The four great problems which we have thus imperfectly considered, are preeminently graded-school problems, having their origin, so to speak, in the element of gradation. Other educational problems, as the teacher problem, the study problem, the sex problem, etc., relate alike to both graded and ungraded schools. It is hoped that I am not understood to condemn the graded system, for the very aim of this paper is to assist in making the system more efficient and useful. It is also hoped that I am not understood to intimate that the defects pointed out exist in equal degree in all graded schools. I bear cheerful testimony to the fact that the gravity of these problems is appreciated by scores of superintendents in my acquaintance, and encouraging progress has been made in their practical solution.

It may also be remarked, in conclusion, that I have aimed more to state guiding principles than to solve these problems in detail. The one principle I desire specially to impress is, that the solution of each of these four problems is found in the proper subordination of the demands of the graded system as a mechanism to its great purpose as an agency for the education of the people-for furnishing every child with the best possible education it is capable of receiving in the actual circumstances which surround it; in the proper subordination of uniformity and system, which are but means to the sublime end of unfolding, enriching, and beautifying the human soul-of touching human life in ail conditions with elevating and beneficent power.

II.--EDUCATION IN HAWAII FOR 1896.

By Gen. JOHN EATON.

The Hawaiian reports of education are biennial. A census is taken once in six years. These two reports coming the same year (1896) may well be considered together. They present an exceedingly interesting story of the education of the several races represented in these islands. Of the Archipelago known as the Sandwich Islands, or Hawaii, only eight, Ha-wai-i, Mau-i, O-a-hu, Kau-ai, Mo-lo-kai. La-nai, Ka-hoo-la-we, and Nii-hau, of the principal islands extending over 300 miles at the eastern end of the group are inhabited. These have a total approximate area of 7,000 square miles, or 4,480,000 acres; and a total population, according to the last census, of 109,020, and distributed as to sex and nationality as follows:

The marked disparity between the sexes will be noted. The total number of males, 72,517, in the country is nearly double the total number of females (36,503). It will be observed that next to the total of native Hawaiians, 31,019, is the total of the Japanese population, 24,191. It appears that the Japanese have recently come in with great rapidity, as many as 2,000 arriving in a month. The Chinese (next in number to the Japanese) reached 21,616, making a total from Asia of 46,023, or nearly half (42 per cent) of the total, that is the Asiatics nearly equal in number all other nationalities.

The total increase during the six years which elapsed since the previous census is 19,030, or 21.1 per cent. The diminution of the native Hawaiian population, which has been long progressing, it appears, continues. In 1890 there were 34,433 native Hawaiians; in 1896, 31,019, or a decrease of 9.9 per cent; from 1884 to 1890 the loss was reported at 13.09 per cent. This reduction in the per cent of native Hawaiian loss is in part accounted for by the greater care bestowed upon the younger generation, especially since the establishment of the Republic. Turning to the legal school population, ages 6 to 15, inclusive, we find the following:

The nationality of teachers in all schools on the islands in 1896 is as follows:

The number of pupils in the independent or private schools is 3,464, and the number of teachers, 169 (male, 69; female, 100); the number of independent schools, 62.

During the two years covered by this report there were three Government schools, with a total of 59 pupils, taught in native Hawaiian. For the future it

appears that no schools will be taught in Hawaiian, and that all instruction at Government expense will be in English.

The school attendance in the islands in 1854 was 12,432; in 1878, it had run down to 6,252; as seen above, it has risen again to 12,616. In the last two years the increase has been specially rapid.

The attendance of pupils in Government schools is as follows:

The attendance in independent or private schools, by islands, is as follows:

The average for the whole group is 88.2 per cent. Honolulu has an average attendance of 88.6 per cent. The report adds the remark: "New York has an average of 76 per cent; Columbus, Ohio, 80 per cent; San Francisco, 67 per cent; Los Angeles, which, because of its enrollment of 12,191, is practically the same as ours, has 73 per cent. If the comparison is made with the States instead of the cities the percentage of the Hawaiian group shows still more favorably. The State of New York has an average school attendance of 64 per cent, Ohio, of 72 per cent, and California 76 per cent. To enforce this attendance the board employs fifty truant officers, and it is very evident that the money spent in this direction has been well expended."

The need of increased school accommodations is emphasized. "In Honolulu every school is overflowing, and there are yet children who might be brought into school if we only had room for them."

The course of study resembles very much the courses in the several States of our Union. Sewing is taught the girls according to a carefully prepared plan of work. Nine establishments have been equipped for the manual training of boys. A young lady, native of the islands, educated at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y., teaches drawing. More than half of the pupils are instructed in music. Under the inspiration of Mrs. S. B. Cooper, of the Golden Gate Free Kindergarten Association, of San Francisco, a free kindergarten school was opened in Honolulu in March, 1894. Since then considerable progress has been made. A training class has been organized, and it is believed that the system is well grounded. Night-school work is favorably reported.

