that William Paterson, whose name is honourably associated with the auspicious commencement of a new era in English commerce and in English finance. Just at this time he fell in with Fletcher of Saltoun who happened to be in England. These eccentric men soon became intimate. Each of them had his monomania; and the two monomanias suited each other perfectly. Fletcher's whole soul was possessed of a sore, jealous, punctilious patriotism. His heart was ulcerated by the thought of the poverty, the feebleness, the political insignificance of Scotland, and of the indignation which she had suffered at the hand of her powerful and opulent neighbour; when he talked of her wrongs his dark meagre face took its sternest expression: his habitual frown grew blacker; and his eyes flashed more than their wonted fire. Paterson, on the other hand, firmly believed himself to have discovered the means of making any state which would follow his counsel great and prosperous in a time which, when compared with the life of an individual, could hardly be called long, and which, in the life of a nation, was but as a moment. There is not the least reason to believe that he was dishonest. Indeed, he would have found more difficulty in deceiving others had he not begun by deceiving himself. His faith in his own schemes was strong, even to martyrdom; and the eloquence with which he illustrated and defended them had all the charm of sincerity and of enthusiasm. Very seldom has any blunder committed by fools or any villany devised by imposters, brought on any society miseries so great as the dreams of these two friends, both of them men of integrity and both of them men of parts, were destined to bring on Scotland. ORTHOGRAPHICAL EXERCISE, Specimen I. [Time 30 Minutes.] The doctrin of a certin schoole, that the languidge of any peeple among whom cultur is of old date, is a sacrid dippossitt, the proparty of all ages, and which no one age should considdar itsself impowered to altar, is indeed, as thus exspressed, an extravvegance: but is grownded on a trewth, freequintly overlooked by that class of logicans who think more of having a cleere than of having a comprihensive meening, and who perseave that evry age is adding to the truths which it reseaved from its preedisessors, but fale to see that a counter-prossess of loosing trewths allreddy posessed, is also constently going on, and reequiring the most ceddulous atention to counteract it. Languidge is the deepossittery of the accummulated body of exspereeance to which all former ages have contributed their part, and which is the inherretence of all yet to come. We have no wright to prevent ourselves from transmitting to possterrety a larger portion of this inherratence than we may ourselves have proffated by. We can often improove grately on the conchlusions of onr forfathers; but we ought to be carfull not inedvertintly to let any of their premmisses slip through our fingars. Supose, now, that the partezans of the theeory that all vertue consists in a corect calculation of our own intarists, either in this worrld or in another, had contraived to intruduce a consistant and undeeveating use of the term acording to this deffenition. Supose they had seereously endevvored, and had sexeded in the endevvor, to bannesh the word disintaristidness from the languidge, and had obtaned the disuse of all exspressions atatching odeum to selfishness or comendation to self-sacrafise, or which implied jennarossety or kindnese to be annething but doing a bennefet in order to reseave a grater personnal advantidge in return. Need we say that this abrogation of the old formulas for the saik of preeserving cleere ideas and consistansy of thought, would have been a great evil? Specimen II. [Time 30 Minutes.-Proper Names are not to be altered.] He saw that Hastings had bean guilty of sum most unjuistifyabl acts, al that folloed was naturral an nesessary in a mind like Burke's. His immagination and his pashions, wonce exsited hurryed him beyond the bownds of justis and good sence. His reeson, powerfull as it was, bekaim the slaive of fealings which it should have controled. His indignation, virtuos in its origine, aquired to much of they karacter, of personel avertsion. He could see no mittigateing sircomstanse, no redeemeing merite. His temper, which, tho' genrous and afectionate, had allways been irittable, had now bean maid allmost savvage bye bodilly infermity's and mental vexations. Conshious of great powers an great virtus, he fowned himself in age an poverty a mark for the haitred of a perfidjus kourt and a diluded peeple. In Parliment his eloquens was out of date, a yong jeneration which knew him not, had filled they house. Whennever he rose to speek, his voise was drowned by the unseamly interuption of lads who were in there kradles when his orrations on the stamp act called fourth the aplaws of the great Erle of Chatam. Thes things had prodused on his prowd and sensitive spirit an affect at which we cannot wonder. He kould no longer disguss anny questin with kamness, or make alowence for onest diference of opinian. Thoes who think that he was more violant and akrimonyius in debaits about Indea than on other ockasions are il informed respecting the last years of his life. In the disgussions on the commersial treaty with the Kourt of Versailles, on