14223 
 
m223 
 
13 h-i'' IS if 
 
 arV14223 
 Spelling reform : 
 
 Cornell University Library 
 
 3 1924 031 249 570 
 olin.anx 
 
The original of tliis bool< is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031249570 
 
SPELLING REFORM, 
 
 FROM AN EDUCATIONAL POINT OF VIEW. 
 
SPELLING REFORM, 
 
 Jfrom an ^truxalional Hoiitt of &ubi. 
 
 J. H. GLADSTONE, F.R.S., 
 
 MEMBER OF THE SCHOOL BOARD FOR LONDON. 
 
 MACMILLAN AND CO. 
 
 1S7S. 
 
S-o-fe-^-%^ 
 
 LONDON ; 
 
 R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, 
 
 BREAD STREET HILL,. E.C. 
 
 JT 
 
SPELLING REFORM, 
 
 FROM AN EDUCATIONAL POINT OF VIEW. 
 
 The present movement in favour of a reform 
 in the spelling of the English language has 
 been principally taken up by two classes 
 of the community, the philologists and the 
 teachers. It is of course from an educational 
 point of view that the question is regarded 
 by the School Boards for London, Liverpool, 
 Bradford, Birmingham, and other towns, which 
 are now asking for a Royal Commission of 
 inquiry. The main argument employed by 
 these Boards, and by persons engaged in 
 tuition, is that the present spelling causes a 
 very serious waste of time in teaching to read 
 and write correctly. Yet the vaguest notions 
 
Sp^IImg '§,doxm. 
 
 prevail as to the amount of this waste, even by 
 those who have paid attention to the subject. 
 It appeared to me desirable to form some 
 estimate on trustworthy grounds, and to look 
 carefully as an educationist into the other 
 arguments that might be advanced, either 
 for or against the simplification of our 
 orthography. 
 
 I tried to determine in the first place how 
 long a time is actually devoted to the arts of 
 spelling and reading ; and in the second place 
 how much of this time may be fairly ascribed 
 to the difficulties attending our present un- 
 systematic spelling. 
 
 PRESENT EXPENDITURE OF TIME. 
 
 In determining the first question I have 
 considered individual cases of no value, as 
 the aptness of the teacher and the pupil are 
 elements for which proper allowance could not 
 
Spilling lleform. 
 
 be made ; I have rather sought to obtain 
 evidence from those institutions where educa- 
 tion is given on a large scale. Had there 
 existed in our English public schools any- 
 general instructions as to the time to be devoted 
 to different subjects, that would have afforded 
 valuable information, and would have virtually 
 answered the question. In default of this I 
 have examined the time-tables of a great many 
 elementary schools, generally talking at the 
 same time with the teachers on the subject. 
 In order that the inquiry should fairly represent 
 the general education of the country I have 
 drawn this evidence from National, British, 
 and Wesleyan schools as well as from Board 
 schools ; and from village schools as well as 
 those in provincial towns and the metropolis. 
 The inquiry has been restricted to Government 
 inspected schools ; and I have had the advan 
 tage of learning the opinion of some of the 
 Inspectors. 
 
spilling '§,daxm. 
 
 In Infant schools children of three years are 
 set to learn their letters, and various plans are 
 adopted for teaching them their use, until they 
 enter the First Standard. These early stages 
 sometimes appear upon the time - table as 
 reading, sometimes also as letters, spelling, 
 dictation, transcription, or are even included 
 under Kindergarten or writing. It is difficult 
 to tabulate these fairly, but upon adding them 
 together in any particular school I find 6^ hours 
 per week to be a very usual amount of time, 
 while the average of all the schools on my list 
 gives 7^ hours. 
 
 In boys' and girls' schools the lessons which 
 we have to consider are spelling, reading, and 
 dictation. Here again there are great diver- 
 sities of practice, so that it is impossible to 
 tabulate the results satisfactorily. Some 
 teachers give the same amount of time to 
 these subjects in all standards, while others 
 discriminate between the children of different 
 
spdliitg ^efarnt. 
 
 attainments. The time devoted also appears 
 by my statistics to be as a general rule greater 
 in boys' than in girls' schools ; and I believe 
 that this is not accidental. 
 
 Spelling lessons, so called, are not given in 
 every school. The subject is often taught 
 only under the head of reading and dictation. 
 Taking a general average of boys and girls 
 of all standards, it seems that in the schools 
 of which I have the statistics, 50 minutes 
 per week are given to the spelling lessons that 
 appear as such on the time-tables. Now as 
 the time devoted to secular instruction may 
 be taken at 22J hours per week, this gives 
 37 per cent. It must be borne in mind, 
 however, that this does not include the daily 
 ten minutes or so which are very frequently 
 given to actual spelling at the commencement 
 or end of the reading lessons. 
 
 Reading lessons are universal, and are given 
 in all standards. The amount of time devoted 
 
lO 
 
 S^tUmjgf '§.thxm. 
 
 to them, however, differs widely. Thus in one 
 of our largest Board schools the First Standard 
 boys get 6f hours of reading per week, while 
 in the girls' department the same standard has 
 only 2^; but the highest standard boys have 
 only two-thirds of an hour, while the same class 
 of girls have two hours. One of the best known 
 of H. M. Inspectors is not content unless seven 
 hours a week are devoted to reading. The 
 average of my statistics I find to be, for all 
 Standards and for both sexes, 4^ hours ; equal 
 to 1 8 '8 per cent, of the school time. 
 
 Dictation lessons are intended primarily to 
 teach the children how to spell correctly. I 
 find them universal, and they are considered 
 necessary even in the Sixth Standard : indeed 
 the present code requires of that standard "a 
 short theme or letter, the . . . spelling 
 
 . . to be considered." As a rule more 
 time is given to dictation in the lower stand- 
 ards ; but sometimes the order is reversed. 
 
^p^IIing ^tiaxm. 
 
 II 
 
 The average is almost exactly 2^ hours, equal 
 to 10 per cent. 
 
 In many schools home lessons are given with 
 the object of improving the children in spelling; 
 but it is impossible to make any trustworthy 
 estimate of these. 
 
 As far, therefore, as the three lessons, spell- 
 ing, reading, and dictation, are concerned, the 
 average time allotted to them would seem to 
 be about 7^ hours for the infants, and just the 
 same for the boys and girls. This is 32-2 per 
 cent, of the time devoted to secular instruction ; 
 or 27*3 per cent, of the whole school time, 
 including the religious exercises and teaching, 
 allowing 4 hours per week for that purpose. 
 
