CHRIST'S HOSPITAL.
To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.".] Sue,—My attention has been called to' a letter by "Emeritus " in your issue of August 14th, in which he condemns the system of sharing the government of this school between a Warden and a Head Master. As an " Old Blue " who spent many years at the school, I venture to maintain that this condemnation is entirely justified by experience. Not only is it really harmful both to education and to discipline, but it has another dis- advantage which has not yet been pointed out. The authority of the Head Master is so trammelled and restricted in every way, that the post almost always fails to attract candidates with the highest qualifications. With one notable exception, it is un- deniable that the Head Masters of Christ's Hospital during the present century have been far below the average, both in abilities and in character, than might reasonably be expected in so large and important an institution. That some of the Andents have distinguished themselves in spite of obstacles is to be ex- plained partly by the large field from which the " Grecians " are chosen by a process of natural selection, and partly by the self- sacrificing exertions of assistant-masters, whose reward has been found only in the gratitude of their pupils. That these successes might be quadrupled under a more rational system of adminis- tration is, I hope, to be proved in the future.
At the same time, it is only fair to state that reform is very difficult under the existing conditions. None of the assistant- masters are resident upon the premises, so that only their own public spirit can tempt them to remain with the boys out of school-hours. The wards are managed by matrons—the worst feature of an obsolete system—and by monitors, who are all under the age of sixteen. Discipline has to be maintained by policemen, under the name of " beadles," and by a chief constable, who is called the "warden." When the school has found a new home, and an organisation more in harmony with
modern experience, it is to be hoped that Warden, matrons, and beadles will disappear, and that the Head Master and his as- sistants will exercise that supervision over the whole of a boy's life without which their influence in school-hours is so often wasted.—I am, Sir, &c.,
Brctsenose College, Oxford, August 21st. RicuIan LODGE.
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