Jan. 10.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 31

(c) Growth and development of the Empire: Raleigh; Pilgrim Fathers; Navigation laws—Blake. Marlborough and the Treaty of Utrecht; Gibraltar. Seven Years’ War; Pitt, Wolfe, Clive. American War of Independence. British Colonial policy in India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa; relation of Britain, Egypt, and the Sudan; Suez Canal; Gordon; Kitchener; relation of Dominions and Colonies to the Crown. Imperial Conferences.

(d) Economic and social progress: Economic Union of England and Scotland. New farming. Industrial revolution—roads, canals, railways, steamships. Abolition of slavery. Child labour; Shaftesbury; Factory Acts. Corn laws and free trade. Recent inventions facilitating transport and communication. Influence of the press. Scientific progress in arts, science, and medicine (more fully than Standard VI)—Pasteur, Lister, &c.

(e) Foreign movements affecting the British Empire: The French Revolution; the Napoleonic struggle (without minute detail). The Crimean War—the nursing service. Unification of Italy—Cavour; Garibaldi. The American Civil War—Abraham Lincoln. Britain and Japan—changed political importance of the Pacific. Rise of the German Empire—Prussia, Bismarck, and militarism. The Great War. Russia, Tsarism, Revolution. The League of Nations. Mandated territories.

(f) Projects: Studies in the lighter literature of the period. Biographies of important characters in world history—Edison, &c. Lives of leading statesmen—(a) In England: Walpole, Pitt the younger, Canning, Peel, Palmerston, Gladstone, Beaconsfield, Salisbury; (b) in New Zealand: Grey, Seddon, Massey. Local history as in Standard VI, &c.

GEOGRAPHY.

INTRODUCTION.

One of the main aims in the following syllabus is to broaden and deepen the child’s knowledge of and interest in those forces of nature that determine not only man’s industries, but also his racial characteristics. As far as possible, the pupil should secure his facts at first hand by a study of the geography in his own neighbourhood, and should learn to apply these facts and principles to the geography of distant lands. Throughout the course it is important that as much outdoor work as possible should be arranged by the teacher. The pupil should be impressed with the interrelation of the different parts of geography. It is important that he should clearly realize the influence of physical conditions on man and his work, that the character of every race depends very largely indeed on physical conditions connected with surface features and climate, and that industries or occupations are interrelated and often interdependent. Even mathematical geography can be shown to have a close relation to the life of the people. The instruction should be as vivid as possible, in order that the pupils may have as clear a conception of life in other lands as they have of life in their own land.

The syllabus is a suggestive one, and is not intended to restrict the teacher’s choice. This will depend, firstly, on the nature of the district in which the school is situated, and, secondly, on the manner in which the classes are grouped, if grouped at all, for the instruction. Where classes are grouped, a two-year course of even difficulty should be devised. As in nature-study, so in geography—the pupils should derive their knowledge as far as possible from their own observations and from inferences derived from such observations. All the suggested topics are capable of such simple treatment as to be well within the comprehension of the pupils. However, any topic that appears to the teachers too difficult for the class should be omitted and treated later. Lastly, the order in which the topics are arranged in the syllabus is not necessarily the best order in which the lessons should be given.

STANDARD II.

1. The cardinal points of the compass, taught through the approximate positions of the sun and shadows at midday and at sunrise and sunset. The intermediate points, N.W., N.E., S.W., and S.E. should then be taught. Direction from the school of the pupil’s home and of other well-known places; hence first ideas of the use of a map.