the regancy, on the French Revalution, he showd evin more virulance than in conducting the impeechment. Inndeed, it may be remarked that the same persins who caled him a mischivos mainiack, for condemning in burning words the Rohilla war and the spoleashun of the Begums exawlted him into a profet as soon has he began to declame, with greater vehimance, and with greator reasin, against the taking of the Bastile, and the innsults offered to Marie Antionette. To us he apperes to have been neather a mainiac in the former kase, nor a profit in the later, but in boath kases a great and good many, lead into extravigence by a sensibilaty which dominiered over all his fakultys. NOTE. The previous Dictation and Orthographical Exercises are taken from the Civil Service Spelling-Book. HANDWRITING AND COPYING. The Commissioners say that " good handwriting consists in the clear formation of the letters." Writing which is very legible usually meets with approval. In order to test the handwriting of the candidates, a letter is sometimes given to be copied; but more frequently a tabular form, (on p.111) is presented to the candidate (which is ruled), and in half-an-hour, he is expected to have it neatly written in. This form also serves for examinations in "Copying; " but where "Special Copying is mentioned a few letters of rather illegible writing are placed before the candidate, which he must copy and correct. Specimens are given in the Second Civil Service Report. (A) Used in Examinations which are not Competitive.* Copy as much of the following letter as you can in half-an-hour, taking care to copy it correctly, and to write as well as you can. N.B.-Good handwriting is held to consist in the clear formation of the letters of the alphabet : Office of Committee of Privy Council for Trade, Marine Department, SIR, I am directed by the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade, to transmit, to be laid before the Public Works Loan Commissioners, the Papers enumerated below,† relating to an application made by the Directors of the British Fishery Society, for the sanction of this Board to the borrowing, by the Directors, of the sum of £69,000, under the Harbours and Passing Tolls, &c., Act, 1861, for the purpose of certain harbour works in the bay of Wick. I am to add that, in their Lordships' opinion, the present application has more than usual claims to be favourably considered. In the first place, the intrinsic importance of the proposed works to the fishing trade of the North was felt to be so great by the Commission on Harbours of Refuge, that they made it the ground for a special recommendation. In the next place, it should be remembered that in consequence of large expectations held out by the Committee and Commission on Harbours of Refuge, which have not been realized, the works contemplated by the parties themselves several years since, have been delayed until now.-I am, &c. (Signed) The Secretary of Public Works Loan Commissioners, South-sea House, Threadneedle-street, E.C. T. H. FARRER. The Letter given while we were at press was similar to this but ended with a short Tabular statement. †(1) Copy of letter from MacLeod of MacLeod, 16th February, 1863. (2) Copy of replies by applicants to Board of Trade Questions. (3) Copy of Specifications (enclosed). (4) Copy of Board of Trade Abstract (enclosed). ANNUAL EXPENDITURE OF STRAITS SETTLEMENTS. (B) Used in Competitive Examinations. [This is to be copied in best handwriting, line for line, into a ruled form given, in half-an-hour.] N.B.-In this Return are included all the contemplated additions to Salaries and Establishments, the particulars of which will be found in the accompanying Schedule of proposed Establishments. (a) A Return, showing the particulars of the charges under this head, is attached. (b) Large additions have been sanctioned under this head during current financial year. Hence the increase. (c) This Estimate is based upon existing pensions, and probable pensions in next few years. A Return of existing pensions is forwarded herewith. (d) Includes Straits' Lights Expenditure. Includes, also, "Shipping Office" expenses, an item not heretofore brought to account. (e) This is a heading directed by Government of India, but the expenditure being for maintenance of Government Steamers employed, not only in suppression of Piracy, but also in relief of Troops, Service of Straits' Lights, conveyance of Government Officials, and transport of Stores, it might more properly be included under former head of Marine. The above are taken from "Civil Service Tots," where several sets of such exercises are to be found. It is important that the addition should be quite correct; additional credit will also be given for rapidity. [N.B.-In competitive examinations, 12 columns are given instead of 3, with the following directions:-" Add up as many of the columns as you can in the time allowed (half an hour), placing the answers in the spaces below the columns. In tests and in qualifying examinations only, six columns are given.] (A.) ELEMENTARY ARITHMETIC. SET TO CANDIDATES FOR INFERIOR SITUATIONS. I. Office Keepers, Messengers, &c. (Time allowed, 2 hours.) 1. Write down under each other, and add together the following numbers:--420, 273, 358, 6905, 2037, 864, 641, and 1401517. 2. Subtract 5084 from 108062. |