The London School Board seem determined to try what they
can do in the way of reforming the national spelling, and have defeated by 26 to 5 a very sensible resolution proposed by Mr. Firth, which would have had the effect of shelving this unfor- tunate procedure. Instead of this, they have carried a resolution that "the answers received from the Society of Arta and from various country School Boards, as well as those to be received hereafter, with reference to the resolution of the Board on spelling, be referred to a Select Committee, with instructions to draw up a memorial, and to advise the Board as to the manner of its presentation,"—which is, of course, an instruction to do what is possible, to get this absurd Royal Commission on spelling appointed. They might just aa well ask for a Royal Commission to report on the beat way of formingthe letters of the written alphabet, or on the WM of parentheses, dashes, and the various stops in printing. The School Board do not see that whatever the Royal Commission report, they can no more give any effect to their opinion than the report of a Royal Commission could change the fashion in dPelifk Different people will still act differently as to the practice of doubling particular letters and as to the pronunciation of others, and it would be as necessary afterwards as before for a well-instructed child to know what these various practices are, and that any one-, of them is permissible. Children cannot begin too soon. to learn that in spelling, as in most other depart- ments, of action, there are limits within which people may act at their own discretion, and yet not do wrong.
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