The matter suggested by these quotations is really of considerable importance. The central thought of them is surely sound; all mission schools, while entirely free to teach religion according to their own tenets, should consult together and have a uniform system of secular instruction which should be kept quite separate from the religious teaching; this should be of the same character and have the same end as the teaching offered in the public schools; the mission schools should work in harmony with the public schools and should recognize the Superintendent of Education; they should heartily co-operate with him toward the production of good citizens and the development of a feeling of respect and loyalty to the national government. It is true that some of them have a standard which is not reached by the public schools; such should not, of course, reduce their standard, but should serve as a friendly example to the Government of what is reasonably expected of schools of their grade. The proper treatment of this matter calls for great tact and good spirit on both sides. We have already called attention to the fact that in Vai and Mandingo towns instruction is given to boys in Arabic and in the reading of the Koran. These little village schools are interesting. The boys use smooth boards with handles as slates; these are smeared over with a light colored clay, and passages from the sacred writing are copied in black upon the light surface; the little fellows are constantly drilled in reading these passages aloud and in copying similar passages upon their wooden tablets. Such schools as these form a nucleus which could be utilized in the development of schools for broader instruction. We have already called attention to the fact that the Vai have a phonetic system of their own, developed among themselves. The ability to write and read this phonetic script is rather widely spread, and when schools come to be established in Vai towns this system might be widely utilized for purposes of education.