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E.—lα.

Kowai ra tona hoa ? Kahore he oranga mo nga tamariki, ka mate i te kai. Mawai au c whakawhiti atu ki tawahi ? Pewhea to raua nohoanga ki Whakatu? 5. Give the passive forms of the following verbs, illustrating the same with examples, accompanied with translations :A, i, ka, oro, v, waiva; and give the imperative forms of the following, supplying examples with translations : Kake, o, oma, Jiaere, epa. 6. Write a letter in Maori, giving the general news of the place, stating how the relatives and people of the village are, and how the stock and crops are progressing, and asking for information as to the condition, &c, of the persons to whom the letter is addressed. Give rendering of same in English. Shorthand — Senior. — For Senior Civil Service. Time allowed : 3 hours. Instbuction to Supkbvisoks. 1. Inform candidates before the time for taking up this subject that they may use pen or pencil as they please for taking notes, which should be written on ruled paper, but that they must transcribe those notes into longhand with pen and ink. 2. Inform candidates that when once you have commenced to dictate you cannot stop until the passage is finished. 3. Dictate the passages at the following rates of speed : — (a.) 80 words per minute. (b.) 120 „ (c.) 150 „ N.B. —It will be well to practise reading these aloud some time beforehand, looking at a watch or clock, so as to accustom yourself to reading in each minute the exact number of words indicated. i. Candidates are at liberty to take down the three passages, if they choose. If they do so, all the passages are to be dictated to them before the}' commence transcribing. If a candidate takes only one or two of the passages he is to commence transcribing as soon as he has finished taking notes. 5. Inform candidates that rapidity in transcribing notes into longhand is essential, and note carefully on the transcribed copy the exact time taken in transcription. 6. Inform them also that the clearness and accuracy of the shorthand notes (which must in every case be sent in attached to the transcript) will be taken account of by the examiner.

PASSAGES FOE DICTATION. (a.) At the rate of 80 words per minute. Takes 10 minutes. Populah Fallacies. Two hundred years ago that quaint old writer Sir Thomas Browne filled two large volumes with an account of what he conceived to be "Vulgar Errors;" and, although modern science has done much to diffuse sound knowledge in regard to the phenomena around us, yet popular fallacies have not, as yet, quite disappeared. Even our text-books of popular science and many of our so-called scientific papers continue to propagate and perpetuate mistakes which may be classed with the "vulgar errors" of Dr. Browne. Thus, nothing is more common than to hear of the tubular character of hair; indeed, almost any one that we meet will, if asked, tell us that the hairs of our heads are very fine tubes. And yet every hair is a good solid cylinder—a fact which has been published hundreds of times, but which seems to have no effect upon the popular belief. It is true that a hair, when examined under the microscope, looks something like a tube; but then so does a solid metallic wire—a fine needle, for example. That which gives rise to the tubular appearance is simply the bright line which is always seen on every cylinder—a stove-pipe, for example, or even a common black-lead pencil. When we take the hair, however, and, having cut a slice off at the end, examine this slice, we find that it is not a ring, as it would be if cut from the end of a tube, but a solid disc. Another singular idea, which has gained very general ground, is that the moons of Jupiter can be seen in a looking-glass; and if, some bright night, we try the experiment, we shall actually see Jupiter in the looking-glass, accompanied by a very faint star which constantly maintains the same distance from the planet. Further examination will show us that every bright star presents the same appearance; and, if we reflect a little upon the phenomenon, we shall see that the so-called moon is only the faint image of the star or planet reflected from the surface of the glass, while the bright image reflected from the surface of the mercury is what we call the star itself. A lamp or candle held before a thick mirror will present precisely the same appearance. Simple though the explanation be, however, there are few errors that have taken a deeper hold on the minds of the pseudo-scientific than this. Amongst popular fallacies, a prominent place must be given to those which arise from the actual deception of the senses; for neither our eyesight nor our sense of touch is to be absolutely depended on. Thus, the beautiful phenomenon known as "the sun drawing water" is caused simply by the rays of the sun piercing a rift in the clouds, and rendered more intense by the prevailing gloom. Few people would believe that actual measurement of the sun and moon, when near the horizon at rising or setting, would fail to show that they are then much larger than at other times; and yet, allowing for the difference caused by refraction, and which is too slight to be measured by any but the finest instruments, actual measurement does show that not only their real but their apparent sizes are precisely the same at all times.