 From these data it is easy to calculate that 
 an average English child, spending eight years 
 in school, and making the not unusual amount 
 of 400 attendances per annum, will have spent 
 on an average 2,320 hours in spelling, reading, 
 and dictation; and such a scholar will have 
 
12 
 
 Spfillittg '§,daxm. 
 
 probably acquired sufficient knowledge of the 
 subject to pass the moderate requirements of 
 the Government Inspector in "reading with 
 fluency and expression," and spelling familiar 
 words without error. 
 
 But may these 2,320 hours be fairly assumed 
 as the time that has been actually devoted to 
 acquiring the arts of reading and spelling ? 
 On the one hand it may be argued that the 
 reading lessons are useful for the information 
 they convey and the general culture which they 
 impart. The same may be said to a modified 
 extent of the dictation lessons, while in regard 
 to them it may be also contended that they 
 give practice in the mere art of writing. They 
 should tend to caligraphy, though some teachers 
 think their influence is the other way. 
 
 On the other hand it may be argued that 
 home lessons have been wholly left out of my 
 calculation, and that the three kinds of lessons 
 enumerated by no means exhaust the sources 
 
Spelling ^tform. 
 
 of instruction in the arts of reading and spelling. 
 Thus a child cannot transcribe from the black- 
 board, or write in its copy-book, without having 
 the spelling of the words impressed on its 
 mind ; and practice in reading is obtained in 
 lessons on history, geography, and most other 
 subjects taught in the school. 
 
 Looking at the matter as impartially as I 
 can, I think we may place the one set of con- 
 siderations against the other, and assume the 
 figures given above as not far from the mark. 
 
 We may regard the matter also from a 
 pecuniary point of view. The whole cost of 
 the inspected public elementary schools in 
 England and Wales, whether raised from fees, 
 voluntary subscriptions, or local or imperial 
 taxation, as given in the Report of the Com- 
 mittee of Council on Education, amounted 
 to 3,276,030/. for the year 1876-77; but the 
 returns from which this computation was made 
 are confessedly incomplete, and there is internal 
 
14 Spelling '§,doxm. 
 
 evidence to shew that the amount is not less 
 than 3,477,000/. But we have already seen 
 that 2 7 '3 per cent, of the whole time of the 
 children's education, religious and secular, is 
 given to reading and spelling, and this propor- 
 tion of the above estimate amounts to 949,22 1/. ; 
 but this does not include the large amount that 
 has to be raised annually in some form or other 
 for the school premises, and which is a necessary 
 charge upon education. It is therefore evident 
 that the money cost of acquiring these necessary 
 accomplishments in the elementary schools 
 considerably exceeds 1,000,000/. per annum. 
 
 Unfortunately however after all this expendi- 
 ture of time and money, the great majority 
 of our children leave school unable to read 
 with ease or to spell with decent correctness. 
 The reports of Her Majesty's Inspectors and 
 others furnish superabundant proof of this 
 unsatisfactory result.' 
 
 ' See Appendix A. 
 
Sp^IImg llrfornt. 15 
 
 Of course the cost of these rudiments of 
 knowledge to the middle and upper classes 
 has to be added to the foregoing bill in order 
 to include the whole of the population. I have 
 not been able to make any trustworthy estimate 
 of this, and am inclined to think that the 
 children of educated parents learn more quickly ; 
 but we may depend upon it spelling comes to 
 no English child by intuition, though we may 
 ourselves have forgotten the processes by 
 which we mastered its perplexities. The Civil 
 Service Examinations shew how lamentably 
 imperfect is this acquirement, even among those 
 who have received a liberal education. 
 
 TIME THAT MIGHT BE SAVED. 
 
 We now come to the second point of our 
 inquiry, how much of this expenditure of 2,320 
 hours in learning to spell and read may be 
 
1 6 Spelling Reform. 
 
 justly attributed to the utter want of system in 
 our orthography. 
 
 It seems possible to approach the question in 
 four different ways. 
 
 I. By general considerations. — If English as 
 written corresponded pretty accurately with 
 English as pronounced, we should still have to 
 teach little children the sounds of the letters 
 and the manner of combining them ; and 
 practice would be needed in order to obtain 
 readiness in turning print or writing into 
 speech, or speech into writing. It is possible 
 that the ']\ hours per week in the infant 
 school would still be required, but there would 
 be no necessity for spelling lessons in the boys' 
 and girls' schools, and, the dictation lessons 
 would be almost, if not altogether, dispensed 
 with. These amount to 720 hours in the six 
 years, and that amount of time would probably 
 
shilling §ljform. 17 
 
 be saved ; but there would also be a large 
 reduction in the time devoted to reading, which 
 always includes more or less spelling ; this, 
 however, can hardly be estimated a priori. 
 
 II. By experiments made with systematic 
 methods of spelling. — Children have been taught 
 to read in various parts of England, Scotland, 
 and Ireland by means of books printed on 
 various phonetic and phonic principles, and it is 
 asserted that they have learnt first the syste- 
 matic and afterwards the ordinary spelling in a 
 shorter time than children usually take to learn 
 the latter alone. Of course this implies a great 
 saving of time, if they had only to learn the first. 
 I do not, however, lay much stress on these 
 experiments, because they have been usually 
 conducted by teachers who have had all the 
 advantage of an enthusiastic attachment to 
 their system. The phonic method of the late 
 Mr. Robinson of Wakefield is being now tried 
 
 
1 8 ^pdliitg '§.daxm. 
 
 by the Leeds School Board with very promising 
 results both as to the saving of time and the 
 improvement of the quality of the reading. 
 Another phonic system, that of Leigh, has more- 
 over been carried out in America on so ex- 
 tensive a scale that its results may be accepted 
 as very valuable, if not conclusive. In Sir 
 Charles Reed's report' he states — " In Boston, 
 where the children have hot more than four or 
 five years' schooling, the uniform result is a 
 saving of half the time, two years' work being 
 done in one." Similar estimates have been 
 made by the School Board of St. Louis, and 
 by the educational authorities of Illinois, Wash- 
 ington, Iowa, and other States. 
 
