E. Finance.
14, 83
1. Revenue.
34. Under existing conditions, the Annual Revenue derived from School Fees approaches $30,000 and without disturbance from epidemics would actually reach that amount. The fees (at $36 for Upper School, $24 for remaining classes per annum) have so far in the first four months of 1902 yielded $10,039 as against $9,780 in the same period last year.
35. It does not appear to me either wise or necessary to reduce this amount by $8,000 per annum, viz: $5,000 through rejecting boys of inferior Chinese attainments (Para. 38), $3,000 by reducing classes of 60 to 50 attendances (Para. 39.B).
Free Scholarships.
36. These are a very useful institution for encouraging education, but I do not see why their cost should fall on Queen's College, whose expenditure will through this cause be this year swelled by $540, half of which is caused by Student Interpreters at R.G.O. The Committee proposes extending this system (Para. 28). It appears therefore time to consider whether this expenditure of Government money should not rather come under the head of 'Charitable Allowances', whence Queen's College (and other schools) could by Quarterly statements obtain the amount from the Treasury, paying it back into the Treasury as Fees. The actual expenditure of Queen's College and the Education Department would be more faithfully preserved, and the annual cost to the Government would not thereby be increased, as Charitable Allowances are deducted from Revenue liable to Military percentage, the items being kept separate in Reports, thus:
Fees