The Connecticut Normal Industrial School previous to the brief spring vacation was visited by many northern friends at Thomasville, Ga., upon the occasion of its closing exercises. The _Thomasville Times_ calls sympathetic {119} attention to the work and adds "That the boys and girls are being carefully taught and trained will be apparent to any one who will go to the Institution and see its workings. The attendance has averaged over two hundred." Thomasville is not far removed from Quitman geographically but, in point of intelligent regard for its own interests and the interests of the Negro, the distance is incalculable. As Joseph said to his brethren, we can say to the school incendiaries of Quitman, "Ye meant it for evil but the Lord meant it for good." * * * * * An attractive and interesting four-paged weekly journal called the _Chinese Evangelist_ comes to us. It is the first number of a curiosity in the way of a newspaper, being printed half in the English and half in the Chinese language. Its editor is Mr. J.S. Harper, son of Rev. A.F. Harper, of Canton College, and the manager is Guy Maine, a Christian Chinaman and member of the Broadway Tabernacle Church. The address of the editor is No. 117 West 87th St., New York, and of the manager, No. 15 University Place. It is intended for all workers in Chinese Sunday-schools, and every teacher of Chinese Sunday-school scholars would do well to send a dollar and secure this invaluable aid for a year. Its column of items is named "Tea Leaves." We would suggest that the motto for this bright little paper be "_Tu doces_." * * * * * THE VERNACULAR IN INDIAN SCHOOLS. BY SECRETARY STRIKEY. This question is not settled. One thing that has kept it unsettled has been the uncertain use of the term "missionary schools" in the Orders of the Indian Department. What is precisely a missionary school? Let me try to explain. There are three kinds of schools in the nomenclature of the Indian Office, based on the sources of their support. 1. _Government_ Schools, supported wholly by Government appropriations--such as those at Carlisle, Genoa, etc. These may be left out of the account in this discussion, for no one objects to the Government's directing the studies in them. 2. _Contract_ Schools, so called because the missionary societies which sustain them receive under _contract_ with the Government a certain amount of money in aid of their support. The school at Santee, Nebraska, and the school at Yankton, Dakota, are specimens of this class. But these are _mission_ schools, for the societies which support them would not continue to do so for a day except for their missionary character; and yet these schools are classed by the Department not as missionary but as contract schools.