A regular normal class has been attached to the high school. Of its members, 8 are part Hawaiians, 8 Americans, 3 are British, 1 Hawaiian, and 1 Spanish.

The report comments favorably on the quarterly meetings of the teachers held at various centers; also on the custom of visiting schools. It is affirmed that “ as a body the teachers of the Hawaiian Islands are a credit to the Republic. They have the future of the State under their control, and they are as a rule faithfully and conscientiously doing their work."

Teachers' examinations are carefully conducted. First-class certificates are given for three years upon a minimum mark of 85 per cent; second-class certificates are for two years, the minimum mark required being 75 per cent; and thirdclass certificates for one year with a minimum mark of 65 per cent. A life diploma has been granted to Mr. Armstrong Smith, who has spent over ten years of satisfactory and successful service in the public schools of the country.

The report goes carefully into the details of the school work, public and private, in each island and each district. The attendance for the island of Oahu was 5,212, and in the city of Honolulu, the capital of the Republic, 4,305. Eight years ago there were in Honolulu only 2,329 pupils enrolled. Of the male teachers in the Government schools of that city, 6 are American and 4 are British; of the female teachers, 15 are part Hawaiians, 18 American, 10 British, 2 Scandinavian, 1 Portuguese, and 1 Chinese. Of the special teachers, 1 is British and 1 is American. Of the entire number of teachers, 35 received their education, in whole or in part, in the Hawaiian schools. The Royal School is the largest of the Government English schools, with 469 pupils and 11 teachers. The largest independent school is St. Louis College, which enrolls 522 pupils. The high school is strongly commended. The most prominent of the independent schools is Oahu, "which offers to its students a semiuniversity course. The success of its pupils in the leading universities of the United States speaks well of the training it gives. The Kamehameha classes grow in favor and do great credit to their munificent founders. A girls' department has been opened and has 59 pupils. Of the schools for girls, the largest is that kept by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. It is a boarding and day school, and numbers 320 pupils.

The Northern Pacific Missionary Institute has 8 Hawaiian students, 1 Portuguese, and 1 Chinese. The regular course extends over three years; sometimes a fourth is added for a special study. Of the 36 pastors now serving the 55 evangelical churches, 25 are graduates of this institute. Six other graduates are engaged in the foreign missionary work in the Gilbert Islands.

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The expenditures of the board having charge of the schools for the twenty-one months ending December 31, 1895, are given as $270,856.08. A circular from the board calling attention to the clause of the constitution which declares that no public money shall be appropriated or public land conveyed to or for the support or benefit of any sectarian, denominational, or private school after a specified time, states that the board does not consider it consistent with the above principle to open the school every morning by repeating the Lord's Prayer in unison," calling attention to the declaration of the school law, which points out the object of the common schools supported by the Government, is to instruct the children of the Union in good morals; the report declares that "this includes honesty, truthfulness, obedience to parents and teachers, respect for superiors in age and position, patriotism, kindness, benevolence, helpfulness to the weak and the unfortunate, humanity to animals, personal cleanliness, modesty, chastity, temperance, and other virtues which should be taught by precept, illustration, and example at all times. No profane or indecent language should be allowed in the school premises or on the way to or from school. Special instruction should also be given on the evils of the use of narcotics and of alcoholic drinks." In all parts the system of schools exhibits the influence of American principles and methods.

"The school law of June, 1896, revises the educational organization; there is no longer a separate cabinet officer for education. The secretary of foreign affairs is

the head of the educational department and presides over its meetings and repre. sents it in the cabinet." The administration of education is in the care of the above cabinet officer and six commissioners to be appointed by the President with the advice of the cabinet; "ministers of religion are not eligible as commission ers." The commissioners elect one of their number as chairman to preside in the absence of the cabinet officer. They adopt all regulations and rules under the law for the employment of teachers and agents. They elect an inspector who devotes himself to the improvement of the schools and a secretary who keeps all records of the department. The organization is simple and aims to be effective in the administration of the remotest and smallest school. The law provides that pri vate or independent schools must have a Government permit for their establishment, must conform to sanitary and hygienic requirements, must be opened to Government inspection, and that their teachers must have a Government certifi cate as a guaranty of their good moral character and their qualification to teach' The attendance of all children between 6 and 15 years of age, both inclusive, at either a public or private school is obligatory; except, first, when there is no school within 4 miles; second, when it is certified by a physician that the child is physically or mentally unable to attend; third, when the child is properly instructed at home by a tutor; fourth, when the child has passed required examinations.

The English language shall be the medium and basis of instruction in all public and private schools, save where other languages are specially permitted by the department. Provision is made for teachers' conventions and institutes. Textbooks are furnished by law at cost price. The law requiring boys and girls to be taught separately is repealed. The revised school law is intended to put the utmost vigor into the administration and instruction of all grades of schools.