THE ABUSES OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Sin—The school to which I alluded is Harrow. The " Decemvimte" are the ten monitors, who have the power of inflicting corporal punishment on all their schoolfellows below the sixth form. The sixth form, including the monitors, numbers about thirty. The majority of them are of too generous e spirit to deserve the name of tyrants ; and if to some of them it might be not inaptly applied, the system should bear the reproach rather than the boys. I find that a correspondence between the principal parties to whom I adverted in my former letter has been printed and circulated. The " Old Deeemvir " may possibly meet with this publication, and so ascertain whether my state- ment was a " dream" ors " reality." Decemvir assures us that grow bully- ing is almost extinct at our public schools : it would be easy to prove by recent examples that such is not the fact ; but were the fact as he describes it, I would still ask if it be consistent with good sense or good feeling, or com- patible with sound moral training, to intrust to boys, moved by the quickest Impulses, and instigated by every personal motive, the uncontrolled power of beating their fellows ? The Admiralty regulations, just published, permit the commanders of our ships to delegate to their second in command the power of awarding certain minor punishments; but the infliction of even minor punishments by all other officers "is strictly forbidden." Will Decemvir contend that a power which is denied to experienced officers in our Navy can be safely or wisely
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