 III. By comparison with some other langtiages. 
 — The spelling of the Italian language is, as far 
 as I am aware, the most perfect of any in 
 
 ' Blue-Book on the Philadelphia International Exhibition. 
 With reference to this subject see also the article of Mr. James 
 Spedding in the Niiictccntli Century for June, 1877. 
 
^pfllhtg '§.tiotm. i9 
 
 Europe. It is in fact almost strictly phonetic ; 
 that is^ each sound is expressed by its own 
 letter, and each letter has but one sound. 
 Every one who has learnt that language knows 
 that the reading and writing of it present no 
 difficulties. I have gathered information from dif- 
 ferent parts of Italy, and fortunately the detailed 
 programmes of the instruction in elementary 
 schools are published. From them it appears 
 that children begin school at six or seven years 
 of age, and that while in the first class, which 
 usually occupies two years, they learn to read 
 with a correct pronunciation, and do exercises 
 in transcription, and dictation. On passing to 
 the second class they acquire the art of read- 
 ing fluently and with intelligence, and dictation 
 lessons cease at the end of the first four 
 months. As the summer vacation lasts for 
 two monthsj and all festivals, both civil and 
 religious, are holidays, the number of attend- 
 ances can scarcely be greater than 360. As 
 
 L 2 
 
20 
 
 Spelling lltforra. 
 
 religious instruction and exercises, arithmetic 
 and writing, occupy a large proportion of the 
 five hours per diem, ten hours a week may be 
 taken as an outside estimate for learning to 
 read and spell in the first class ; while in the 
 second, reading may occupy five hours, and 
 dictation two and a half hours weekly, but the 
 latter only during the first half of the school 
 year. This will give 945 hours, instead of 2,320, 
 and indicates that an Italian child of about 
 nine years of age will read and spell at least as 
 correctly as most English children when they 
 leave school at thirteen, though the Italian 
 child was two years later in beginning his 
 lessons. 
 
 The spelling of the German language is in- 
 comparably better than our own, yet many 
 mute letters are employed, and several sounds 
 are capable of being represented in more ways 
 than one. I have obtained information from 
 educational authorities in various parts of 
 
spelling §[tfjonn. 
 
 21 
 
 Prussia, Saxony, Wirtemberg, Baden, and Ham- 
 burg ; and that with regard to all classes of 
 society. The German child seems usually to 
 begin his schooling everywhere at six years of 
 age, and the general testimony is that he learns 
 in two years, if not in a shorter time, to read 
 distinctly and correctly books which are not 
 above his comprehension. The most detailed 
 letter I have received is from the Principal of 
 one of the Communal schools at Berlin, and 
 without knowing the object of my inquiry he 
 throws considerable light upon it. He de- 
 scribes the progress of a scholar during each 
 year, and states that at the expiration of the 
 second year the pupil reads aloud and correctly 
 in both German and Roman characters, he spells 
 from memory, and writes dictations with pen 
 and paper in German hand, the words being 
 limited to those in which the spoken vowels 
 correspond to the written. But the German 
 child has in the next year to learn to write in 
 
2 2 Spi^lliitg |i£fornT. 
 
 Roman characters, and to be initiated into 
 double consonants and other orthographical 
 mysteries ; in the fourth year he attains the 
 power of reading with correct accentuation, and 
 writes a dictation correctly, distinguishing be- 
 tween a and e, au and eu, ei and ai. It appears, 
 therefore, that the irregularities of German 
 spelling, trifling as they are when compared 
 with ours, greatly prolong the time required ; 
 yet a German child of ten is about on a par as 
 to spelling and reading with our Fifth Standard 
 children, and is thus saved about two years' 
 time, though he commenced to learn later. 
 
 But a still more rapid result seems to be 
 attained wherever the Schreiblese-methode has 
 been introduced. A pamphlet published in 
 Stuttgart, which describes in minute detail the 
 course of instruction in the elementary schools, 
 shews that in the first school year (that is, 
 from six to seven) eleven and a-half hours per 
 week are given to the primer, writing, and 
 
transcribing ; during the next two years eight 
 and a half hours per week are devoted to reading, 
 writing, and dictation ; but after that the read- 
 ing becomes what we should designate as litera- 
 ture, science, and history, while the dictation 
 lessons are reduced to half an hour per week, and 
 they are continued till the child is fourteen, 
 principally for the purpose of teaching unusual 
 and foreign words. This gives an aggregate 
 of 1,302 hours for the forty-two weeks, which is 
 the usual school year in Germany. But this can 
 hardly be compared with the English 2,320 
 hours, for the German estimate includes the 
 time given to the early stages of writing, and 
 that in two distinct sets of characters.' 
 
 The Dutch, Danish, and Swedish languages 
 are spelt better than our own, though their 
 orthography is by no means perfect. The 
 information which I have received from these 
 countries does not give definite numerical data, 
 
 ' See Appendix B. 
 
24 Spiling §Uf0rm. 
 
 but it shews that reading at least is acquired 
 more quickly than with us. As to Sweden, I 
 am assured, on the authority of Mr. Ekman, 
 the School Board Inspector of the Upsala 
 district, that " the children in the Swedish Board 
 Schools as a rule are able to read fluently and to 
 write correctly at the age of nine to ten years." 
 A very interesting account of an experiment 
 at Stockholm upon an improved mode of 
 teaching to read will be found in the Ap- 
 pendix.' 
 
 The spelling of the French language, though 
 much more systematic than our own, has pecu- 
 liarities which render it almost as difficult ; and 
 consequently we find that a very large amount 
 of time has to be expended in transcription 
 and dictation. In the elementary schools of 
 Geneva lessons in spelling have to be given 
 in the sixth grade, which corresponds to our 
 highest standard. 
 
 ' See Appendix C. 
 
spelling lleform. 25 
 
 IV. By inquiries among bilingual popula- 
 tions. — In the Government schools of Malta 
 the children are taught, not their vernacular, 
 which is an unwritten Arabic, but two lan- 
 guages equally foreign to them — Italian and 
 English. They commence them simultane- 
 ously, and learn to read the Italian very easily 
 by means of a box of movable letters, while 
 they are sorely puzzled with the English. 
 
 I recently examined several of the children 
 in the Anglo-Italian night school, near Leather 
 Lane, and satisfied myself of the ease with 
 which they acquired the power of reading and 
 spelling Italian. In reply to inquiries as to 
 the cornparative time a child ignorant of letters, 
 but understanding English and Italian equally 
 well, would take to learn how to read and write 
 each language correctly, the Principal estimated 
 that the English language would require about 
 twice the time of the Italian. 
 
