§ SIR JOHN COLOMB (Tower Hamlets Bow)I beg to ask the Vice President of the Committee of Council on Education whether, in the general directions to the Inspector in Article 100 (a) of the Code, the word "age" is to be construed as intending in any way to hamper or restrict the classification according to capacity enjoined in the 6th sub-section of the same part of the Article?
§ THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL (Sir W. HART DYKE,) Kent, DartfordNo, Sir; the new Code gives complete freedom of classification, but it would be unwise altogether to ignore the general relation which is commonly recognized between age and capacity, and the retention of the word will also serve as a security against children of exceptional mental quickness being unduly pressed forward while of tender years and delicate physical organization. Inspectors must have in their minds the various items which should be taken into consideration in order to ascertain the capacity of a scholar, and one of such items must necessarily be age.