7438.  Bat  still  the  oral  examination  of  a  large  school  is  a  very  serious
undertaking  for  the  examiners? — Undoubtedly,  but  it  would  not  be
necessary  to  test  every  individual  pupil.  You  can  find  out  in  five  minutes
whether  a  class  has  a  notion  of  pronouncing  French  or  not,  to  take  that
particular  point.
7439.  How  would  you  propose  to  secure  that  university  examiners
ahonld  be  qualified  for  the  work  of  examining  schools  in  puiicnlar  P — ^I
should  like  to  see  a  much  more  regular  staff  retained,  and  I  think  that  ex-
public  schoolmasters  might  be  made  use  of  in  that  way  very  well.     A  man


129  8E00NDABT  EDUCATION  COMMISSION  :

may  oertainly  go  on  as  an  ezaminer  when  he  is  part  the  more  active  woric
of  sohool  life.  I  do  not  see  at  all  why  a  staff  of  examiners  should  not  be
recruited  from  publio  schoolmasters  and  ez-public  sohoolma  sters.
7440.  Your  idea  would  be  that  at  the  time  of  year  when  examinations
occur,  the  masters  of  one  public  school  should  go  and  examine  the  pnpils
of  another  ? — That  would  be  one  way.
7441.  You  would  admit,  I  suppose,  that  there  is  no  work  which,  puicued
Texy  frequently  or  for  any  considerable  time,  is  so  intolerably  irksome
and  fatiguing  as  that  of  examiners  ? — Possibly.
7442.  Would  you  not  think,  therefore,  that  it  was  possibly  a  disadyantage
to  haye  a  man  whose  constant  occupation  was  that  of  an  examiner.  Would
you  not  think  that  his  faculties  would  become  blunted  after  a  time  P — ^I
must  say  I  do  not  agree  with  you  there,  because  I  do  not  know  after  all
that  it  is  more  monotonous  than  many  other  kinds  of  work  such  as  civil
servants  do  in  any  public  office.
