This was to be done on the anniversary of the General's death, when a sermon was to be preached, the prizes distributed, and a dinner given to the children. This money was most improperly allowed to remain in the hands of a House of Agency; but at length, after a lapse of more than thirty years, on the 22nd of October, 1832, the Advocate-General, having moved the Court against the Agents, the Supreme Court at Calcutta passed a decree, and directed a school to be established, to be called "La Martinière," (agreeably to the twenty-fourth clause of the General's will), and appointed 165,293 Sicca rupees, or about £16,530, for the cost of the building.
The Court nominated Mr. J.P. Parker to be the builder, and Captain George Hutchinson, of the Bengal Engineers, to superintend its erection, receiving six per cent. for his trouble. This arrangement left a large residue, invested in Government Securities. The children were to be selected from amongst the poor Christian population of Calcutta. The girls were to be not under four, nor above twelve years of age, so that there should be twenty girls at the least: well-conducted girls, moreover, were to be permitted to remain until they were sixteen years old, if not before apprenticed or married. The boys were to be not under four, nor above ten years of age, so that there should be at least thirty boys.
The Governors of the Martinière Charity met at the Government House in August, 1835, when it was decided that the religious instruction given to the children of the school should be in conformity with the principles held in common by the English, Scotch, Roman, Greek, and Armenian Churches; but the School was not to be placed under any particular denomination of Christians! There is a library attached, consisting of 4,142 volumes, and a large collection of philosophical instruments, etc.
The Principal of the College is Mr. Henry Woodrow, M.A., Fellow of Caius College, Cambridge.
On the 31st of August, 1848, the Institution contained 100 foundation scholars, 32 boarders, 42 day scholars, and 1 day boarder, making a total of 175 boys; which, with the 70 girls, made a total of 245 children. There were in December, 1849, 270 children on the books of the School. The funds of the Institution now amount to 1,575,000 Company's rupees, or £157,500, which is more than four times the sum originally left by General Martine.
The College of Fort William was established by the late Marquis Wellesley in the year 1802, with various Professors appointed for Arabic, Persian, Hindoostanee, Sanscrit, and Bengalee. The Writers intended for the Civil Service used to reside in the long range called "Writers' Buildings," situated in Tank Square, not far from the north of Government House.
Examinations were formerly held half-yearly, in the presence of the Governor-General. The Professors read their report on the number of terms kept by each student, and their individual proficiency; the students of each class being severally numbered 1, 2, 3, etc., according to the report. The Governor-General then addressed the students, particularly noticing those who had distinguished themselves in the various classes; after which the medals and prizes were distributed.
Among the eminent men who passed at these examinations were the late Lord Metcalfe, Sir Richard Jenkins, G.C.B., Director of the East India Company, and W.B. Bayley, Esq., also a Director. At that time all the Writers for the Bengal, Madras, and Bombay Presidencies passed at this College; but this system was afterwards given up, and only the Bengal Writers enter the Calcutta College.[111]
On the establishment of the Haileybury College, in England, about the year 1805, for the education of Writers, the Calcutta College became nothing more than a school for the study of the Oriental languages, for the Bengal Writers, on their arrival in Calcutta. The Marquis Wellesley had proposed to the Court of Directors that there should be a Provost; in fact, that it should be placed on the footing of a college in England, with Professors for all languages. The Court of Directors and the Board of Control appear to have thought, and with good judgment, as to general education, that a college in England would be preferable. As far as the Oriental languages are concerned, the young student may learn the rudiments in England; and, in a few cases, bright examples have occurred in the persons of some Writers, who, in a very few months after their arrival, have passed in three languages. These exceptions are the cases of young men of considerable talent. It is said by the natives, that it requires seven years, to master the Arabic language, and twelve to acquire a perfect knowledge of the Sanscrit. Admitting that a profound acquaintance with the Sanscrit, or Arabic, may not be requisite, though the latter is so intimately connected with the Persian, and the former with the Hindoo languages of Hindee and Bengalee, still, great advantages result in those cases where students desire to possess a perfect knowledge of the minor languages.
At present the system in Bengal is this:—The Writers are divided into two classes; one for the Bengal Presidency, and the other for the North-west provinces. For the former, Bengalee and Hindee are the languages studied; and for the latter, Persian and Oordoo. Each Writer must pass in two languages before he can be reported "qualified for the public service." There are now two examiners; one of whom is a subaltern in the 42nd Regiment Bengal Native Infantry. The examinations are held in the College rooms, at Writers' Buildings; but, unlike the examinations of our English universities, they are private and not public. There are at times from twenty to twenty-five, or even more students, in Calcutta, some of whom are allowed, if they have relations or friends in the civil service, in the Mofussil (country), to go into the interior to study.