AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF INSTRUCTION.

Fifty-fifth Annual Meeting.

JULY 7, 8, 9 AND 10, 1884.

JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS.

FIRST DAY.- MONDAY EVENING, JULY 7.

At half-past seven o'clock, Monday evening, July 7, the first general meeting of the session was called to order by the President, Homer B. Sprague, in the large iron tabernacle on the Camp Ground, at Cottage City, Mass. About two thousand persons were present. In the enforced absence of Governor Robinson and State Senator Norris, President Sprague welcomed the members to the hospitality of Cottage City, and said :

FRIENDS OF EDUCATION: In the much-regretted absence of the Governor of Massachusetts, whom we had expected to be present on this occasion and extend to you who come from other sections, a greeting in the name of the Commonwealth, but who finds that he cannot be in two places at once; and doubly disappointed as we are in the non-appearance of the Senator from Dukes County whom we had depended upon to address you at this time, but who is suddenly detained elsewhere; the duty unexpectedly devolves upon me, as a native and a citizen of the State and for a dozen years

past one of the summer residents of this island, of pronouncing the word, Welcome. I do it gladly. To the Old Bay State, which loves all who love education; to this romantic corner of the historic commonwealth, with its pure air, its glorious waves, its quiet streets, its thousand lovely cottages, its interesting history, its hallowed religious memories, and its new educational advantages, you are honored guests. Cottage City today opens wide its homes and hearts to all who would promote that intelligence and virtue, which, even more than its natural attractions, have made this "kingdom by the sea" what it is. To one and all, a hearty welcome!

The President then introduced Mrs. Alice Osborne, who sang with much sweetness and expression, Charles Mackay's inspiring song beginning, "If I were a voice, a persuasive voice."

This was followed by the President's Address. (See Lectures.)

The lecturer of the evening, Prof. C. T. Winchester, of Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., was unable to use his illustrations, as the electric lamps were not in place, but his lecture, of an historical trend, was exceedingly interesting. His subject was "An Old Castle;" viz., Ludlow Castle in England, near the Welsh Border. He gave a short enumeration of the exciting scenes which this old castle had witnessed before 1560, and graphically illustrated the new era which dawned then in literature, art, and science; giving a history of the families of the Sidneys, the Dudleys, the Earl of Essex, and other noted men of the day. (By request, no abstract is published of this lecture.)

SECOND DAY. - TUESDAY MORNING, JULY 8.

The sessions were opened with prayer by Rev. John B. Gould, Allston, Mass.; President Homer B. Sprague in the chair.

W. T. Harris, LL. D., of Concord, Mass., spoke on "Moral Instruction in Public Schools." (See Lectures.)

He was followed by Hon. J. W. Dickinson, Secretary of Massachusetts Board of Education, who presented the subject of "High Schools" in their relation to a complete school system. (See Lectures.)

The morning session closed with an illustrated lecture by Charles F. King, Sub-Master of the Lewis School, Boston, on "Teaching Geography by the Topical Method." (See Lectures.)

The President announced the following committees, which were confirmed by the convention :

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On Necrology-Charles Northend, Connecticut; Ariel Parish, Colorado; Justus Dartt, Vermont; J. W. Webster, Massachusetts; W. H. Maxwell, New York; L. L. Dame, Massachusetts.

On Nominations-G. A. Walton and A. P. Stone, Massachusetts; H. W. Willard, Vermont; A. Hadley, New Hampshire; F. F. Barrows, Connecticut; G. H. Martin, Massachusetts.

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On Resolutions. — M. Grant Daniell, Massachusetts; T. J. Morgan, Rhode Island; D. N. Camp, Connecticut; W. H. Buckham, Vermont; J. W. Patterson, New Hampshire; J. O. Norris, Masschusetts.

AFTERNOON AND EVENING SESSIONS.

George H. Martin, Bridgewater, Mass., of the State Board of Education, read a paper on "Special Preparation for Citizenship." (See Lectures.)

This paper was suplemented by a brief talk by Gen. H. B. Carrington, LL.D., of Boston, after which Prof.

A. B. Palmer, M. D., of Michigan, at the request of the President, read a paper on

Sanitary Science."

We publish a brief abstract among the lectures.

The evening session, owing to the inclemency of the weather, was held in an adjoining chapel, and a large audience gathered to listen to the illustrated lecture of Princ. Frank A. Hill, of Chelsea, Mass., on "New England Primer Days."

THIRD DAY. - WEDNESDAY MORNING, JULY 9. After prayer by Charles Northend, of Connecticut, the regular exercises were resumed.

R. C. Metcalf, Supervisor of the Boston Schools, presented a paper on "Language in Primary Schools; " William J. Rolfe, Cambridge, Mass., Shakespearian Editor, on "One Way of Studying Poetry in School;" and A. S. Hill, Professor of Rhetoric at Harvard College, on "English in Schools." (See Lectures.)

AFTERNOON SESSION.

The afternoon session was opened with a paper by Ray Greene Huling, Principal of Fitchburg, Mass., High School, entitled "The Educational Reading of Teachers."

The remainder of the session was devoted to an animated discussion on the necessity of teaching technical grammar, participated in by Messrs. Metcalf, Rolfe, and Philbrick of Massachusetts, Littlefield of Rhode Island, Maxwell and Dickinson of New York, and Conant of Vermont. Messrs. Metcalf and Rolfe further elaborated their views as given in their morning papers.

As stated in the preface, we have published all dis

cussions after the respective papers referred to, and not in the order in which they were taken up, consequently this discussion will be found directly following the morning lectures.

EVENING SESSION.

The evening session was devoted to a lecture by Hon. D. H. Chamberlain, LL. D., of New York. His subject was entitled "Not a College Fetish," being a reply to Charles Francis Adams, Jr., on the question of "Greek in the Colleges." (See Lectures.)

FOURTH DAY. THURSDAY MORNING, JULY 10.

The Institute re-assembled at the usual hour, the President in the chair. A business meeting having been announced for the opening hour, Mr. M. Grant Daniell of Boston, the Chairman of the Committee on Resolutions, presented the following report, which was adopted:

1. Resolved, That, whereas the great advance made in the adop tion of improved methods of instruction and school-management is largely due to the intelligent supervision by competent educational experts, we desire to call the attention of school authorities, particularly of sparsely settled districts, to the importance of adopting plans which will give to the schools the benefit of such supervision.

2. Resolved, That we reaffirm the sentiments heretofore expressed many times by this Institute, in support of the National Bureau of Education, and in appreciation of the great value and importance to the cause of education and of the work it is doing.

3. Resolved, That the thanks of the Institute are due and they are hereby tendered to all those managers of railroad and steamboat lines who have consented to grant reduction of fares to members of the Institute; to those Hotel proprietors of Cottage City who