 From inquiries which I have made among 
 
26 Sptlltng Reform. 
 
 the Anglo-German schools in London, the 
 general result seems to be that the children 
 acquire as great a, proficiency in reading and 
 writing German in eighteen months as they do 
 English in two years. These schools are six 
 in number, and some are in very poor, and 
 some in respectable neighbourhoods. 
 
 The Germans in America — a very numerous 
 body^ — are loud in their cry for a spelling reform, 
 on account of their children being subjected to 
 a difficulty through the English orthography, 
 which they themselves never experienced. 
 
 Welsh when printed appears uncouth to the 
 English eye, and the duplicated consonants are 
 unphilosophical enough ; yet it is spelt consist- 
 ently. The consequence is that among the 
 bilingual population of the Principality, while 
 English reading and writing have to be labori- 
 ously learnt at school, Welsh is learned without 
 effort at home and in the Sunday-schools, and 
 books and newspapers in the Welsh language 
 
Spilling ^lefcrrm. 27 
 
 are found everywhere. In the Highlands of 
 Scotland, on the contrary, a similar people, 
 speaking another branch of the same language, 
 but spelling it etymologically, cannot learn to 
 read Gaelic without regular school teaching, and 
 are almost devoid of current literature. 
 
 It seems a fair inference from these various 
 facts and lines of argument, that if English 
 orthography represented English pronunciation 
 as closely as the Italian does, at least half the 
 time and expense of teaching to read and to 
 spell would be saved. This may be taken as 
 1,200 hours in a lifetime, and as more than half 
 a million of money per annum for England 
 and Wales alone. 
 
 It would be a false economy to retain this 
 saving in the ratepayers' pockets, and to turn 
 the children out of school a year or two earlier 
 than at present. The true course would be to 
 devote the time and money so saved to the 
 teaching of other subjects which will have a 
 
28 Spiling ^rfornt. 
 
 practical bearing upon their future lives. In 
 the elementary schools of Italy, though the 
 aggregate time of schooling is shorter, the 
 children learn much about the laws of health, 
 and domestic and social economy. In Germany 
 they acquire considerable knowledge of litera- 
 ture and science, and in Holland they take up 
 foreign languages. It is lamentable how small 
 a proportion of our scholars ever advance 
 beyond the mere rudiments of learning ; a 
 circumstance the more to be regretted as they 
 Avill have to compete with those foreign work- 
 men whose early education was not weighted 
 with an absurd and antiquated orthography. 
 
 OTHER ADVANTAGES. 
 
 Although the main argument in favour of a 
 spelling reform, from an educational point of 
 view, is that which has been already set forth. 
 
Speniirg §leform. 29 
 
 there are many minor advantages which would 
 result from the adoption of a more rational 
 system. 
 
 I St. Reduction in the cost of printing. — The 
 amount of saving would depend very much 
 upon the system adopted. The mere removal 
 of duplicated consonants would save i'6 per 
 cent, and of the mute e's an additional 4 per 
 cent. In the New Testament printed in pho- 
 netic type in 1849, by Alexander J. Ellis, 100 
 letters and spaces are represented by 83. As 
 far as printing and paper are concerned, there- 
 fore, a six-shilling book would be reduced to 
 five shillings. Such a benefit ought to be wel- 
 comed by newspaper proprietors, advertisers, 
 and the public generally. 
 
 2nd. The furnishing a means of indicating 
 the correct pronunciation. — At present if we 
 meet with a strange word or a new proper 
 
30 Spiling ^ffonn. 
 
 name we are very often at a loss how to 
 pronounce it. Who has not felt this in reading 
 the newspaper aloud ? Now any uniform plan 
 of representing sounds would furnish the writer 
 with a means of indicating in what way any 
 new word was to be pronounced. It is not 
 necessary for this purpose that our own 
 patronymic, for instance, or any foreign name, 
 should be altered in its spelling, — the pronun- 
 ciation might be written in brackets beside it ; 
 nor is it necessary that any very "philosophical 
 mode of spelling should be adopted. The 
 necessary enlargement of our vocal signs may 
 be obtained either by new letters, or by the 
 consistent use of digraphs (compound letters 
 such as ch and ov), or by diacritical marks such 
 as are used in most pronouncing dictionaries. 
 All that is essential for this particular purpose 
 is that the system, whatever it be, should be 
 generally understood. 
 
 Let me illustrate this by an example. Last 
 
summer I joined an excursion up the river 
 Tamar to Cothele. Now on considering this 
 word of seven letters I saw there were twenty- 
 seven ways of pronouncing it in accordance 
 with the analogy of English words and names. 
 I dared not utter the word, the chances were 
 evidently so much against my being right, but 
 I listened carefully for it from the lips of one 
 who could be depended upon, and I found that 
 it was different from any of my twenty-seven. 
 I could write the pronunciation according to 
 the systems of Walker or Webster, Pitman 
 or Ellis, or of the Indian Government, or in 
 Italian or German, so that any one would be 
 sure to pronounce the name correctly, provided 
 only that he knew the system employed." 
 
 3rd. The redtidion of dialects, — In such 
 writing as the Chinese, where the signs 
 represent ideas and not sounds, there is 
 
 ' See Appendix D. 
 
32 Sp^Hmg '^daxm. 
 
 nothing to prevent dialects in the process 
 of time becoming so very divergent that 
 people who read the same literature cannot 
 understand one another's speech. Such is 
 the case in the different provinces of the 
 Chinese Empire. Where, as in almost every 
 other written language, the signs represent 
 sounds, this is scarcely possible. The English 
 language, however, in having partly retained 
 its old spelling and partly changed it in 
 arbitrary ways with little regard to the gradual 
 changes of pronunciation, has in great measure 
 lost its power of suggesting the true sound of 
 the words. Hence the English dialects are 
 not corrected by the practice of reading. With 
 the Italian it is quite otherwise. The language 
 as spoken in the different States into which 
 Italy was formerly divided is pronounced very 
 differently, and one object of the present 
 Government in promoting education is to in- 
 troduce everywhere what is considered the 
 
Sp'fillmg §liform. 33 
 
 national tongue. In the schools the children 
 are taught to speak the classic language, 
 and their reading lessons shew them the 
 correct pronunciation of the words. Hence 
 they come to drop their provincial mode of 
 speech, first at school, then in places of pub- 
 lic resort, and eventually even in the family. 
 After a while it is expected that a uniformity 
 of speech will prevail throughout the entire 
 kingdom. 
 
