools, as an experiment. No provision, however, is made for schools of this class in the educational establishments, sanctioned by the Government of India, in their letter of the 5th January last, and as his Lordship in Council does not approve the arrangement adverted to at the conclusion of Mr. Arbuthnot's letter, for meeting the expense of the projected schools, viz., that of dispensing with one of the Talook schools for the Coimbatore district, I am instructed to solicit authority for an expenditure to the extent of 40 rupees per mensem, for the maintenance of these hill schools; a tabular statement in the prescribed form, is accordingly submitted. This Government coincide in Mr. Arbuthnot's opinion that instruction in these schools must, in the first instance, be entirely free, believing that, until the hill tribes are better able to appreciate the advantages of education, the demand of school fees would have a discouraging tendency. Fort St. George, 25 September 1856. I have, &c. (signed) T. Pycroft, Chief Secretary to Government. * From the Collector of Coimbatore, dated 15th May 1856, with one Enclosure. II. EXTRACT Fort St. George Public Diary to Consultation of 30th September 1856. Received the following: (No. 1150.) From T. Pycroft, Esq., Chief Secretary to Government, to the Secretary to the PUBLIC DEPARTMENT. Madras. The Director of Public Instruction reports that, from the inquiries he has made, he sees every reason to hope that the Badagas, or principal hill tribes on the Neilgherries, have begun to feel some desire for the advantages of instruction, and that at two villages, Tunneri and Adaikarati especially, the people were evidently most anxious that schools should be speedily set on foot. The Director accordingly recommends that the experiment be tried, and, as this Government concur in that recommendation, it is proposed to establish one school at Tunneria, a second at Adhikarati, a third at Kaligberry, and a fourth in the immediate vicinity of Dimhutty; the Tamil language, with which it is represented many of the Badagas are familiar, being the medium of instruction. Public Department, No. 1150. Forwarded for sanction to the Home Department of the Government of India. Favourable. (signed) T. Pycroft, Chief Secretary to the Government of Fort St. George. EXTRACT Public Letter from Fort St. George, dated 24 January, No. 2 of 1857. Tunneri. Para. 16. WITH reference to paras. 37 to 42 of our Despatch, No. 34 of In Consultation 1856, and under the authority of the Government of India, we have desired the 2 December 1856, Director of Public Instruction to establish, as an experiment, a school in each Nos. 32 and 33. of the villages named in the margin for the instruction of the Badagas residing Adhikarati. on the Neilgherries, incurring for this purpose, as a temporary measure, an expenditure of 40 rupees per mensem. 17. Mr. Arbuthnot has been desired also to incur a further outlay of 400 rupees, for the erection of school buildings, to be charged to the surplus educational funds. Kaligherry. |