Rev. J. G. Garrett (1881 – 1886)
The new Principal was a brilliant University man. He was Senior Moderator and Hebrew Prizeman of Trinity College, Dublin. He was considered by those who knew him as a man of the right stamp, proud of Christianity and therefore intolerant of any mere outward distinction. His eloquence was of the true kind, utterly devoid of affection. The union profound religious feeling with an almost childlike buoyancy of spirit lent an overwhelming attraction to his conversation, and his addresses in public owed their appeal in no slight degree to the blend of serious truth with homely illustration.
There is, however, another side to the picture. Mr. Garrett had no experience whatever of school management as he was very young, still under twenty five. The result was a pathetic lack of discipline. Several much needed reforms, however, were undertaken during this period, especially in the Lower School.
In 1886 Mr. Garrett’s health caused much anxiety and made it necessary for him to leave. He returned in 1888 but not to Trinity. He devoted his time to missionary work in the Kandy Central Itineracy and all the missionaries who have come to Ceylon his name is perhaps held in the greatest reverence. He died in Ceylon in 1911.