 The existence of the English dialects, not- 
 withstanding the wide diffusion of our litera- 
 ture, is a significant fact, and is an additional 
 argument in favour of such a system of spel- 
 ling as shall render their long continuance 
 impossible. 
 
 4th. The gain to philology. — We can scarcely 
 doubt that philology would gain, and not lose, 
 when we find that the greatest philologists both 
 of England and America are the most ardent 
 
 c 
 
34 Spfll'mg §[£farm;. 
 
 advocates of spelling reform.' Nevertheless, 
 it is often urged as an argument against clear- 
 ing away the ruins of ancient forms of our 
 language that we "should lose the etymology 
 of our words." Who would lose it ? Not the 
 great mass of English-speaking children, who 
 will never learn any language but their own, 
 lor to them the old letters now unsounded will 
 never be anything more than an unintelligible 
 puzzle. Not our sons and daughters who will 
 learn Latin and Greek, and Anglo-Saxon, for 
 they will assuredly in any case learn to read 
 (and probably to write) the present stj'le ; and 
 the differences between the reformed spelling 
 and the unreformed will direct their attention 
 to these etymological survivals more forcibly 
 than anything else could possibly do. The 
 
 ^ Such as Professors Ma/ Miiller and Sayce of Oxford ; Skeat 
 of Cambridge ; Meiklejohu of St. Andrew's ; Doctors Angus, 
 Morris, and Murray, of London ; Mr. Sweet, President of the 
 Philological Society; and Professors Whitney, Marsh, and 
 Haldeman of the United States of America. 
 
Spelling |ieform. 35 
 
 only possible losers will be the learned portion 
 of some generation in the far future, when the 
 old spelling has become obsolete ; and even 
 they, if this etymological knowledge is worth 
 possessing, will only have to learn to read the 
 then archaic style, just as every one, rich or 
 poor, has to learn it now. 
 
 There would be another and more important 
 gain to philology. What we want to know is 
 not merely what English was when it first 
 became a separate tongue, and what it is now, 
 but by what stages this gradual transition has 
 taken place. Had our ancestors preserved an 
 absolutely unchanged orthography, we should 
 have known nothing of this ; had they always 
 written phonetically, we should have been 
 able to trace this perfectly by means of the 
 spelling used by authors in successive cen- 
 turies. But they have done neither the one 
 nor the other, and the changes made have 
 been without any system ; thus the knowledge 
 
 c 2 
 
36 Sp filing ^Iffunn. 
 
 of the history of our language is utterly and 
 hopelessly confused. The best service we 
 can now render to philology in the future is 
 to write exactly as we speak in the present. 
 
 5 th. The substitution of a healthy for a 
 vicious mental training. — At present a young 
 child is taught in its reading and spelling 
 kssons to distrust analogy and its sense of 
 right, to break rules without apparent reason, 
 and to rely on authority against evidence. 
 Under a rational system of spelling the same 
 child would find that the lesson of one day 
 was a step to the next ; its instinct of order 
 would be strengthened, and its logical sense 
 developed. 
 
 6th. The extension of the English language. 
 — Our language is one of the easiest to learn 
 as far as the grammatical construction is con- 
 cerned, and it is singularly rich both in its 
 
Spiling '§,zioxm. 37 
 
 vocabulary and literature. With our immense 
 empire, and the widespread ramifications of 
 our commerce, it might become the general 
 means of communication between all nations, 
 were it not that we impose the double task of 
 learning both the spoken and the written 
 language. If these two were brought into 
 harmony English would be more generally 
 learnt, and that would be an immense ad- 
 vantage both to ourselves, and to the Celtic 
 population of our own islands, the native 
 inhabitants of India and our colonies, and all 
 foreigners who may have relations with us. 
 
 OBJECTIONS. 
 
 It would indeed be strange if so important 
 a reform were attended with no disadvantages 
 and difficulties ; and it is only right to give 
 full attention and weight to all the objections 
 which may be urged against it. 
 
38 Sptlling Reform. 
 
 Foremost among these, at least in the 
 mouths of intelligent people, is usually the 
 statement that the proposed change would 
 sever the continuity of our written language, 
 and cause us to lose much that is of value in 
 regard to the history and origin of words. 
 I thought so once myself; but have gradually 
 arrived at the conclusion already expressed, 
 that philology would gain more than it would 
 lose by the change. For a complete and 
 detailed answer to this class of objections I 
 must simply refer the reader to Professor Max 
 Muller's article on the subject in the Fort- 
 nighlly Review for 1876.^ 
 
 Others state that by changing the spelling 
 our national literature would be spoilt, and 
 the associations with the past destroyed. It 
 may be sufficient to remind the reader that 
 our Bible and Prayer-book, Shakespeare and 
 Milton, are now spelt very differently to what 
 
 ^ Reprinted by F. Pitman, 20, Paternoster Row. Price \d. 
 
S^^IIing §ltfonn. 39 
 
 they originally were, and are none the worse 
 for it. 
 
 Another class of objections is that our li- 
 braries will be rendered useless, our whole 
 typographical arrangements upset, and that 
 all our educational appliances would have to 
 be remodelled. These objections could only 
 have force were the change of spelling effected 
 by some sudden revolution compulsorily en- 
 forced, a procedure which, as far as I am 
 aware, no spelling reformer has ever advocated. 
 It is quite certain that, in whatever shape a 
 new mode of spelling may come, its intro- 
 duction will be slow and gradual. It will 
 resemble the transition from manuscripts to 
 printed books, from black letter to the com- 
 mon type, or from the ancient Roman numerals 
 to the present Arabic notation. All these have 
 taken place without any catastrophe. As, 
 however, no changes can be effected without 
 inconvenient results in some quarters, spelling 
 
40 ^p^IIinjg '§.&kn\x. 
 
 reformers will have need to consider how to 
 secure the maximum of advantage with the 
 minimum of inconvenience. 
 
 Some dread the labour of having to learn 
 what they call a new language ; let such con- 
 sole themselves with the reflexion that they 
 need never write it ; and as to reading, the 
 most thorough phonetic spelling is far more 
 easily read than those exaggerations of our 
 irregular spelling in which some of the American 
 humorists delight, and which we read for our 
 amusement. It is almost needless to say that 
 there will be nothing to unlearn, as some people 
 foolishly imagine. 
 
 There is another class of objections which I 
 do not know how to answer seriously. Many 
 persons think that any unfamiliar speUing looks 
 ugly, or that a more phonetic mode of writing 
 is ludicrous, or wrong, or a proof of ignorance. 
 I do not doubt that when the Roman type was 
 introduced, many who were accustomed to the 
 
spelling ^Icfonn. 41 
 
 old black-letter could not bear the nasty, thin, 
 plain-looking modern characters ; and we have 
 heard of a student who, when examined about 
 his knowledge of Chaucer, replied, " Chaucer 
 was a writer who deserved some merit, but 
 unfortunately he could not spell." 
 
 During the last thirty years I have had 
 frequent conversations with objectors, but it 
 has been my universal experience that among 
 intelligent people the supposed advantages 
 of the present spelling have on investigation 
 become more and more insignificant, while 
 the great advantages of bringing our writing 
 into agreement with our pronunciation have 
 become more and more evident. 
 
 The difficulty of the reformer really consists 
 in his running counter to the prepossession 
 in favour of what is familiar, a difficulty 
 formidable enough to tax all our courage 
 and patience. 
 
42 SpjUmg Reform. 
 
 SPELLING REFORM IN OTHER COUNTRIES. 
 
 It may be a source both of encouragement 
 and instruction to note what reforms are pro- 
 posed or are actually in progress in other 
 countries. 
 
 In the Italian and Spanish languages the 
 spelling has already been brought into almost 
 perfect conformity with the pronunciation. In 
 these, therefore, there is nothing to justify any 
 agitation for further reform. 
 
 Although little fault can be found with the 
 German spelling as compared with the English 
 and French, the educationists of that country 
 and the Governments of the different States 
 have long been desirous of simplifying it. In 
 1854 meetings were held both at Hanover and 
 Leipzig, which resulted in certain modifications 
 of the spelling being rendered obligatory in the 
 
Sp«IIins; '§.daxm. 43 
 
 Hanoverian higher schools. This was followed 
 in i860 by Wirtemberg, which adopted a re- 
 formed orthography for its elementary as well 
 as its upper schools; and by Austria in 1861, 
 and by Bavaria in 1866. But the changes 
 adopted by these several States are not the 
 same ; and so imminent did the danger appear 
 of having a different mode of writing and 
 printing in different parts of Germany, that 
 a conference of delegates from the several 
 Governments was held at Dresden in October, 
 1S72. This led to the Prussian Minister of 
 Education, Dr. Falk, proposing that a com- 
 petent scholar, Professor von Raumer, should 
 draw up a scheme ; and this met with the ap- 
 proval of all the Governments. The scheme 
 thus prepared was privately printed and sent 
 to the respective Governments, and then sub- 
 mitted to a Ministerial Commission, consisting 
 of Von Raumer and eleven other educationists, 
 together with a printer and a publisher. The 
 
44 Sp-ellmjg ^l^fcirnt. 
 
 Commission met in January, 1876, and ap- 
 proved of the scheme with certain modifica- 
 tions ; and a report of the whole proceedings 
 has been drawn up and printed.^ The pro- 
 posalg of the Commissioners are now before 
 the German nation for criticism, but at present 
 there seems Httle hope for unanimity except as 
 regards the limitation of capital letters at the 
 beginning of words, the banishment of many of 
 the superfluous letters, and the general adoption 
 of the Roman character. In the meantime 
 there has arisen a movement in favour of a 
 purely phonetic reform, the advocates of which 
 are dissatisfied with the half measures of the 
 Government, and are making strenuous efforts 
 to secure the public approval of their more 
 advanced scheme. ^ 
 
 1 Verhandlungen der zur Herstellung grosserer Einigung in der 
 deutschen Rechtschreibung berufenen Konferenz. Veroffentlicht 
 im Auftrage des Koniglichen Preussisclien Unterrichtsministers. 
 Halle, 1876. 
 
 ^ Academy, November 24, 1877. 
 
jj^cUiitg ^cfmm. 45 
 
 Up to the beginning of the present century 
 the spelHng of the Dutch language was very 
 unsettled. In 1804 the movement for reform 
 assumed a definite shape through the essay of 
 Professor von Siegenbeek ; and the greatly im- 
 proved spelling that bears his name was the 
 only official and authorised one till 1873. 
 Then some important changes were proposed 
 by De Vries and Te Winkel, and these are 
 now adopted by the different departments of 
 Government. I believe, however, that there 
 are other systems which receive official sanc- 
 tion, and we can only hope that the result 
 will be " the survival of the fittest." 
 
 Similar movements for reform are taking 
 place in the Scandinavian kingdoms. The 
 Swedish spelling appears to be about equal 
 in quality to the German, but for the last 100 
 years or therea,bouts attempts have been made 
 by competent persons to establish a purely 
 phonetic system, and the Swedish Academy 
 
4 '5 Spelling ^^form. 
 
 has adopted some of their proposals and em- 
 bodied them in a model spelling book ; but the 
 Government has taken no part in the matter, 
 and there is consequently much diversity in 
 practice. In Denmark the movement origi- 
 nated with some learned men and school- 
 masters, and it has resulted in a Government 
 decree, confirming certain regulations with re- 
 spect to double consonants, the silent e and 
 d, the abolition of q, and some other points. 
 These "official" changes are not obligatory; 
 but they are winning their way both in public 
 and private schools ; and the use of the Gothic 
 character has almost ceased. About ten years 
 ago a meeting of scholars from Sweden, Nor- 
 way, and Denmark took place, with the object 
 of establishing a phonetic mode of spellino- 
 which should be common to the Scandinavian 
 languages. 
 
 Coming to our own mother tongue, the 
 question of spelling reform has advanced much 
 
SffcHmg: ^.cfornr. 47 
 
 further in the United States of America than 
 at home. There exists a powerful association 
 for the purpose ; and an international conven- 
 tion for the amendment of English orthography 
 was held in Philadelphia in August, 1876. 
 The Legislature of the State of Connecticut 
 has taken the lead by appointing a commission 
 of six competent persons " who shall examine 
 as to the propriety of adopting an amended 
 orthography of the public documents hereafter 
 to be printed." A similar course of action has 
 probably by this time been adopted by the two 
 houses of Legislature in Pennsylvania. 
 
 Our own Government has had to face the 
 question in the spelling of Indian proper 
 names. Not only has it defined the spelling 
 to be officially employed, but (with certain ex- 
 ceptions) has adopted a system by which the 
 various sounds are uniformly represented by 
 certain letters or combinations of letters. The 
 ordinary English alphabet has been found 
 
48 Spflliiig §lrform. 
 
 sufficient for the purpose, except that all the. 
 vowels have been made to do double duty by 
 employing them with or without a dash, and 
 certain well-understood digraphs, such as kh for 
 the guttural, are employed. This orthography 
 is not only adopted in legislative enactments, in 
 maps, in the post-office and telegraph depart- 
 ments, &c., but is also making its way into 
 general use. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 On considering these movements for reform 
 which are taking place in other countries, two 
 reflexions force themselves upon us. ist. If 
 the educational authorities of Germany, Hol- 
 land, Sweden, and Denmark consider it desir- 
 able that their written language should be 
 simplified, how much more incumbent is it 
 upon us, who are weighted in all our schools 
 with a vastly more cumbersome and irrational 
 
spelling ^leform. 49 
 
 spelling. 2nd. The tentative efforts of re- 
 formers constitute a real danger unless there be 
 some authority able and willing to examine the 
 various schemes proposed, and to express an 
 unprejudiced opinion on their merits. 
 
 During the past year or two the question of 
 amending our spelling has advanced beyond 
 the narrow circle of scholars and theoretical 
 reformers ; it is felt by educationists to be a 
 great necessity, and rival systems of reform 
 are discussed before the public, while the de- 
 fence of the present want of system is gene- 
 rally given up as hopeless. The practical 
 solution however is surrounded with difficulties, 
 and at the present time our Government is, 
 undesignedly no doubt, but none the less surely, 
 placing an impassable barrier in the way of any 
 alteration. By insisting upon what the In- 
 spectors consider to be correct spelling in our 
 elementary schools, and in our Civil Service 
 and other examinations, it is stereotyping our 
 
 D 
 
50 Spellmg: |l{form. 
 
 written language as it has never been stereo- 
 typed before. One of the first requirements is 
 the toleration at least of some alternative 
 system or systems, and no authority could ex- 
 amine the various proposals with so much 
 advantage as a Royal Commission composed 
 of the ablest men in the country, which shall 
 command the respect not only of the British 
 public in general, but also of the English- 
 speaking populations in America, Australia, 
 India, and other lands. ^ 
 
 ' See Appendix E. 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
 D 2 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 Among the most recent evidence of the backward 
 state of speUing and reading in our schools the 
 following may be quoted. 
 
 " Let us take the three R's first : of these, though 
 the percentage of passes is largest in reading, I hold 
 
 reading to be the subject worst done No one 
 
 will ever read in later life unless reading is quite easy 
 to him, and I believe that no child leaving school 
 before attaining the Fifth Standard can read with 
 the facility necessary to make reading a pleasure. 
 Thus children who receive certificates under Labour 
 Acts will in all probability never touch a book again 
 
 after leaving school Spelling must always 
 
 remain a great difficulty in a language so arbitrary as 
 ours." — General Report for the year 1876, by Her 
 Majesty's Inspector, R. F. Boyle, Esq. 
 
54 igp^nfe %. 
 
 " A very serious blemish in the papers of the 
 scholars of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Standards is 
 
 faulty spelling The inaccuracies of spelling 
 
 which did not imply a misconception of the meaning 
 of quoted passages, and which were therefore held by 
 the examiners to be of no account, were, I regret to 
 say, exceedingly numerous in the papers of the 
 competitors of the Sixth Standard. These children 
 were supposed to be the pick of their respective 
 schools, and yet about forty per cent, of them spelt 
 i/tere for i/ieir and vice versd." — Report on the Examin- 
 ation in Scripture Knowledge, i^TT- By T. M. 
 Williams, Esq., Inspector to the School Board for 
 London. 
 
 " I have been in the habit for many years of taking 
 boys to read to me. I always take them from the 
 Sixth Standard. They are unable to read aloud 
 tolerably, and have no idea of the pronunciation of the 
 language. The only remedy for this, in my opinion, 
 is to teach all the thirty-nine sounds, together with 
 the letter which represents each of them." — Letter of 
 the Rt. Hon. ROBERT LowE, M.P., of May 21, 1877. 
 
i^pp^ntrit- §. 55 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 The following are some of the evidence from other 
 parts of Germany : — 
 
 "According to the Schreiblese-methode, which has 
 been introduced into the schools of Saxony, a child of 
 ordinary intelligence, having two to three hours 
 instruction per day (where the classes exceed fifty 
 they have four hours) learns in one year to read, write 
 and do the four rules of simple arithmetic up to ten. 
 At the end of the second school year, at the age of 
 eight, such a child is usually able to read fluently, 
 and with a fair apprehension of its meaning, any 
 piece of printing put before it whether in German or 
 Roman characters." — Letter of Privy Councillor 
 BORNEMANN, Education Department, Dresden. 
 
 " In the higher educational establishments (Gymna- 
 sien, Real-schulen and upper Biirger-schulen) children 
 between the age of six and seven years learn to read 
 and write in six months, on receiving one hour's 
 instruction per diem. In the elementary schools 
 (Volks-schulen) nine months are required. These 
 
56 SpP"^^f §• 
 
 results are only obtained by using the Schreiblese- 
 methode, which, as the more natural one, is preferable 
 to the simple ' look and say,' or alphabetical method." 
 — Letter ofTsx. SCHUSTER, Director of the Real-scJmle, 
 first order, Hattover. 
 
 " After the first year's schooling (the children enter 
 at the age of six and six and a half) the average result 
 is that the scholars have learnt to read easy sentences 
 in the primer distinctly and correctly : also to write, 
 inasmuch as both go hand in hand in the Schreiblese- 
 methode. Such a result cannot be achieved in the 
 English language on account of the difficulties in its 
 pronunciation and spelling." — Letter of Dr. Otto, of 
 Heidelberg. 
 
 " The age at which children are required to attend 
 school is from six to foui'teen. During the first year 
 they learn to read without difficulty both the German 
 and Latin characters, written as well as printed. . . . 
 At nine years old, i.e., after three years' schooling, 
 almost all the children are perfect in orthography." 
 — Letter ofB. L. Leeson, of Hamburg. 
 
^|5^mbk €. 57 
 
 APPENDIX C. 
 
 " On the 15th of August last, 100 children, boys and 
 girls, between six and seven years of age, were ad- 
 mitted into the Clara Parochial School, and divided 
 into three classes, each having a separate room and a 
 separate teacher. The actual instruction of these 
 children commenced on the 20th August, and it was 
 proved in the presence of 300 male and female 
 teachers, that they knew nothing at all, but were 
 entirely ignorant of reading and writing. During the 
 first days of October an examination took place in 
 presence of the assembled teachers, the members of 
 the school council, and of the Minister of Education, 
 and it was ascertained that in one class, containing 
 thirty children and under the tuition of the ablest 
 schoolmistress, all the children, without a single ex- 
 ception, could read slowly, easy passages, not before 
 practised or read, both in print and in writing. 
 
 " In writing the progress was very varied. The best 
 pupils could write very neatly on slates from a written 
 copy on the black board. In arithmetic they could 
 employ the numbers one to ten in addition, subtrac- 
 
58 Sppenbb C. 
 
 tion, multiplication, and division. They had also 
 learnt some Bible history from vivA voce instruction ; 
 and their powers of conception had been considerably 
 developed by means of object-lessons. 
 
 " The pronunciation of these children was, from the 
 outset, tolerably correct, because here in Stockholm 
 the language spoken is pretty pure and free from 
 dialect. As to the other two classes, it may suffice to 
 say, that they had not made quite the same progress. 
 The method of instruction employed is the Laut- 
 Schreiblese-methode. This method is in use in all 
 the schools here — and, of course, also in the other 
 parts of the country, although as yet it has not 
 become quite general. 
 
 " It should be noticed that the Swedish language in 
 its unison of pronunciation and spelling is well adapted 
 for this method. The German is somewhat more 
 difficult in that respect — but the French, and espe- 
 cially the English language, place great obstacles in 
 the way of this method of teaching. 
 
 " Without therefore being able to give a positive 
 reply regarding the average time necessary for teach- 
 ing to read, I may conclude my observations by 
 saying, that with a suitable method, competent 
 teachers, and somewhat favourable circumstances, the 
 following results have been and may be realised : — 
 
^ptntrb C 59 
 
 " Firstly. In about six to eight weeks the slow 
 reading of ordinary Swedish words. 
 
 " Secondly. In about six to eight months perfect, 
 mechanical reading." — Letter of Dr. C. J. Meyer- 
 berg, Inspector of Schools in Stockholm. November 
 lOth, 1877. 
 
6o 
 
 ^ptntrk ^. 
 
 APPENDIX D. 
 
 In the word Cothele the letter o may be pro- 
 nounced in three ways, as in cot, cross, or cotem- 
 porary ; the th may have also three sounds, as in 
 this, thistle, or hothouse ; while ele may be a di- 
 syllable with the first e either long or short, as in 
 electricity or elephant, or a monosyllable, as in 
 bronchocele. Now 3 x 3 x 3 = 27. In point of fact 
 the // is mute ; and the correct pronunciation would 
 be written by 
 
 Walker, — Dictionary ... K6tel. 
 
 Webster, — Dictionary ... -£otel. 
 
 Pitman, Ellis, and Withers... Catel. 
 
 Pitman, — Phonotypy ... KdtJl. 
 
 Ellis, — Glossic ... ... Koateel. 
 
 " Anglo-American System " Coteel. 
 
 Indian Government ... Kotil. 
 
 Italian ... ... ... Cotil. 
 
 German ... ... ... Kotiel. 
 
 Dutch ... ... ... Kootiel. 
 
These are all different, but are all practically- 
 phonetic, and any one of them would convey the 
 true pronunciation of " Cothele " to any adult reader 
 who had given half an hour's attention to the 
 alphabet employed. It is not, however, to be 
 supposed that they are all equally good. 
 
62 glpfnbH ^. 
 
 APPENDIX E. 
 
 " There is much that might be done with advant- 
 age in the reform of spelling as to the English 
 language ; but the main thing is, that whatever 
 may be proposed should be proposed with the 
 weight of great authority to back it. The best 
 plan, if proposed without such backing, will in my 
 opinion only tend to promote confusion. I should 
 advise those who are interested — and very justly 
 interested in this question — to busy themselves 
 not so much with considering what should be 
 done as with considering in what way opinion 
 can be brought to bear on the matter, and some 
 organ framed to inquire what should be proposed. 
 It is not in my power to offer to give any time 
 under present circumstances to the undertaking 
 which I recommend, and in which I should gladly 
 have found myself able to join." — Letter of the Rt. 
 Hon. W. E. Gladstone to Mr. E. Jones, June 
 2'jth, 1874. 
 
 "What he would like to see was an inquiry on 
 the part of the Government amongst educators in 
 
Speniju- ®. 6 
 
 J 
 
 all countries — that there should be a careful investi- 
 gation made and a careful report presented, and if 
 any change could be effected, it should be a gradual 
 change going on side by side with the present system, 
 something like the tonic sol-fa system, going on side 
 by side with the old system of notation, so that 
 learning would be made easier for the children of 
 the next generation if not for the present." — Report 
 of Speech by Sir Charles Reed, at Leicester, 
 October ^oth, 1875. 
 
 " Our absence of any authority with such a function 
 as the reviewing of our spelling and the making it 
 rational is well known. Englishmen generally pro- 
 fess to be proud of it. I am myself disposed to think 
 that a Royal Commission might with advantage be 
 charged, not indeed with the absurd task of inventing 
 a brand-new spelling, but with the task of reviewing 
 our present spelling, of pointing out evident anomalies 
 in it, of suggesting feasible amendments of it. But 
 such a Commission should be permanent, with the 
 function of watching our language, by no means of 
 stereotyping it ; and, though appointed by Govern- 
 ment in the first instance, it should recruit itself, as 
 vacancies arose, by cooptation." — Report of Mkttu'EV/ 
 Arnold, Esq., H.M. Inspector, 1877. 
 
LONDON: 
 
 K. CLAY, SON5, AND TAYLOR, 
 
 BREAD STREET HILL, E.G. 
 

 
 ■^ 
 
 
 ;^ 
 
 "^ 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 m